Hello, have I done something good?

They were big fat plain gauge spokes - they'll be fine with only surface rust. I'd give them a rub over with steel wool. The rims were cheap (Araya VP20) so one day get yourself some nicer silver rims. I had (and still own) an identical bike, which was my first MTB (I was 24 though).
I toured NZ, Australia and west coast of the USA on it, used it as a commuter in Singapore and loads of other adventures.

Well, I've had a chance to have a better look now. I'm going to start stripping it down at the weekend but first impressions are positive. It's about 85% original, the usual rusty chips and UV faded fluoro paint from a good portion of time outdoors but the guy I bought it from was a gent, he was well into his bikes and had a good few up on the wall in the garage. The bike is in good mechanical condition; hubs, bb and headset all feel ok but cosmetically it's clearly seen better days.

It has a gripshift for the front mech which has to go so i may as well replace the shifters wholesale. The rear mech is a M739 XT model so although this isn't going to be a period correct stock rebuild, that's a bit too far from original for my liking. Front mech is the original top pull 300LX. Crank is a horrid chinese fixed ring no name thing, obviously i want that a long way from the bike and myself. Given that i'm going to replace the brake levers, I thought I'd replace the brakes too. So..... I've been looking on here and on ebay and I reckon period correct XT/DX stuff is the way to go. When I began riding and admiring mountain bikes 20 years ago, something (anything) that said deore on it was what I wanted for my bike, my 13 year old self was so proud of the deore thumbies on my Kona.

So now, I'm going to treat myself. The single speed thing might have to wait, I'm going to fund the project by selling my road bike (2005 ribble will full campy groupo and carbon forks if anyones interested) which is gathering dust anyway. I will restore the frame, fork, bars and stem. I'm going to indulge in early nineties components and enjoy the process of dismantling, cleaning, polishing, putting back together. I'm going to invest in components that compliment the look and feel of the bike. And then, how cool will I look when I'm teaching my boys how to ride. They will look up to me on my zolatone goddess and will want to emulate me (minus the belly) and will become the retrobikers of the future. I'm going to make a mountain bike alive again (at the very least I need something functional or my boys won't be riding anywhere).

So, bring your suggestions and opinions. I'm torn on the wheels after your comment hamster. Maybe this is going the way of a frame upgrade in the future so I might just buy replacement wheels. Suggestions on rims/hubs? Anyone got any to sell?

Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself. I apologise for any offence I have caused, I will do this bike justice. If anyone has any components (90-93 XT/DX, flite ti, wheels) please pm me!

cheers

I do have a set of M231 rims on M730 (XT) hubs that suit your period, and are silver. Am looking for £95 posted for them. Can post pics if interested.

Cheers
Tim

Tim, I must say I am sorely tempted. Pics would be great ta.

Paul

Build plans sound great! Tuned in to see this one come together

Well, last I reduced the bike to a pile of parts. Those cranks are gone forever. Could have been a lot worse considering it's a 23 year old bike. Seat post came straight out like it was new. the hardest part was the fixed BB cup, the flats on it were so narrow that I started to round them off after apply a couple of attempts. Rather than get frustrated I got a mate to weld a 5' piece of rebar to it - came undone straight away after that! The stem was fairly solid too but we had it out in under 15 minutes so certainly could have been worse.

Condition of BB and headset were poor, I was planning to replace anyway but these would have been pretty rough if I hadn't, my initial impressions were wrong! Does anyone know what sizes I'm going to need? I don't have a set of verniers.

If you are going to stick with the Deore cranks of the era then it'll be a 122.5mm BB and 68mm shell - CRC have some good deals on Shimano square taper BB's in this size at present.
EDIT : Just looked and they are doing a UN51 in 73x122.5 for £7.99 that would be fine with a couple of spacers (I can send you some) or a UN55 in the correct width for £16.99.

My tour wheelset was M231s on Deore LX hubs.

I have a 300LX chainset with the original black biopace rings you can have for a tenner plus postage if you wish. It's the original spec, if you care.

PM me if interested.

Hamster, you will have a PM in just a minute!

On a different note, in my enthusiasm the get the bike dismantled while I had access to the correct toolage the other night (mates place) I neglected to pay much attention to the headset. I need to replace this as the old one was pretty much shot. I will go brand new for this and the BB for cost an reliability reasons but I have no idea what headset to buy or how to work out what I need? Can someone give me the headset 101?

Korszun":2vtooqjm said:

On a different note, in my enthusiasm the get the bike dismantled while I had access to the correct toolage the other night (mates place) I neglected to pay much attention to the headset. I need to replace this as the old one was pretty much shot. I will go brand new for this and the BB for cost an reliability reasons but I have no idea what headset to buy or how to work out what I need? Can someone give me the headset 101?

Click to expand...

In my opinion you can't go wrong with Ritchey Logic headsets (they were fitted to Marins as standard for years) The all black version would probably suit your bike better but everyone's sold out. Silver ones in the states are quite cheap... In fact i'm gonna get one. :mrgreen:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Ritchey-L ... 685wt_1170

Rich