98' Marin riftzone re build

[reaper2811]

Hi All,

Im another newbie and wanted to share my 98' marin riftzone that ive had from new and recently rebuilt it after 20 odd years of punishment from me.

the new specs are
Rockshox monarch air rear, rockshox recon air front, onza grips, prologo zero pass II seat, FSA orbitx headest, Magura HS33 brakes, MX rims with Deore hubs, shimano narrow chain. Ive kept the LX drivetrain and original handle bars and the shark bite pedals I put on it when I bought the bike.

Ive gone for a sympathetic rebuild and only replaced the worn out parts or parts that needed modernising.

I hope people like it as this bike brings good memories for me and I wanted to keep it going for another 20+ years

 

[Duxuk]

That takes me back! My first full suspension bike was a Rift Zone in 1997. The shock failed twice and was replaced with a coil shock from the Mount Vision, which lasted until 2015 when I let the bike go. The original Magura forks developed a hole in the stanchion so were replaced with Bomber Z1s. The swinging arm cracked twice. In the first year the design was different to yours and had a real problem with cracking. The frame cracked on the down tube just by the head tube twice and my frame no. 3 came in silver.
I still think these bikes were the best of their generation. Yours looks in fine condition and still has the enormous handlebar stem. That I might be tempted to change for better steering.

 

[reaper2811]

Re:

This was my first full suspension bike as well and what I bought with my first wages when I started work after college.

It never failed and I cycled miles across the fens on it.

The only reason I have re built it is I couldn't stand to part with it and Ive just taken up cycling again with a 2018 scott spark 900RC comp.
The parts I replaced were just worn and worked out easier to replace than service.
The worst part to replace was the rear shock as the details on the internet are wrong and I ended up buying a shock that was too long. Finally I got the right size in this rockshox monarch air. The bushings were another pain as no shop I went to could help so I bought some that were the correct diameter but too long and shortened them. So now the shock doesn't bang any more and is better than new.
The manatou answer shocks were still ok but by todays standards a tad lacking hence they were replaced with the rockshox recon air. Ive kept the original mavic rims as spares so I can change the tyrese/wheels when conditions call for.

I find the stem still good but that may be because of how long I owned the thing. My Scott has a short reach stem but longer handle bars which took a lot of getting used to.

Im taking it out for it's first ride tomorrow to see how the thing handles.

 

[Duxuk]

It may be a bit late for your bike but I've found TF Tuned are good for shock bushes. https://www.tftuned.com/tech-help/71-mo ... ks-a-guide

 

[reaper2811]

Excellent, many thanks for that.

I had to buy some that were the correct diameter but longer, then shorten them. So for now they are a good fit but if they fail or want replacing again I know where to go now.