Show us your bicycle.

[ducnut]

Originally Posted by PaulS

almost done. Took it for the first time around the block. This bike is so light I'm afraid to ride it...



Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day so I'll take it for a longer ride.

Looks cool!

I'm curious what the completed weight ends up at.

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by skibum69

Cool, that whole e-stay thing didn't last a whole long time but they looked cool.

My college roommate still has his Nishiki Alien hanging from the rafters in his garage. Hasn't updated it since he graduated from college.

...around 1990! :eek

Still has the XT thumb shifters and IIRC 7sp cassette. 'Course, if you don't ride, it machts nichts, right?

M

[vfr700]

Reminds me of my XC Pro thumb shifters w/ XT I used through the mid 90's, and the chainstay mounted U-brake. Apparently we've come full circle with road & tt chainstay U-Brakes.

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by vfr700

Apparently we've come full circle with road & tt chainstay U-Brakes.

Yup. ...they sucked then too!

M

[mud]

Originally Posted by vfr700

Reminds me of my XC Pro thumb shifters w/ XT I used through the mid 90's, and the chainstay mounted U-brake. Apparently we've come full circle with road & tt chainstay U-Brakes.

We used U-brakes on observed trials bikes back in the early 90's. You either had power or travel, not both. BOY were they strong if your rims were true though.

[yellowbirdrs]

mine

[Mark Manley]

Originally Posted by Ricardo Kuhn

I wanted one of these when I was a kid but my dad said they were unstable and dangerous which I have since found out that they are, the Raleigh Chopper didn't handle very well either.

[DriveShaft]

Originally Posted by Mark Manley

I wanted one of these when I was a kid but my dad said they were unstable and dangerous which I have since found out that they arer.

Yeah, but hey...it's fun to ride once in a while.

Wait...you talking about the bike or the , girl in hotpants and snakeskin cfm boots?

[Chisenhallw]

Beat me to it.

[zouch]

heck, i've still got XT thumbshifters on a couple of bikes.
i've stuck with them because i got tired of having shifters mounted under the bars banging into my knees when doing the really tricky technical stuff while playing Trials dork. (this would be less of an issue if it weren't for my size and Ape Index.)
the fact that they're lighter than anything else, simple, and just work is just a bonus.
(i set them up to work with 8-spd stuff, and they work great.)

Originally Posted by Gummee!

Still has the XT thumb shifters and IIRC 7sp cassette. 'Course, if you don't ride, it machts nichts, right?

M

[vfr700]

Originally Posted by mud

We used U-brakes on observed trials bikes back in the early 90's. You either had power or travel, not both. BOY were they strong if your rims were true though.

I remember one of the guys I rode with had a Monty trials rig with Magura's hydralic rim brake, pretty cool stuff for circa 1989. I actually had no issues with U brakes, other than being mud magnets. I ran Magura levers with Scott/Mathauser pads, Bullseye cranks & hubs, Bontrager cut down MA40's, Koski fork...the good old days of piecing shit together.

[skibum69]

Originally Posted by Ricardo Kuhn

For sure they have there short comings like added weight, flexyness (mine never drop a chain) and scary downhill (with the super short chainstays) but the climb and shed mud better than anything and does two factors where very important for me at the time I made it..

I'm certainly not judging your build, kudos to you for doing it, those of us who were riding in those days knew the strengths and weaknesses, I wanted one for climbing, almost never had mud issues, bog just sheds off. Being a 195 lb masher wouldn't have been good in the flex department though.

My Yeti FRO, from '88 was great but when I bought it I didn't know sizing as well as I should have and it was a size bigger than it should have been. Didn't slow me down much in the end.

[zouch]

my Ibis Trials bike came with U-brakes that worked fairly well.
later, i stumbled across a set of Sh*tmaNO U-brakes with an integrated 'brake booster' arch in a Sale bin at a shop. concealing my enthusiasm, i made a profane deal on them to "take them off his hands", and they turned out to be awesome for that bike (but it admittedly didn't roll through mud much).

Originally Posted by vfr700

I remember one of the guys I rode with had a Monty trials rig with Magura's hydralic rim brake, pretty cool stuff for circa 1989. I actually had no issues with U brakes, other than being mud magnets. I ran Magura levers with Scott/Mathauser pads, Bullseye cranks & hubs, Bontrager cut down MA40's, Koski fork...the good old days of piecing shit together.

[Gummee!]

Originally Posted by zouch

heck, i've still got XT thumbshifters on a couple of bikes.
i've stuck with them because i got tired of having shifters mounted under the bars banging into my knees when doing the really tricky technical stuff while playing Trials dork. (this would be less of an issue if it weren't for my size and Ape Index.)
the fact that they're lighter than anything else, simple, and just work is just a bonus.
(i set them up to work with 8-spd stuff, and they work great.)

Poor man's X x 10: D/A barcons with Paul's Thumbies. Right now, I've got a rear 9sp barcon and a ca 6sp era XT on the other side. I've never used the left Thumbie 'cause the XT still works just fine.

Couple of years ago MBA did a test on shifting. Thumb shifters came in a distant last. ...but what they don't say is you can feel where the shifter is and tell what gear you're in without looking between your legs. You can also roll your knuckle in and shift without using your thumb. ...AND... Friction mode! Bend that der hanger and you can still shift a few gears to get out of the woods without going SS.

All-in-all that new-fangled STI* shit is heavier, more complicated, and for off-roading less able to withstand abuse. I'll pass.

M
(*I have ridden it. I just don't care for it)

[ducnut]

Drug home this '52 Montgomery Wards-Hawthorne (CWC), today. Other than the accessories, rear tire, and fork(?), it's all original. The fork and tire are easy to find. I'm going to go through it, true the wheels, new tires/tubes, WD-40 the patina, maybe look for a seat, and ride it. Ballooners aren't my thing, but, I had to save this one from a mud-floor machine shed. It has one small ding in the front fender, a bow in one of the front fender stays, and a small snag in the chainguard. Otherwise, it's straight.