My MTB project

[stnfldr]

Ok,

So here is the storry of this bike. I was visiting my sister in Sydney while on holidays. My little niece say's to me "Uncle Beana, uncle Beana.... theres bikes in the creek" so we go over and investigate. Sure enough there are two bikes half sticking out of the water. I return with a makeshift hook and catch me a few bikes.

Well the first bike was a GT ladies mountain bike, but it was totally cactus, frame rusted and bent, wheels smashed, so that went in the bin. The second bike was a blue GT PALOMAR. most of the bike was in tact, I stripped it as well as I could with no specific bike tools and took it back with me to Puckapunyal, it followed me up to Darwin where is sat in the shed and was passed over at many a garage sale. and now I have moved back to Sydney I unpacked it and decided to either sell it or build it....... well nobody has bought it so the build goes on. I dont want to blow a huge amaount of $$ on it. I got some tioga rims off ebay about a year and a half ago, and finally built the up with some formula hubs. the gear levers I got for free in the members market place. I bought some new grips, and I am cleaning up the original brake lever bodies which I'll re use. I think I'll go with some cantilever brakes ??? (dont know if thats better then the Vbrake system) the last few things I am looking out for are some nice cranks and derailleurs, and some big fat 2.5 tyres. It should look pretty mean when its done.

I'm not a big mountain bike rider, but they are fun. Any advice from the MTB guru's??

Ben

[HappyHumber]

Go a set of V brakes, Ben... cantilevers are a bit more fiddly to set up - in that the cable has to be pulled from directly above the arms - so you have run hangers or guides to ensure this. There is some theory to better stopping power to the v-brakes as they're an evolution of the design but it's late and escapes my comprehension

There are different levers required between the different types as well. Have a brush up on the theory from Sheldon Brown, and you may want to check up on techdocs.shimano.com to see what sort of brakes the levers you have are for. My guess is Vs anyway, from the age of the frame - assuming they're original. General rule is cantilever & caliper levers are interchangeable, but v-brake levers are specific.

traditional cantilevers are best left to the CXers and retro touring grouches

*Strictly speaking, the term "v brake" is just shimano's branding of linear (side pull) cantilevers. traditional/original cantilevers are centre pull as stated.

[silentbutdeadly]

Not a bad score, Ben.

Some Shimano M590 linear V-brakes (or similar Avid Single Digit) will be the go for that beastie. As already mentioned...your frame isn't set-up for cantis (which pre-date linear V's in my experience). It also looks like you'll need a new pair of mounting studs at the rear for the brakes.

As for derailleurs and cranks....go the Shimano Deore group as well. http://www.shimano.com.au/publish/conte ... deore.html You'll need to use new shifters though and you may need a new rear cassette if that isn't a 9 spd. I fully rebuilt the entire groupset on my clunker for well under $300 using all the above.

Failing all that...there is not much wrong with the even cheaper Alivio group especially if you don't plan on giving the bike a pounding.

[stnfldr]

Quick update, I managed to finish this bike with the shifter pods that a forum member gave me, I scrounged up the rest of the parts from all over and listed it for sale on E-bay. I sold it. As the buyer wasnt picking it up till after Christmas I used it to ride down to the shops . What a ride!! I was really starting to regret selling it. SO the guy who bought it wouldnt commit to a specific time for collection, and then just stopped communication altogether. I messaged him that "If he hadnt collected the bike by XXdateI was going to keep it/re-list it. He never got back to me so I kept it. Its great, no clicking super smooth gear changes.

[toolonglegs]

You have your front and rear tires mixed up.

[stnfldr]

Gosh!! how embarassment!!

LOL, I have no idea...... its only going to be ridden on the road, does it make a difference? I just figured the thicker tyre would go at the front. Any way speaking of tyres, a friend has asked me a question regarding tyre choice, I'll post a new topic about it.

TLL, Thanks for the heads up.

Ben

[drubie]

Nicely turned out bike - my mate has one similar to that (although he's thrown a Marzocchi fork / front hydro brake onto it) and he flies on it. Good, solid frames those GTs.

I don't know how TLL worked out you had the wrong tyres front and rear but I thought the back one was on backwards - are they directional?

[Mugglechops]

Back in the 90's lots of tyre companys had different front and rear tread patterns. The more shaped and arrow like one for the front and the more bar tread one for the rear.

The Panaracer Smoke and Smoke Dart were a classic early 90's combo. That WTB copied later on.

[Mulger bill]

Nice!

Those boots are directionally correct Drub, the bars across the centre are designed to dig in and pack the dirt for better drive off the rear. I had a set of Tioga Psychos like that back in the day. Amazing grip on loose dirt and singletrack, more than a bit sketchy over big rocks tho'.

stnfldr, if you're only going to be running that lovely on the road, get something slick. You'll have shedloads more grip and be a lot faster to boot.

Shaun

[stnfldr]

Did anybody pick up on my little rear brake mod/adaption? When I went to build it up I realized I was short a noodle...... So I zip tied the brake cable in a curved position to the frame...... it works fine, just takes a few seconds to retract back to their original position.

Yeah It really should have slicks..... I have some maxxis wormdrive's, but..... the bike does'nt look as cool rolling on 1.9's

Ben