Ok, I admit that this is sort of a cheat of a build thread. This month's BOtM contest (August, 2016) is probably the first theme for which I've had a worthy contender, so I'm putting this together hastily in order to enter.
Key Specifications:
Frame:
- 21" Bontrager Ti lite. (XL)
- Although I'm not 100% certain, I've come to believe that this is a prototype because I've seen Keith make reference to their existence on several occasions, and because it differs a bit from any other frame I've seen. At any rate, the serial number indicates that it was the third frame made, and it doesn't have the relieved head tube (like you'd find on a steel Race Lite) that the production frames did.
- Similarly, because the catalog first featured the Ti Lite in '95, I usually say it is of that vintage even though more knowledgeable people have told me that production versions weren't actually available until the following year.
- Likewise, another unique, interesting detail of note is that, compared to my '94 race and '96 race lite (which are also both suspension corrected), this frame appears to be designed for a fork with a taller axle-to-crown measurement - like 80mm instead of 64mm. (Will try to show a picture of them side-by-side, to illustrate.) Keith has suggested that the prototype geometry was indeed different.
- Here's a link to the '95 catalog that first featured the Ti Lite (Thank you, Jeff!): http://mombat.org/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPag ... rager.html
- As with many manufacturers of the era, I believe Bontrager outsourced Ti frame production to Sandvik, now known as TST. They utilized a lot of Bontrager-specific details, nonetheless.
- Compared to either of the steel versions, the frame is very stiff - for better or worse.
Fork:
White Brothers SC90, 1997
- This and the wheelset, below, came from my 1997 Elsworth Truth, that one of my my best friends bought new and then sold to me shortly thereafter. In 2012, I decided to put a taller fork on that bike and it was easier to convert to disc brakes at the same time, so that freed the parts up for this build. Even after all those years, White Brothers was good enough to completely service the fork AND replace the 1 1/8" steerer with a 1" steerer to work with the Bonty. - These forks were state-of-the-art back in 1997: Super light with Ti stanchions. Limited tunability, but smooth, trouble-free, dampened coil spring suspension. Still rides nice today, if not a little under-sprung for my 2016 body weight. ;-)
Wheels:
Bontrager / Chris King Race Lite, 1997
- As with the Ti Lite frames, these herald from the era when Keith was still trying to make everything as light as possible, but still uber-strong.. cost be damned. (His 'ol "choose two" mantra at its most pure.) The hubs were commissioned from Chris King, but were quite different from their regular hubs: The flanges were thickened so that they would withstand radial lacing from, 28-spoke rims, without cracking at the spoke holes. (Radial spokes are ever-so-slightly shorter, and must therefore lighter than ones long enough for 3-cross lacing, and 28 spokes are lighter than 32...) I think the pawls, axle and driver are titanium, too.
- The bontrager ti lite rims (actually just the front, because I destroyed the original rear at one point) have a ceramic coated braking surface. Combined with the Shimano parallel-push XTR brakes, this bike stops as well or better than any disc brake I've tried. It's an on/off sensation though, so it always takes me a bit to remind myself when I get back on it.
Other notes:
I'm not the original owner of the frame, sad to say, but I've had at least one Bontrager in my stable since '95, when I got my '94 Race. For about 10 years (until I got the Truth mentioned above), the Bonty was actually the ONLY functioning bike I owned, so I was/am quite bonded with it. I originally set out to restore that Race, but ended up going through a process of rationalization familiar to anyone on the forum, in which you say to yourself "If I'm going to go to all this trouble, then why not......[fill in the blank]." Long story short, this frame came up on ebay and that was all she wrote.
I blinged out a few other components because it seemed appropriate (White industries Ti bottom bracket; Ti quill stem from Nitto; dkg brake boosters because I had them), but mostly tried for a clean, straight-forward build.
The 27.0 seatpost was tricky to find but I got lucky on ebay again, with this Ti one from Titec. I'm not sure its actually from the period in which they were associated with Bontrager, but it seems appropriate anyway.
The original decals would have been blue (and always falling off). I never really liked the look, so I took a few liberties here, and had Gil M. make some replacements in a custom design. Not for the purist, but hey - they're just stickers!
