My trusty old mare.

Spugnut

Hello to one and all, decided to de-lurk and introduce myself (real name's Kerrin). This here is my trusty mare. A 2000 Giant XTC Team 20.5" frame (bought new) with Air Bombers and a mostly SRAM drivetrain. with Gripshift. Hope monoblocs for braking. I'm often tempted by some shiny new filly but just make do by upgrading a bit on the Giant. Favourite part? Salsa QRs. Next upgrades? New rear shock (not an easy fitment), probably a Fox RP23 (With lockout! Luxury) and a Shimano XT 180mm chainset. The layout is best described as relaxed.







Quite fancy a 29er in the not so distant future.

-liam-

That saddle looks very relaxed

Do you get fed up with sliding off it and cracking your nuts on the crossbar ?

rieko

I like the paint scheme and even though its only 10 years old, it already has a classic look about. Im not a fan of the mud guards though.

bluechair84

This frames would be an ideal cheap xc find - I'm glad you posted that as I'll start looking on fleabay for one! That will compliment the garage nicely giving me a good bike for XC events. How do you find riding it? Anything more modern to compare it to?

Spugnut

Ha, yeah the saddle is VERY relaxed Liam. The SID shock is the original one and despite being serviced regularly is pretty much done for. The sag is now something ridiculous so the saddle is like that to make sure I don't slide off the back. 2009 Fox RP23 on the way, just need to sort out the bushes.

Not ridden anything really modern to compare it to BlueChair. It's a nice ride though.

bluechair84

first thing I did after seeing this was have a look on ebay fro frames... really don't have the money for it... so fortunately every frame was a large! TFFT

sorry, text speak. but there's a naughty word in there.

El Capitano

Awesome Bike!

I've got a 2000 NRS-XTC:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... hlight=nrs

If you're upgrading the bushings, have a look at the BETD bearing upgrade for the Horst Link:

http://www.mountainbikecomponents.co.uk ... aring+kits

Makes a huge difference.

Also I changed the rear shock - mine came with the original Giant one that was b0rked. Now a rather nice DT Swiss 190L.

Spugnut

Nice bike Capitano! Thanks for the link to the bearing set fella. Ive got a 2009 Fox RP23 on the way from CRC, £140, quite reasonable I thought. Gonna see if I can transfer the hardware, bushes etc, staight across.

Also got some Wellgo B54s on the way. Tried some Atomlab G.Is but they're just too big. There's not enough grip in the middle of the pedal for my taste either. I tend to vary between SPDs and flatties depending on my current fickle mood.

And on top of that my chainset is ancient and knackered, which is a perfect excuse to get a nice 180mm XT set up. Supposed to be saving money at the moment but, pfft, whatever. More shiny bits!

Spugnut

Gave it a wipe and took off the mudguard for some better photos. Also fitted the new Wellgo flatties (B-54s).



Pretty uncluttered cockpit.



The chainset and bottle cage are looking a bit disco now so they're gonna get changed. Plus the chainset is shot to the proverbial.



Rear mech is old school SRAM ESP 9.0. Going to nine speed and X.0 is on my list of future changes. All the old stuff I take off will go onto my hardtail project.



Ooh, ooh, new bits ready to fit. Mmmm, shiny. DIY or LBS? Hmm, might get the BB etc done at my LBS, facing and all that.



Having looked at some of the gorgeous builds on this forum I'm now remotivated to sort out some of the aesthetic things about the bike that have been bugging me, and also bring it up to date a bit technically too.

El Capitano

Looking good, looking good. I would recommend getting the BB faced, makes all the difference with the HTII bottom brackets.

Spugnut

Cheers El Cap'. I've spoken to the guys at my LBS (Southwater Cycles) and they're going to face the BB shell and stick the chainset on for me. Which is nice.

By the by, I'm well chuffed with the Wellgo B-54 flatties, just the right size and they grip like a goodun'.

Spugnut

New kit fitted and ready to roll. Only had a chance for a short ride today but the difference the 180mm XT chainset makes with a new BB and 26/36/48 rings is amazing.

Not as amazing as the Fox RP23 shock though, the improvement in the rear suspension is astonishing. Still playing around with the sag, 3 stage pro pedal and rebound adjustments, great fun. I used TFTuned mounting kits to fit the shock, which are quality pieces of work.

Swapped the old blue Cannondale bottle cage for a Blackburn stainless steel job.

The Wellgo B-54 pedals have got fierce grip, I much prefer them to my old V8s, it's the 2 grub screws in the middle of the pedal that make the difference.

Da Mighty Chicken

Spugnut, not sure if its my pc but I can't see any of your photos?

Spugnut

That's strange DMC, I've linked them from my Photobucket album. I'll have a check.

Da Mighty Chicken

Sorry Spugnut, its probably me, I could see some pics in other threads but not others, rebooted my router and its all back to normal, so its probably me!

Nice bike btw, whats its like to ride?

johnsav

awesome build!

its great that people loves bikes enough to keep them alive!

Spugnut

Nice bike btw, whats its like to ride?

Bloody lovely Mighty Chicken.

Just back from my first decent length ride with all the new kit on it and I'm chuffed to bits. Why the hell I didn't get 180mm cranks before I don't know. They're flapping ace! Long uphill inclines seemed flatter and with a 36 tooth middle ring I found myself hardly using the other two. RP23 is working well, pro-pedal is a real boon. It's 30lb 8oz at the moment but I'm not too fussed about the weight of the bike. It's me that needs to shed some excess mass. More pedaling!

Gonna switch to 9 speed rear later in the year (X0 Gripshift) and possibly a flashier wheelset sometime in 2011.

Looks a lot less "disco" now. Covered in dust from today's ride. I reckon the frame'll easily do another ten years.

Spugnut

The de-discofying and subtle repimpage continues. Replaced the touring saddle with this, a Charge Spoon (which I stumbled across in a rucksack, having totally forgotten about it, I actually did a little happy dance)...



Having repurposed the cheapo silver seat clamp and Salsa QR for another project, I got one of these, a KCNC Road Lite seat clamp. Saw how good it looked on El Capitano's NRS and just had to have one. It's a lovely little bit of design...



Those two have gone a long way to tidying up the lines at the rear of the bike. Shame about the rear light mount, forgot to take it off for the photo. Hey ho.



I really must get some black zip ties too.

Flatter carbon bars next and a different stem, I'm not happy with this set up anymore. It's a bit of a failed experiment to be honest. Much comfier for my back and wrists, but censored for handling and performance.

El Capitano

Spugnut wrote:

Saw how good it looked on El Capitano's NRS and just had to have one. It's a lovely little bit of design...

I'll be honest, I wasn't a fan of your existing cockpit, but everyone's riding position and contact point preference is different. I did a similar set-up on my XTC - Gripshift, Club Roost Riser Bars and Ergon grips/bar-ends.



Not as comfortable a position as I'd wanted. Now got flat bars, low-rise stem, and Odi Ruffian grips (still using the gripshift).



As you can see, a much lower and cleaner front end.