sectionate
Old School Hero
Where to start with this build?
As a teen I ran an original 24-7 dark angel jump bike (number 099), and my brother ran a Spooky Metalhead, both of us had the fork of the day, Marzocchi Z1s. We also had a DMR trailstar and a Kona Cindercone before they were stolen, and a childhood friend had an Azonic DS-1 with a pair of 97 Z1s. Riding, building trails and dirt parks was a way of life, until we went to university and other things became a priority.
In a moment of mid life wondering when my father was critically ill, I ended up on eBay and found myself bidding on an Azonic DS-1 frame, a pair of Z1 forks and a few other bits and bobs.
The one thing I have maintained is that cranksets from the late 90s were made of cheese, and I wouldn't be putting them on my bike so I ended up with a set of Shimano Zee cranks. I never liked the DS-1 as the top tube was too short for my frame and it made it uncomfortable to ride.
At the start of lockdown I was talking to my brother and he mentioned that he had picked up a Spooky Bandwagon frame a few years back for the princely sum of £80 at a hospice sale! He wasn't ever going to build it up into something, so he gifted it to me and I transferred over all my components from my Azonic.
The frame in question and the Z1s I picked up cheaply and refurbished myself:
The completed bike on it's maiden voyage.
After the first few rides, I remembered how under powered rim brakes were and I could never get the XTR rear Vee I have perfectly dialled in. I asked about on here if anyone had an original brake mount that I could copy and add a rear disc brake. It became apparent that this was going to be a fruitless endeavour, and after talking to another member (Hi Coreygun) and as an engineer I decided to design my own. Frank the Welder even sent me a concept he had come up with. I fired up CAD and got drawing. A few trials and errors later, had something that works (It needs a single modification to be perfect).
Hand fabricated version as a proof of concept
The CNC machined version
The next problem was a rear wheel, I didn't own a disc version and eBay was coming up short. So I picked up the parts and quickly discovered that every local bike shop's workshop were busy, found a matching rim to the front and decided to build my own. I don't own a truing frame, but an old frame I suddenly had surplus to requirements and a ruler and some squares made for a good substitute.
The Bandwagon on its first ride with a rear disc brake, it works so well. I plan to make a slight change so that the horizontal alignment can be made perfect.
The rear disc calliper, snugly sited in the rear stays like the original version.
It's a great bike to ride, handles the trails around Surrey beautifully .
Frame: Spooky Bandwagon
Fork: Marzocchi 97 Z1
Drivetrain: Shimano Zee 10 Speed / 36t (like the old days when I removed the large/small rings from my cranks!
Pedals: DMR V12
Brakeset: Hope Mini Mono (183 / 165)
Handlebar & Stem: Azonic Worldforce
Headset: FSA Thing
Grips: Whatever I picked up cheaply when I built the Azonic
Rims / Hubs: Mavic EN 321 & Hope XC Disc Hubs
Tyres: Tioga DH Front / Maxxis Ardent (the Tioga DH 2.3 I had didn't fit the frame)
Saddle Something Comfy as the old Tioga Saddle was like sitting on a brick
As a teen I ran an original 24-7 dark angel jump bike (number 099), and my brother ran a Spooky Metalhead, both of us had the fork of the day, Marzocchi Z1s. We also had a DMR trailstar and a Kona Cindercone before they were stolen, and a childhood friend had an Azonic DS-1 with a pair of 97 Z1s. Riding, building trails and dirt parks was a way of life, until we went to university and other things became a priority.
In a moment of mid life wondering when my father was critically ill, I ended up on eBay and found myself bidding on an Azonic DS-1 frame, a pair of Z1 forks and a few other bits and bobs.
The one thing I have maintained is that cranksets from the late 90s were made of cheese, and I wouldn't be putting them on my bike so I ended up with a set of Shimano Zee cranks. I never liked the DS-1 as the top tube was too short for my frame and it made it uncomfortable to ride.
At the start of lockdown I was talking to my brother and he mentioned that he had picked up a Spooky Bandwagon frame a few years back for the princely sum of £80 at a hospice sale! He wasn't ever going to build it up into something, so he gifted it to me and I transferred over all my components from my Azonic.
The frame in question and the Z1s I picked up cheaply and refurbished myself:
The completed bike on it's maiden voyage.
After the first few rides, I remembered how under powered rim brakes were and I could never get the XTR rear Vee I have perfectly dialled in. I asked about on here if anyone had an original brake mount that I could copy and add a rear disc brake. It became apparent that this was going to be a fruitless endeavour, and after talking to another member (Hi Coreygun) and as an engineer I decided to design my own. Frank the Welder even sent me a concept he had come up with. I fired up CAD and got drawing. A few trials and errors later, had something that works (It needs a single modification to be perfect).
Hand fabricated version as a proof of concept
The CNC machined version
The next problem was a rear wheel, I didn't own a disc version and eBay was coming up short. So I picked up the parts and quickly discovered that every local bike shop's workshop were busy, found a matching rim to the front and decided to build my own. I don't own a truing frame, but an old frame I suddenly had surplus to requirements and a ruler and some squares made for a good substitute.
The Bandwagon on its first ride with a rear disc brake, it works so well. I plan to make a slight change so that the horizontal alignment can be made perfect.
The rear disc calliper, snugly sited in the rear stays like the original version.
It's a great bike to ride, handles the trails around Surrey beautifully .
Frame: Spooky Bandwagon
Fork: Marzocchi 97 Z1
Drivetrain: Shimano Zee 10 Speed / 36t (like the old days when I removed the large/small rings from my cranks!
Pedals: DMR V12
Brakeset: Hope Mini Mono (183 / 165)
Handlebar & Stem: Azonic Worldforce
Headset: FSA Thing
Grips: Whatever I picked up cheaply when I built the Azonic
Rims / Hubs: Mavic EN 321 & Hope XC Disc Hubs
Tyres: Tioga DH Front / Maxxis Ardent (the Tioga DH 2.3 I had didn't fit the frame)
Saddle Something Comfy as the old Tioga Saddle was like sitting on a brick
