The story of Clanky or How to ruin a MTB on a budget

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This isn't really a BUILD build, but kind of just tracks what I'm doing with/to my bike, so there won't be anything really fancy here.

So, meet Clanky
Clanky is a 20 year old Giant mountain bike of some sort, there's plenty of Rat going on here, but not a lot of Rod
Maybe I can change that without breaking the bank, it's gonna be pretty unconventional though.

It has an aluminium frame which was pretty light for the time and has probably done about 150,000ks (my dad) in north western Australia and maybe a thousand since I inherited it. So it's a tough number.

Here's Clanky, not quite stock but you get the idea
sml__0004_photo.jpg



I have a few requirements for the 'finished' product
- High bars (have a dodgy wrist)
- as few cables as possible
- Gears!
- Cheap

First up is the seat, I love banana seats and I never seen one on a mountain bike before.
I grabbed this one from the Recycle Cycle Club for nothing, it's from a kids bike so it's small
but actually looks in good proportion for this style frame, braces are from a clothes rack :oops:
If I get a sissy bar for the right price (nothing) I might switch over.
sml__0001_image3.jpg


Problem with it is there's a squeak that drives me nuts
I tried some rubber grommets on it, but the squeak remains.
Is this common with this type of seat? any easy solutions around?
Also after 50 years the foam has collapsed so it's not that comfy, I'll replace the foam when I get too it

Next I need some cool bars, and high ones, my metal plate is screaming at me on these flat bars.
Picked these BMX bars from the Cycle Club again for the right price, and my cousin sent me a stem he had lying around.
sml__0002_image2.jpg

I really like them and they sit at a perfect height for me.

So clanky is looking a little cooler already, at least to my eye, but there's more to come.
sml__0000_image4.jpg


I sold my motorbike last week so I needed Clanky as proper transport, and I can't hack the seat squeak and lack of foam.
So I've temporarily gone back to the road seat.
sml__0003_image1.jpg




Got a couple of problems that are a priority before more cool stuff can be done
- Wheels need truing pretty badly, I'll need help with this I think.
- Head bearings are stuffed
- Need a spacer and star washer installed (wonder why head bearings are stuffed?)

Future plans and possibilities
I'd like to put gear hub on, probably a kickback two speed with coaster (been riding round with just two gears to see if I can hack it)
and single ring on the front, this would chop it back to one cable on the front

or single on the back plus coaster and keep the three rings on the front, I'd need a chain tensioner too for this. Two cables.

Triple tree forks, cause their mad

Nicer looking levers than the old shimano pods

Love a 24 inch skyway rim and disk on the front, but that's probably a dream

Fat tyres!

Paint, thinking green rims and accents to match the seat, and maybe matte black or polish on the frame.
though that black reflective vinyl would be pretty sweet.

So that's the story of Clanky so far.
 

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if those bars got this stamp.. you may have scored a very nice set of bars there.. 'Haro jackhammers' ? i believe?
haro2.jpg

anyway these some nice midschool flatland bars :wink:

but forsure i like the nanner seat there man, thats a steller idea outta stick to it man, could turn out great..

i wanted to make this a big old 26'er stingray
11826_336384613099364_2022244498_n.jpg

then i found the seatmast near the bb was cut >>
now 'among other reasons i need a tigwelder :roll: :mrgreen:
being a kid into customs with limited tools really sucks.. :lol: i feel like getting a temp job sometimes just to complete builds haha..
like my stingray moto bike i need to do :roll:
 
iven said:
if those bars got this stamp.. you may have scored a very nice set of bars there.. 'Haro jackhammers' ? i believe?

I haven't looked for a stamp, but they're slightly different to the ones you posted.
A quick search for haro jackhammers found these though. And mine're the same just not in chrome.
http://bmxmuseum.com/forsale/53718#.UH8uHpEayK0

I'll take a look for that stamp though, never though they might be any good, don't know much about BMX just thought they looked cool
 
Came home yesterday from a weekend away with my wife to find Clanky was missing from the balcony...

I just about had a fit of rage when I realised it was missing

Then I just about had a fit of self depreciation when I remembered I just left it at work :oops:
 
Verrt said:
Came home yesterday from a weekend away with my wife to find Clanky was missing from the balcony...

I just about had a fit of rage when I realised it was missing

Then I just about had a fit of self depreciation when I remembered I just left it at work :oops:
oh man i bet your butt bite the seat of your pants when you seen it was gone... glad you forgot it at work... :lol:
 
Verrt said:
iven said:
if those bars got this stamp.. you may have scored a very nice set of bars there.. 'Haro jackhammers' ? i believe?

