Finshed: 1992 Claud Butler Anteaus 653 (new stuff page 2)

Still looking good Karl

I love these bikes.

My sponsor gave me one to ride, but alas it was a 16" and I ride an 18" :roll:

It was idential to your build, apart from the forks which were Marzocchi (the ones with the skinny bottom section of the legs) and OE if I recall.

Lovely rebuild, but the original Manitous look so much better.......oh, and ditch the bottle cage or get a black one

Pickle":1rtco7ts said:

I love these bikes.

My sponsor gave me one to ride, but alas it was a 16" and I ride an 18" :roll:

It was idential to your build, apart from the forks which were Marzocchi (the ones with the skinny bottom section of the legs) and OE if I recall.

Lovely rebuild, but the original Manitous look so much better.......oh, and ditch the bottle cage or get a black one

Click to expand...

You are the only person I've come across who has ever seen another of these.

Also correct about the XC400 forks, they weren't well rated BITD though and I had the Mani2's fitted in the shop as replacement's. They do look better I can't deny it but finding something with a short travel that's going to look as good as the Mani2's is a tall order, I can't think of anything.

Bottle cage was from BITD and I had a pair originally, but I think it may suit my Sorcerer mega better and that has a black cage .

Carl.

I remember it well. I really pestered my sponsor, and I remember the shop mechanics working late on a Saturday night to get it ready for me to race on the Sunday. They dug out a huge seatpost to make it fit, but unfortunately with it being a 16" it was just too small and short.

I was gutted, because it was an awesome bit of kit. XT and Maguras when I was on LX and cantis!

I cant comment on the forks, because I only races about 3 - 4 miles before admitting defeat

Personally, I think Rock Shox Mag 20/21's would suit it really well.

Small update as I didn't really like the Manitou SX's. So on went a set of Z2 'Atom Bomb' bomers and a Control Tech Newton CNC stem.
Along with an USE seat post which replaces the broken Kalloy one. The USE was originally a worn blue one and I removed the anno and polished it with Autosol. The whole bike is now about 30mm shorter in reach and much nicer to ride as a result.









Shame my phone cam washes the colour out.

It was about -1 on Sunday when I took these.

Frame: Reynolds 653 Lugged - I believe handbuilt

Fork: Marzocchi Z2 'Atom Bomb' Bombers

Headset: FSA Orbit XLII
Stem: Control Tech Newton
Handlebar: Tange Prestige
Grips: Ritchey Truegrip WCS
Barends: Tranz-X (I believe)

Brakes: Magura Hydrostop Mountain Full setup
Brake Pads: Magura

Shifters: XTII Thumbies
Front Derailleur: XT 730
Rear Derailleur: XT 730 Short Cage
Derailleur Cables: Clarks
Cassette: 12-28 XT HG
Chain: HG-90
Cranks: XT 730
Chainrings: 24-36-46 XT
Bottom Bracket: XT Cartridge
Pedals: Outland Flatties

Hub Skewers: XT
Rims: Wolber AT18
Hubs: XT
Tyres: Panaracer Fire XC Pro

Saddle: WTB Rocket-V
Seatpost: USE
Seatpost Binder: Black Alloy

Weight: 28lbs

Carl.

Bit of an update as it's in BoTM Euro Special

Frame: Reynolds 653 Lugged - I believe handbuilt

Fork: Marzocchi Bomber Z2 'Atom Bomb'

Headset: FSA Orbit XLII
Stem: Control Tech Newton
Handlebar: Tange Prestige
Grips: Ritchey WCS
Barends: Tranz-X (I believe)

Brakes: Magura Hydrostop Mountain Full setup
Brake Pads: Magura

Shifters: XTII Thumbies
Front Derailleur: XT 730
Rear Derailleur: XTR M900
Derailleur Cables: Clarks
Cassette: 12-28 XT HG
Chain: SRAM
Cranks: XT 730
Chainrings: 24-36-46 XT
Bottom Bracket: XT Cartridge
Pedals: Outland Flatties (the light ones)
Hub Skewers: XT
Rims: Wolber AT18
Hubs: XT
Tyres: Panaracer Fire XC-Pro

Saddle: WTB Rocket-V
Seatpost: USE
Seatpost Binder: Black Alloy

Weight: 28lbs











Carl.

Time for a small mod. I like the bombers as forks and the ride really well but can't help but feel the colours of the Mani2's looked best, with the red bombers being all wrong, so rather than get some more Mani's I decided to change the Bombers. First I stripped them down and then off cam the red paint.
2 coats of acid etch primer and 3 coats of black enamel and they look like this:





The silver parts will be properly autosol'd and replacement decals in sympathetic colours ordered. These will hopefully look much better.

Carl.

All done, riding and looking good now.









Carl.

That is the sweetest bike on here, best of british.

Re: Finshed: 1992 Claud Butler Anteaus 653 (new stuff page 2

A shot of the Butler in it's current spec with the plain USE post and charge saddle.



Not ridden for a while but may come to France with me this year, still undecided.

Carl.