94 Zaskar, the one that started it all

legrandefromage":1fm98oc7 said:

The Peaks 'Ride to the Mast' is a bit like Kilimanjaro...

2009 action photo of ededwards beating off competition:

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Mark that's exactly the image I had in my head....

sinnerman":1ua27hhi said:

:? Dude what hubs were you using in 94 that required a block...?
And are you going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro...? Do you really need a 24 granny ring and a 32 top sprocket...? You would be climbing that hill all day surely...?

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The hubs are Hope, always have been, the rear one is the original. I can't remember why it came with screw on fitting, it may have been that it was the only one available at the time.

Yes, you have a point about the gearing, I think a 24 tooth granny ring will probably cure all ills, but at present the gearing is too long.

NeilM":t7wfq2ug said:

sinnerman":t7wfq2ug said:

:? Dude what hubs were you using in 94 that required a block...?
And are you going to climb Mount Kilimanjaro...? Do you really need a 24 granny ring and a 32 top sprocket...? You would be climbing that hill all day surely...?

Click to expand...

The hubs are Hope, always have been, the rear one is the original. I can't remember why it came with screw on fitting, it may have been that it was the only one available at the time.

Yes, you have a point about the gearing, I think a 24 tooth granny ring will probably cure all ills, but at present the gearing is too long.

Click to expand...

Ah you have an early set of Hubs, that explains it, I couldn't see a picture and did wonder, I tend to go through Blocks like a knife through butter.... they are a pain in my ass, Long LIve the Freehub....

Can you explain for me what you mean too long, am I being really thick.....?

By too long, I mean the gearing is too high (at least for my legs).

A younger fitter me was obviously able to cope with it, as my son probably could, but these days I like to get my cadence up a bit and "just keep pedalling".

All went a bit 'strictly' just then

I've had mine from 'new' but its a bit like triggers broom -

93 model year Zaskar on its 3rd set of hubs but only its second set of rims (my Hopes cracked too)

3rd chainset as my beloved Toplines cracked (anyone notice a pattern here?)

3rd rear mech as the Proshift I was using shot up in value and was enough to pay for a months mortgage

3rd seatpost

3rd set of shifters

2nd set of decals...

LGF, I suspect yours has seen more use over the last few years than mine has, as initially mtb's were just an additional form of training for me, to help improve my fitness for my (long term) Martial Arts training. I rode the Zaskar a lot for a couple of years after it was built, and then as the intensity of the MA training increased, along with my responsibilities as an instructor, the poor Zaskar saw less and less use.

Last year, prior to my opening the Pandora's Box that is RetroBike, I pressed it back into service, again to help with my fitness, at which stage it was just my mtb, then I opened the box and it has since become more of a piece of my past, and so my usual inclination to update and change has been resisted to the point where I was quite sentimental about having to change the front hub, even though the replacement is identical.

Considering the thrashing it has had, both in the past and more recently, I am amazed it is in such good condition, but there we are, it is what it is, and it makes me smile every time I ride it.... or that might be a grimace.