there's another thread somewhere with earlier photos, but I've finally "updated" my parkpre, and been out for a couple of rides...
I previously had 2x8 gears, but wanted to try hydraulic brakes, just because.... The rear magura has been sprayed black, and paired with a basic shimano disc brake on the front, as the levers have a very similar shape and feel, and don't look so different that they look wrong together. My XC Pro thumbies wouldn't play nicely with the modern shimano lever, so I decided to modernise the gears too, and go 1x10.
I prefer square taper cranks, in black, but couldn't find anything suitable and didn't want to pay out for new ones with weird BB standards (I like some modern stuff, but not all of it!) Some scratched XT M750 cranks, a little sanding and can of hammerite spray sorted that problem
A cheap ebay 32t chainring, and I think total cost was about 20 quid for those!
Also found an XT clutch mech, deore shifter and shimano cassette and chain at decent prices.
I have never ridden anything more modern than this, so can't compare... but it feels very fast, and steering is "twitchy"... none of this easy to control, long wheelbase modern stuff for me! The 2.2" tyres I think are a little too fat, there's a bit of "squirming" through corners (and yes, I do have enough pressure in them). Might try something a little narrower in the future.
I'm sold on the hydraulic brakes, and the last time I used STI shifters on an MTB was 1993 - took them off and replaced with thumbies, so I was a little wary about trying them again, but things have changed a lot in 26 years! Would still prefer grip shifters though - maybe a modding project to convert some to shimano 10 speed cable pull is needed?
So all in all I'm very happy with how it's turned out! Will try and get to the LBS and weigh it, just to see - could lose some weight in cranks/BB, tyres, saddle... but that's not the aim and it rides fine anyway.
the only thing I might consider is changing or painting the forks, as I'm not totally convinced by the white
pics from today's ride:
I previously had 2x8 gears, but wanted to try hydraulic brakes, just because.... The rear magura has been sprayed black, and paired with a basic shimano disc brake on the front, as the levers have a very similar shape and feel, and don't look so different that they look wrong together. My XC Pro thumbies wouldn't play nicely with the modern shimano lever, so I decided to modernise the gears too, and go 1x10.
I prefer square taper cranks, in black, but couldn't find anything suitable and didn't want to pay out for new ones with weird BB standards (I like some modern stuff, but not all of it!) Some scratched XT M750 cranks, a little sanding and can of hammerite spray sorted that problem
A cheap ebay 32t chainring, and I think total cost was about 20 quid for those!Also found an XT clutch mech, deore shifter and shimano cassette and chain at decent prices.
I have never ridden anything more modern than this, so can't compare... but it feels very fast, and steering is "twitchy"... none of this easy to control, long wheelbase modern stuff for me! The 2.2" tyres I think are a little too fat, there's a bit of "squirming" through corners (and yes, I do have enough pressure in them). Might try something a little narrower in the future.
I'm sold on the hydraulic brakes, and the last time I used STI shifters on an MTB was 1993 - took them off and replaced with thumbies, so I was a little wary about trying them again, but things have changed a lot in 26 years! Would still prefer grip shifters though - maybe a modding project to convert some to shimano 10 speed cable pull is needed?
So all in all I'm very happy with how it's turned out! Will try and get to the LBS and weigh it, just to see - could lose some weight in cranks/BB, tyres, saddle... but that's not the aim and it rides fine anyway.
the only thing I might consider is changing or painting the forks, as I'm not totally convinced by the white
pics from today's ride:
