2000 Orange 222 Team Animal
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Cloverleaf
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Thanks for the kind words. Not much on the Sub3's other than a lot of them broke and the original protos had the horizontal dropouts that were too short and allowed the wheel to fall out under hard hits, sorry!
Cloverleaf
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I finally got some pics of this all built up, although it still needs some finishing touches, like crank bolts;
The decals are still slightly annoying; no silver backing meant I had to do it myself, and it's not quite right, and the 'Orange' logo is a bit big as it's copied from the later Global decals which were slightly different. They'll do for now though.
The X-Lite Steve Peat stem isn't quite right. This bike originally had the pre Steve Peat one without the drilled out bits, and was 50mm. I have a 50mm Steve Peat one, but that's on the M1. This 75mm example is also 31.8mm clamp whereas the Easton EA70 2" Hi-Rise bars (crucially in the rare silver, per my original spec) are 25.4mm so a finest Chinesium shim is fitted. I wouldn't consider it on a bike I'd ride but it's fine for display.
The Pro levers are not quite my original set, those originals were fitted to a set of DH4 calipers which were warrantied and replaced by the later Enduro 4. This second set have been paired by some NOS DH4 calipers I came across. These have a nigh on identical piston area to the last generation V4 calipers so caliper power wise are right on the money, it's in the levers that the real gains have been made in the last 25 years.
My original X-Lite PSS1 saddle in red kevlar, held in place by my original red XLR seat clamp, and an identical but not original (that's on the Marin DH FRS) X-Lite Clikon Mk1 in Grey/silver.
Correct Animal logo next to the pivot, original iconic PDM636 Shimano DX pedals (yuck), freshly powder coated 24/7 cranks awaiting decals (also, yuck), and MRP World Cup 1 device. The chain device isn't quite right as the original was a Slalom but it'll do for now (the WC was 40-44T and the Slalom was 36-40T).
The NOS No.3 rear DH4 caliper fitted to a 185mm 5 bolt Hope lightning rotor. This was the largest DH4 caliper they did, it was only the later Enduro 4 which was first available in No.8 to fit a 185mm disc as standard. The adapter is ugly so if I can find a 165mm lightning disc I'll swap it out.
And on the other side an M952 GS XTR mech and 8spd XT 739 cassette. I did have a 9spd setup latterly with an M952 shifter which was a gift for getting straight 1's in my Standard Grades (a long, long time ago), but it was originally 8spd with an M739 XT shifter.
A bit incongruous perhaps but this was originally built with the Hope Biguns andSun Doublewides from the Marin. The rims soon got swapped for some Mavic D321s though which were a much better option for actually getting maximum traction from the tyres. Generally wide rims suck for this. Somehow I bent the rear axle on the Bigun a few days before a race so built up the only 12mm rear hub Sandy Wallace (who I was riding for at the time) had, this blue Mk1 Bulb. The Biguns got sold a long time ago but this blue Bulb ended up on my desk as a pen holder for about twenty years before I found enough internals to build it back up for this bike. It might not be the original frame but it's nice to have some of the original parts on it still.
The Profile spider is a bit fancy compared to the original laser cut steel DMR ones I used, but until If it a 5 arm Slalom guide it'll do. Fresh MRP rollers from Jamie Lynn.
Michelin were the OG for me. I first used a set of Comp 16's that got handed to me as third hand back when they were all barcoded and checked in/out by the team. Crawfy got them first, Andy Barlow gave them to me, and then I handed them back to Crawfy. Even absolutely shagged out they were still better than anything like Kujos or Factory DH, but when I first tried fresh ones I was blown away. This is a later 2.5" Comp 16, built on the casing originally used by the Comp 24 they built to match the Comp 32 front. Those tyres were built for the Sierra Nevada Worlds and the Comp 32 was sized as the biggest casing that could squeeze into the original Boxxer lowers. I used to use the 2.5" Comp 16 up front with the 2.2" out back, although used a pair of Comp 32s at Fort William. Those were great tyres.
Out of sequence but a No.6 NOS front DH4 caliper bolted to a 2000 7" Boxxer, and black Hope Mk1 Bulb on another D321 CD rim to match the rear.
What next? I'd like to find some decent internals for the forks and add some seals to the lowers, fit new seals to the brake levers and bleed them up, fit new wheel bearings to the front hub and find a 165mm 5 bolt lighting rear rotor so I can dispense with the ugly +20mm adaptor (the rotor came from my later Enduro 4 brakes, but I prefer the look of the original DH4s). Oh, and if anyone has a Rock Shox Pro Deluxe in the right size I'd happily swap this Van RC for it or just buy it outright, it looks all sorts of wrong to me with the Fox on there!
The decals are still slightly annoying; no silver backing meant I had to do it myself, and it's not quite right, and the 'Orange' logo is a bit big as it's copied from the later Global decals which were slightly different. They'll do for now though.
The X-Lite Steve Peat stem isn't quite right. This bike originally had the pre Steve Peat one without the drilled out bits, and was 50mm. I have a 50mm Steve Peat one, but that's on the M1. This 75mm example is also 31.8mm clamp whereas the Easton EA70 2" Hi-Rise bars (crucially in the rare silver, per my original spec) are 25.4mm so a finest Chinesium shim is fitted. I wouldn't consider it on a bike I'd ride but it's fine for display.
