What you don't dare do, people - Ti `98 Voodoo Loa

br0qn

Retro Guru
Complete retaliation to @pw_pw_la 's bonty CX thread ;D

Since finding the '94 Bonty Race with 700c wheels on it I've been wanting a proper cross bike. A Bonty CX is the long term goal but we can't hold our breaths for that one so when I found this here Loa I had to have it. Promptly found fork for it and we're off ...

I think they only made these for ~3 years( 96-98?) and I'm not certain what year this is, but calling it a '97 to give me a home here.

1" head tube
135mm rear spacing
Funky decals
Single, left side, downtube shifter mount
Sweet rear mech cable routing through the canti post is my favorite bit.

There will be lots of period here but taking the opportunity to try a modern drivetrain, especially since finding the m9000 rear mech locally for cheap. Seatpost and wheels are placeholders but I think I'll use my perforated Flite on this one.

_1002158.jpg

_1002159.jpg


_1002165.jpg

_1002160.jpg

_1002161.jpg

_1002162.jpg

_1002163.jpg

_1002164.jpg
 
Hey! You stole my thread title:
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/the-voodoo-who-do-what-you-don’t-dare-do-people.443151/
:p
hahaha piss! Wow, and a Loa?! No way, I thought I searched high and low for threads featuring one of these and only came up with this ancient one. Wanna share thread titles? lol


edit: wait! I commented on your thread several months ago haha. It's official, I spend too many late nights on RB and I'm a thread title thief, intentional or not
 
Last edited:
It's not a competition mate...

Mostly because there's none to be had between this and the Bonty CX! ;)

I jest, I jest...

This is gonna be great, I'm sure. Looking forward to seeing how you put it together, and most importantly, hearing how it rides.

Any idea yet how wide you can go with tires?
 
I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted to do with this and I found much of what I wanted pretty quickly.

I had the Colnago fork chosen before I pulled the trigger on the frame and with that I wanted to throw as much Italian/Euro on this as I can with concessions made here and there of course.

FRM kit with the help of @ibbz. Headset came minus bearings direct from FRM but I found some Cane Creek bearings to fit. Hoping that it comes together to work alright. The cranks are super rad I think, supposed to be very stiff and certainly are very light. Integrated BB came with, all in nice shape.

WTB stop from @synlos ( Ti ferrule not pictured ;D )

135mm rear spacing as mentioned which makes the wheelset a bit challenging. There are hundreds of nice enough and cheap enough 100/130 wheelsets to be had but that means running a spacer which I'm not into at all so build a set it is. I'd been eyeing this old set of faded black 100/135mm 32h CK hubs to use on the green Race Lite which already has a wheelset, but I wanted these hubs to match the rest of what is going on. I was going to swap them in but alas I decided to just run the wheelset I have as is. Still wanting an old CK wheelset I was able to pick the hubs up for a very reasonable amount of money, and they even came with a spare nos freehub (not pictured.) Considering a few different hoops to mate them too. Anyone have a strong feeling to go with silver or black for the rims?

_1002186.jpg


With the single downtube shifter boss on the left the plan is to run a lever there for the front while these Gevenalle levers with the thumby will manage the rear 11 cogs.

_1002197.jpg


the rest of the cockpit is sorted but en route.

I bought a set of really sweet, complete w/ all hardware and hangers, nos CX Spooky cantis for a great price.

_1002195.jpg

They're keeping with the Euro (Netherlands) spec and also, if you've noticed, the almost "anywhere there is text it's white" theme.

In all my research about CX bits from the late 90s to early aughts I came across another set of cantis that also fit the bill. Apparently only made from '08-'09. They're lighter with all Ti hardware/bearings/pivots and I think they look amazing. Made by Ciamillo who's better known for his road calipers. I think they're made in the US (anyone know? he's Georgia based from what I gather) but his name sure sounds Italian and the text is white enough! Also in my research I found Ciamillo is an engineer and built some titanium dolphin fin that you wear when diving and he was planning to use it to be the first person to cross the Atlantic using the fin as a human power submarine...or something.

_1002192.jpg

Something like ~185g for the set with pads...just need to figure out the right pads, they have they're own pad holders (flipped 90 degrees in the photo here to lay flat.) Check the skimpy hangers with a Ti pinch bolt.

Next up are the pedals. I'm going to try clipless for the first time and while I was looking at nice light pedals

-current gen XTR - pretty light at 314g , white text, not IT/EUR, not cheap at $110.
-Xpedo M-Force pedals which I love the look of and they're damn light at 215g but $285 ! and they're not IT/EUR, and the text....

enter Look S Track - made in 3 variants with the base model coming in at 287g (320g with cleats + hardware) and easily found nos for $50 shipped. Origin - France & text - white!

_1002202.jpg

maybe I'll hate clipping and cleats but it's a cheap enough way to find out. I like the look too.


...and the boring bits, the modern drivetrain. Plan is to run the XTR m9000 mech in the rear with a matching m8000 11spd XT cassette. Up front will be an Ultegra 2x mech.

_1002189.jpg
 
Last edited:
just decided this thread, given the way it's going, probably should be moved to the 98-> section. I'll change the title but if a mod could help me 🙏 relocate please
 
Back
Top