I always wanted one of these! RC200 F3

[RickTheUncivil]

So a sunny Friday afternoon was spent taking this bad boy for a quick spin. First impressions are positive, I think everything works as it should, apart from the forks which pretty much compress and stay there.

Stripped everything down for a closer look, started the degreasing and cleaning. I now have a box of nice clean XT parts ready to go. The whole drivetrain looks in good order, no damage and not much wear.

The growling rear wheel looks to be freehub rather than hub itself. Once I got the cassette off the freehub had a bit more wibble than I would expect, so might just be loose, either way thats fixable. Also found a little ding on the rear rim, but the rim still runs true so I'm not too bothered about that for now.

The handlebar grips were sacrificed to the gods of shot rubber, but gripshift shifters seem OK. The bars are nearly unmarked and a quick wipe they look smart. Not sure I want a blue theme though, will think on that.

The steering was badly fitted, the steerer tube was a smidge too long so the topcap didn't clamp tight and the whole lot moved about. On closer inspection the headset itself looks to have caked up and doesn't want to clean up, think I need a bigger hammer. Anyway, popped it out of the frame to repair or replace.

By far the biggest headache I have is the seatpost, its stuck solid. I'm hoping that a double ended attack with penetrating oil will help move that before too long and without too much swearing. I'm being gentle as I don't want to bash the frame or the nice black syncros post about. The flight saddle is a bit tatty but good enough to try to look after.

I think I should be able to get some time next weekend to look at the frame, see if I can get the shine up a bit. In the meantime I'm thinking about parts, pondering the direction to take this build. Think I will build it back up as it was for now, get used to it and see how it goes. Might look out for some shifter/lever combo units, as I'm not a great fan of gripshift. And I reckon that the SPD pedals need to go too.

Plenty of time to mull it over, no rush for this build.

 

[RickTheUncivil]

These parts have cleaned up really well. Soapy water on the big bits, FS-1 on the greasy bits and fresh lube in all the moving bits when putting things back together again. Since that bit went well I'm now looking at keeping the XT theme going if I can.



Which brings me on to the wheels. Next job is to strip the hubs down and see how they look on the inside. Assuming all is well I will keep the mis-matched wheels for now, but I think long term I will try to get a matching pair of hubs, either hope or XT not decided yet, and matching rims to, erm, match. If anyone has parts for swapsies then let me know.

No time to shine the frame yet, still working on getting the seatpost out. Being gentle but but getting more annoyed by it now. I want to get that done before I spend anything on the forks just in case I make a royal mess of it and break something expensive.

 

[RickTheUncivil]

Still working on the seatpost. Lashings of WD and time has been recommended so trying that, going to get mechanical on its ass next week. Gently, of course.

In other news, decided to lose the gripshift in favour of some xt shifter / lever combos from forum member lee-m-c. Blue bars are probably on their way out as part of blue purge, but might backtrack on that one when build day comes around. I feel it may need some colour.

Can't shift the rear axle nuts with my trusty flat spanners, looking like a job for some bigger physics. And how the hell do you / do you need to get into the old hope xc front hub? Anything to see? Loose bearings?

 

[RickTheUncivil]

SEAT POST IS OUT!

Clamped the post in the chuck of our big lathe, applied a bit of heat and plenty of WD40, and with a considerable amount of jumping up and down we achieved rotation with an earsplitting shriek. Once it was freed off a bit we moved onto a softjaw vice and started putting some pull onto it along with the turning, took a bit of doing but got the post out with just some scuffs to the top of the post (shame) but no damage.

Very happy bunny.

Now I know the frame is viable i can get on sorting the finish and getting some forks ready. I have started another thread to discuss the frame finish, but the forks are a key decision:

Do I repair the otherwise good condition Judy XC with some springs / new elastomer?
Do I acquire some Pace forks, looking at RC35s and they are not a cheap option, but would look better I think.
Plan C? Open to alternative suggestions at this point

 

[FluffyChicken]

Re:

What weight springs would you need for the Judy?

Fix them and use them if they are in good condition.

 

[RickTheUncivil]

Not sure what weight springs Fluffy, not really thought that far. Looks to be 160 or 190lb, no idea what that means in real money.
They also look to be £30 plus i have to hope the damper side is still good. Cosmetically they are good to go but functionally its a bit unknown to me.
That said, nothing to lose so might give it a go.

I'm officially on the lookout for some old Judy XC with good internals (perhaps with shot outers) if anyone wants to do a deal.

 

[Ollie]

Very nice .

 

[RickTheUncivil]

Started stripping the forks today. Crumbs everywhere so elastomer is officially shot. Also slightly disappointed to see a puddle of oil which I guess means the damper cartridge is blown too. Just been to get all the bits left in the legs out snd cleaned up and see where we go. I'm still in the market for some judy elastomer or spring kit and it looks like a damper cart too. I feel a wanted post coming up.

 

[RickTheUncivil]

Plenty of hours with the autosol and the frame looks a lot better. There is still work to do though to get the persistent marks out, when I get some time to put in some elbow grease its wet/dry time and a proper polish job. Thinking - the decals are metallic, and I'm wondering what are the chances of getting some replacements that are not just vinyl? To do a proper job of the frame I would probably need to remove the decals, but I can work around them and see how that goes. Its a small detail but I would know.

A complication for the rebuild is the bars. I think I'm going to lose the blue Renthals and have some nice light Tioga jobbies that are the right sort of colour but are a fraction too thick for the stem. I need to get the micrometer out and check but we can only be talking a fraction of nothing difference but its enough to stop it working. So the question is, change bars or change stem? Or stretch the stem clamp a smidge - not keen on that really. Hmmm, measure and find out which one is 'wrong' I guess. New bars is not a problem, and to be honest keeping the Renthals isn't a problem for now, I can change them out at a later date.

I have sorted some NOS XT 737 hubs and found a matching pair of rims so wheels are sorted now. Need a final true once the frame and forks are ready to get them properly set. Also got some XT 738 STI units to replace the gripshift. Not entirely happy with them, painted levers look odd so keeping an eye out for some with silver levers. Might have to go 739 tho. So nearly all there with the components.

Anyway, rebuild is on hold until I get the forks rebuild, thread <here>. If I get forks sorted quickly then build time and get the thing used. If there's no end in sight with the forks in the next few weeks I will get on with the frame and delay the build until later in the year, maybe get it all ready for the spring.

 

[FluffyChicken]

739 are v and 738 are canti is that what you mean.

Also are you talking about the silver-grey paint on the levers. I have a few and you get a really nice finish if you pop the lever out and dab a small bit of nitromors on it and then just wipe it off. an instant polished silver look, really nice finish.