Giant AC team

TerryParadise

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Saw this old school gem come up on Gumtree, had always wanted one since I was a kid reading MBUK at lunchtimes. Something about the top tube team decals with all the logos on there and the colour scheme the same as the Martin Hawyes trials team bike.

Image from the listing:
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Anyway. Went to take a look, the guy selling clearly had no idea what this thing was (if you're reading this I'm sorry, but correct me if I'm wrong). There was something up with the rear shock, specifically the upper pivot bolt. Knowing nothing about the bike I had to make an educated guess that the bolt had sheared off at one end, even though the seller assured me 'that's how it's meant to be'... yeah mate. Sure it is. The knocking sound is also a design feature? The aural equivalent of go faster stripes? Good one.

Seller attempted to take the whole assembly apart but the thread was so ruined that even with his considerable strength and a set of soviet era mole grips he was unable to free the ruined bolt. The bike, now completely unrideable was essentially worthless. Armed with this knowledge, and ensuring he was also, I made an offer. We haggled briefly, both pretending to know considerably more than either of us actually did.

Dropped the bike off at my LBS for a diagnosis, was told that the shock would need replacing and that the threads for the 6" travel setting were ruined, but that if I found a replacement shock along with all the mounting hardware then I could still use 5 1/4" travel. This being my first dual sus bike (having owned road / BMX / hardtails until this) I figured that was 5 1/4" more rear travel than I'd ever experienced before so it was probably worth fixing (little did I know the financial implications in store for me)...

The dead rear shock:
shock.jpg
 
Re:

Hard to see exactly what is going on in the first picture; either the shock has already disassembled itself or it is way too long for the frame
 
After a YouTube crash course in rear suspension and a quick read through the AC Team manual I was armed with the knowledge to start sourcing parts to rebuild the rear suspension. eBay provided me with a Fox Float RP23, TF tuned sorted out the mounting hardware (confirmed by a quick phone call to an incredibly helpful woman who checked her spreadsheet to confirm that yes, that was the mounting kit I required) and Pro Bolt finished it off with a lovely black piece of machined metal. Who knew one bolt could set you back £10? My partner and I were shocked (excuse the pun)!

A week later, the parts assembled, I dropped off, and then promptly collected the bike from the store. All in all, the money I haggled off the bike was almost exactly what I had just spent getting it back into trailworthy condition.

Rear shock installed:
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Rideable once more:
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I took it out for a few rides, along the coast and around the New Forest and had a jolly good time. Now that I knew I liked the thing, it was time to tear it apart and replace a load of stuff to make it more visually appealing.
 
So far I have switched out the wheels, tyres, bars, stem, grips, shifters, saddle, pedals and rear derailleur. I'm now just waiting on a new set of gear cables to arrive so I can finally get it back out on the road in time for Christmas.

Progress so far:
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These just arrived so will be fitted shortly:
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I'm sure I'm breaking all the period-correct rules and it'll probably ride all sorts of wrong with the bars as low as they are now, but as I previously mentioned I've never had a full suss bike before so I have nothing to compare it to! Ignorance sure is bliss, let me tell you.
 
Before I get the drivetrain sorted I decided to give the crankset a good clean, having previously failed in removing the drive side arm due to mis-use of tools. Thanks to the Park Tools YouTube channel I was successful the second time around and discovered that luckily I hadn't made too much of a mess during my first attempt.

Mucky crankset, pre-clean:
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Found out that I have a snapped tooth, the rest of the teeth look fine so I don't think I'll bother replacing it for now. Although, if anyone does have a 104mm BCD 32t M9 N32 ring kicking about, please let me know and I'll trade coins with you for it. Update: just found one on eBay

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Once clean, I put it all back together, along with my new pedals. It looks rather smart if I do say so myself.

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Next up, the fitting of the rear cable and chain, then she should be good to go!

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... and it's done!

First full suspension bike I've ever owned, pretty pleased with the way this came out. I'd still like to find a 32t middle ring and a new cassette as it's currently got a SRAM 9.0 on there, but it rides fine for now. Will take it to the New Forest as soon as the sun's next out!

Frame: 17” 2001 Giant AC team
Forks: Rock Shox Psylo SL
Rear shock: Fox Float RP23
Brakes: Shimano Deore M447
Derailleurs: Shimano XT M751
Chain: Shimano XT HG93
Crankset: Shimano XT M751
Shifters: Shimano XT XT M8000
Wheelset: Mavic Cross One
Tyres: Continental Vertical 2.3”
Cassette: SRAM 9.0
Pedals: Easton Flatboy
Seat post: Easton EA50
Saddle: Fizik Gobi
Stem: Race Face Diabolus D2
Headset: Aheadset
Bars: Renthal Fat lite
Grips: Giant Sole-o

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Took this beauty for a Christmas ride with a mate, couldn't resist the urge to take a photo...

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He's got one of these new fancy Kink adult bmx bikes. I took it for a spin, the geometry is great. Manuals like a champ!

Happy holidays everyone
 
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