For the last year or so I've been contemplating my next build. I had no idea what it was going to be, only that it would be a mid to late 90's frame with V brakes and 9sp M952 drivetrain. So over the last year I have been gathering up the parts for a build but with no real idea what frame I would be fitting them to. I already had the XTR parts from my old Pace in the drawer and I have slowly been sourcing other bits as they became available.
Then a few weeks ago I spotted a Sandvik made Cove Hummer in the 98> ebay page. I had a chat with the seller and came very close to buying it but I still had no wheels or brakes and a few other things. If I'd bought the frame I would still need to spend another £400 to build it up and I couldn't really afford it with xmas approaching :cry: . I was happy to leave it at that and keep playing the long game but only a few days later I spotted a Raleigh RSP titanium bike on ebay. For some reason I had never considered one of these, which is a bit odd as my first four mtb's were all Raleigh's, and I remember lusting after one of these back when they were wearing Torus stickers. The bike on ebay also happened to have a great spec with Hope wheels, Middleburn's, RS SID's etc. There were no bids with a day left to the auction and I decided I could afford it as long as the bidding went no higher than £100 more than the starting....
The bike arrived on Monday
. I unboxed it, built it up and took it for a quick spin then stripped it down and re-finished the frame with scotchbrite before building it back up with the parts that I've been gathering. I've yet to ride it again due to the weather but this is how it looks -
And the current spec is as follows -
Frame: RSP Titanium 18"
Forks: Pace RC36 Pro Class
Headset: Chris King
Stem: Syncros 120mm
Handlebar: XLite Ti 540
Grips: ODI Attack
Brakes: XTR M950
Brake Cables: Clarks
Brake Levers: Real
Shifters: XTR M952
Front Derailleur: XT M739
Rear Derailleur: XTR M952
Derailleur Cables: Clarks
Cassette: XT M760 11-34
Chain: KMC X9
Cranks: Middleburn RS3
Crank Bolts: Middleburn Ti
Chainrings: Pace 44, Pace 34, Shimano 22
Bottom Bracket: Hope Titanium
Pedals: XT M730
Hub Skewers: Control Tech Titanium
Rims: Mavic 217SUP
Hubs: Hope
Spokes: DB
Tyres: IRC Mythos
Tubes: Yes
Saddle: Flite Titanium
Seatpost: Syncros Titanium
The first things I'll be changing are the tyres; the rubber seems to be perished and very hard which means very slippy. On my brief ride the other day I was able to spin the back on wet tarmac :shock: . I'll also be changing the bars to something a bit wider but hope to keep the rest as it is. The first proper ride will be tomorrow hopefully with more pics to follow...
Then a few weeks ago I spotted a Sandvik made Cove Hummer in the 98> ebay page. I had a chat with the seller and came very close to buying it but I still had no wheels or brakes and a few other things. If I'd bought the frame I would still need to spend another £400 to build it up and I couldn't really afford it with xmas approaching :cry: . I was happy to leave it at that and keep playing the long game but only a few days later I spotted a Raleigh RSP titanium bike on ebay. For some reason I had never considered one of these, which is a bit odd as my first four mtb's were all Raleigh's, and I remember lusting after one of these back when they were wearing Torus stickers. The bike on ebay also happened to have a great spec with Hope wheels, Middleburn's, RS SID's etc. There were no bids with a day left to the auction and I decided I could afford it as long as the bidding went no higher than £100 more than the starting....
The bike arrived on Monday
. I unboxed it, built it up and took it for a quick spin then stripped it down and re-finished the frame with scotchbrite before building it back up with the parts that I've been gathering. I've yet to ride it again due to the weather but this is how it looks -
And the current spec is as follows -
Frame: RSP Titanium 18"
Forks: Pace RC36 Pro Class
Headset: Chris King
Stem: Syncros 120mm
Handlebar: XLite Ti 540
Grips: ODI Attack
Brakes: XTR M950
Brake Cables: Clarks
Brake Levers: Real
Shifters: XTR M952
Front Derailleur: XT M739
Rear Derailleur: XTR M952
Derailleur Cables: Clarks
Cassette: XT M760 11-34
Chain: KMC X9
Cranks: Middleburn RS3
Crank Bolts: Middleburn Ti
Chainrings: Pace 44, Pace 34, Shimano 22
Bottom Bracket: Hope Titanium
Pedals: XT M730
Hub Skewers: Control Tech Titanium
Rims: Mavic 217SUP
Hubs: Hope
Spokes: DB
Tyres: IRC Mythos
Tubes: Yes
Saddle: Flite Titanium
Seatpost: Syncros Titanium
The first things I'll be changing are the tyres; the rubber seems to be perished and very hard which means very slippy. On my brief ride the other day I was able to spin the back on wet tarmac :shock: . I'll also be changing the bars to something a bit wider but hope to keep the rest as it is. The first proper ride will be tomorrow hopefully with more pics to follow...
