Gone

Snap i did the same, and seem to be following suit with the return to bikes, hence getting shut of my cavvy saloon for a vectra estate, carrying power for bikes, much better than having them strapped to a bike rack on the back of your car imo!

Currently losing myself in the for sale section reminiscing, added a post/spec of my old bike in the introductions thread if ya fancy a nosey

This thread needs to be retitled as the 'it's a small world thread'

Good work on the wheels there Rick.

Also I know Rick from R/C car racing way back in the day

Well sadly the Zaskar has sat in the garage in a stripped down state awaiting me finding the motivation to polish it up! In the meantime i have been sourcing parts for it.

So far i have tracked down:

NOS Mavic 221 UB control rims,
Red hope Ti glide rear hub and suspension front,
Shimano XT M739 V-Brakes, levers and rapid fire shifters,
Shimano XT M739 mechs,
I have also sorted out a pair of spare citrine mavic rims.

I would like the following bits still:

Kore seatpost,
Kore stem with some rise as my one has no rise,
XT M739 chainset,
XT M739 cassette,
Chris king headset.

I have also bought a set of NOS GT Avalanche LE decals from 1997 that i then forwarded on to Gil_M so he could get the dimensions right for the Zaskar stickers as the other proofs he had were a bit out. Needless to say the new decals are amazing.

Will get some photos up of everything as and when it all comes together.

I was hoping you were bumping this to say you were inviting offers

Seriously though, looking forward to seeing it spangly with new decals. Missed this first time round.

Few pictures of some of the parts i have collected:



Unfortunately one of the Hope ti glide rear hubs has a slight crack in it so i managed to pick up a new unused one off ebay:

Hopefully they will be built up within a week or so once i have worked out the spoke lengths i need.

My 1997 zaskar arrived today so watching with great interest still!

Polishing

After much experimenting with various options, I have found 600 grit folowwed by 1500 used wet takes all the minor scratches out.
The final polishing can be done with a myriad of polishes, but found Brasso wadding and Maguires metal polish better than Autosol!
All hard work by hand, but made my own mini buffing wheels for pennies that work really really well and get in all the little nooks and crannis for a mirror shine Mini sheepskin paint rollers, mounted on a drill bit, select right size for a snug press fit or space out with some insulating tape, then mount in a variable speed drill, takes hours off the process, then seal with a modern Auto wax to prolong the gleam!

Well thought i might as well bump this to the top seen as we have some progress.

Both wheels are now built and the frame has been handed to fellow retrobike member drystonepaul for polishing. Think he has taken pity on me for my lack of enthusiasm for the polishing and I very much appreciate him taking it on.

I cannot wait to get it back and built as it feels like it's been years since i pulled it to bits!

Small update, bought another pair of wheels for this. Mavic X517 rims laced to a XT rear and Pace front hub's . Not even got the frame at the moment! lol