1990 Rocky Mountain Blizzard - REBUILD

I thought I'd share some details of a current project in the works.
I've started the rebuild process on a '90 RMB Blizz.

This has always been a bit of a dream bike for me & my size at 18.5. I was 13 years old when this bike was new. A very basic Nishiki MTB from the local Cap's was what I was riding those days (It could have been worse).

I bought this rocky from the original owner for next to nothing. He was a super nice guy who just wanted to pass on this classic. Great local history too, it spent it's life in North Vancouver and saw some updates in the 90's and was finally converted to street duty before getting left in the corner of the garage. It's seen many smiles and miles. Check out the original RMB leather saddle!

Now, 30 years down the road it's time my turn to give this bike a new life. I stripped it down right away and was pleased to find the frame in good overall shape. Lot's of nice parts too, most of which will find their way onto other projects.

Cheers, and enjoy the ride.

Pic is from when I received the bike a couple of years ago.

I think I'm almost finished collecting the parts needed to complete this bike!

-I went down a rabbit hole of early XT brake cables and Uniglide cassettes. Ultimately satisfying though.
-I have always wanted to run double Panaracer Smokes. The new crop of kevlar gum wall 'classics' have been acquired and they are really nice!
-The Rocky/Tange forks in my collection all turned out to be too short or too long, so I'm still hunting for one suitable. Might have to pop that Judy back on temporarily to get rolling.

More to come...

Nice project, I have a small 1990 bought in Vancouver a couple years ago. Staying tuned for updates! Interested to know the serial number, is it a 3 digit one? Is that a WORCA sticker on the seat tube?

Yes on two counts....

It's a 3 digit serial number. BC welded bike?
WORCA sticker from previous owner. It's gone now. I think he spent time in Whistler at some point. The wheels were hand built by Whistler Bike Co. (really nice WTB powerbeams on XT parallax hubs)

The drive side rocky decals were in rough shape those I removed them, the Blizzard decals were rubbed off before it got to me.
I did a deep clean on the paint and it came out clean but I still need to do a bit of rust removal and retouching. That will probably happen after it's built up. I'm not interested in it being factory fresh. I will honour the little imperfections!

Great pictures. Looking forward to seeing this progress.
Regarding the 3 digit serial#, I have read that these were BC made but this comes with a massive DISCLAIMER!, as this info is not substantiated as far as I can see. If there's anyone out there with more knowledge I'd love to know as mine is a 3 digit also.

It's starting to look like a real bike!

*1990 Rocky Mountain Blizzard - 18.5" - 2237grams - serial #673

*Tange Big Fork
*DX headset - NOS
*Syncros stem - Canada!
*Titanium handlebar - (Merlin?)
*Grips - Oury
*XT front cantilever brake - KoolStop pads - Gorilla arch
*XT U2 rear brake - KoolStop pad - the only original part!
*XT oversized brake cables/housing - NOS
*Onza chill pills - NOS
*XT brake levers
*XT dear head RR shifter
*XT RD-M739 RR Der.
*XTR CS-M900 cassette
*KMC X8.93 chain - NEW
*XT cranks
*Onza buzz saw 24T
*Blackspire alloy 36T - Canada!
*Syncros doublerow BB - Canada!
*XT pedals with NOS Power Grips
*WTB powerbeam rims
*XT parallax hubs with NOS T-Gear Ti skewers
*Panaracer Smoke classic 2.1 tires - Kevlar - NEW
*Rocky Mountain leather saddle - 1991 vintage
*Syncros 1st gen seatpost - Canada!
*Odyssey seatpost QR

Looking good, I'm working on a Hammer from the same year, also with a three digit number, and an even older Hammer with a lugged frame and bottom mount U-brake.

The only progress this week has been the front brake install complete with vintage Gorilla Brake Beefer.
This is the first booster/arch I was aware of in the 90's... Does any one know who originated the brake booster?

The next step is getting the U-brake on and adjusted, need new pads for that too. I'm going to try and buy a nice chain and shift cables for it this weekend. Hope I can find 5mm stuff locally.

I also ordered a rigid fork! I found an ex-rocky Tange Super Big fork in black. The price was right and it's shipping from Canada so it wasn't too painful. The Judy is nice and actually works but this bike has to be rigid!

Curious note:
You can see some neon yellow paint in the BB shell. I though this was odd. When I was cleaning the frame with some mild polish there are some spots where the white paint is getting rather thin. You can see the neon yellow underneath. Neon primer? Anyway, just those little things.

Interesting, my current project has the same base colour.