Retro MTB Tribe

[caneye]

hi .. i've got a 15yo Raceline Extreme dual suspension bike. (does it classify as retro?)
bought it from a mate some 5 yrs back and never put any serious miles on it until the past 2 months.

i think the Rockshox Judy on it is cactus cos it keeps bottoming out. Because of its age, I'm reluctant to throw too much money to fix or service it. i've been using it on weekends and planning to do some more club XC rides. at the back of my mind, i'm also thinking of upgrading the bike in the next 6 mths (but not in a hurry to do so). therefore, just want to spend enough money to continue "learning" and training on the bike and to complete XC races.

Is the below a reasonable replacement for the Judy?
to make sure that it fits, i should be looking at wheel size (ie 26-inch), quick release .. steerer tube diameter, is that right? anything else that might prevent it from fitting into my old bike?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Manitou-M-TH ... SwB-1YwIwP


the alternative is something like a Suntour XCT or XCR ..

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/SR-SUNTOUR-M ... 1923841113


TIA!

[mikgit]

manitou, yes, suntour, no.

Disc brake or v-brake? ifthe latter you have to have a fork with the right brake mounts.

[ldrcycles]

XCRs do the job well enough, but if you can afford the extra i would go with the Manitou. As mikgit said, it also depends on what braking you go with.

[mitchj]

A few days ago, I was looking around a tip shop, & amongst all the Huffys, Dunlops, 16 inch kids bikes & other B.S.O's, & I found this sorry looking critter-

I wasn't sure what it was, but after too much time on Google Images, I recon it's A 1989 Specialized Rockhopper. Complete Exage Mountain group set (which I'd never heard of) including pedals, the under-chainstay U brake, rack mounts on the seat stays & forks, drive side drop out "filled in" (which I'd never seen before), "keyhole" shaped seat post slot, off set guide hole in the BB, off-set down tube cable guides, fish-mouthed seat tube & the yellow paint under two (& in places three) layers of paint all match with pics I found of similar bikes. (If I've got it wrong, let me know....). It also has Wienmann rims with high flange Joytec hubs & stainless steel spokes. Some more pics-



Very colourful BB- I think the yellow is the original. Serial numbers don't mean anything apparently. Not sure about the chisel mark either....

It also has a stem I've never seen before & couldn't find on any images-the front brake cable goes through the bar bolt & over a little roller-

Good score for $10, another oldie worth saving. Gonna be stripping it down real soon, cant wait to ride it!

[ldrcycles]

Cool find. I've seen dropouts like those on a lot of MTBs and road bikes, why they have that filled in section i have no idea. All the ones i've seen have been on bikes that are well down from the top of the range, but also much better than entry junkers.

[mitchj]

Maybe it's meant to make it easier to line up the rear wheel or something...not sure!

[singlespeedscott]

I am only guessing but I think it was to ensure that the early Shimano Index System worked properly every time after the rear wheel was removed and replaced

[bychosis]

That makes sense. Modern dropouts have very little wiggle room.

[Peter07]

Maybe it's meant to make it easier to line up the rear wheel or something...not sure!

This exactly. (some older bikes had screws)

[alrsv1]

Bought this M2000 new in 1992 from Evans Cycles when I lived in the UK (mail order out of a magazine, remember that?), since then it's been through 2 mates and a few different configurations and colours: MTB, fixie, 1x9 commuter, pub-bike, black, grey... So for it's 25th birthday I though I'd restore it and get some new paint, and managed to find a Deore XT groupset with thumbies, which is what it came with in '92.

[ldrcycles]

Cracking paint job.

[mikgit]

Looks like it has the 1-1/4 headset?
mate had one of those, well a bottom end one, all white, that got warranty replaced by I blue-blue fade one, then that one got replaced by a black-green fade. I think he still has that one.

[alrsv1]

Looks like it has the 1-1/4 headset?
mate had one of those, well a bottom end one, all white, that got warranty replaced by I blue-blue fade one, then that one got replaced by a black-green fade. I think he still has that one.

Yep, not that easy to find headsets, or decent stems, hence the adapter with the modern stem.

[mikgit]

yeah, my mates original frame was 1in with steel fork, his replacement was 1-1/4 with pepperoni fork, he soon got a manitou 3..then his next replacement frame, had to wait an age because of the 1-1/4 wasn't n stock.

[singlespeedscott]

Love the Dale. Re the headset, I have seen plenty of 1 1/4' XT threaded headsets on ebay.