Mountain bikes

Yeah, if its a freewheel, a BMX freewheel will work instead, and IMO is better!!

Dude thats a killer roadbike!! Vintage?
 
j williams said:
Yeah, if its a freewheel, a BMX freewheel will work instead, and IMO is better!!

Dude thats a killer roadbike!! Vintage?
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Right, except then he'll most likely have to have the rear wheel re-laced to get the chain line correct. That may not be possible depending on the hubs so he may have to buy a new rear hub.

Thanks. I bought the frame new in '97 I think. The only parts I didn't have laying around were the wheels (though I had the rims), they're built with Bullseye hubs and I'm using a BMX freewheel. The Bullseyes are cool in that you can move spacers around so it was easy to get the chain line perfect. IIRC the gearing is 39/15.
 
Here is my drivetrain on the Specialized. It was a cassete in the back, and more then likeyly looked alot like your setup before its transformation...

18 tooth rear cog, and spun alluminum spacers from Misphit psycles, Surly singleator I got from my local shop. Its the best tensioner out there IMO. Hope Skewers in fancy blue anno!! :cool:
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Chainring and bolts from misphit psycles. 34 tooth. Cranks came from Bike Nashbar. I scored em for 9.00 on closeout!! Great set.
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Top view of spacers and cog. Chain also came from misphit psycles.
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back view
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a straight chainline is VERY important. Pedals are crankbrothers platform pedals I scored from a BMX site called danscomp. This bike actually has alot of BMX parts on it. :D
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top view of crankset.
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The whole setup. The lizard skins are amazing, and really protect the chainstays.
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j williams said:
If you find you like the sport, I will reccomend goin single speed. Ive been riding single speed for 5 years now, and will never go back as long as my knees allow. The 29ers are pretty sweet too. Redline monocog is a great bike for a very good price. Full rigid singlespeed 29er. :cool: Those bikes are fast and tight in the turns. I just helped out a coworker who wanted to get into mtnbiking. A stright newbie, hadnt been on a bike for years. We went and looked at several models. Singlespeeds, 29rs, full suspension rigs, ALOT of bikes. He chose the Redline Monocog, and absolutely loves it. Just be sure when you are in the market, you look at all the options. Bikes are very personal Ive found. I personally love my Specialized. It was a great bike bone stock, and even better now. ;) Im currently building a Surly Karate monkey frame, and restoring a vintage singlespeed for my wife.

Motobecane is also a great company, as well as the bikes offered by Misphit Psycles out of Canada. I bought all of my drivetrain componants from them, Peter is a great guy.....Man I could talk bikes on and on... Almost more then knives!! :eek: But Ive been a biker for longer then a knife knut. :o

If you do end up with the huffy, take it a small local shop and get it tuned up, and get a fitting done. A proper fit makes biking WAAAY more enjoyable, and guarantees quicker recovery times after rides, and makes the bike easier to controll. Plus, it supports your local bike shop which I am all for, and the smaller bike shops offer a wealth of knowlage on maintnance, local rides etc...I love working on them and building them. Its addicting.

Oh, and wear a helmet. :thumbup:
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I came here to make that exact same statement.
 
BlackHills said:
Right, except then he'll most likely have to have the rear wheel re-laced to get the chain line correct. That may not be possible depending on the hubs so he may have to buy a new rear hub.

Thanks. I bought the frame new in '97 I think. The only parts I didn't have laying around were the wheels (though I had the rims), they're built with Bullseye hubs and I'm using a BMX freewheel. The Bullseyes are cool in that you can move spacers around so it was easy to get the chain line perfect. IIRC the gearing is 39/15.
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Sweet!! I like it. A roadbike like that is on my list to build someday. Great cruisers. Hows that ratio? Mine is 34/18 I believe....

You are right about the hub. If that was the case, Id probably just find a used mtnbike rim with cassette style instead of dealing with relacing a stock mongoose rim..:o
 
Your setup looks good.

j williams said:
Sweet!! I like it. A roadbike like that is on my list to build someday. Great cruisers. Hows that ratio? Mine is 34/18 I believe....

You are right about the hub. If that was the case, Id probably just find a used mtnbike rim with cassette style instead of dealing with relacing a stock mongoose rim..:o
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I started on MTBs but once I bought a roadie I found I enjoyed it more though I still have both, a herd of bikes in fact. You really should get a roadie sometime. The ratio works well for me, thinking about it I may be wrong on the gearing....it might be a 16 or even 17 on the back. I'll have to check.

Yeah, a used or even new wheel would probably be cheaper in the long run and certainly easier.
 
I am going to. Im still kicking myself for passing on the vintage schwinn I saw at a garage sale last summer. Dude wanted 100.00 for it. :grumpy: I was looking for one for my wife, and it was too big. I shouldve got it just to have for me down the road.... I am restoring a 60s vintage Hiawatha singlespeed cruiser for my wife right now. Chrome fenders and all :cool: Its in pieces right now, still preping it for finish. It was in my mother in laws barn for a long time, and needs work, but its complete at least. Gonna put it back to the original emerald green and chrome. Im currently scouring the planet for a 60s vintage basket for the front of it. No luck yet. :rolleyes:

Im also doin up a karate monkey 29er. Might go single speed, but im debating going with a 1x9 setup since I already have the specialized...

Then, after both of those I will build a SS or fixie road bike. Need to keep my eye out for a vintage frame....
 
Redline makes a single speed mountain bike sporting 29" wheels. I've ridden trail with them and they are absolutely awesome! Front suspension shocks are not available for them yet but I didn't feel the need for them. The large wheels took most of the shock.
 
Thats the Monocog. Its a great bike. You are right, they absorb shock great, and are extremely affordable.

