gradeAfailure
Senior Retro Guru
Well, after selling the '92 Marin Eldridge and getting an '11 Pitch Pro it soon became apparent that once the trails turned to mud, 6" of travel (even though it can be locked out), 2.35" sticky tyres and a rather short cockpit weren't the best of commuting bedfellows.
So, after idly searching for a couple of weeks, a chance eBay description search for "STX" threw up a 1994 DiamondBack Ascent with a Buy-It-Now of £35, and within an hour's drive. Looked pretty original and was the right size to boot, so the BIN button was duly clicked and it was mine.
Five minutes after getting it, I randomly decided to search on RB for "Ascent" just to see if I could get some more info, and it threw up an Auction Watch thread about the very bike! So, I'm sorry to Pyro Tim, who missed out!
Anyway, picked her up and she's in amazing condition, and apart from the saddle, V-brakes and one tyre, seems to be completely original. That didn't last though, as I'm not the biggest fan of the retro arse-up/head-down riding position, so I chucked on a shorter stem and Azonic riser from a couple of other bikes lying around the house, and swapped the fat cracked blackwall tyres out for some IRC rustwalls.
Next up is some thumbies and proper V-brake levers to sort the braking out, new brake blocks and new cables all round, a better saddle, and I'm done
So, after idly searching for a couple of weeks, a chance eBay description search for "STX" threw up a 1994 DiamondBack Ascent with a Buy-It-Now of £35, and within an hour's drive. Looked pretty original and was the right size to boot, so the BIN button was duly clicked and it was mine.
Five minutes after getting it, I randomly decided to search on RB for "Ascent" just to see if I could get some more info, and it threw up an Auction Watch thread about the very bike! So, I'm sorry to Pyro Tim, who missed out!
Anyway, picked her up and she's in amazing condition, and apart from the saddle, V-brakes and one tyre, seems to be completely original. That didn't last though, as I'm not the biggest fan of the retro arse-up/head-down riding position, so I chucked on a shorter stem and Azonic riser from a couple of other bikes lying around the house, and swapped the fat cracked blackwall tyres out for some IRC rustwalls.
Next up is some thumbies and proper V-brake levers to sort the braking out, new brake blocks and new cables all round, a better saddle, and I'm done