1991 Rocky Mountain Cirrus **New project** Update 10.10.2011

Thanks for the comments and help - I will be needing plenty more help as I progress.

Chickenball – I will be getting the Syncros decals re-made at some point. You can just see the remnants of the original ones that have been removed. Hopefully the Decal master on RB can provide some for us both – I’ll remember to contact you when I get round to asking myself.

Rockimtn – A very nice example, mine too has the stock XT and Syncos parts apart from the wheels and seat post - by the way, what size seat post is your ’91 wearing? Just acquired a period correct Syncros flat handle bar and very good condition brake pads for the M732 cantis. I also need a saddle, but this is the least of my worries at the moment. Furthermore, I would love to see pics of your decals on the ’91 cirrus?

Fluffychicken – Yes this is the one you refer to. I was surprised it wasn’t out-ed here, though still plenty of bidders. I don’t think I got the bargain of the century, but the Powerlite forks are in good nick, fairly rare and were key to me putting my best foot forward with the bidding. Collectively the parts I’ll be keeping are worth the money I paid. The seller did say that the st-m095 STIs maybe in his mums shed and will post them on if he finds them - we live in hope.

Regards

Try a 27.0 seatpost in there (or see if 27.2 doesn't quite fit)
1990 Cirrus where 27.0, while you say it's not one it might be ?
I've not looked at the detailing, but things where subject to change at this period.

It does look later though, the clamp area not just pinched in a bit ?

definitely a 30.4 on the 92, and fairly sure on the 91. i'll reconfirm tonight. decals are identical between the two frame aside from colour, and me peeling off the decal off the headtube of the 92 BITD. :roll:

Back from my holidays and about to disentangle the Cirrus from the back of the cellar where it's languished since I picked it up last year. Threw on the RockShox and wheels to be able to roll it around. Need to work out how to clean up the frame without brightening that unique raw aluminium look then get some new decals, before screwing together and riding. The previous owner had it from new and even took it to the Rockies to ride it - hence the state of it I guess!

Lovely patina on that frame mrkawasaki!

Looks like a '91 Cirrus...

Mine has YA08190 as framenumber and it's a '91. Someone on here told me that all '91 frames start with YA0. '92 frames start with YA1.. Strange logic, I think, but I found some residual varnish near/in the welds... The '91 was clearcoated, the '92 was not.

But... I decided to go '92 with mine (for now), since I don't have a Syncros fork. The fork that will be in my frame is a Manitou EFC (I know, not '92). It colours nice with the decals and I want the bike to be more comfortable, since I planned it to be the bike for my girl friend who isn't used to mountainbiking...

Looking forward to the build.. any progress yet ?
Here is my build thread: http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=160415&highlight=

A little update.

I’ve started to get to grips with the restoration including degreasing / cleaning the frame and taking the forks apart to remove the debris inside the blades.

The frame will need a bit of work to remove the oxidisation. I don’t want to go to town with the abrasives so I’ll progress slowly and see how it goes. It almost appears to have a coating, but i'm not sure :?





The Syncros forks were a bit of a nightmare as one of the bolts was a bugger to shift. The crown is in good order and should clean up nicely. The fork blades need new paint and decals with framesave protection to the internals. The plastic top caps on the blades were also difficult to remove, but I managed to do this reasonably carefully with the only damage / loss being one of the plastic tabs, which have become brittle over the years. Thankfully it still re-fits nice and snug. The forks are not quite as good as I first thought.





The Cattleprod stem which came with the bike is only good for scrap, note the crack in the handlebar mount. This is a key part of the jigsaw along with a 27.0 Syncros seat post that I’m missing so if anyone can help please get in touch.





The XT chainset, cantilevers and derailleurs are all going for a long soak.




I should also start to source the decals.

Finally, thank you all for the help to date.

hi all
awesome bikes guys!!! i'd love to get my hands on one of those syncros forks too. i have a RM Experience it would look great on. just wish there were more Experience's here to check out.
roy

shame about the stem.

mvd1974":x9vben77 said:

Looks like a '91 Cirrus...

Mine has YA08190 as framenumber and it's a '91. Someone on here told me that all '91 frames start with YA0. '92 frames start with YA1.. Strange logic, I think, but I found some residual varnish near/in the welds... The '91 was clearcoated, the '92 was not.

Click to expand...

Mine is YA0Z373 - guess that means it's quite an early one? Do you think they really made 8000+ Cirrus or are the numbers shared over the full RM range?