Litespeed Mountain - 1991... 1991?

[MuchAlohaNui]

Very nice bike and find, although initial pics showed a rather shocking condition.

If I'm not mistaken, Litespeed offered a choice when it comes to the frame finish. So polished is a variant, and not related to a year or model.

Good job in documenting but also addressing the issues
I'm sure this is about to turn to a hot ride again.

The CroMo fork is to me perfectly fine, and the weight indicates that this was good quality product too.
Just polish it up again.
Personally, I would rather look for a replacement of the stem, never liked this Zoom kind of style with widening of the quill towards the top.

The pictures don't do the initial condition justice. I think I winced and sighed when I first saw it. The last owner looked at me, I looked at the bike then him. I made a dumb face like "how could you..."

I like the polished. Plus this was an additional process when being made. Cleans up very nicely in some spots. The dirt and grime wiped right off to show a shiny finish.

Will consider the fork, thank you. The rust just knocks right off with a scouring pad. If I use it, I may clean thoroughly then clear coat to lock in whatever patina remains.

Oh no...that stem was trash. I had no intentions of keeping that thing. It was worn out, rusted completely on the inside. I have a Titec Titanium stem in 1" but is unthreaded. That would be nice to use... though is unpolished.

 

[L-Note]

Mavic would be cool, but very rare. At least a mavic headset. For forks I would try pace rc30s in chrome?

There’s nothing wrong with xc pro mind.

nice pair of RC30s for sale on FB at the moment

Vintage MTB trading group - Europe | Facebook

This is a platform for Vintage Mountainbike Fans for trading Bikes and Parts!

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[MuchAlohaNui]

nice pair of RC30s for sale on FB at the moment.

Thank you for the link. I don't have facebook though

I just remebered I have a Fat Chance BOI (or was it a Yo Eddie fork...) in the basement with a 1" steerer tube. Fat Chance gurus said it was a BOI, but I'll have to revisit the measurements to re-re-confirm. Maybe if I combine the frame with that fork I'll form Voltron (or something just as radical).

 

[L-Note]

just realised you said it was 1” anyway so wouldn’t have worked!

 

[troje]

I love this build and your commitment. I have a similar bike, see my sig. It took me quite a while to find the original fork. They rarely come available but it is not an impossible find. I can’t tell what I paid as it was part of a trade in my case. I guess value anywhere north of £450. You could opt for Litespeed bar, stem and post. I might have a stem available. Need to check diameter.

 

[MuchAlohaNui]

I have a similar bike, see my sig. It took me quite a while to find the original fork. They rarely come available but it is not an impossible find. I can’t tell what I paid as it was part of a trade in my case. I guess value anywhere north of £450. You could opt for Litespeed bar, stem and post. I might have a stem available.

I found your thread when I was searching for more information on the bike pre-acquisition. I have your thread saved. Some good bits of info in there. You commented on trying to find a few parts, primarily the fork. £450 I think is still way too low if one were to pop up today, but that is my humble opinion and who knows?

Is the seatpost diameter a 27 mm on your frame?

 

[troje]

I believe it is a 27.0, but I had some struggle with it when I fitted an original 27.0 Litespeed post that I could not get fitted. Strangely enough, the 27.0 titanium Syncros did fit.

 

[Jc24]

Great thread ! Thanks for sharing the steps of this restoration.

 

[Boron]

I look forward to seeing how this one scrubs up too.

Does anyone have any recommendations for places that will fix the rivnut in the UK? I've got exactly the same issue with my Litespeed. Mine is a much later model and thankfully in good nick all except for the rivnut... maybe it's a known issue with them?

 

[Mod-Master]

@MuchAlohaNui are you still there? Your last post was quite a while ago. We miss youuuuuu