1994 Raleigh DynaTech Diablo

I picked up this bike a few weeks back - a 1994 Raleigh DynaTech Diablo (STX model) which has appeared on a couple of other threads. Nice UGLI fork, Ti main tubes and Ti bar. I bought it locally for not much money, the plan is/was to use it as a backup to keep up north when I'm visiting family, to save me taking my bike up each time when I may or may not get the chance to use it. But once I bought it I found it was mostly in great condition and it deserves to be donated a few upgrades. I can't wait to get back to it to get working on it and ride it!

It's currently quite close to its original spec - shifters and brake levers have been replaced with nasty cheap modern Shimano 7-speed things. The plan is to get it a little lighter and set up for light off-road/towpath/road use, but without spending very much at all on it. There will be a smattering of anodised purple and I'll try and keep the rest of the parts silver. At the moment the following upgrades are ready and waiting to be fitted when I get back to it in a couple of weeks:

• Hope silver Hubs (Lightweight front, XC rear) on Mavic X517s: had these spare in the garage. Will replace the STX/Bontrager wheels fitted (these will be up for sale and are in great condition, incidentally)
  
  Kenda Short Tracker Folding 1.95 tyres. to replace the Conit tyres. Really like the Short Trackers and they're light too at a fraction over 400g each. Cost me £20, nearly new.
  
  XT M739 V-brakes. To replace the STX cantis. Cost me £20
  
  XT M739 brake levers: Cost me £13
  
  STX/Alivio MC40 7-speed shifters: Cost me £12
  
  Exustar PM25 SPDs: 276g/pr - had these spare in the garage
  
  WTB Rocket saddle: the saddle I get along with best. Cost me £12
  
  A load of purple bits: currently have bar end caps, bottle cage bolts, brake boss bolts, bolts to fill the mudguard holes, shifter clamp bolts, mech cable clamp bolts, headset spacer, allen bolt skewers. Cost about £30 (a bit of an indulgence, admittedly...)
  
  Ritchey WCS foam grips: had these spare in the garage. Best grips ever, nice and comfy and light.

Anyway, I'm going to be fitting all the new parts on it over the Easter weekend when visiting the family again so there'll be more updates with pictures soon. Strangely excited by this little project as I haven't had a retro one for a while and the DynaTech is from the same year as I bought my first mountain bike.

That's a nice looking bike (shifters aside) looking forward to the result...

I have an mtrax which is perfect for light duties but not as nice to look at as this frame, especially like the fork and cable routing.

Cheers - yes the UGLI fork is the only reason I'm sticking to rigid on this. I had thought about selling the fork and matching stem together (which I think would pretty much cover what I paid for the whole bike) but the fork is still a bit of a head-turner/conversation-starter and in the end I couldn't quite bring myself to let it get separated from the frame. The upgrading is planned for Thursday/Friday next week, hopefully in time to give it a spin over the Easter weekend.

That's lovely. Love those UGLI's

I am glad you are keeping it together, Dynatech and Mtrax are all nice to ride I will be looking out for updates next week...

Had the chance to sort out the wheels this evening, looking nice. Mavic X517s with Hope hubs (Lightweight front, XC rear). Kenda Short Tracker Folding 1.95" tyres. Pretty lightweight combination, too - wheels 740g/960g, tyres 405g each, tubes 130g each, skewers 30g each.

The Easter weekend gave me the chance to finish off this little project. Here are the new photos. I weighed it and it comes out around 24 1/4 lbs in the current setup.

I even got a nice ride in on the same day (on the Lanchester Valley Way and Waskerley Way). It rides just great and not having had a retro ride for a little it brought back a few memories: i) how much fun rigid is, ii) how straightforward 7-speed drivetrains are even compared to 9-speed.

Looking good, that should be a really nice ride now. Although I prefer the aesthetics of cantis you need v's if the bike is going to get proper use. Hope you enjoy it! I know what you mean about the simplicity of 90's rigid mtbs, they Are great fun to ride in my opinion

That's gorgeous: just the right amount of purple and I love the UGLI. A lot of Dyna's seem to live hard lives - peeling laquer and so on. That one's clearly been looked after though.

doctorstewie":3h8w4n7l said:

That's gorgeous: just the right amount of purple and I love the UGLI. A lot of Dyna's seem to live hard lives - peeling laquer and so on. That one's clearly been looked after though.

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Cheers, I've only had it a year or so but I doubt it did too much in the 20 previous years It lives with the in-laws for when we do the long journey up north for visits, so it still doesn't get a lot of use but it really puts a smile on my face each time I take it out.

On the last visit I added just a couple more small purple touches, mainly to replace the rusty steel stem and seatclamp bolts with purple Ti ones, but that's about all. More modern 9-speed drivetrains are a little less clunky but the 7-speed groupset works so straghtforwardly there's nothing I really want to change at the moment. It tends to do longer rides and the last time I took it out I though I might put on a suspension seatpost too, not sure why really as I've never used one on any of my bikes.