1995 litespeed obed FS (amp rear) has arrived

[My_Teenage_Self]

What I just wrote:

That rear end is near identical to my B3. The only difference being there are no holes in the dropout plate where they're welded to the stays - mine have holes to run the rear mech cable through.

*edit* - The chainstays are the same as my B3 (except for the above, but including the CNC'd yoke), but the shockstays are different - my shock mount is a lovely CNC'd piece, whereas that's bent into the shock mount, so B2?

 

[ishaw]

What I just wrote:

That rear end is near identical to my B3. The only difference being there are no holes in the dropout plate where they're welded to the stays - mine have holes to run the rear mech cable through.

I think the Litespeed has top tube cable ruting for the rear mech, so the cable will run down the seat stay.

*edit* - The chainstays are the same as my B3 (except for the above, but including the CNC'd yoke), but the shockstays are different - my shock mount is a lovely CNC'd piece, whereas that's bent into the shock mount, so B2?

Can you elaborate on the shock stay, as I have a B3 that looks identical to the rear in the pic of the litespeed. Would be good to see what yours looks like, as it sounds interesting. The B2/Amplifier also looks very similar as far as I can tell, though there must be a reason, and last time I spoke to Amp asking if I could run teh B3 Risse shock on a B2, despite teh shock being shorter, I was told no, so I'd love to know if I can or not?

 

[ishaw]

Just doing some googling and the B3 here (which is lovely imho) doesn't have the open chain stay cap (though my B5 does):

http://fotos.mtb-news.de/p/457953

The B3 in the pic in this thread (which I did own briefly but was too small, the one with the white tyres) also has closed chain stay caps and a similar looking back end, but then so do the B2's pictured (just realised that the Amplifier with the brown saddle is actually mine, but before I owned it).

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=190404

 

[ishaw]

Right, having stared at pics for a while, I can see a definite difference - the obed shock/mounting to the rear stays is much shorter than some of the ones pictured - much less shock sticking out before it hits the rear stays. Not sure what this means rear end/shock choice for me wise though, as the B3s and B2s pictured seem to all look very similar in that department unless they have a risse shock fitted.

 

[My_Teenage_Self]

Interesting... I'm keen to know exactly what a B2/B3 is, as I thought some of theose B3's were B2's!!

That said, I do know mine is a late B3 (not sure exactly which year though!)

Hole in chainstay:

Chainstay Yoke:

Shock mount:

Currently apart being polished

 

[Anthony]

Your Obed FS is a 95, so I expect the AMP version is the one that was out at that time.

 

[B3]

It's a '95 B3 rear end.

The difference between a B2 and a B3 is the length of the shock. The stays grip the shock body rather than the shock end cap. The B3 was also the first of the AMP's to feature the CNC'd chainstay bridge.

Chainstay bridge will fit both the B2 and B3 frames.

The B5 had open ends to the tube on the chainstay at the Horst link, because the cable was meant to run through it. This was carried over on other models as it was cheaper to just produce one part.

Post mounts adaptors for the rear end will be available soon

 

[ishaw]

Thanks for the info, I'm assuming that the oven is a 1995, though I could be a 96, anyone know how to tell?

When it arrives, it looks as though I can use the risse rear shock for a B3, and I've a basic/low end one (no adjustability aside from air in/out) which is fine for me, whilst I like my gadgets I doubt I'll get the benefit from the adjustments possible on the other models.

Thanks again for the info, now on to more pressing matters, the build. Any thoughts on what forks will go? I'm not one for period correctness, I was thinking about this today and I do prefer v brakes so perhaps m952 is the way to go (and I have some spare, well it was going to go on the B5 but this might take precedence). I've also got an xt m737/9 group set that I could use too, any thoughts on the pros and cons of either as tbh I do tend to be a snob for some reason and go for xtr so maybe time for a change?

 

[Anthony]

Thanks for the info, I'm assuming that the oven is a 1995, though I could be a 96, anyone know how to tell?

I don't know anything about your oven, but I do know that predictive typing is a curse. The stays and the shock mounting look like the 95 Obed FS. I'm pretty sure they are 96 decals, but most Litespeed decals seem to fall off so they could easily be replacements.

 

[ishaw]

Oven/obed, same thing right? I hope not, unless there is a fantastic line of titanium hobs and ovens I've not come across