I've resurrected the first ss mountain bike that I built up back in the fall of 1999. I picked the frame up from nashbar on close out for sixty clams and rode it on and off for a year, till Matt Chester built me a propper ss frame. It's been built up as a ridable bike a time or two since then, but it never seemed to ride very well.....something to do with the head angle or fork - axle to crown measurement or rake, I figured....but what do I know? With plans to attend the Homey Fall Fest up in MN later this month I wanted to throw together a bike that I could derby hard and just toss onto the bike pile without any worries. I pulled the frame out of moth balls and put together a short list of parts that I needed to make her whole again. Andy at Ben's set me up with all the bits and I set to bolt'n it all together. It came together pretty well with just a few hitches...like a cracked top tube that I discovered when I was cleaning the frame up (this is why you should never clean a mtn bike) and a half link that was the wrong size that I felt wouldn't last long under pressure. I was right about the half link. It snapped on the first standing climb I attempted, sending me crotch first into the bars and off the trail. I called Andy and told him that I had used and old half link from the depths of my spare parts bin and he set me up with the right size right away. I took her out for test ride number two this afternoon out at the local county park and man what a blast! This thing is a down hill demon. The Nitto Cruiser bars somehow alleviated the steering problems that I mentioned above and the bike just was fun to the tenth power. I'd like to find another mass produced paperboy bike mtn frame to replace this cracked aluminum frame. Anyone have any suggestions?
More pictures on my Flickr Page
http://www.flickr.com/photos/79018840@N00/
