Project 4: Orange Clockwork (Part 4 of 4 on page 3)

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement. I'll post up part 4 once the rain stops and I can get some quality pictures taken. I'm really impressed with the way it's turned out and i'm looking forward to riding it too.

Only just seen this, and I'm very impressed with the little details, and lengths you've gone to.

Part 4 of 4: The finished article ridden and rated


Finishing Touches

Chainstay Protector: Pace Carbon Armour

Heard bad things about these not sticking but with the Pace theme I thought I’d take a chance. I prepared the chainstay exactly as I was directed to by the instructions, stuck it down and then went the extra mile by securely taping it into postion for a couple of week with masking tape. Looked great when I removed the masking tape, for all of a day, then peeled. I’ve secured it with helicopter tape in the end, how disappointing are modern Pace products!



The Finished Article



















Full Specification

Frame: Orange Clockwork (17.5” C-T)

Fork: Pace RC-30 (1” a-head steerer)

Headset: M-Part 1”
Stem: Syncros 140mm 0 Deg (1 1/8” shimmed to 1”)
Handlebar: Pace Renthal RC-130
Grips: ODI Attack (cut down in size)
Barends: X-Lite Ski

Brakes: Shimano XTR M900 with titanium M6 pivot bolts
Brake Pads: Shimano XTR M900 (non cartridge)
Brake Cables: Shimano XTR (modern v-brake type)
Cantilever cable hangers: Shimano XTR M900 with titanium M6 bolts
Brake Levers: Shimano XTR M900 STI

Shifters: Shimano XTR M900 STI with titanium M5 bolts
Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR M900 28.6mm Bottom Pull
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR M900 with Venhill titanium break away bolt.
Derailleur Cables: Shimano XTR (modern)
Cassette: Shimano XTR M900 P-Type 12-28t
Chain: SRAM PC890
Cranks: Shimano XTR M900 175mm
Crank Bolts: Middleburn Self-Extracting
Chainrings: Shimano XTR M900 26/36/46t
Chainring bolts: TA specialities titanium inner and Middleburn alloy outer
Bottom Bracket: Shimano UN-73 68x107mm
Pedals: Shimano M737 SPD

Hub Skewers: Shimano XTR M900
Rims: Mavic M231 CD 32h front, Mavic M261 CD 36h rear
Hubs: Shimano XTR M900 32h front, Shimano XTR M900 36h rear
Tyres: Ritchey Z-Max 26x2.1” amberwall
Tubes: Continental

Saddle: Selle Italia Flite titanium
Seatpost: Shimano XTR M910 26.8mm
Seatpost Bolt: Campagnolo

Build Conclusion

As I wrote at the very start I've always had a thing for the Orange Clockwork, they are a British mtb icon of the era I relate to the most. I'm proud with the way mine has turned out, it's a real head turner and specced to a level that back in the day would be beyond my wildest dreams.

There have been a few things with this build that i've been disappointed with. Firstly, the rear wheel that needed repair. In the end the freewheel was fine, it was rough edges on the spindle cones that were catching and restricting the freewheel. Fortunately it was a cheap fix, but not what you'd expect from an expensive set of wheels. Secondly, I was disappointed with the modern Pace chainstay protector. Crap unless you have a perfectly flat chainstay to stick it to. Finally, the frame seems to suffer with seatpost slippage, i'll rough up the seat tube internals and see if this sorts the problem.

The Ride

I've had a couple of very short rides on it so far and it all feels very nice indeed. I'm going to take it out for a longer ride this evening to shake it down properly. The gears and brakes are excellent as you'd expect, i'm really getting the hang of setting up this M900 XTR now and it's working just as good as it looks.

The only negatives I can think of are the seatpost slippage, poor mud clearance for a British mtb and perhaps the top tube is a dab shorter than i'd like.


Thanks for looking.

The End.

That looks absolutely stunning.

Like your Dyna-Tech, this is a fantastic build, with lots of attention to detail

Enjoy riding it!

Damien

I like it and and I do like the detail in to the build, maybe it's because I breifly had a clockwork with thoose pace forks I bought from a cash convertors BiTD for a couple hundred pounds swaped the frame/forks with my brother which then went on to get nicked /

Just three things stand out for me and yet my 'saddness in these matters' probably shows here but only for the sort of attention you put into the bike.

1) Stem, save it for another build. It doen't look right, needs to be shiney silver.
2) Your cassette is 12 tooth lowest, not 11. (unless the picture you show is incorrect and you've replaced the default M900 12 tooth for an 11 tooth from another model)
3) You front brake blocks are back to front, yes it makes it harder to get the wheel out, but they are back to front, it will improve your braking and the front is where you need it.

Oh, I love that. Trouble is, it falls in the 'Too nice to ride' category. That first time you take it out you've ruined it, but it'd be a shame to not ride it. Wish I had that dilemma though.

I agree with Fluffychicken though. The Syncros is always a nice piece of kit but a silver or black stem would be better.

Silver

I can see what the feeling is on a matching theme of stem and post, but to my"practical" mind and experience, Shiney stems are a pain on a Sunny day ,with the sun reflecting of them, much the same with bars. On the other hand, a polished stem is les prone to showing rubs and insertion marks. The forks balance up enough silver with the post IMHO, top job!
Very few HT frames ride as well as a Clockwork, they ride much much lighter than the average 25 pounds!

Great project and write up. The attention to detail is awesome.
Like what you've done with the spd's too..... both sets of mine are looking tired and seeing your pics has inspired me.

I've liked the look of this clockwork in all of it's previous guises, but this one is the best yet. Like the orange flite and polished post too... going in that direction with my build

Cheers,
boy"O"boy

FC checked the blocks and they are definitely the right way around, they have marking on the underside which designates their position on the bike.

As for the stem, I really like it. It brings out the colour of the M900 and to me thats not a bad thing. There is plenty of silver on the bike already and I don't believe in this matching stem/seatpost nonsense for a moment.

As for riding it, I just can't help myself:



Really poor mud clearance I must say and the Ritchey tyres don't cut it in the mud for a moment. A part from that rode really well, a nice bike.

Get some grey grips then.

And a bucket of hot soapy water.