With the rainy season comin on,
I've been trying to finish up that mountain bike project
I wrote about a couple posts ago.
perich brothers (and sister): hammered - bridgestone mb-3
Not that I'm gonna ride too much in the rain,
I'm too much of a girlie man nowadays.
But you never know.
Can you see all the changes?
Yeah I guess it kinda looks the same from where you're sitting.
Some of the things aren't too exciting.
But they replicate what I did on my original mb-3 20 years ago.
Yeah there's something about drilling holes in perfectly good pieces.
I also swapped out that $3 chainring after drilling about 15 holes in it,
but it's not worthy of a closeup picture.
Oh yeah,
I forgot to mention I removed the front derailleur,
so now its temporarily a finger shift.
Since most of my riding will only be back and forth from the shop,
I almost considered a single-speed.
After riding up the hill a couple times,
decided a 7-speed would be best.
One of my main "problems" was finding a working front shock with a 1" steer tube.
The black manitou one was basically seized up,
even after taking everything apart,
and thinking it was going to work.
One of the seals had slid out,
and wedged itself half-in and half-out,
basically binding up the whole enchilada.
I through a WTB ad on craigslist,
and a fellow bike addict, Chris, had a stash of parts.
We made a deal on a decent Rock Shox Quadra 10,
which was probably a stock item on the last 1994 version of the mb-3's.
The problem was the steer tube was to short and it was threaded,
and I needed a longer threadless version.
What do you think I'm gonna do about that?
Well cut and paste of course!
Holy Chit you're thinking.
Yeah I tried to figure something else out,
and after a couple days just figured WTF.
They TIG the stems and frames and they hold up.
I've butt-welded frames and many water/fuel/exhaust pipes that haven't broke yet...
so...
Well I had some 1" chromoly that matched right up,
and tigged it up as straight as I could.
I banged on it against some wood and it seems solid enough!
After the fork was mounted with a new "aheadset",
I figured might as well cut those handlebars down a couple inches.
No I didn't cut them hipster-style when they're only wide enough for your hand,
just enough to match my shoulder width.
Now the thing rides like an authentic 22 year old mountain bike.
Actually it probably rides like a $99 toys-r-us special.
Great.
Time to ride it to the shop...
TP
I've been trying to finish up that mountain bike project
I wrote about a couple posts ago.
perich brothers (and sister): hammered - bridgestone mb-3
Not that I'm gonna ride too much in the rain,
I'm too much of a girlie man nowadays.
But you never know.
 |
| 1989 bridgestone mb-3 now |
Can you see all the changes?
 |
| 19989 bridgestone mb-3 2 weeks ago |
Yeah I guess it kinda looks the same from where you're sitting.
 |
| 1989 bridgestone mb-3 on purchase |
Some of the things aren't too exciting.
 |
| deore brake lever stock |
But they replicate what I did on my original mb-3 20 years ago.
 |
| deore brake lever minor drillium |
Yeah there's something about drilling holes in perfectly good pieces.
I also swapped out that $3 chainring after drilling about 15 holes in it,
but it's not worthy of a closeup picture.
Oh yeah,
I forgot to mention I removed the front derailleur,
so now its temporarily a finger shift.
Since most of my riding will only be back and forth from the shop,
I almost considered a single-speed.
After riding up the hill a couple times,
decided a 7-speed would be best.
 |
| 2 of the earliest versions of front shock forks rock shox quadra 10 manitou mach 5 sx |
One of my main "problems" was finding a working front shock with a 1" steer tube.
The black manitou one was basically seized up,
even after taking everything apart,
and thinking it was going to work.
One of the seals had slid out,
and wedged itself half-in and half-out,
basically binding up the whole enchilada.
I through a WTB ad on craigslist,
and a fellow bike addict, Chris, had a stash of parts.
We made a deal on a decent Rock Shox Quadra 10,
which was probably a stock item on the last 1994 version of the mb-3's.
The problem was the steer tube was to short and it was threaded,
and I needed a longer threadless version.
What do you think I'm gonna do about that?
 |
| rock shox quadra 10 ancient technology |
Well cut and paste of course!
Holy Chit you're thinking.
Yeah I tried to figure something else out,
and after a couple days just figured WTF.
They TIG the stems and frames and they hold up.
I've butt-welded frames and many water/fuel/exhaust pipes that haven't broke yet...
so...
Well I had some 1" chromoly that matched right up,
and tigged it up as straight as I could.
I banged on it against some wood and it seems solid enough!
 |
| more cutting |
After the fork was mounted with a new "aheadset",
I figured might as well cut those handlebars down a couple inches.
No I didn't cut them hipster-style when they're only wide enough for your hand,
just enough to match my shoulder width.
 |
| old school mountain bike |
Now the thing rides like an authentic 22 year old mountain bike.
Actually it probably rides like a $99 toys-r-us special.
Great.
Time to ride it to the shop...
TP
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