I haven't looked for a stamp, but they're slightly different to the ones you posted.
A quick search for haro jackhammers found these though. And mine're the same just not in chrome.
http://bmxmuseum.com/forsale/53718#.UH8uHpEayK0

I'll take a look for that stamp though, never though they might be any good, don't know much about BMX just thought they looked cool

yeah i knew they were jackhammers that was just the only good clear stamp of the haro stamp i could find real quick :p

but anyway you still goin with that seat?
 
iven said:
but anyway you still goin with that seat?

Yeah, if I can figure out a way to secure so it doesn't move or squeak.
Because the seat is made for a child an adult uses the whole area so you can't have a regular
bar come over the top at the back and still be comfortable.

So I think I'll either have to brace my bars or remake them so the join under the seat :/
 
Did some more work this weekend, changing the levers to some I picked up for nothing.
But they were a little too "simple" and no adjustment screw means that there's too much play in the lever and not enough bite when you need it.

So gotta find something else or go back to the pods, neither of which I was in the mood for, so Clanky is not rideable for now.


Plus I got a new motorbike so it's stealing a fair amount of my attention.
 
Been a while.
Few things happened with Clanky, but not as much as I'd like.

I needed Clanky going to ride around for a week on the west coast over Christmas.

So brakes, rear gears and lights all got added, along with a stand.
I also got my hands on a seat post that eliminated the squeak of the banana seat so was able to go back to that.
Got rid of the shimano pods and replaced with a single friction shifter and some bmx levers (they almost match! :oops:)

Here's Clanky just before we left for Perth
1.jpg


Clanky did great riding round Perth, but while over there it became increasingly apparent how far from true my old wheels were.
My dad took it for a ride round the block while I was visiting and then gave me a new set of 700c wheels pretty much straight away.

700c is bigger and skinnier than I want, but free is free so they're good for now.
They just squeezed into the frame but this left me with the ability to go fast in nice straight lines but no way of stopping.

When I got home I rummaged the parts at the local recycle-cycle club and grabbed some old caliper brakes that fit and bring Clanky to a stop in a hurry.

Clanky's new wheels and brakes
2.jpg


3.jpg


Next on the list is to clean up that drive train a bit, probably with a kick shift and single front ring.
Still on the lookout for some cooler forks up front too.
Paint... some day.
 
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Since my last post, my wife an I have moved to Chicago in the US.
We got in a few weeks ago and are adjusting to our new home.

There are so many bikes here, it's great.
I can't wait till Clanky arrives. Our stuff arrived in port last week and is currently clearing customs
So hopefully it'll only bee a couple of weeks before I can put Clanky back together.

The other thing I can't wait for is my work permit to be approved so I can put money into parts and not shipping costs of parts.

Anyone in northern Chicago area wanna go for a ride sometime?
 
Welcome to Chicago,
Hopefully this link will connect you to the the Chicago Taildraggers Bicycle Club Monthly events page on Ratrodbikes. Or like us on Facebook. In the planning stage for October's event, maybe we will see you there.


viewtopic.php?f=5&t=67383&st=0&sk=t&sd=a
 
Hey thanks for the welcome and the link.

October ride sounds good, I'll keep an eye on that thread.
Hopefully I can bring something more than a DIVY bike :lol:
 
While I'm in the mood for grave digging my old threads, I'm thinking with "retro" mountain bikes coming into vogue now maybe it's getting close to the time to turn this back from a frankenbike to something closer to its original purpose. :39:

Here's some pics from the last seven years, showing only some of the various shapes it has taken.
21107324_1810285095653365_933781200739237888_n.jpg

Screen Shot 2020-05-28 at 14.15.33.jpg

Screen Shot 2020-05-28 at 14.22.50.png
21041409_276081946221366_8570334543104442368_n.jpg


and today
20201015_104835.jpg

Three points for every sticker you correctly identify.

PS: re-reading this old thread and seeing how many things I wrote showed how little I knew about wrenching :tmi:
 
Been trying to find some original photos of it.
It's a Giant ATX, I believe 890, and I think 1995-6. John Tomac maybe, his signature may still be under the stickers somewhere.

Bikepedia comes up with no pics for that year but has pics for following years. However polished was not available in those years.
1997
f427f110-db37-453b-b9d5-b9a28c7d5c32.jpg


1998
7a1b2c24-bc5f-4633-97b0-f52e743b156f.jpg

I can find lots of photos of it now. Hoping to find something from Giant so I can see how it looked from the factory.

Bike research is not my thing clearly. You can tell because I can't remember what a bike I've owned for 25 year is, or what it looked like when I got it :43:
 

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