Key Specifications:
Frame:
- 21" Bontrager Ti lite. (XL)
- Although I'm not 100% certain, I've come to believe that this is a prototype because I've seen Keith make reference to their existence on several occasions, and because it differs a bit from any other frame I've seen. At any rate, the serial number indicates that it was the third frame made, and it doesn't have the relieved head tube (like you'd find on a steel Race Lite) that the production frames did.
- Similarly, because the catalog first featured the Ti Lite in '95, I usually say it is of that vintage even though more knowledgeable people have told me that production versions weren't actually available until the following year.
- Likewise, another unique, interesting detail of note is that, compared to my '94 race and '96 race lite (which are also both suspension corrected), this frame appears to be designed for a fork with a taller axle-to-crown measurement - like 80mm instead of 64mm. (Will try to show a picture of them side-by-side, to illustrate.) Keith has suggested that the prototype geometry was indeed different.
- Here's a link to the '95 catalog that first featured the Ti Lite (Thank you, Jeff!): http://mombat.org/MOMBAT/BikeHistoryPag ... rager.html
- As with many manufacturers of the era, I believe Bontrager outsourced Ti frame production to Sandvik, now known as TST. They utilized a lot of Bontrager-specific details, nonetheless.
- Compared to either of the steel versions, the frame is very stiff - for better or worse.
Fork:
White Brothers SC90, 1997
- This and the wheelset, below, came from my 1997 Elsworth Truth, that one of my my best friends bought new and then sold to me shortly thereafter. In 2012, I decided to put a taller fork on that bike and it was easier to convert to disc brakes at the same time, so that freed the parts up for this build. Even after all those years, White Brothers was good enough to completely service the fork AND replace the 1 1/8" steerer with a 1" steerer to work with the Bonty. - These forks were state-of-the-art back in 1997: Super light with Ti stanchions. Limited tunability, but smooth, trouble-free, dampened coil spring suspension. Still rides nice today, if not a little under-sprung for my 2016 body weight. ;-)
Wheels:
Bontrager / Chris King Race Lite, 1997
- As with the Ti Lite frames, these herald from the era when Keith was still trying to make everything as light as possible, but still uber-strong.. cost be damned. (His 'ol "choose two" mantra at its most pure.) The hubs were commissioned from Chris King, but were quite different from their regular hubs: The flanges were thickened so that they would withstand radial lacing from, 28-spoke rims, without cracking at the spoke holes. (Radial spokes are ever-so-slightly shorter, and must therefore lighter than ones long enough for 3-cross lacing, and 28 spokes are lighter than 32...) I think the pawls, axle and driver are titanium, too.
- The bontrager ti lite rims (actually just the front, because I destroyed the original rear at one point) have a ceramic coated braking surface. Combined with the Shimano parallel-push XTR brakes, this bike stops as well or better than any disc brake I've tried. It's an on/off sensation though, so it always takes me a bit to remind myself when I get back on it.
Other notes:
I'm not the original owner of the frame, sad to say, but I've had at least one Bontrager in my stable since '95, when I got my '94 Race. For about 10 years (until I got the Truth mentioned above), the Bonty was actually the ONLY functioning bike I owned, so I was/am quite bonded with it. I originally set out to restore that Race, but ended up going through a process of rationalization familiar to anyone on the forum, in which you say to yourself "If I'm going to go to all this trouble, then why not......[fill in the blank]." Long story short, this frame came up on ebay and that was all she wrote.
I blinged out a few other components because it seemed appropriate (White industries Ti bottom bracket; Ti quill stem from Nitto; dkg brake boosters because I had them), but mostly tried for a clean, straight-forward build.
The 27.0 seatpost was tricky to find but I got lucky on ebay again, with this Ti one from Titec. I'm not sure its actually from the period in which they were associated with Bontrager, but it seems appropriate anyway.
The original decals would have been blue (and always falling off). I never really liked the look, so I took a few liberties here, and had Gil M. make some replacements in a custom design. Not for the purist, but hey - they're just stickers!