br0qn
Retro Guru
Well, here we go again taking on another project before making any headway on the others. This one is different though and, to me, more special and deserving of my current focus.
While consuming as much information as I could via this forum, mtb history sites and magazine/catalog scans it was clear that the Bontrager approach must have been refreshing if not odd at the time. Beyond being something pretty to look/marvel at, the philosophy of trying to make something someone buys once because it's engineered to outlast the physical abuse and also the fleeting whims of fashion appeals to me, especially as someone who works in an industry where design turnover is rampant for the sake of revenue. Pragmatism besting all else (though I am sure those who were there and ultimately got the short end of the Trek stick may have a less romantic point of view.)
So after reading all of the Bontrager catalogs I could find, gawking at the bikes here on rb and watching videos of him speak on youtube I decided I would be needing one. Though I like some of the two tone / multi colored Privateer color schemes I was set on a Santa Cruz built bike (rather than Wisconsin where Trek handled the production of the Privateers) and, given my size at ~135 lbs (62kg) I decided a Race Lite would be preferred. Later I would learn how Trek ended production in Santa Cruz only by telling all of the staff to go home for lunch and while they were out they changed all of the locks which has sense put me off from wanting or considering anything Trek has touched. Maybe I'm just sensitive and I'll probably get over it but I have a similar feeling about staying away from Gary Fisher's for the way he treated Ritchey.
I figured it would be hard to come up with one so I created my alerts and set about to craigslist, sifting all of the 30+ years of Bontrager parts listed doesn't make it easy. I do all of my "local" shopping in both Los Angeles where I live and San Francisco where I am often for work and sure enough a nearly perfect example was sitting right there, in SF, available immediately in what I figured would be the right size and priced very well. I chatted with the seller who bought the bike, built it up and rode it a couple of times before finding his preferred color. So, it got torn down and listed for sale. Turns out we're similarly built and he assured me, having owned and ridden both the size up and down, this would be perfect for me. We shook hands via text and he promised to hold it for me until I got to town in a few weeks.
It's a Race Lite alright. Easily identified by the milled headtube
Anti chain suck plate and pully in tact, sweet.
As I am sure most of you know that serial numbers mean nearly nothing for Bontragers as the dropouts were produced and stamped in bulk and thrown in a pile that was pulled from at random. They do nothing to help you date the bike.
There are however many other details that can get you pretty close to nailing down a production date. In the case of this frame, there are two tells that make it clear it's late. 0600 on the drive side drop out is apparently an indicator that it was one of the very last production series before Santa Cruz was shut down making it very probably a 1997 and would have been sold as a complete with an XT kit.
and the seat stays on the post Trek acquisition bikes are 1 piece rather than the earlier 2 piece. As I understand it, the reason for the change being that Keith basically couldn't meet the minimums required by True Temper for the 1 piece stays though within days of the news of Trek being in the picture TT reached out to KB and asked him how many he wanted. Some look down on the single piece stays and post Trek Santa Cruz built bikes but I don't. KB designed and specd the single piece stays but couldn't afford them so he made due with the (very cool, I agree) two piece but he was apparently very stoked to get the 1 piece.
The frame is extremely neat with the exception of some residue from the foam pipe insulation that it was wrapped in as the seller was prepping to list on ebay before I turned up. It's all easily enough rubbed off though without any sort of chemical.
Forgive me if I'm sounding like a broken record and this info has all long sense been known, but it's all new and fascinating to me.
While consuming as much information as I could via this forum, mtb history sites and magazine/catalog scans it was clear that the Bontrager approach must have been refreshing if not odd at the time. Beyond being something pretty to look/marvel at, the philosophy of trying to make something someone buys once because it's engineered to outlast the physical abuse and also the fleeting whims of fashion appeals to me, especially as someone who works in an industry where design turnover is rampant for the sake of revenue. Pragmatism besting all else (though I am sure those who were there and ultimately got the short end of the Trek stick may have a less romantic point of view.)
So after reading all of the Bontrager catalogs I could find, gawking at the bikes here on rb and watching videos of him speak on youtube I decided I would be needing one. Though I like some of the two tone / multi colored Privateer color schemes I was set on a Santa Cruz built bike (rather than Wisconsin where Trek handled the production of the Privateers) and, given my size at ~135 lbs (62kg) I decided a Race Lite would be preferred. Later I would learn how Trek ended production in Santa Cruz only by telling all of the staff to go home for lunch and while they were out they changed all of the locks which has sense put me off from wanting or considering anything Trek has touched. Maybe I'm just sensitive and I'll probably get over it but I have a similar feeling about staying away from Gary Fisher's for the way he treated Ritchey.
I figured it would be hard to come up with one so I created my alerts and set about to craigslist, sifting all of the 30+ years of Bontrager parts listed doesn't make it easy. I do all of my "local" shopping in both Los Angeles where I live and San Francisco where I am often for work and sure enough a nearly perfect example was sitting right there, in SF, available immediately in what I figured would be the right size and priced very well. I chatted with the seller who bought the bike, built it up and rode it a couple of times before finding his preferred color. So, it got torn down and listed for sale. Turns out we're similarly built and he assured me, having owned and ridden both the size up and down, this would be perfect for me. We shook hands via text and he promised to hold it for me until I got to town in a few weeks.
It's a Race Lite alright. Easily identified by the milled headtube
Anti chain suck plate and pully in tact, sweet.
As I am sure most of you know that serial numbers mean nearly nothing for Bontragers as the dropouts were produced and stamped in bulk and thrown in a pile that was pulled from at random. They do nothing to help you date the bike.
There are however many other details that can get you pretty close to nailing down a production date. In the case of this frame, there are two tells that make it clear it's late. 0600 on the drive side drop out is apparently an indicator that it was one of the very last production series before Santa Cruz was shut down making it very probably a 1997 and would have been sold as a complete with an XT kit.
and the seat stays on the post Trek acquisition bikes are 1 piece rather than the earlier 2 piece. As I understand it, the reason for the change being that Keith basically couldn't meet the minimums required by True Temper for the 1 piece stays though within days of the news of Trek being in the picture TT reached out to KB and asked him how many he wanted. Some look down on the single piece stays and post Trek Santa Cruz built bikes but I don't. KB designed and specd the single piece stays but couldn't afford them so he made due with the (very cool, I agree) two piece but he was apparently very stoked to get the 1 piece.
The frame is extremely neat with the exception of some residue from the foam pipe insulation that it was wrapped in as the seller was prepping to list on ebay before I turned up. It's all easily enough rubbed off though without any sort of chemical.
Forgive me if I'm sounding like a broken record and this info has all long sense been known, but it's all new and fascinating to me.
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