April 10
Sold to Velomaniac... and so ends my full-sus adventure, at least for now.
December 09 Build
Gave up on getting the front mini working, so splashed out on a modern Hope M4 instead. Also settled on an EA50 bar, Syncros stem and a proper 140mm Rockshox Revelation Race Dual Air fork.
Original June 09 Build
Take the running gear from a 2008 Avalanche:
Add a 2001 i-Drive frame and Manitou Slate front fork to the mix:
Throw in a BBB stem extender so the forks actually fit :?, some Hope Mini's (once I finish overhauling the front caliper), et voila, je presente le 2001/2008 GT iDrivel-anche.
This is the frame that belonged to longun, and BarneyRubble before him. And while I'm waxing Frenchical, I'll let Barney provide some provenance:
I didn't have the frame from new, it belonged to a former colleague from BITD when I worked in my local bike shop. I got my first i-drive in '99 (an XCR 2000) which developed a tiny crack in the back end (still think it was probably just paint) but Caratti (the GT importer at the time) were happy to replace the whole frame for free, so I now had a 2000 i-drive 2.0. We all eventually left the shop and when I came to get the shock replaced, my mate (now working at TF Tuned - he's called Dave, the bald bloke on their website) said he would sell me the 1.0 frame and push tuned shock you have for the same price as a new shock. I bit his arm off and he transferred everything over for me. As far as I know he got the frame direct from the new importer after they took over from Caratti (2001 I think).
I rode the bike happily until 2007 when I bought an Ellsworth Epiphany and it had to go. A friend bought it for the parts and the frame ended up sitting in his front room all unloved. When he owed me a few quid I had the frame back with the intention of building it, but didn't have the time, so sold to longun on here. It's about time someone made it their main steed again.
This is my first full bouncer, so I'm looking forward to floating serenely over obstacles large and small
Haven't properly ridden it yet - Fun and games on my shakedown ride last night with the seized front Mini. Ghost shifting on the front mech was also really bad, but I think I've cured that with a longer cable outer around the side/bottom of the BB. Also not sure about the longevity of the fork, but that's something I'd be looking to upgrade anyway - I'm sure it'll do to give me a taste.
Anyway, its not particularly pretty, but cannabalizing the Avalanche was the quickest and cheapest way to get this up and running. Of course, now I've got a tin of Nitromors and an Avalanche frame sitting in the basement... Hmmm, what to do?
Sold to Velomaniac... and so ends my full-sus adventure, at least for now.
December 09 Build
Gave up on getting the front mini working, so splashed out on a modern Hope M4 instead. Also settled on an EA50 bar, Syncros stem and a proper 140mm Rockshox Revelation Race Dual Air fork.
Original June 09 Build
Take the running gear from a 2008 Avalanche:
Add a 2001 i-Drive frame and Manitou Slate front fork to the mix:
Throw in a BBB stem extender so the forks actually fit :?, some Hope Mini's (once I finish overhauling the front caliper), et voila, je presente le 2001/2008 GT iDrivel-anche.
This is the frame that belonged to longun, and BarneyRubble before him. And while I'm waxing Frenchical, I'll let Barney provide some provenance:
I didn't have the frame from new, it belonged to a former colleague from BITD when I worked in my local bike shop. I got my first i-drive in '99 (an XCR 2000) which developed a tiny crack in the back end (still think it was probably just paint) but Caratti (the GT importer at the time) were happy to replace the whole frame for free, so I now had a 2000 i-drive 2.0. We all eventually left the shop and when I came to get the shock replaced, my mate (now working at TF Tuned - he's called Dave, the bald bloke on their website) said he would sell me the 1.0 frame and push tuned shock you have for the same price as a new shock. I bit his arm off and he transferred everything over for me. As far as I know he got the frame direct from the new importer after they took over from Caratti (2001 I think).
I rode the bike happily until 2007 when I bought an Ellsworth Epiphany and it had to go. A friend bought it for the parts and the frame ended up sitting in his front room all unloved. When he owed me a few quid I had the frame back with the intention of building it, but didn't have the time, so sold to longun on here. It's about time someone made it their main steed again.
This is my first full bouncer, so I'm looking forward to floating serenely over obstacles large and small
Haven't properly ridden it yet - Fun and games on my shakedown ride last night with the seized front Mini. Ghost shifting on the front mech was also really bad, but I think I've cured that with a longer cable outer around the side/bottom of the BB. Also not sure about the longevity of the fork, but that's something I'd be looking to upgrade anyway - I'm sure it'll do to give me a taste.Anyway, its not particularly pretty, but cannabalizing the Avalanche was the quickest and cheapest way to get this up and running. Of course, now I've got a tin of Nitromors and an Avalanche frame sitting in the basement... Hmmm, what to do?
