Now before I say anything, let me make this perfectly clear - I know this is a sh!t bike - this project has sentimental value to me. OK - so moving on.
This has been a long time in the brewing. I probably started to collected the pieces in September of last year (2009), and put the final touches on it tonight. Mostly what had held me up recently was the good weather in which I could respray the frame.
So, cast your minds back to spring 1991, I was at university at Lancaster (not far from the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales) and got to know some guys who were into mountain biking. I had a look at their bikes - they looked really cool - especially the neon pink one. What was it?
It turned out underneath the respray to be a 1989 Diamondback Topanga. It had some unusual features - Campagnolo Bullet Shifters, Centaur Rear and front mechs. A 50 tooth chain ring on the front :shock: Dia-Compe X-1 canti brakes (anybody ever seen another set?).
Well it wasn't very long before I pestered him to sell it to me and £100 later it was mine. My first ever MTB. We went up to the Lakes most weekends and rode it into the ground. I added some modifications over time - Deore SPDs (£45 at the time :shock: ), a Girvin Flex Stem (nice neon colour clash!), Flite saddle etc.
Then I moved abroad for a year and it sat in the garage untouched. When I returned I moved onto another bike.
So, wind forward nearly 20 years and I'm now trying to relive my youth and I think, well why not try to recreate that bike that got me into the sport. I even still had some of the original parts - the handlebars, saddle, SPDs, canti brakes. That was a start. So then to find the rest. Inevitably I have had to make some compromises. It's not a 1989 Topanga frame but a year or two more recent. It's not a Campagnolo Centaur rear mech (rocking horse doo-daa these days). I probably didn't have a Pace 50t ring at the time. But apart from that I am there or thereabouts. Thanks to LGF, Rienster, Martin and others who helped in the making of this.
My plan is to ride this beast soon on the very first MTB ride I ever did which was at Farleton Fell, Cumbria. Perhaps you'll join us?
So here it is.
Frame: 21" Diamond Back Topanga cro-mo frame sprayed neon pink satin
Fork:OEM cro-mo fork, sprayed satin white
Headset: basic shimano
Stem: Girvin Flex Stem
Handlebar: Italmanubri 150g (cut down)
Brakes: Dia Compe X-1 cantis
Brake Levers: Dia Compe SS8
Shifters: Camapgnolo Bullet Shifters
Front Derailleur: Campagnolo ? (need to check)
Rear Derailleur: Campagnolo ? (need to check)
Cassette: low end Shimano
Cranks: Sakae SX
Pedals: Deore SPDs
Hub Skewers: Tranz-X in purple ano
Rims: no name
Hubs: low end Shimano
Tyres: Front: Tioga Psycho (Grey)
Back: Specialized Storm Control
Saddle: Selle Italia Flite
Seatpost: no name
Seatpost Binder: no name
Weight: approx 28lbs
This has been a long time in the brewing. I probably started to collected the pieces in September of last year (2009), and put the final touches on it tonight. Mostly what had held me up recently was the good weather in which I could respray the frame.
So, cast your minds back to spring 1991, I was at university at Lancaster (not far from the Lake District and Yorkshire Dales) and got to know some guys who were into mountain biking. I had a look at their bikes - they looked really cool - especially the neon pink one. What was it?
It turned out underneath the respray to be a 1989 Diamondback Topanga. It had some unusual features - Campagnolo Bullet Shifters, Centaur Rear and front mechs. A 50 tooth chain ring on the front :shock: Dia-Compe X-1 canti brakes (anybody ever seen another set?).
Well it wasn't very long before I pestered him to sell it to me and £100 later it was mine. My first ever MTB. We went up to the Lakes most weekends and rode it into the ground. I added some modifications over time - Deore SPDs (£45 at the time :shock: ), a Girvin Flex Stem (nice neon colour clash!), Flite saddle etc.
Then I moved abroad for a year and it sat in the garage untouched. When I returned I moved onto another bike.
So, wind forward nearly 20 years and I'm now trying to relive my youth and I think, well why not try to recreate that bike that got me into the sport. I even still had some of the original parts - the handlebars, saddle, SPDs, canti brakes. That was a start. So then to find the rest. Inevitably I have had to make some compromises. It's not a 1989 Topanga frame but a year or two more recent. It's not a Campagnolo Centaur rear mech (rocking horse doo-daa these days). I probably didn't have a Pace 50t ring at the time. But apart from that I am there or thereabouts. Thanks to LGF, Rienster, Martin and others who helped in the making of this.
My plan is to ride this beast soon on the very first MTB ride I ever did which was at Farleton Fell, Cumbria. Perhaps you'll join us?
So here it is.
Frame: 21" Diamond Back Topanga cro-mo frame sprayed neon pink satin
Fork:OEM cro-mo fork, sprayed satin white
Headset: basic shimano
Stem: Girvin Flex Stem
Handlebar: Italmanubri 150g (cut down)
Brakes: Dia Compe X-1 cantis
Brake Levers: Dia Compe SS8
Shifters: Camapgnolo Bullet Shifters
Front Derailleur: Campagnolo ? (need to check)
Rear Derailleur: Campagnolo ? (need to check)
Cassette: low end Shimano
Cranks: Sakae SX
Pedals: Deore SPDs
Hub Skewers: Tranz-X in purple ano
Rims: no name
Hubs: low end Shimano
Tyres: Front: Tioga Psycho (Grey)
Back: Specialized Storm Control
Saddle: Selle Italia Flite
Seatpost: no name
Seatpost Binder: no name
Weight: approx 28lbs
