The Rock Rat

[MattiThundrrr]

Lol I've been thinking about trying something experimental. It's stupid. But I see a thousand of these things every week. And I happen to know where we ship the damaged ones...

Anyone else curious about whether that front end could work on a retro frame?
Just spitballing and workplace daydreaming. For now

 

[Dr. Tankenstein]

Why not sell her old GT and use the $ to build up your old frame? Or at least some of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Captain Awesome]

Why not sell her old GT and use the $ to build up your old frame? Or at least some of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Captain Awesome]

Lol I've been thinking about trying something experimental. It's stupid. But I see a thousand of these things every week. And I happen to know where we ship the damaged ones...
View attachment 142400
Anyone else curious about whether that front end could work on a retro frame?
Just spitballing and workplace daydreaming. For now

Nice!!

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Funny you guys think that I'd get the dineros from selling her bike. Have you been married? That's not how it works

 

[MattiThundrrr]

The idea would be to reverse engineer a Klunker out of a mountain bike. But with disk brakes out front. And maybe those nosTektro v brakes I have laying around for the back end

 

[Captain Awesome]

Funny you guys think that I'd get the dineros from selling her bike. Have you been married? That's not how it works

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Can't remember if I was planning on using these pedals on the Rat, but they're ready

Had to loosen and lube em a bit.

 

[Verrt]

Those are cool.

 

[horsefarmer]

Build a bike around those pedals?

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Why not sell her old GT and use the $ to build up your old frame? Or at least some of it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Progress report on this front:
Since I got her the Hardrock, she has decided that she will never ride the gt again. But we can't sell it because she loves (loved?) it. Remember the history: she used this thing for actual lift service downhill mountain biking in the 90s when trails were still rough. No suspension, so they have been through some stuff together. She decided it will become yard art. "Sweet," says Matti. "I can use that fork for RockRat until I get suspension sorted, maybe the brake levers too once I find thumbies, the wheelset could go on Daddy Long Legs, the cantis would be an upgrade too..."
Her: "Wait, wait, wait..."
So now it sits, exactly as it was, gathering dust and taking up space in the garage.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Sandman got one of these for him's klunker build. Interesting. Verrry interesting.

Forged aluminum construction
- 4-bolt handlebar clamp
- Quill length: 180mm
- Steerer Diameter: 1-inch
- Length: 90, 110mm
- Clamp Diameter: 31.8mm
- Rise: 25 degrees

 

[BartRidesEternal]

Sandman got one of these for him's klunker build. Interesting. Verrry interesting.
View attachment 148828
Forged aluminum construction
- 4-bolt handlebar clamp
- Quill length: 180mm
- Steerer Diameter: 1-inch
- Length: 90, 110mm
- Clamp Diameter: 31.8mm
- Rise: 25 degrees

Cheating, but in a good way

 

[MattiThundrrr]

The sleeping Rat stirs. Moved it from one hook in the garage to another. Now I can see its good side.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Oh yeah, and UPGRADES!!! Scored some never installed Shimano goodies. Deore thumbshifters. Never expected to find these, rapidfire was the plan, but now I think I'll leave the techno marvels for the Brodie and go classic on here.

So beyond excited to finally find a bottom pull STX front derailleur. Been on the wishlist since I installed the rear der when STX was new.

Still has the alignment sticker! Now I just need the STX cranks. Also need to make a decision on brakes. Stick with cantilever, or upgrade to V brakes? Either way, I'll need levers.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

So I decided to try out the fork and stem I pulled off the forest find Schwinn.

Cute little detail:

Trail Glide indeed. Mismatched color, but I don't think RockRat cares, and it is probably temporary.
Cleaned up the stem with Simple Green, which stripped the finish on the faceplate. Will I ever learn?! Probably not. So I sanded it and the little cap down in preparation for a shot of flat black

Did a great job, nice even cover, smooth finish. And then rushed to clean it up. Dropped both pieces on the driveway ruining the paint completely.

Used up the last of the can too. Now I need to wait for it to harden, sand it down, and go with another black. I think I still have two left.

 

[ingola]

Use goof off it'll take the spray paint off without sanding

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Above fork no fit. Will try again with this. Looks like it's never been used, will need some cleanup before I can install

Should I lose the GT sticker? Think I may...

 

[MattiThundrrr]

The Rat that Rocks has been brought down to the lab

Been stacking some parts. Those thumbs are awesome, but they're replacing integrated pods. So now I need brake levers. These have been perfect for me for years, but could use a little weight loss. We'll see if I ever get that one done

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Also working on cockpit rearrangement

Should be a brand new bike with this setup...