Hello! (and an unknown frame question...) :)

Hi!

Been lurking for a few weeks since getting my 90s MTB out from behind the folks' house and getting it working again. Thought it was about time I registered.

This is the thing in question. Couldn't really call it built-as-it-is, it was more of a constant upgrade project when I was a teenager, as and when cash became available - including the move to a light-but-cheap polished frame back in 1996 or so. The forks are from ebay in the last fortnight though (though retro at least) as well as the modern bars, replacing a set of Icon 7k ones which I'd chopped crazily narrow in a fad of weightsaving BITD.



Anyhoo, this is the reason for the question:



Bought from the new owners of a bike shop who'd taken over an old store, finding four of these in boxes tucked away. They reckon late 90s, I think perhaps more like 2000-ish? Any idea what it is, if anything? No numbers. Thought it might be a Katarba, which looked a bit similar. Shock is a (nasty) DV-22, which speaks low-end and appears to date from 2000 as well.

For the money I paid, I'm just aiming to build it up with some second-hand stuff and have a play.



PC

Greetings and welcome to RetroBike

No idea on the frame ID but the other looks like a nice ride.

Steven

Thanks for the warm welcome, Steven.

The URT frame may be a Taiwan special, much as the Easton-tubed other bike. The hardtail frame came from the wall of Red Kite in Solihull in '96 after I broke a previous Ridgeback and needed a rebuild before starting uni.

I spent some time on the URT measuring the effect of fitting a longer, air, shock. I think I can fit a 185mm unit, and with another set of Marzocchis, and end up about 70deg HA. Does look like it'll raise the bb height quite a bit though. Worth a tinker anyway.

The hardtail needs a new rear hub, cause water's got into the non-drive side. It also appears to be very narrow. The QR pulls the dropouts in. :/ Was there something strange about Exage hubs? Can't remember where it came from but I know I was ignorant about such things back then.

Pc

I was watching those URT frames on ebay, no idea what they are either but they are interesting. Someone wil tell you URT are crap eventually on this site but I wonder how much of this perceived fact is based on actual experience of riding them. Personally I love them having had Treks, Saracens and Giants. They dont ride like a non URT but that does not make them crap. Have fun experimenting.

As for the exage hub the width might be 130mm not ther more usual 135mm. Older hubs were often 130mm spaced as mtbs from the 80's through to the early 90's had narrower rear ends

Ah, thanks for that info Velo! I had it fixed in my head that all MTB had always been 135 and road bikes 130. The OLD of the hardtail frame is 135mm, so must be a 130 exage.

It needs replacement for this reason:



:roll:

...so I might as well replace it with the correct width.

I'd detected a bit of a lack of love for URT designs, yes... Given the low cost I don't mind playing with it, and seeing how it behaves. I'm a bit skeptical of people's reasons for disliking them centering around the suspension being inactive when standing. You'd be loading your mass onto the swingarm behind the pivot, but unloading your mass from the half of the bike in front of the pivot. Who knows eh?

This is what I meant earlier about the Icon bars:



Probably saved all of a few tens of grammes keeping them that narrow. Those, combined with the rigid (short & heavy, 420mm, 1.1kg) Marin steel forks it had on it meant a 70deg HA and serious twitchyness - especially with gripshift plus wide-ish grips moving the controls to the middle.

On a different note, I suspect I can think of two things to improve this:



Firstly, despite there being cartridge bearings in there, that bolt had been badgered up seemingly with a rattle gun, and after sorting that out, I think I'd like a nyloc on it!

PC

The frame may be a mid to late nineties Scott, can't quite remember the model but I have one lurking at home under a pile of crap waiting for my attention!

Scott Octane is what I was thinking of but it's not quite the same. http://retromtb.pl/pdf/scott98.pdf

Thanks for the tipoff, does look a bit similar but not the same as you say!

Possibly a copy of something similar though?

PC

These are why I thought it might be a Katarga:







...they seemed to have been fans of URTs back in the day.

PC

that bolt looks particularly nasty... otherwise no input from me sorry