1994 Rocky Mountain Equipé (lil' kerfuffle)

[KayOs]

Hello everyone,
This is a thread that nobody asked for, but I feel like writing it anyway.
It's about a bike that has been giving me incredible enjoyment ever since I started building it this January.

I can't remember where I got the frame from, but one day I found it in the way while tidying up the shed.



As I had never been particularly interested in Rock Mountain bikes before, I put it up for sale.



Three months later, it was still there; apparently, no one wanted it.
What's more, @MattiThundrrr had put a flea in my ear.
At the beginning of the year, there was a build-off on ratrodbikes.com. So why not try something different?

But what?

 

[KayOs]

Since I still had unused 26" tyres for rough terrain and muddy trails, I had the idea of building an anything-goes-fun-singlespeeder that would pick up where my Brodie left off.

A suspension fork would be quite useful for this.



I still had a Marzocchi lying around, and everything else I needed was there too.
So I quickly put it all together...

 

[KayOs]

However, the fork is much too high...and it weighs almost 3 kg... Something better would be found later.

All of this naturally led to the topic of brakes. Cantilever or V-brakes were not an option here, so disc brakes remained.
This would of course be a good idea, as this bike will also experience muddy days...
Then, of course, a disc brake would also be required at the rear.
Fortunately, my trusted frame builder is not far away...

 

[KayOs]

One brake was still in a box of spare parts, but I needed a second one, a few discs and another fork.
Luckily, I found what I was looking for quite quickly online.



For the price of just under seven kebabs, the new fork was mine... virtually unused, smooth as butter and 1.2 kg lighter than the Italian one. A dream!



In the meantime, the frame had also been finished.



Everything fits perfectly and looks pretty cool.
That's how I wanted it.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Minions look so beefy on there
What is the size of the tires?

 

[KayOs]

Minions look so beefy on there
What is the size of the tires?

2.5 in the front, 2.4 in the back

 

[KayOs]

Since I didn't want to re-paint the frame for the time being, I just blued the bare spots, which is enough for now.



The assembly went quite quickly, as cantilever brakes and gears didn't need adjusting. And so my lil' kerfuffle was already ‘finished’.

 

[KayOs]

After the first test ride, I replaced the stem again and then headed back outside!

 

[KayOs]

As mentioned at the beginning, the bike is simply fun, no matter what.
The frame is stiff, playful and agile. Together with the very sensitive suspension fork, which feels like it has more than 100 mm of travel, and brakes that can be operated with one finger, the bike invites you to let rip. So that's exactly what I did with it this year....

The Hite Rite has since moved on to the Kuwahara Lion, but in return it got a stylish bag, blue bottle cage bolts, cool stickers and a badge for the frame, which the little one gave me the idea for while we were doing some crafting. When I had the chance to get a new chainring for a fiver, I didn't hesitate. I don't care that it is green.

 

[KayOs]

I know it's not a classic mountain bike anymore, but screw it, it's the best I could do with the frame, and I can't wipe the grin off my face when I look at it, let alone ride it.


So please don't judge me.

Cheers, brothers!