Author Topic: It's Time to Rebuild the 955 (Read 3102 times)

sammydog · « **on:** February 27, 2004, 05:21:44 pm »

I have decided to rebuild the 955 back to its fromer glory, with a few improvements.

It will be an ongoing project but my main aim is to get the bike working smoothly in the short term so my fiancee has a decent bike to ride and then upgade parts so I have a reliable backup race bike.

I already have a set of marzocchi MX Comps on the front. I am getting these adjusted at the moment to bring the travel back to 80mm. I made a mistake when I bought them and got the 105mm travel version.

On monday I am ordering a set of MCU's from K2 but am intending to get either a new Risse Genisis or Astro shock (that is made for my bike) or a Stratos Helix. My 955 has the x56 strut.

Anyne have any feedback or comparission of the performance of these shocks. I will most likely stay away from the coil over to help keep the weight down.

I've decided to stick with flat bars and am debating whether to go down the disc brake path. I love my shimano M555 on my specialized but am thinking I may stick with V's on the proflex. I'm not sure I have the patience to build a brake adapter for the swing arm.

If I stick with the v's I wont be needing a new wheel set as I have a nice set of Mavics sitting in the shed doing nothing.

I'll keep you posted as I go. Any suggestions for upgrades would be welcome as well.

The great thing about this project is that I can justify the money spent by telling my other half I am doing it for her. So far she doesn't have a problem with the idea of building it for her.

tmaybee · « **Reply #1 on:** February 28, 2004, 01:08:54 am »

Is weight a big concern? If so, go with a Genesis and try to find an x55 strut. You can also save a lot of weight by using v-brakes. On the "save some weight" board they recommend Veluta Mag V's. there is one guy on the board that has used alloy hardware and done some dremelling to get his to 218g for the pair (f+r)

I am happy with my genesis but I don't like to fiddle with things while I am riding so the Astro5 didn't appeal to me.

Trevor

sammydog · « **Reply #2 on:** February 28, 2004, 06:44:45 am »

Weight won't be a major concern for the rebuild of the bike. I just want to get it working well enough to be used as a race bike on the few times my main bike is out of action (shock and fork services etc).

I must admit that I am the same with suspension, once I have set it up how I like it, I never touch it while riding. Maybe a new genisis is what I should be getting.

I scored a new (well used but in very good condition) set of Mavic 236 rims which will replace the existing WTB rims which look like they are ready to implode.

Simon · « **Reply #3 on:** February 28, 2004, 08:22:08 am »

For upgrades a quality crankset,chain and cassette (LX/XT etc)as you may use it as a back up race bike,if sticking with V's use high quality brake blocks,if you do go for disc's and don't wish to make an adaptor I'm sure you could get a hammerhead from RDI to fit,fit a LX or XT b/b,a well sealed or grease port headset,how far are you intending to go with upgrades,it can be neverending and costly

Simon.

kiwi · « **Reply #4 on:** February 28, 2004, 08:34:44 am »

Risse make a "cone" end shock which they say is for the x57s,but i am pretty sure that they would fit the x56 too.To be sure you could send the "tail" of the

existing ods or friction shock to make sure it is the same as the risse x57 tail.

this is the shock listed for the 657 which is actually a x56 frame/strut

as opposed to the shock and adapter they list for the x56

and as stated above rdi have an xx56hh for you too

sammydog · « **Reply #5 on:** February 28, 2004, 09:47:03 am »

I've been looking at the hammerhead adapter but it says it is for the x56. Is this swing arm the same as the x55's. They look the same but I wasn't sure if there were some minor differences.

A set of disc's would be ideal but that does mean a new wheel set so it would have to wait a bit longer.

I have thought about picking up a reasonably spec'd hardtail and just transfering bits and selling the rest, this may get me a new wheelset and discs but I will have to look intop that further.

Like I said the aim at first is to get it to be a reliable bike and them make it a good second race bike.

tmaybee · « **Reply #6 on:** February 28, 2004, 02:03:43 pm »

The x56 and x55 swingarms are the the same. Just to let you know, the Hammerhead disk adapter will not work with an LTK.

