Steel 1992 Rocky Mountain Vertex

FluffyChicken · Nov 3, 2024

One of the problems of this era 92ish it the reuse of older frames, some dumping of frames and local stores getting rid of stuff or something like that in the hearsay.

Also many of the mid also being hand built and high end (outsourced often) while other higher may not have been.

That I only know the UK market, so our range was less and far less actually sold here. Things are easier after 93 when it seems to have standardised and is less interesting in the range variations (to me looking at Steel).

Completely forgot this is a build thread, err talk should move to he Rocky threads wherever they are.
Sorry.

NigelFinnighan · Nov 3, 2024

Regarding the Glacier. Based on my research and a few posts from former employees on FB They’re all 91 built Blizzards that came to the factory without the chain stay divots specifically drive side (my Glacier has a Jan 91 build date) and this is why they’re all spec’d with the same parts as a 91 Blizzard. They were fixed then painted all white with the new “performance paints”, badged as Glacier. They hit the market late summer of 91. From my research they are not a Euro market only bike, it makes no sense. Out of the dozen or so Glaciers I’ve come across, 90% are in Canada 8% are in the NW-US. They’re just a low volume run because they were one batch (anyone know how many a “batch” was?) that didn’t have the tire clearance, instead of selling them as left over Blizzards for a discount, they released a “limited” 92 model.

Sorry to derail. lol.

NigelFinnighan · Nov 3, 2024

MattiThundrrr said:
Sigh. Overlooking Altitude was a "me" error. It is on my list, but I missed it as it is on there after Cirrus. I stopped reading at "aluminum estay". Thanks all, for the correction. Great to have all this information posted for later researching.

Fusion

Hammer

Equipe

Experience (elevated stay)

Stratos

Expert

Blizzard (North America)/Glacier (Europe)
*There is some debate as to wether these are the same frame or not

Team Comp

Vertex

Cirrus (elevated stay)

Altitude

Thunderbolt

Tantalus

Titanium

I believe the Expert was a 91 non catalogued model, but I not super confident on that.

aguycalled80 · Nov 5, 2024

Guigui58 said:
I just got home from picking up this 1992 Rocky Mountain Vertex. Handbuilt in Canada, the only year the Vertex didn't have an aluminium frame!

I actually bought it a few weeks ago from a guy on Marketplace, but needed to find the time to make the 2 hour drive to pick it up... It's officially the longest drive I've ever taken for a bike!

As you probably noticed, it's hard to tell for sure that this is really a Vertex : it is built with random parts, some older and some more modern (but very few original parts unfortunately...). The main decals are also not original (they should be pink, not yellow).

I was sceptical at first, but there are some clues confirming that this is the real deal :

- The serial number, V1136, is hand punched and has the correct format.
- Some of the decals appear to be legit : the one on the top tube mentions it being "Handbuild" and is the right color. The one on the seat tube mentions that the tubing used is Tange Prestige Concept, which is what these Vertex were made of.
- As for the frame itself, the cable stops are at the right place. The stays are standard (not "wishbone" style like the Équipe for example). There is no mounting points for a rack, indicating a higher end model. The welds are thin and clean.
- The paint color is accurate (and gorgeous by the way!)

My plan for now is to disassemble it. Assuming that I won't have any unpleasant surprises, the next steps will be to :

- Replace the parts for something more period correct. I should have most of that at home, but I might have to go on a treasure hunt for a thing or two.
- Find a fork. I have a Rockshox Mag that should fit, but it doesn't hold air... I'll have to repair it or find something else...
- Have replacement decals made. The yellow ones are nice, but I'd like to have them in pink like the original.

Should be fun! The pictures :

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Super cool bike!

But the decals are just all over the place;

Head tube is from '96.
Down tube is '95/'96 and on the wrong side.
"Signature series" was '97.
"race" was '97.

RockiMtn · Nov 9, 2024

aguycalled80 said:
Super cool bike!

But the decals are just all over the place;

Head tube is from '96.
Down tube is '95/'96 and on the wrong side.
"Signature series" was '97.
"race" was '97.

was about to comment about the mess of decals applied to that from later years.

Guigui58 · Dec 16, 2024

Some updates : I finally got around to taking my "new" 1992 Rocky Mountain Vertex apart! Fortunately, nothing was seized or damaged.

As expected, the frame is in excellent condition overall. I found no cracks or dents, and the paint is still in fantastic shape. Of course, the decals are all over the place, something I’ll have to adress during the restoration process.

There’s a small amount of rust in the bottom bracket shell, but I've seen worse. Unfortunately, there are some chain suck marks, though they aren’t too deep. The chainrings should cover most of them!

Just for fun, I weighed the frame. At 2050g (4.5lb), it’s quite light for an early 90s, 18.5" steel frame!

I’ve decided to use XTR M900 parts for the build. I already have most of the components, except for the front derailleur. Luckily, I found a top-pull, 28.6mm XTR M901 front derailleur on eBay for a reasonable price, which should arrive in the next few days.