Bill Nickson 7005 mountain bike

kona_jelly

Retro Newbie
I've just acquired a fat tubed polish ally mountain bike that I think (judging by faint remains of some stickers) is a 'Bill Nickson' frame.

Anyone out there know anything about these? I know Bill Nickson is well known for road bikes but can't find anything about his mtb frames.

It is a reasonable spec with XT thumbies, XT mechs and Mavic231 on LX. But is the frame worth bothering with?

Anyone seen one of these before?
 
Here we go, its in the middle of being rebuilt/experimented with. The Marzocchi and Club Roost bars were on it when I collected it. It also has Dia-compe 747 v brakes but a very early type that take canti type blocks. The fork is 96 vintage but amazingly all the seals are fine and still holds air pressure and damps nicely. Apparently it has been under a sheet at the back of a garage since about 99.
 

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Nothing wrong with those Marzocchi forks, I have XC700's on my Zaskar and only recently rebuilt them after getting a little over enthusiastic on a rocky downhill.

I'm not an expert on alloy frames, so I'll leave it to others to comment.
 
Out of interest NeilM what pressure do you run those at? From quick fiddle it seems that these DH3s only need about 35-45psi. They don't have any coil springs fitted in them.
 
No there are no coil springs, they are air sprung and oil damped.

The pressure depends on your weight, I think I downloaded the manual online, try a search for Dr Marzocchi, it's a German web site and the guy that runs it is incredibly helpful. I got a full rebuild kit from him.
 
Thanks for the tip about the website, I'll have a look. Yeah, I know that the Marzocchi use an air spring but I've heard that its not uncommon for people to add coil springs.
 
'Generica Commonista' everyman frame that was used by quite a few manufacturers in the early 1990's.

They are actually quite good and polish up a treat.
 
As LGF says regarding the frame, I have seen the frame as a Claude Butler and infact own one and have another winging its way through the post. They're plain gauge 7000 series alloy, very stiff, overbuilt possibly and maybe a wee bit heavier than needed but are great to ride.
 
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