1996 Bontrager Privateer - AKA I finally managed to get one.
- Thread starter slackboy
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Few updates on the bontrager. The RC36's have been sold to fund a new set of Hope E4 brakes for my FS bike.
I replaced them pair of judy's I got from ebay that had a 1" ahead steerer. Whilst I was figuring out whether to get threads cut or change the whole bike to ahead a Bontrager Judy crown came on ebay too so I snaffled that and sold my ahead crown to jez-4-bikes.
I was lucky with the judys as although they looked unloved, the internals were in excellent condition with the elastomers still intact. After a strip down and re-build they actually feel pretty good.
I've also decided to move back to cantilever brakes - which was the reason for getting the judy's in the first place. I've put some black LX ones on for the time being but am not sure if it would be better with silver.
Anyway, here is it, still to be cabled up but geting closer original spec.
Few updates on the bontrager. The RC36's have been sold to fund a new set of Hope E4 brakes for my FS bike.
I replaced them pair of judy's I got from ebay that had a 1" ahead steerer. Whilst I was figuring out whether to get threads cut or change the whole bike to ahead a Bontrager Judy crown came on ebay too so I snaffled that and sold my ahead crown to jez-4-bikes.
I was lucky with the judys as although they looked unloved, the internals were in excellent condition with the elastomers still intact. After a strip down and re-build they actually feel pretty good.
I've also decided to move back to cantilever brakes - which was the reason for getting the judy's in the first place. I've put some black LX ones on for the time being but am not sure if it would be better with silver.
Anyway, here is it, still to be cabled up but geting closer original spec.
Prodigal Son
Senior Retro Guru
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My favourite Bontrager color. Nice bike. Should build one myself.
slackboy":16fiqx4s said:Few updates on the bontrager. The RC36's have been sold to fund a new set of Hope E4 brakes for my FS bike.
I replaced them pair of judy's I got from ebay that had a 1" ahead steerer. Whilst I was figuring out whether to get threads cut or change the whole bike to ahead a Bontrager Judy crown came on ebay too so I snaffled that and sold my ahead crown to jez-4-bikes.
I was lucky with the judys as although they looked unloved, the internals were in excellent condition with the elastomers still intact. After a strip down and re-build they actually feel pretty good.
I've also decided to move back to cantilever brakes - which was the reason for getting the judy's in the first place. I've put some black LX ones on for the time being but am not sure if it would be better with silver.
Anyway, here is it, still to be cabled up but geting closer original spec.
My favourite Bontrager color. Nice bike. Should build one myself.
Not used the bontrager much since I finished it, so didn't realise quite how bad the cantilever brakes were. I had a bit of a fiddle with cable angles and pad position and that improved things slightly, but not enough.
I then bought some Koolstop pads from SJS cycles and fitted them yesterday - wow!. I never realised what a difference decent pads would make , it actually feels like I could take it down some proper trails with a degree of confidence.
I then bought some Koolstop pads from SJS cycles and fitted them yesterday - wow!. I never realised what a difference decent pads would make , it actually feels like I could take it down some proper trails with a degree of confidence.
Prodigal Son
Senior Retro Guru
slackboy":39db7jh3 said:
Ain´t that the fun w/ the old stuff? Making cantilever brakes work is quite the acompplishment. And they look good while doin their job.
2manyoranges
Senior Retro Guru
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Prodigal - top tip with cants on the Bontrager is to ditch the silly fixed length Shimano straddle wire (you may already have done this I can't see the final picture and you have no straddle on the picture I can see) and use onZa Chill Pills. You can then get the absolute optimum angle for the straddle wire in relation to the brake arc and pad-rim distance. If you think of the angles in the system, pads quite far back in cant arm, straddle flat, gives you a big gain in power at the rim. This helped throughout the 'hmm I don't really seem to be slowing down' period of brake development off-road. Critical Racing Cants and Graftons changed all that, then came Vs....phew.
Prodigal - top tip with cants on the Bontrager is to ditch the silly fixed length Shimano straddle wire (you may already have done this I can't see the final picture and you have no straddle on the picture I can see) and use onZa Chill Pills. You can then get the absolute optimum angle for the straddle wire in relation to the brake arc and pad-rim distance. If you think of the angles in the system, pads quite far back in cant arm, straddle flat, gives you a big gain in power at the rim. This helped throughout the 'hmm I don't really seem to be slowing down' period of brake development off-road. Critical Racing Cants and Graftons changed all that, then came Vs....phew.
