WTB Bon Tempe restoration

[Stylus]

small update as things are moving but.. very slowly

I found a WTB SST.98 saddle a while back. It was WTB's top of the line saddle back in the late 90's.
Very nice quality as it was produced by Selle in Italy. Also pictured on a Bon Tempe in the WTB catalog from '98 so very much period correct / catalog spec

I had one already but it's nos in the og box so i didn't want to use that one

 

[Stylus]

WTB is famous for it's Rollercam brakes design (later licensed by SunTour) but those require different placement of brake bosses so not an option for a Bon Tempe frame.

They also made more standard Cantilever brakes but that would require some creative solutions on a full suspension bike.. so i had to look elsewhere.

I was lucky enough to notice Norman aka bike_keller was selling some Avid Arch Supremes and thought they would be perfect for this build

 

[Stylus]

About 2 years ago i spotted an ad on a local classified website saying “WTB 26” silver 32h rims” for sale..
Kinda weird as WTB didnt have too many rim options available in 26”, definitely not circa 2021… so i had to check it out -

the ad took me to a website in Belgium and there was just a tiny non descript picture up and no model name listed…

..so you know I had to take a punt and upon arrival they turned out to be nos Laser Beam rims, some still in the plastic - score!


I ended up with about 20 of them and sold most of them on to fellow collectors, mostly in Germany.


I kept a few for myself obviously, these will do nicely for this build.
The production sticker reads Oct-Dec’98 so they couldn’t be more period correct

 

[slackboy]

There might be a seatpost deal to be done here

For Sale - Wilderness Trail Bikes Bon Tempe 1999 #9 of 12 - LOWERED

Hi there, greetings from the other side of the pond. I have a gorgeous WTB Bon Tempe 1999 #9 of 12 made with the titanium rear end. It is for sale for the small amount of 1800 € excl. shipping. The frame is believed to be manufactured in 1999 or later as the serial make it number 9 out of 12...

www.retrobike.co.uk

 

[kaydee]

Hi Slackboy,I know that frame,it belonged to my best mate,I sold my Bon tempe here on retrobike a couple of years back .Mine was the Titanium version.They are very nice bikes we loved them.
The point of my post to you is I found a pair of pivots,brand new supplied to me by WTB ,at the back of the cupboard.
If you are interested in them pm me

 

[velofrog]

small update as things are moving but.. very slowly

I found a WTB SST.98 saddle a while back. It was WTB's top of the line saddle back in the late 90's.
Very nice quality as it was produced by Selle in Italy. Also pictured on a Bon Tempe in the WTB catalog from '98 so very much period correct / catalog spec
View attachment 749560
I had one already but it's nos in the og box so i didn't want to use that one
View attachment 749561

Best saddle ever made IMO, ran them for years, super-comfy and near indestructible!

 

[Stylus]

Sorry for the lack of updates, currently there is not much progress to report.

I did manage to find a pair of hubs i wanted, currently only have the rear at home, front will follow later this year.
They’re used but will be fine for this project. I’ve heard you can put a titanium XTR axle in these so I might just do that.

 

[kaydee]

pm incoming

 

[Stylus]

Front hub arrived today, need to get the wheels built

 

[Bytesex]

Awesome project! Can I ask if you plan to get Velociraptors for tyres? I am currently trying to get new ones since WTB still makes them and only in 26x2.1. It‘s just a bit hard to get them in Europe.