show us your modern-retro crossover bikes

I think this fits the category well. In my opinion one of the best bikes to come out of the 90's, the WTB Phoenix. Sent back to Steve Potts in the early 2000's for the addition of a rear disc tab so it gets the benefit of disc brakes and the best fork in category Fox offers. CK hubs and Mavic tubeless rims. The fattest Kenda tubeless tire I could fit in the rear, with something a little bigger up front. CK headset, Seven cycles titanium stem with a Syncros CF bar. The drivetrain is a mishmash of old and older starting with a solid M900 foundation with some newer XTR thrown in. I see an upgrade to 2 x 10 in the future. Syncros post, WTB titanium railed saddle, and clipless pedals finish it off.

And, it gets ridden. How are my upgrades? Thoughts?

 
ti_pin_man":2j73bh2a said:
this thread is where most of my bikes sit and in many ways I think captures what mountain bikeing has been about, you buy a good frame and continue to improve the parts, you never, not even back in the day kept it in a single build state, things broke, you changed them. this is often missed by many retro bikers. Shame. I suggest we have a bike of the month nomination for old frames, not era specific necessarily. I think it would be much more interesting to see how people have kept their favourite bikes relevant and current but still original.


I think now I have all the period builds I've set out to build i've started to go down this route too.After wearing out/breaking older parts.Just got fed up with trying to source period parts for a period build to my main rider (xizang)

Also ishaw's DBR axis tt is great inspiration and I'd say it's the perfect example of how a retro frame with modern ish parts should be built.
 
That are some lovely upgrades! I doubt if the purists agree with me, but I think those uprades are perfect.

I am thinking of welding a disctab to an older frame myself.
 
I found, maybe like some others, that I would buy a bike, then slowly upgrade the parts as they wore out or I just had the money to by new/better stuff, so parts from my original DiamondBack Axis TR have ended up onb all of my bikes in some way or another. SO the parts went from the Axis to my Manitou, back to my Axis, then to my Yeti ARC, then onto my Zasakr re-issue then soem went back to the Axis that I gave to a mate and the rest ended up on my Xizang, but now is mostly new


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But at the moment the Zaskar is a new ish frame with some even newer parts, has pretty new XT 9speed onb it along with XT discs and some Marzocchi Corsa forks, so all new bits on a, probably more retro by definition than a regular retro bike.

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The Xizang is an old frame but mostly new parts, Manitou 2012 R7 fork, 2004ish XT cranks (about to be some new Race Face ones as soon as I put them on) XT/XTR gears, newish easton carbon post... old bits still are 94 XT apralax hubs running some newr DT rims (I have some new XT hubs in boxes to build up nbew wheels one day), old trasalp flite saddle and Onza Ti bar ends and some old XT V-brakes. Basically if I had owened it from new, this is still how it might have turned out as I would have upgraded the parts as I went (although maybe more XTR).

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I found this here, it's not mine but I thought it looked like a fun build. Especially like the big fat Onza Ibexs.

1990 SR Sakae Litage apparently. Took the upgrades well, heck even the Manitou is pretty 'modern' compared to the frame.
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I'm about to do something similar with an old Shogun Prairie Breaker I have, it's a bit of a grandpa's axe and nobody really know's what it's original spec was anyway, and I've got a pile of modern drivetrain and cockpit bits. Will be basically modern skinwall tyres as above, 780mm Renthals, 1x10 setup with clutch derailleur...and some modern cantis.
 
This is my only retro-mod build, it is still in progress.
Jamis Coda 1999 hybrid turned into CX.
Retro: frame, drivetrain and shifters/brakes.
Modern: the rest.
When I find time it will be turned into 1x9 with a race cassette, Dura Ace thumbie, modern canti's and modern levers, retro CNC'ed cranks.
 

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Links in my signature to my retro-mod clockwork & my modern take on retro, Dave Yates
 

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