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Author Topic: bicycles  (Read 10546 times)

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firko

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bicycles
« on: December 06, 2008, 06:44:15 pm »
 Those that know me will know that I've been a pretty big boy for the last few years and that my lack of fitness has been a major obstacle to my enjoying riding my old motocrossers. Well I've been on a bit of a fitness campaign for the last year and a bit and it's working well. I've changed my diet, swim every morning, pedal 10k on my excercise bike while watching Brekky Central on the telly and other bits of activity. As of last wednesday I've lost 47kg and I'm feeling the best I've felt in yonks. I've still got another 40 kg to go but that lump should come off even easier because of the ever increasing exercise. The reason I'm telling you guys this is to introduce my other two wheeled passion...pushies.
Now that I'm down a bit of weight I can now start to ride my mountain bike and my soon to be finished cycle path cruiser.
I'll also soon make a start on my find of the year...My newly aquired sixties Phillips Cruiser. Here's the lineup..........

This is my new mountain bike, a NOS '99 model Mert Lawwill (the flat track legend now makes limited release mountain bikes). I've updated it a tad with 5"travel Meks carbon fibre forks, Scott titanium handlebars and head stem, and a Fox rear shock. I'm soon to replace the pedals and crank with something a little tricker

This is my super rare Marin monocoque I bought off eBay for an unbelievable $14, complete with Shimano gearset and 4"travel Manitou forks. I've fitted a set of trick wheels, bought a bit of second hand trickery off eBay including a set of Schwalbe Big Betty tyres that retail for $80 ea but I got them for $10 for the pair from a bloke that didn't like them. This bike will be so trick when she's finished I wouldn't dare take her off road so I'm going to use her for morning cruises on the M7 freeway cyclepaths near my home. (Western Sydney residents will know what I mean, there's a network of cyclepaths that follow the entire length of the M7 freeway on both sides).

This is a mid 90s Diamondback that I bought at a garage sale for $10 a month or so ago. The frame is quality tig welded aluminium but the rest of the bike was rooted. I bought an almost new Repco shitter from the local hock shop and transferred the Shimano 18speed gearset seat and alloy handlebars and bought a set of good quality wheels for $20 off eBay. With a set of cheapy Chinese tyres and a bit of spit and polish I've now got a good beginners mountain bike together for less than $100. I'm giving it to a mate for Christmas to encourage him to go riding with me!

I couldn't resist this baby for $200 on eBay. It's a sixties British made Phillips Cruiser complete with girder suspension forks, 106 spoke wheels an a pretty good layer of surface rust. I've owned a few Schwinn cruisers over the years and had been thinking of bringing one in from the USA when this gem turned up in trendy Balmain. I'm going to paint it a subtle fifties pastel colour, rechrome the forks and other odds and sods and as the wheels would cost a fortune to rechrome and rebuild, I may paint them, not sure yet in the wheel dept. This bike will hopefully become my new pitbike and local pub transport.

How many Forum members also ride mountain bikes? If so, tell us about your bikes.
« Last Edit: December 06, 2008, 10:53:37 pm by firko »
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mx250

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #1 on: December 06, 2008, 06:55:00 pm »


$300 Woolies Special ::) :P
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Offline E74

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #2 on: December 06, 2008, 07:08:19 pm »
VBMX included here? here is the 1980 Team Supergoose I restored for my 7 year old son, he's king of the kids when he rolls out on this one ;D.

« Last Edit: December 06, 2008, 07:10:42 pm by E74 »
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firko

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #3 on: December 06, 2008, 07:57:01 pm »
Quote
where's the seat on the second one (Marin)...... 
In the shed Ross. I haven't got a seatpost for it yet as the frame is made from an odd sized tubing and I'm having a tough time finding a post that fits. I've got a cool red white and blue Tioga seat to match the mid 90s vibe of the bike.\
You may have missed it but the tyres and grips aren't fitted either   :o

That's a sweet Mongoose E74. A mates son is doing a similar resto right now. Are they Webco wheels?
« Last Edit: December 06, 2008, 10:20:16 pm by firko »
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Offline paul

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #4 on: December 06, 2008, 08:25:28 pm »
ross thats the bike you use to ride to school  :P
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firko

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #5 on: December 06, 2008, 10:22:52 pm »
Quote
Sorry. I couldn't see the other bits through the tears..... 
Did I miss a joke here or something or are you taking the piss?
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Phil

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #6 on: December 06, 2008, 11:28:02 pm »
Sweet bikes big guy. I can just see you riding the cruiser at Classic Dirt. Good boy with the 47kg too. I missed the joke too ???
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mainline

