Shiny "New" Bike

[will]

Nothing like polished aluminum to give machinery a very serious look. (And this color paint will never chip!)

Simon warned that it would be a tough job. It was.

But the results are great. She was a big hit on the trails today. What a fine bike.


and...



Cheers

[Frankd3000]

Nothing like polished aluminum to give machinery a very serious look. (And this color paint will never chip!)

Simon warned that it would be a tough job. It was.

But the results are great. She was a big hit on the trails today. What a fine bike.


and...



Cheers

Yeah, ummm, you're right Will. It must have been tough to paint those itty-bitty red X's.

Geez, who would have thought aluminum looks so white when it's in that little box shape.

But hey, they look great! [smiley=laughing.gif]

Looks like the Little Box Fairy has struck again!!! Stole your pictures and replaced them!!! :0

(sorry, i'm in a really wierd mood - screwed up my back again - must be the drugs talking.... errr, typing)

[Simon]

Here you go Will though the pic could do with re-sizing [smiley=laughing.gif]
looks awsome,great job mate,worth the effort eh
Simon.

[Matno]

That DOES look fantastic. I'm tempted to try such a thing myself... (My wife would kill me if I spent that much time just to change the color of my bike though!)

I'll bet you get lots of flats with those tires though...

[Frankd3000]

Way to 'start-the-craze' Simon. [smiley=laughing.gif]

Geez, I think i'm the oooooonly guy out there now with one of these frames that isn't polished.

Will - it looks GREAT! A very nice package, indeed. Hey, let me know how those tires are, eh? I'm picking up a used set this weekend.

Enjoy!

[will]

Thanks Simon! (I gotta figure out that red X thing...)

The stripping can be done fairly quickly if you use a GEL formula paint stripper. The primer was a little rough, but some medium steel wool took it off FAST.
I did have to treat the missus extra nice for all that shop time...

Flats? I've tried to flat 'em with no luck. I hucked my 208# off some three foot drops two weeks ago with no problems. Are these "maypop" tires? Normally I go with el Cheapo tires & tubes, but my LBS guy really talked these up. I run them at 36 - 40 psi and find the tire compression transitions into the bike suspension nicely. (When I was running a Marz. air fork.)

This last weekend was kind of "last chance" for the X-Link forks. While they're buttery smooth and ultra rigid, they're useless until I get a 225# spring. There's just too much sag and they bottom out when I run over little rocks and rattlesnakes! My wrists actually hurt after trying to rush down a few steep sections. Back to sliders...?

Cheers

[Matno]

Flats? I've tried to flat 'em with no luck. I hucked my 208# off some three foot drops two weeks ago with no problems. Are these "maypop" tires? Normally I go with el Cheapo tires & tubes, but my LBS guy really talked these up. I run them at 36 - 40 psi and find the tire compression transitions into the bike suspension nicely. (When I was running a Marz. air fork.)

Maybe it's terrain dependent. Out in Utah, the general consensus was that the knobs were spaced far too far apart, and the casing in between wasn't thick enough to last. I only tried them for a week on a demo bike, but my experience was less than stellar. Not grippy enough for me on fairly hardpack trails, and I pinch flatted the rear (and dinged the rim really badly) with 40 psi of pressure (I only weigh 140). My Cannondale riding buddies (6 or 7 of them) all tried them because they came stock on the Jekyll in 2001, and they all ended up switching to something else - mostly to the Vertical Pros.

On the other hand, other people's opinions don't always mean much. If they did, I would love my Panaracer Fire XC Pros, but I have never felt as confident in their grip as I did with my previous set of Ritchey Z-max/OmegaBite tires, and I just noticed that half of my side knobs are torn off after about 200 miles! Grrrr... How is that possible? (They're the high TPI expensive version).

[will]

Yeah, terrain is everything. Texas hardpack & roots are nothing like Utah. I can see what you mean.

Guess I'll swap rubber if I can pull off this trip to Moab in May... still feeling things out with the "commander-in-chief" but I think I can do it on a shoestring... and a set of new tires!

[shovelon]

Dang Will,

What a nice finish. The effort really panned out.

Terry

[will]

Terry,
Hat's off to you on the welding advice. The rear disk mount has your suggestions welded in. So far, so good!

[Simon]

Terry,
Hat's off to you on the welding advice. The rear disk mount has your suggestions welded in. So far, so good!

This one Will  
I think its a nice solution,mines been trouble free.
Simon.

[colinv]

Looks great, I like the way the gold looks on the hose end too, just couldn't do it to my 959 though [smiley=laughing.gif]