Half dead bird! Swallow ptarmigan (re model...page 7 on)
- Thread starter Tootyred
- Start date
Its the other way round for me....normally its
"wow lovely bike.....do they do it in anything other than children's sizes".
Little end of season ride today....
Testing a couple of small mods.
First ive got shot of the nos xt u brake blocks i fitted......swapped for some old skool Aztecs i had knocking about......WOW..... night and day difference. Suddenly ive got shades of braking, rather than binary! Fantastic.
It also reminds me of the jump u brakes were. When set right, with the right blocks and not caked in mud.......they have some serious power.
Second, via a complex 3 way swap, I've ditched the steel nitto 801 bars for some sakae mountain MT. Slightly less pull back, slightly less rise, lots less weight!
Its stretched the bike out a bit for me and has given me just about the right drop. Only issue is i need to find some outboard bar end plugs, as these bars are very thick walled.
Here's a pic in the fading light of another summer past.
Testing a couple of small mods.
First ive got shot of the nos xt u brake blocks i fitted......swapped for some old skool Aztecs i had knocking about......WOW..... night and day difference. Suddenly ive got shades of braking, rather than binary! Fantastic.
It also reminds me of the jump u brakes were. When set right, with the right blocks and not caked in mud.......they have some serious power.
Second, via a complex 3 way swap, I've ditched the steel nitto 801 bars for some sakae mountain MT. Slightly less pull back, slightly less rise, lots less weight!
Its stretched the bike out a bit for me and has given me just about the right drop. Only issue is i need to find some outboard bar end plugs, as these bars are very thick walled.
Here's a pic in the fading light of another summer past.
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2manyoranges
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Got a feeling that you can radically cut down some ODI end caps and they will go in and look jolly nice
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Daniel
are you bit a bit naughty!
the article makes reference to a spelling mistake on the frame which spells it "Ptarmagon" they refer to it as a "Ptarmgon" and then you throw in a third "Ptarmigan"
edit - to be fair yours in the only spelling that spell checker doesn't have a hissie fit at
Spud
Is deffo Ptarmigan....its a bird.....
www.rspb.org.uk
Like Peter at Swallow.....who is a lovely chap...
They also had a merlin and a griffon.....which dont exist.....like swallow mountain bikes....
Confused?
Ptarmigan Bird Facts | Lagopus Mutus
A plump gamebird, slightly larger than a grey partridge. It breeds in the highest mountains of the Highlands of Scotland on the Arctic like landscape. Read more
Like Peter at Swallow.....who is a lovely chap...
They also had a merlin and a griffon.....which dont exist.....like swallow mountain bikes....
Confused?
Just when you thought it was done....i know its never done!
One thing I've been wanting to do is put a more appropriate group set on.....partly as the xt m732 is a coup,e of years too new, and partly because im fed up of seeing it on every retro bike.....including my own. It was also on my new years resolution thread as a " thing to do"
So, over the winter I've been finding and restoring a few m730 parts, not a massive change, but it will use a few bits I've had squirreled away and its the groupset the u-brakes are anyhoo.
Im also swapping out the wheels. Partly as i want to use the m730 hubs ive had for years, but also as I just think a big old bike of this age needs wider rims. Its deffo pre the skinny rim revolution!
Im also dumping those sakae risers, i cant get on with the bend, it aggravates my wrists....so they need to change too.
Oh...and the saddle, its painful.
Ad the bottom bracket as its the wrong size due resolving my saracen issues last year.
So basically, take it all to bits, clean it and start again.
Well it is a hobby!
One thing I've been wanting to do is put a more appropriate group set on.....partly as the xt m732 is a coup,e of years too new, and partly because im fed up of seeing it on every retro bike.....including my own. It was also on my new years resolution thread as a " thing to do"
So, over the winter I've been finding and restoring a few m730 parts, not a massive change, but it will use a few bits I've had squirreled away and its the groupset the u-brakes are anyhoo.
Im also swapping out the wheels. Partly as i want to use the m730 hubs ive had for years, but also as I just think a big old bike of this age needs wider rims. Its deffo pre the skinny rim revolution!
Im also dumping those sakae risers, i cant get on with the bend, it aggravates my wrists....so they need to change too.
Oh...and the saddle, its painful.
Ad the bottom bracket as its the wrong size due resolving my saracen issues last year.
So basically, take it all to bits, clean it and start again.
Well it is a hobby!
Last edited:
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