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2008, 08:25:42 am »
e74, I had those wheels (or something incredibly similar) on my first BMX although mine were red. I don't know if the jargon was nationwide but we called them Tuffs up here in Brisbane (or freezer-wheels ;D)

Firko, whats the story with the Marin? I've never seen anything like it (not that I'm a bicycle guru) and how was it listed that it went for $14?
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Offline E74

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #8 on: December 07, 2008, 08:53:32 am »
Yep, They are Skyway Tuff II wheels, Skyway were nigh buggered until the VBMX craze hit the world,tthey are now up and runnning again reproducing all their "Retro" bits

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Offline Nathan S

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #9 on: December 07, 2008, 09:54:05 am »
The Marin will punish you, Firko! They're as cool-as, but they're stupidly stiff.

The DB is a late 90s jobbie. This is when the DB company started going downhill in my eyes... (says the man who still dearly loves his 1995 model chromoly framed Diamond Back Apex)
Do you know what model yours is? The upper-end ones are fine, but beware the cracked frames of the cheaper alloy DBs...

As well as my DB, I've also got an '05 Felt (as in Jim Felt, although I didn't realise that when I bought it). :)
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The good thing about telling the truth is that you don't have to remember what you said.

firko

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #10 on: December 07, 2008, 10:24:47 am »
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The Marin will punish you, Firko!
Yeah, you're not the first person to tell me that Nathan. That's why I decided to keep it for the bitumen cyclepaths and use the Lawwill for offroad. It is as cool as a cucumber though! I was told by the bloke I bought the Diamondback from at the Garage sale that it's from '95/96. In a previous life it'd been used for downhill and slalom racing and as a result had square wheels and a totally rooted set of old school Marzocci forks. I went over the frame from front to back and it luckily turned out to be true and crackless. I merely transferred the forks and Shimano 18 speed gears over from the el cheapo Dunlop I got at the hock shop and fitted a set of eBay Y2000 wheels and quick release axles and a pair of Kenda cheapy tyres I had. I only finished it yesterday, (which prompted the photo session) and took it for a ride around the block to see if the gears work OK. It feels good and seems to change direction well. Like I said, I'm giving it to a mate for Xmas and I think he'll like it.
Quote
Firko, whats the story with the Marin?
I'm no expert on these things either but from what I can dig up, Marin are a smallish boutique manufacturer in Santa Cruz, California. The Monocoque came out in the mid 90's I believe and despite being incredibly well made, as light as a fart and too cool to look at, were a horrible flop for the stiffness reasons quoted by Nathan and, as the guy I bought it from said,"it's like riding a tin can. It resonates like buggery and emits a loud bang every time you hit a bump. My mates could here me banging away through the bush two minutes before I got there". Why I got it for $14au is beyond me. Nobody bid on it which is strange as a similar bike went for $700us about a week after I got mine. Like the VBMX movement, retro mountain bikes are gaining cool status as guys build really trick old school bikes to cruise the streets on.
That's OK Ross, I thought you were taking the piss no harm done. Leave old Phil alone. He's just got back from overseas so he might have been a tad jet lagged. 8)
« Last Edit: December 07, 2008, 10:40:34 am by firko »
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cbc

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #11 on: December 07, 2008, 11:59:10 am »
Hi everyone I have a JMC Blackshadow and Kuwahara tucked away in the shed that I should get out and clean up and post some pics of. I like the blackshadow because of the teardrop/diamond shape bottom frame bar.
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Offline RED ALERT

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #12 on: December 07, 2008, 01:52:27 pm »
Firko, good to hear the pushies are beating you into shape. I reckon a lot of MXers also have a thing for the human powered bikes. Back in the early 90's I had a break from MX and got into the MTB scene. Probably wasn't much of a cross country racer, so mainly concentrated on the Downhill stuff. I found that downhillers and motocrossers are quite similar, if anything Downhillers drink more lol. Eventually i went back to my first love, MX and now VMX, but made a lot of good friends and had a heap of fun.
Last year I got the urge to buy another DH rig and maybe do a few races in the Masters class (40-49yrs) for fun on off weekends. The bikes and race courses have changed a lot and have come close to soiling my shorts a few times. In the two races I attempted  manged a 3rd in the WA titles and even went to Canberra in January for the Nats and managed a 4th, Oh, and drank a lot of beer aswell.
Have fun on those bikes, of all types!!
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firko

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2008, 02:28:11 pm »
« Last Edit: December 07, 2008, 02:46:21 pm by firko »
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mainline

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Re: bicycles
« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2008, 04:13:05 pm »
bear in mind the kwakka is a kids bike  ;D
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