Bradbury Manitou Full Suspension - Finished!!

I'm sure you all remember the 'Is it, isn't it' frame that I got on ebay a few months ago for a shade over £150 that turned out to be a 1991 Bradbury built full suspension frame:

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=27147




Well, it's been a while and finally it's done. It was a real challenge as there were so many non-standard parts to find (90mm width, 140mm length bottom bracket, 145mm rear hub and skewer to name a couple), but fortune was smiling on me brightly and with the help of loads of people on here I found them all.


So here are a few shots of this 'rare as hens teeth' beast:




that front end (115mm dropouts):




the weird, offset and dishless rear end:




that beautiful stem:




Gil's handywork:



One happy owner:





I must say some BIG thank-you's

First to Carsten in the US for offering help and support with a US transaction (that he talked me out of for good reason!), Andre for loads of 'kult' parts, Slim and Jonnyretro for the elastomers and bits, Kev, Joe fand Scantor sorting me out with original Bradbury forks, Gil_M for his vinyl mastery and most importantly Nick (AKA Elite) for finding some superb bits and making me others. All of you are stars.



Frame: Bradbury Manitou Full Suspension
Fork: Bradbury Manitou 115mm dropout

Headset: Kingsberry
Stem: Ringle Trail Stem
Handlebar: Nitto monster longs!
Grips: Oury

Brakes: FRO (Italian Graftons)
Brake Pads: Scott Mathauser Superbrake finned
Cantilever cable hangers: Ringle
Brake Levers: Dia compe Advantage 292

Shifters: XT M737
Front Derailleur: XT Bandless
Rear Derailleur: XT Shortcage M737
Cassette: HG70
Chain: Sram
Cranks: Cooks Bros CBR
Crank Bolts: SRP
Chainrings: Cooks/Middleburn
Chainring bolts: SRP
Bottom Bracket: Cooks 140mm (!)
Pedals: Speedplay Magnums

Hub Skewers: Ringle
Rims: Campag Mirrox
Hubs: Ringle Front and Manitou Rear
Tyres: Onza Racing Porcs

Saddle: Turbo
Seatpost: Ringle
Seatpost Binder: Manitou and Ringle

Nice bike!

And a nice reference to a great song!

Cheers,Al

Great build .

Wow! :shock: Handlebar! :shock:

Nice build, lovely, one of my all time fave-but-will-never-own-I-fear bikes (ever since THAT MBUK superbike review).

Yup, jealous as hell

Pickle":23pbhqfp said:

Wow! :shock: Handlebar! :shock:

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26" of pure steel 15 degree bend, all the comfort of a riser with none of the embarrassment!

how does it fit in the end Pete?

Congratulations Pete. I've been looking forward to seeing this. That'a a fantastic period rebuild.

Is the stem missing its' roller, or is it just the angle of the photo?

theboy":35pd617z said:

how does it fit in the end Pete?

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In my 70's stakka boots and my 'planet of the apes' arm extensions, just fine...

..actually it's not that bad, it is a big bike (classed as an 18"), but then all Bradburys were from what I've seen and the monster bars bring it back and up. It's certainly no jump bike, but then you wouldn't on this, now would you?

Crell":elbm1v2a said:

Congratulations Pete. I've been looking forward to seeing this. That'a a fantastic period rebuild.

Is the stem missing its' roller, or is it just the angle of the photo?

Click to expand...

Cheers fella, I hoped I'd done the frame justice with the parts mix but not resorted to the usual bling heavy build.

The roller's in the parts box as you don't need it for the sus forks and it rattled when I rode (I think the cable usually keeps it quiet!)

note to self, need to get out more