rocky mountain fusion

[lewis1641]

hi. welcome to my latest project, a 99 rocky mountain fusion recently bought off this very forum. i was looking for something a bit "different". my main criteria was that it needed to be about 17", steel and capable of taking an 80mm fork. i think this ticks all the boxes.

the plan is that this is to be my one and only single speed. i'm no s.s. guru but i know enough to know that chain tension is a pain in the ass so i am having a pair of surly track ends welded on.

before i do this though i wanted to build the frame into a bike to make sure i like the ride.

with the help of local here mikef350 we (he) put it together last night using bits stolen from my khs. it is currently a complete mix match but like i say, this is a temporary build.

and here's the result...

and the ride??


absolutely awesome. i know its not the highest spec frame in the world but it is really lively. i'm taking it for a propper spin on sunday with a set of judy's but i am pretty convinced its going to be great.

watch this space...

 

[Sithlord]

Thats looking very nice fella, although I would have gone geared.. , like the colour of the tyres on that frame.. any more pics..

 

[lewis1641]

Cheers. Tyres and colour are temporary. I bought this for the sole purpose of being my singlespeed. I'll stick a couple of better pictures before it gets stripped down

 

[Neil G]

That's nice....always been a fan of RM bikes

 

[lewis1641]

cheers. rode it to work this morning and it feels great. i love it!

tonight the forks are getting swapped for some judy's if i can get them bolted together. then the front brake can go on.

mavic crossland wheels arrived yesterday so i'll swap the sprocket over and fine tune the chainline. also going to try and take a link out of the chain - seems a bit long to me.

cant wait to give it a propper ride on sunday

 

[mikef350]

Thats looking very nice fella, although I would have gone geared.. , like the colour of the tyres on that frame.. any more pics..

glad you said that fella because i have been telling him to gear it and not chop it :shock:

 

[Awkward Kid]

Looking good Dave!

 

[lewis1641]

Cheers boss. I'll be updating tomorrow with tonights developments including your karma forks

 

[lewis1641]

i had a bit of a fiddle last night and the result is this...

the forks are a mix of judy sl, xc and xe and i am amazed that i managed to get them back together again.

i wanted to use the sl lowers but i had to use the xe damper unit and the bolt was too big to go throught he hole in the sl leg and i didnt really want to start drilling.

brakes are some trusty shimano v's, nothing fancy but they work well.

swapped the wheels and tyres so i'm now running mavic crosslands. the reason for this is that i plan to use a sprocket bolted onto the disc rotor mounting to make it a fixed wheel after the drop outs have been replaced. i will be using it with a freewheel as well so i needed a disc hub with a rim brake rim. these fit the bill perfectly and were an ebay bargain so i am happy.

i expected them to be a lot lighter than the ritchey/dx/kenda tyre set up but they are only about 50 grammes less.

tyres are probably not staying, sounds like i'm being a tart but i'm really not keen on how they look.

took a complete link out of the chain and corrected the chainline when i swapped the wheels. i think there is just enough tension to run it without the tensioner but i'm leaving it on for now - better safe than sorry.

tomorrow will be the decider if it gets chopped or not. i'm liking the ride for the few miles i've done but i just want to be certain before i render it worthless. assuming it is a keeper, my plans are...

fit the surly drop outs, remove unnecessary cable stops.

repaint. thinking a gulf blue frame/orange fork at the minute but subject to change

paint race face turbine cranks to match or contrast forks

sort out fixed sprocket and decide on a gear ratio

service judy sl damper so i can put the sl legs back on

source some bling v brakes. i'd love the kcnc ones but my mrs would kill me!

possibly swap the risers for my syntace 9 decree carbon bars

paint the stem black to match seatpost

swap tyres for ??

your thoughts and criticisms are most welcome

 

[mikef350]

swap me porcs for your tyres mucka