Santana Moda - finished

[Tomac23]

its fair to say that I am excited about this build.

I’ve had the pleasure of owning a Serotta T Max and a 1991 Scott Pro Racing and Max frames are great to ride but a few reviews that I’ve read suggest that the Moda might be even better.

I have missed out on a few of these over the years but managed to get this 19 inch frame set In October last year. Sure she’s not pristine, has some battle scars and a ding in the top tube but I think that adds to the charm. this a Max frame as opposed to the Max OR and I think they were prone to more dings and imperfections.

i know very little about these bikes and online searches haven’t revealed that much. i believe they were built at the Santana factory in Claremont California between 1989 and 1992. They used Max and Max OR tubing some were fillet brazed and later versions were TIG welded. Ultimately I think production of the Moda was diluting the brands main focus on tandems so they stop producing them. I think only 300 were made a year.

id love to know more about them and their history of someone knows?

i also tried unsuccessfully to decode the serial number but I emailed Santana and they helpfully confirmed that it was made in 1990.

So how to build it?

 

[Tomac23]

So jumping straight into the build. The Moda was available as a frame set or complete bike. I managed to track down a couple of Moda reviews from 1989 and 1990 that showed me what the factory build was. Helpful.

So I am going to do my best to build this to original spec.

XT Groupset
Marrix ISO/XT wheelset
Salsa stem
True Temper bars
Sugino/Tioga carbon seatpost 27.2
Avocet R20 saddle

 

[Dr Dremel]

Cant help you much (well at all) with history, all I know is that is peak Santana for me, such elegant frames. Shame about the ding on the TT, but such blemishes ensure it does not end as a wall hanger.

Did you notice the different bracing/hanger on the seat stays compared to the one from the article?

 

[Tomac23]

Cant help you much (well at all) with history, all I know is that is peak Santana for me, such elegant frames. Shame about the ding on the TT, but such blemishes ensure it does not end as a wall hanger.

Did you notice the different bracing/hanger on the seat stays compared to the one from the article?

Thank you. Agree. And no I hadn’t noticed but now you mention it I wonder why there is a difference?

 

[Canuckbiker]

I remember reading that review way back when (Bicycle Guide was a favorite monthly read). This would have been a grail frame for me then and still would be. Well done! Such beautiful frame building work , love the internal brake cable routing, etc, etc

Your build plan should produce an amazing ride, looking forward to the next update

 

[br0qn]

what a beautiful thing! I'm along for the ride.

 

[Double-E F]

Very nice frame!

I have never cared at all about NOS or pristine frames: scars and patina add to the overall appearance of the frame, IMHO.
Really like the color too

It's obvious that you are excited about the frame: only 9 minutes after asking 'How to build it?' in your first post, you provide the answer yourself ..!

Enjoy, looking forward to seeing this progress!

 

[Tomac23]

Thank you @Double-E F I got the frame delivered just before Christmas so there some retrospective here new update soon

 

[Tomac23]

@Double-E F was right some of the foraging for parts has already taken place. It seems some of the parts I’m looking for are harder to find than I thought especially in the right size.

so a question to the forum….is it best to be patient or shim with the items I’ve found.

the original spec says a salsa chromoly stem but the head tube diameter is 1 1/8 and most Salsa stems that I’ve found are 1 inch. Maybe Salsa made them for Santana as the original stems were the same colour as the frame. Anyway I’ve managed to get hold of a nice 1 inch one in the right length and angle that I can shim.

and the seatpost. Don’t seem to be many around. Especially the Sugino ones. I’ve found a 26.4 Sugino but it’s for a road bike so the length is pretty short. I may be just making an assumption here but some of the US builders that had a road pedigree seemed to use some road components in their early mtbs probably due familiarity and access. Like Serotta and American Classic.

any way let me know what you think of the Salsa stem and Sugino post? To shim or not to shim

 

[Prodigal Son]

One of my unicorns: a max frameset bike and the Santana Moda is a prime example.

PS: A Judy SL or Marz Bomber would tame down the max tubeset.