Trevor

kiwi · « **Reply #7 on:** February 28, 2004, 02:47:12 pm »

Quote

I have thought about picking up a reasonably spec'd hardtail and just transfering bits and selling the rest, this may get me a new wheelset and discs but I will have to look intop that further.

that would be the cheapest way to get the parts as long as you think you could sell the frame.Quite often the parts alone (retail) cost more than you can buy a bike.....

sammydog · « **Reply #8 on:** February 28, 2004, 03:23:20 pm »

A friend of mine runs his own bike shop, so I can get bikes at a reasonable price. Some of the IronHorse and Norcos come spec'd very well for not a lot of money so I will have to look at that.

I am really interested once I get it going to compare the 955 to my Epic. I still think that the 955 is just as good a bike, but I haven't had a chance to test them side by side.

Stevo · « **Reply #9 on:** February 28, 2004, 04:27:23 pm »

Hi all,

After lurking for a while I'm in.....

I've posted a couple of pics of my 955 last January - the Handyman's Secret Weapon(R) (TM) repair didn't last and I burst one of the duct tape reinforced MCU's on my last ride down south.

Sammydog, I'm following your rebuild with great interest - Risse/discs are what I had in mind for my "955 refit" - LMK how you progress.

BTW, some bike shops I've talked to up here in Canada have no clue who Risse is [smiley=disbelief.gif] What does it run for a Genesis front and Astro 5 rear in the "Real World"

Thanks,

Stevo

kiwi · « **Reply #10 on:** February 28, 2004, 07:59:06 pm »

click here for risse

look throught he posts I think dennis has a risse for the front but i guess you still have the vector.....If i was embarking on serious upgrade of my 756(swallows hard) I dont think i would keep my "new" crosslink..i think i would go with a light disc ready 80 100 fork........heresy.... hersey

sammydog · « **Reply #11 on:** February 28, 2004, 09:10:29 pm »

It's interesting, I have never riden with a Girvin fork. The only girvin parts I ever had were the bar ends.

On both my 955 and 855 I swaped the girvin for Manitou Comps. Not sure why and ever since I have wanter to try the Girvin Forks.

sammydog · « **Reply #12 on:** October 28, 2004, 10:52:05 pm »

Ok, this is an old thread but I thought I might provide an update on the rebirth of my 955.

As you may be aware I picked up a pretty much new set of Girvin Carbon crosslinks with a NR2 shock.

From here I had a lot of soul searching. Do I keep the bike some what faithful to the mid 90's or do I refit the bike with current spec?

I think I have gone somewhere in the middle, although I was trying to stay faithful to the bikes original spec.

I've picked up a set of Avid Arch Rival brakes to handle the braking duties instead of using my old cantilever brakes. For levers I have gone with the LX design.

Next up was shifters. For some weird reason I wanted to stay 8 speed with this bike so I had to stick with the base model shimano pods, they seem to d the job well though (not in the same league as the XTR stuff on my other bike though). A bit of rumaging through my spare parts found an unused LX derallieur from '95 so on it went.

Cranks, I'm going old school with, either the sugino's that came with my 955 or the STX-RC's that came on the 855.

The rims are to be a set of relatively unused Mavic 236's with LX hubs. I've even decided, against better judgement, to go with a 140mm stem that originally came on the bike.

The only real peice missing at the moment is the rear shock, but I am talking to another Proflex owner about buying a spare NR4.

All in all not a highly spec'd bike but one that is realtively faithful to what I had originally. All the parts are new (parts lying in my shed I never used) or near to, and I can't wait for the shock so I can get out and compare it to my epic. All going to plan the bike should get its first race in three weeks.

Next up will be the restoring of the 855 frame. I think I will try and spec this bike with modern components (except the fork) and hopefully full discs. I'll let you know when that project gets underway.

It was funny, evewryone has been poking fun at me wanting to rebuild this bike, but now people are lining up to take it for a spin. I'll post some pics when I finish her off.

Simon · « **Reply #13 on:** October 29, 2004, 12:38:56 am »

Quote

Ok, this is an old thread but I thought I might provide an update on the rebirth of my 955.

It was funny, evewryone has been poking fun at me wanting to rebuild this bike, but now people are lining up to take it for a spin. I'll post some pics when I finish her off.

They're in for a shock,thats a great bike and it will suprise them,
Simon

sammydog · « **Reply #14 on:** November 05, 2004, 01:34:35 pm »

I finallly have a picture of my bike.

It still needs new tyres, grips and rear shock, but I should have it racing again in a week.

There is pictures of the shock adaptor in my gallary. It isn't pretty but it has done the job well so far.

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Author Topic: It's Time to Rebuild the 955 (Read 3102 times)