There are 29er suspension forks available aftermarket, but I dont see the need for em.
 
BlackHills - that bike is killing me! I have an '83 Panasonic Sport 1000 waiting until date TBD to be converted to a fixie/single flip-flop - pending funds for new wheels. Since it's a pretty expensive prospect I might just renovate it as it's original 12 speed self.
 
j williams said:
I am going to. Im still kicking myself for passing on the vintage schwinn I saw at a garage sale last summer. Dude wanted 100.00 for it. <snip>

Then, after both of those I will build a SS or fixie road bike. Need to keep my eye out for a vintage frame....
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You can find some good frame/bike deals on that evil auction site. I've seen some people literally steal a bike on there. I'm a huge fan of Italian steel bikes, I don't think anything rides better. Ciocc, Gios, Faggin, Guerciotti, Pinarello, Fondriest, Scapin and Bianchi are a few names to look for if you're interested.

That sounds like a cool restoration on the Hiawatha. I imagine the baskets are out there, just hard to find.

wintermute said:
BlackHills - that bike is killing me! I have an '83 Panasonic Sport 1000 waiting until date TBD to be converted to a fixie/single flip-flop - pending funds for new wheels. Since it's a pretty expensive prospect I might just renovate it as it's original 12 speed self.
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Sorry...I won't post pics of my other old bikes then. :D You should fix the Panasonic up and ride it now, you can get some use out of it until you're ready to switch it over.
 
I tell you what, if you can ever find a one of those schwins with the banana seat and the little front wheel at a garage sale, jump all over it. Those things are demanding a mint.

j-williams: I'm willing to bet that if you go with the 1x9 set up and you already know what its like to ride a single speed you'll end up ditching the extra gears and going back to a single speed set up. Once you have experienced the simplicity of a single speed, it is damn near impossible to go back.
 
BlackHills said:
Sorry...I won't post pics of my other old bikes then. :D You should fix the Panasonic up and ride it now, you can get some use out of it until you're ready to switch it over.
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If you don't post 'em, e-mail them over to me - I might need some private time with them! If I fix up my Panasonic it'll make my Bianchi Volpe jealous!
 
jlouis976 said:
I tell you what, if you can ever find a one of those schwins with the banana seat and the little front wheel at a garage sale, jump all over it. Those things are demanding a mint.

j-williams: I'm willing to bet that if you go with the 1x9 set up and you already know what its like to ride a single speed you'll end up ditching the extra gears and going back to a single speed set up. Once you have experienced the simplicity of a single speed, it is damn near impossible to go back.
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Very true man. :thumbup: I am a one gear guy now.

I agree blackhills. Post em!!!!!
 
wintermute said:
If you don't post 'em, e-mail them over to me - I might need some private time with them! If I fix up my Panasonic it'll make my Bianchi Volpe jealous!
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j williams said:
Very true man. :thumbup: I am a one gear guy now.

I agree blackhills. Post em!!!!!
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I guess we can totally hijack this thread...LOL.

Here's a couple I have handy, I'll have to hunt for the MTB pics.

1985ish Somec, full Super Record (it's too big for me but it was unridden so I bought it as a 'wall hanger')

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1986ish Ciocc, Campy 50th Anniversary

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1992 Ciocc, mostly Record (this is my main ride)

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Thanks Jake, :o

Here's a couple of old MTBs, sorry for the bad pics but they're all I have.

1991 Scapin, Columbus tubing and full Campy Euclid

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1993 Ibis Mt. Trials, 24" back/26" front wheel. The derailleurs are Precision Billet and I've since put my old Bontrager 3-piece rigid fork on it.

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coaldigger said:
I would love to make the Mongoose a singlespeed bike, I always thought that shifting gears on a bike was a dumb idea the Wallyworld bikes I had growing up never really seemed to change gears good or didn't last very long.
How hard would this project be to convert to MonGoose into a single speed....
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Hmmm... I'm not convinced the single speed is such a great idea. I had one as a kid, and didn't like it then. If all you have is flat terrain, and you ride one speed, I guess it might be ok. Here on the west coast, where I've been riding mountain bikes since my first Gary Fisher in 1987, we have a very wide range of terrain. I go from grueling straight up climbs to screaming fire road descents, and there's no way a single speed would cut it. Maybe it's an acquired taste, but I figure that we have excellent bike technology these days, so why not enjoy it?! No need to revert to biking like Orville and Wilbur did, eh? :p

While a free bike is enticing, I have to agree on the Huffy comments. My wife had one when we married, and for such an amazingly heavy bike, it was very weak. The brakes would barely slow it down, the cranks were bent, and the wheels would bend from any slight impact.

As has been suggested, scraping a couple hundred bucks together for something on Craigs list is a great idea, or at least get your other bike going. If there are no bike shops around, you'd benefit from driving to where there is one (what, do you live in Kentucky or something?!), to get fitted. After riding for 20 years, I was surprised when a friend who sells high end bikes for a living set my bike up especially for me. At first it felt odd, but now I see that I was a little off all these years, and it's even more fun to ride now!
 
Random thought on non-enthusiast assembled bikes:

Riding a Target bought Schwinn. Crappy dual-suspension mock up. Heading down a hill across a bridge, about 7 feet wide. Have to turn approximately 20 degrees from descent to get on bridge. I turn the handlebars. The fork doesn't move. I go down over the falling bike, sliding about 10 feet on the wood bridge. Was wearing a helmet, and the wood was slick from rain, so had scraped heel palms and that's it. Nonetheless, from that day forth, I will never sit on a non-quality bike. I wouldn't want to even think about taking one on trails...

Zero
 
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