The Pro levers are not quite my original set, those originals were fitted to a set of DH4 calipers which were warrantied and replaced by the later Enduro 4. This second set have been paired by some NOS DH4 calipers I came across. These have a nigh on identical piston area to the last generation V4 calipers so caliper power wise are right on the money, it's in the levers that the real gains have been made in the last 25 years.
My original X-Lite PSS1 saddle in red kevlar, held in place by my original red XLR seat clamp, and an identical but not original (that's on the Marin DH FRS) X-Lite Clikon Mk1 in Grey/silver.
Correct Animal logo next to the pivot, original iconic PDM636 Shimano DX pedals (yuck), freshly powder coated 24/7 cranks awaiting decals (also, yuck), and MRP World Cup 1 device. The chain device isn't quite right as the original was a Slalom but it'll do for now (the WC was 40-44T and the Slalom was 36-40T).
The NOS No.3 rear DH4 caliper fitted to a 185mm 5 bolt Hope lightning rotor. This was the largest DH4 caliper they did, it was only the later Enduro 4 which was first available in No.8 to fit a 185mm disc as standard. The adapter is ugly so if I can find a 165mm lightning disc I'll swap it out.
And on the other side an M952 GS XTR mech and 8spd XT 739 cassette. I did have a 9spd setup latterly with an M952 shifter which was a gift for getting straight 1's in my Standard Grades (a long, long time ago), but it was originally 8spd with an M739 XT shifter.
A bit incongruous perhaps but this was originally built with the Hope Biguns andSun Doublewides from the Marin. The rims soon got swapped for some Mavic D321s though which were a much better option for actually getting maximum traction from the tyres. Generally wide rims suck for this. Somehow I bent the rear axle on the Bigun a few days before a race so built up the only 12mm rear hub Sandy Wallace (who I was riding for at the time) had, this blue Mk1 Bulb. The Biguns got sold a long time ago but this blue Bulb ended up on my desk as a pen holder for about twenty years before I found enough internals to build it back up for this bike. It might not be the original frame but it's nice to have some of the original parts on it still.
The Profile spider is a bit fancy compared to the original laser cut steel DMR ones I used, but until If it a 5 arm Slalom guide it'll do. Fresh MRP rollers from Jamie Lynn.
Michelin were the OG for me. I first used a set of Comp 16's that got handed to me as third hand back when they were all barcoded and checked in/out by the team. Crawfy got them first, Andy Barlow gave them to me, and then I handed them back to Crawfy. Even absolutely shagged out they were still better than anything like Kujos or Factory DH, but when I first tried fresh ones I was blown away. This is a later 2.5" Comp 16, built on the casing originally used by the Comp 24 they built to match the Comp 32 front. Those tyres were built for the Sierra Nevada Worlds and the Comp 32 was sized as the biggest casing that could squeeze into the original Boxxer lowers. I used to use the 2.5" Comp 16 up front with the 2.2" out back, although used a pair of Comp 32s at Fort William. Those were great tyres.
Out of sequence but a No.6 NOS front DH4 caliper bolted to a 2000 7" Boxxer, and black Hope Mk1 Bulb on another D321 CD rim to match the rear.
What next? I'd like to find some decent internals for the forks and add some seals to the lowers, fit new seals to the brake levers and bleed them up, fit new wheel bearings to the front hub and find a 165mm 5 bolt lighting rear rotor so I can dispense with the ugly +20mm adaptor (the rotor came from my later Enduro 4 brakes, but I prefer the look of the original DH4s). Oh, and if anyone has a Rock Shox Pro Deluxe in the right size I'd happily swap this Van RC for it or just buy it outright, it looks all sorts of wrong to me with the Fox on there!
southernchamp
Retro Newbie
Mate that’s seriously mega,
The Original animal orange team ran Tioga bar and stem but prefer the X-Lite for sure,
Here’s a video I did with mine,
I ended up splitting all the later stuff off it after the vid and keeping the frame for the wall,
The Original animal orange team ran Tioga bar and stem but prefer the X-Lite for sure,
Here’s a video I did with mine,
I ended up splitting all the later stuff off it after the vid and keeping the frame for the wall,
novocaine
Retro Wizard
I'd ride the shit out of that.
and by ride the shit out if it I mean going really slowly down a fairly relaxed run, avoiding all the jumps and overbraking in the berms.
it does look rather splendid, excellent job.
I wonder if a those steering bump stops could be copied and printed. oh the world would be your oyster, you could have any colour you want.
and by ride the shit out if it I mean going really slowly down a fairly relaxed run, avoiding all the jumps and overbraking in the berms.
it does look rather splendid, excellent job.
I wonder if a those steering bump stops could be copied and printed. oh the world would be your oyster, you could have any colour you want.
I was a big fan of Comp 32's for how tough they were but that was also a bit of weakness; I remember getting off the chair lift at Morgins and seeing my innertube burst through the side of my tyre! If it hadn't been for the exposed part of the casing looking so fresh (despite being a bit old) I would have replaced or at least checked the bead, which was not fresh in the least 
