97 Dagger elite hardtail rebuild FINISHED

Nice bike. I had a to do a double take when this was in the --> 1997 threads. 13 years old could easily pass as a lot younger.

I'd not heard of Dagger bikes before but this one looks very nice and seems like they have a loyal following.

Dagger mountain bikes started as a small handmade frame shoppe in So cal in the early nineties. They started with hardtails only, and went on to produce Full suspension frames and a scandium road frame. Dan Glimm was the owner and head welder of this small 5 man company. Dan came from a pharmcuetical welding background and his frame shoppe reflected that... (clean room environment) I met Dan and his crew at Interbike in Anaheim. A year later I was buying frames from him to sell at a bike shoppe in norcal.. eventually I was riding for Dagger at local races and 24 hour events. I was not technically sponsored by them; I just found them to be great guys and wanted to help get the work out about these handbuilt, skillfuly welded framesets.

I lost touch with Dan in the late nineties and came to find out they had gone out of business. They're frames were highly touted by Mountain bike action and received many stellar reviews from them many times.

While it is true this bike could be seen as newer, all the parts with the exception of the bar and stem are from the original build. The frame as is sits has less than 1,000 miles on it mostly fire roads and singletrak, and just a few races. I expect her to give me many more years of service.

Sorry about the history lecture, not many of you blokes cross the pond have heard of them as they were at best a small boutique brand built for hardcore enthusiasts like BEEP BEEP!!! Dagger lives!

Dagger mountain bikes started as a small handmade frame shoppe in So cal in the early nineties. They started with hardtails only, and went on to produce Full suspension frames and a scandium road frame. Dan Glimm was the owner and head welder of this small 5 man company. Dan came from a pharmcuetical welding background and his frame shoppe reflected that... (clean room environment) I met Dan and his crew at Interbike in Anaheim. A year later I was buying frames from him to sell at a bike shoppe in norcal.. eventually I was riding for Dagger at local races and 24 hour events. I was not technically sponsored by them; I just found them to be great guys and wanted to help get the work out about these handbuilt, skillfuly welded framesets.

I lost touch with Dan in the late nineties and came to find out they had gone out of business. They're frames were highly touted by Mountain bike action and received many stellar reviews from them many times.

While it is true this bike could be seen as newer, all the parts with the exception of the bar and stem are from the original build. The frame as is sits has less than 1,000 miles on it mostly fire roads and singletrak, and just a few races. I expect her to give me many more years of service.

Sorry about the history lecture, not many of you blokes cross the pond have heard of them as they were at best a small boutique brand built for hardcore enthusiasts like BEEP BEEP!!! Dagger lives!

I would love to hear suggestions regarding stem and bar replacement? Please share your two cents worth won't you? I am keen to hear what you think.... and thanks in advance. Cheers

Would a 10 degree rise Thompson stem work with a flat bar for you? If so then you could keep your bar-ends.

RockiMtn":3vmm97uq said:

Would a 10 degree rise Thompson stem work with a flat bar for you? If so then you could keep your bar-ends.

Click to expand...

+1

Yes, that is the way I am leaning. I want to keep the barends as they really aid leverage when climbing. I am in the market for a nice strong but light alu bar longer than than standard 580 m CC length. They are out there, I would like to stay away from Easton... for no particular reason other than they I think they are way overpriced and you end up paying for the name.

I am looking at Titec, and FSA to name a few. Any suggestions would be welcome.

Salsa Pro Moto? Available in 5deg sweep/660mm width for a standard clamp. Or if you go OS, 710mm and all sorts of crazy sweeps.

definately going OS, and I would trim any bar down to the 640 range. I like a wider bar, yet not so wide I have to worry about catching bushes and trees on tight single trak trails. I had not thouhgt of Salsa... thanks for the suggestion. I will chk the internets. Cheers

Dagger elite UPDATE

Greetings retrobikers. I have changed the bar and stem back to a flat Salsa Pro moto aluminum bar with 11 degrees of sweep and a Salsa 10 degree rise 120 mm stem. The bike fits much mo betta, and its definately stiffer and and handles more precisely, albeit a bit heavier. She is finished... done. Thanks for your comments.

Dagger lives !