1996 Gary Fisher Montare restoration - Now complete

The frame is now at the Powder Coaters and decals en-route from Gil.

I have all period upgrades waiting to go on the bike - XT front, and rear mech, Sugino 900 crank set, XTR cantilevers, Judy SLs.
Also a new bottom bracket as the original (LP26) felt quite rough and not very good tbh, also new sealed headset as the original (Dia-Compe Kontak SA2) was not sealed and again started to feel a bit rough.

I don't know what to do about the gear levers now, i don't know whether to stick with the grip shift of go down the rapid fire route?
 
New levers will help enormously with making the bike look like new so thats a good find.
Should be a good one :D
 
Bike is now back and decals from Gil have been added. Since this picture (taken Saturday) i have added a new bb and a new headset (modern sealed one)

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I am in the process of rethinking the brakes.

I had originally wanted canti's as that is what this bike had when i purchased it back in 1996 and i was originally going for a bit of a catalogue build. However having used my other bike with V's i have changed my mind and am going to go with Vs. I have upgraded all other components, from the shox to the groupset - XT and equivalent etc so i thought why not change the brakes.

I have the original Fisher catalogue from 96 and all the high end models had V Brakes - they were just becoming prominent for the high end in 1996 (well in Fisher land it was) so i can get away with using Vs, the frame is not a canti frame either. The annoying this is i have everything for cantis so will have to hold off on the build until i can track down levers etc. I will also have to sell the XTR cantis on :roll:

I have an real sense of excitement that the build is now coming to a closure and i will have my old bike back and to how i really wanted it back in the day, but just did not have the funds to dedicate then.

I know it is not a Klein or Zaskar build, but this is my bike from 1996 that i had to pay £150 a month for over six months and that i have fond memories of doing many silly things on. I know the groupset will have been changed but it still has the nostalgic feel to it :D
 
awesome job so far man. That thing would kill with a full 739 deore xt groupo save gripshift 800xrays and 1996 judy sls!
 
Thanks guys.

I have '96 Judy SLs ready to go on - i have just changed the oil in the cartridge, replaced the stickers, cleaned the legs and greased the internals so hopefully they are good.

It will be predominantly M739 when built which will be made up of 739 front mech, rear mech, cassette, V brakes, and STIs.
The crankset is a Sugino mighty 900 as the original one was Sugino 500 and i kind of wanted to keep it similar but upgrade at the same time.
 
I am extremely happy with the build as this is my first one - i am a rider first and only a builder due to this. As i have stated this was the first mtb i purchased way back in 1996 and now 16 years later it has the spec i craved for back in the day.

Frame: Fisher 6061 T6 Aluminium

Fork: Rockshox Judy SL

Headset: FSA Orbit MX
Stem: Generic aluminium one that came with the bike originally 185g
Handlebar: Generic aluminium one that came with the bike originally 170g
Grips: Lock on grips
Barends: Generic Fisher

Brakes: V Brake XT M739
Brake Levers: XT M739

Shifters: XT M739 STIs
Front Derailleur: XT M739
Rear Derailleur: XT M739
Cassette: XT M739
Chain: Shimano IG90
Cranks: Sugino Mighty 900, 172.5mm crank arms, 22.32.42 chainrings
Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN55
Pedals: XT

Rims: Mavic M231
Hubs: LX Parallax
Tyres: Charge Splashback 2.1

Saddle: Ritchey
Seatpost: Titanium
Seatpost Binder: SQ M730

Weight: Not sure but feels pretty light :cool:

I just really need to change the Judy brace for a V Brake brace and then that is it, but not too desperate to track one down but i will be keeping my eyes peeled so to speak :D
 
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