1994 Scott Mohaka

[Raging_Bulls]

On August 22nd last year, I joined this forum.
Immediately I felt that I wanted to go back to my roots, to the first MTB I bought with my own money, a 1994 Scott Mohaka.
A few days later I started the search, but it would appear the Mohakas had gone extinct. eBay, Craigslist, Marktplaats and various other second-hand sites ... I just didn't find any.

Then a few weeks ago, one popped up in Wales. The seller wouldn't post outside the UK, but luckily GT-Steve was willing to have it sent to him and then send it on.
Thanks again, Steve, I really appreciate it.

Today UPS delivered a nice big box, but my bosses wanted to inspect it first before they would allow me to open it.



Fast forward 20 minutes, and it was all together.
I had to tension a few spokes in the rear wheel and pump up the tyres a bit, but it didn't seem to require anything else.



There's nothing really wrong with it. It shifts smoothly and will happily throw my 185lbs over the handlebar with braking power to spare.
The BB is good, the wheel bearings are ok, even the cheap plastic pedals work just fine. Not bad for £35 (and twice as much again in shipping, but that doesn't count).

Now I just need to decide what to do with it. Part of me wants to restore it, but it will be a nightmare to replicate the decals just right, not to mention the flip-flop paint (dark green on a normal day, metallic blue on a sunny one).
Also, it just isn't worth restoring really. It's one of those forgotten models nobody wants. Nobody except me, that is.

 

[GT-Steve]

I'm so happy it got to you safe, and I'm pleased you're happy with it.

People have helped me in a similar situation in the past, it's all part of the Retrobike culture I think.

Happy to have helped a man on his quest..

 

[Raging_Bulls]

The Mohaka had recently developed a fairly large amount of vertical movement in the freewheel itself, so I decided to see what was going on there.
Talk about a plan snowballing out of control ...

In no time, the poor Scott was stripped of nearly all its running gear and was wearing the wheels that used to belong on my former Sbike and my Bulls' former 2.2" slicks.

Surprisingly enough, the frame has ample clearance for the Bontragers. These tyres are so tall that it's actually a 27" bike now, so 650b should fit as well.





First I need to sort out a small chainline issue. The bike was running an Alivio crankset on a 68x128mm BB. I took off the crank and put on my old XT crank instead, so I need a 122mm BB.

I have a set of Magura Racelines on the way that's seriously faded but claimed to be in good mechanical condition. No prizes for guessing which bike those are going on.
As for changing gears, I have a set of XT thumbies as well as ST-M095 shifters that used to be attached to a set of XT brake levers. Once the mounts for the M095 shifter pods arrive, I can make a decision.


Don't kid yourself, this won't be BoTM material. At this point in time I have no plans to sort out the aesthetics.
In fact the crankset is much too shiny IMO. I feel that it needs black chainwheels.
Part of me wants to put a blue Club Roost riser bar with a bar brace on though. :roll:

 

[MCsanandreas]

cool! a bike with "patina" always looks good,can see the history of the frame?
put the Club Roost bars on too!

 

[Raging_Bulls]

The brakes arrived today, so I was eager to set them up. First-time I worked with Maguras, and it's certainly not any more difficult than cantilevers.

However I may have a problem.



there simply isn't enough clearance to set the calipers up properly.
Right now the pads only hit the rim after 2/3 of the lever's stroke. If I set them up any tighter, the calipers will touch the tyres.
And that's just static testing, nevermind any wheel or tyre movement as a result of sideways forces.

Are there any Magura gurus who know a workaround or do I really need to lace new wheels with wider rims? I could go for smaller tyres, but that's no fun.

 

[letmetalktomark]

Have a look at the Trials specific mounts from Tarty Bikes.

They tend to allow greater adjustment of the cylinders when used with wide tyres and rims.

 

[Retro Spud]

Nice to see a low budget steed getting a look in, and a make over..

but it killing me to know what the f**k is that in the background :?:

 

[MCsanandreas]

S-BIKE?

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Nice to see a low budget steed getting a look in, and a make over..

but it killing me to know what the f**k is that in the background :?:

That would be an unfinished Sbike full suspension frame, believed to be the original full suspension prototype.
However it was never built, there's no paperwork to prove its existence and the designer passed away last year, which makes it impossible to get paperwork or find out the frame's story. It has no frame number, so no help there either.
So anything I say is mere speculation.

Back on subject :

@ letmetalktomark : the problem isn't the mounts. Plenty of wiggle room there. It's the tyres themselves that are nearly touching the caliper.
Look right below the "G" on the sidewall. You can tell by the reflection that there's literally NO space between the tyre and the caliper.
The problem is that the caliper is still too far from the rim, but I can't move it closer without touching the tyre.

 

[Raging_Bulls]

Well, the Maguras were ditched. Not worth the hassle.
The BB has been replaced and the bike received a set of NOS chainrings.
I have a set of 1.95" Schwalbe City Jets with amberwalls on order, but for now I'm running on my old Bontragers. Those make it look like a fatbike really ...



Yes, those are full slicks and wet cobblestones. Sometimes it's the simple things that make life exciting.