what to do with my Sunn Vertik?

I am on the verge of dumping my old steed just because it is old, feels a bit sluggish and doesn't have bouncy forks so makes my arms itch when going down bumpy tracks! A friend has offered me a Giant XTC frame but this will still cost a bit to get up to spec and the Sunn has been a great bike and I still think there is some life in in yet.

So my question is, what can I do to bring it back to 'life' without breaking the bank?

Suspension forks are obviously the norm' these days but I'm concious of sacrificing the lightness of the Sunn and also whether the geometry will allow modern forks. Wheels & shifters are probably also on the list.

I have been trawling web for some time for 'Sunn' but seem to have vanished or not heard of, then i found this site and couldn't believe there was such a following!

Your advice is greatly appreciated.

well you've come to the right place. Put in a 'wanted' for cheap parts (I even have some mechs/cranks/brakes etc lying around that I'd let go cheaply - though I'm sure others would, too).

Build it up - do not throw away!

Then be prepared to get bitten by the bug.... :shock:

run ..... RUN WHILE YOU CAN!!!!

I used to run this one with a Manitou SX-R some of the time, and it was a good frame and I don't see why you shouldn't fit suspension to yours. I would avoid modern forks though, as some of them really are too long compared to those quite short rigid ones. If you're concerned about weight, I'd suggest some earlyish SIDs set to 63mm travel - that would give you all the benefits of suspension with a weight penalty of less than a pound, which I honestly don't believe you'd notice.

It's true that it'll cost a little to upgrade it, but don't be put off - being a retro biker costs far less than buying new bikes!

Anthony":g5lm89h8 said:

It's true that it'll cost a little to upgrade it, but don't be put off - being a retro biker costs far less than buying new bikes!

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Atleast until you find yourself with 7 bikes

There is a few Sunn's on here but there certainly not common, if you put the effort in you could have something a bit different.

I've got this Xicuit, forks are Rockshock Indy's, a budget fork that works pretty well and fits the frame.



Other fork options could be Pace RC35's or the already suggested Manitou's, any older fork that wont upset the geometry will be fine, Sunn did do their own fork but they are quite hard to find.

A decent set of wheels and shifters from the for sale section shouldn't cost too much, well worth doing i think

WoW, those bikes look great! OK, you've convinced me to put my efforts into making something worthwhile, thanks!

Now for the hard bit, what to do! I really haven't got my head round the technicalities yet so advice would be appreciated.

Shocks - I know I need a 1 1/8" with 'V' brake lugs and a short travel. Whats all this 'threaded' and 'A-Head' steerer about?
I had a quick search and think the Pace RC35's would look great, but I expect they are rare? What about a RS Judy DH? has a 75mm travel and is light, but red??

Shifters would certainly make a positive change, can I use modern ones for 9 gears? Then get new wheels with the 9-gear casette, or do I have to stick with 7 gears?? Will the fron chainset affect any of this??

I can see this will get addictive!... I also have the wifes Sunn to sort as well!

NigeP":3mzay2px said:

WoW, those bikes look great! OK, you've convinced me to put my efforts into making something worthwhile, thanks!
Now for the hard bit, what to do! I really haven't got my head round the technicalities yet so advice would be appreciated.
Shocks - I know I need a 1 1/8" with 'V' brake lugs and a short travel. Whats all this 'threaded' and 'A-Head' steerer about?
I had a quick search and think the Pace RC35's would look great, but I expect they are rare? What about a RS Judy DH? has a 75mm travel and is light, but red??
Shifters would certainly make a positive change, can I use modern ones for 9 gears? Then get new wheels with the 9-gear casette, or do I have to stick with 7 gears?? Will the fron chainset affect any of this??
I can see this will get addictive!... I also have the wifes Sunn to sort as well!

Click to expand...

TBH, it would be easier to advise if you would post a picture of the bike as it is, as we don't yet know what model, year it is etc.

I'm guessing you've got an ahead system already, in which case it might be better to stick with that. If so, you need a fork with an ahead (i.e., with no thread at the top) steerer at least 7cm longer than your head tube. Many RC35s would be threaded however, which is more problematic as you would need to change the stem and headset and you would have to find one with a steerer almost exactly the right length, c3cm longer than the head tube.

An RS Judy DH is a downhill fork that is quite heavy, so I would avoid that.

Wheels is the second most important upgrade. You can keep your 7-speed system with 8/9-speed wheels, but you can't use an 8/9-speed system with 7-speed wheels. You could get some modern ones from Merlin Cycles, but decent period wheels come up on eBay quite often, for less money.

If you haven't got V-brakes and spd pedals, those are the next most important upgrades.

Whether you are looking for threaded or A-head will depend on what you have on the bike at the moment, if you have two thin big nuts under the stem it's a threaded set up you have with a quill stem, if the stem is clamped on and there is no big nut's then it's an A-head front end, both the bikes above have A-head systems with plain steerer forks.

If you have a threaded set up and want to convert to A-head set with plain steerer this can be done but you will need to change the headset and buy a suitable stem, if it's threaded and you want to keep it original you will need a steerer the exact same length as the one you have, A-head steerers are less critical as they can be cut to fit if they are too long, the length of steerer you will need is dictated by the length of the headtube on the frame, plain A-head steerers need to be longer than a threaded one on the same frame.

Pace RC35's would look great and work well, they are not too hard to find, member justbackdated on here sells fully re-conditioned ones, he can also supply a suitable steerer tube (interchangeable on Pace forks)

Those Judy DH's would be too long for the frame i'm afraid, you should be looking for around 60mm forks, it's tempting to go for longer forks but they will upset the geometry of the frame and will probably not look right (some older frames just look daft with long travel forks)

You mean you can get a mountain bike with 9 gears ?, where is this new fangled contraption ?

Dont know much about going to extra gears, (8 have always been enough for me), certainly going from 7-9 will envolve major work, a new rear hub (or wheel), cassette, mech and shifters, going from 7-8 should be cheaper though, maybe just a change of hub body instead of the whole wheel, chainset should be fine no matter whats on the rear.

Deffo keep the Sunn, they look great.