hynteidi

I'm an in home appliance repair technician that was at a major bicycle enthusiast home. After my repairs were complete he had me meet him in the garage/ office to finish the bill. When I walked in I was in heaven due to his 14 to 16 road racing bicycles hanging from every wall. 90% were Quintana Roo's and 1 Tsunami. I had noticed that there was an aluminum framed Mountain bike also hanging from the wall. It also said Quintana Roo on the frame. I was puzzled due to my road racing background I didn't know that QR made Mountain Bikes. I asked him the story on that one. He informed me that he had been an engineer for Quintana Roo in Carlsbad, Ca and that was the first proto type MB for QR. My heart raced and throat got dry. He brought it down for me to check out. The tires were rotted out but the bike other wise looked beautiful. He nudged me to pick it up; it could not of weighted more than 16 lbs. I was blown away. I started to tell him that I was looking to sell my Miata Road Racer and buy a MB but explained that I had no MB experience. He then proceeded to tell me that he has only ridden that bike twice but could not get used to a MB ride position. He then said 3 words that sounded like we were in a tunnel with nothing else around for miles, "you want it?" I then sunk as I just recalled, in my head, the balance in my checking account, or lack of. "What will you give me for it?" He said. I then told him how I had no idea what MB's are going for nor what this gorgeous bike was worth. He then said, "give me $200 bucks and it's yours". I then mentally raced in my head, who was not getting paid this month. I really didn't and still don't know what it's worth but a MB that light has t be worth at least $200.00. We made arrangements to make the exchange that night. I am now the hopefully proud owner of a Quintana Roo Mountain Bike (possible Proto-Type). He said is was made in 1991 and has full Shimano SIS system, cantilever brakes (that were hard as a rock), and Rock Shox Magnesium 21 front forks that were also, supposedly, Proto-types. I have now changed tires, pads, seat (it was a tiny Italian no pad 28 gram wedgie maker), and tubes. The bike rides great except for the short travel in the forks. I do love this bike. Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

Face-Plant

need pic's....

hynteidi

Ok but probably tomorrow. I also have to figure out how to post pics. I don't expect a problem. Any questions that you might have?

gurry

Get a photobucket account, hurry!

mbiker33

Well, since u said suggestions, im thinking better fork, since the one u said has such short travel. But id want to see some pics of it

mtnbiker66

Find a nice rigid fork and slap that on there. That would finish off a nice "retro" bike.

guadzilla

A 16lb MTB??? The lightest one I can think of is the Santa Cruz carbon fiber at 18lb or so, and costing what.. $8k or so. Even if this is without wheels, that is still a 22-24lber. That's pretty damn good for $200!

V.

Jordan300

damn, pictures must be posted

calamari

Pics?

lesz42

too hard to read, cant be arsed

hynteidi

Sorry guys my computer took a dump and had to replace my hard drive and reinstall all of my software. I will TRYto snap some shots and post them asap. By the way, should I replace my shocks? The guys at the bike shop said that the Mag 21 Rock Shox are extremly light and strong and that if I put on any longer travel shocks, it would significantly add weight.

Svr

Your best bet is to ride it as is. Trying to upgrade a bike that old tends to be more trouble than it's worth. You'd have a really hard time finding any decent forks with a cable housing stop on the brace, much less sorting through the whole whole steerer tube/ headset configuration fiasco.

hynteidi

Ok here are some pics

hynteidi

I agree Svr!

Hot Rod Lincoln

Good catch!

mcoine

Nice, but that bike is no less than 23lbs.

jjbod1

Id hit it

Pocko

That headset alone is close to 200 bucks isn't it?

Svr

I think the guy that sold it to you had a slight case of selective amnesia. That bike is straight out of 1995. Prototype? Who knows. The "K" logo on the dropout signifies the frame was manufactured by Kinesis, probably in the Oregon factory. Maybe Kinesis built all of the QR frames.

Still, it was a fair deal at $200. My calibrated eyeballs tell me it has a 1 1/8" headset, so upgrading the fork shouldn't be a problem if you don't mind changing the front brakes.

Scratcher33

looks good! ditch that saddle now, though

Ka_Jun

whooooo, +1. nice ride. That saddle is wack, though.

victim

That seat alone looks like it weighs 16 lbs! Sharp bike tho

mtnbiker66

I still say a nice black rigid fork would be raw on that bike.

ed 

I agree, but I'm bias.

hynteidi

I haven't weight it but I think you are right. I will say it is a full gel and it feels so nice after a long ride. I ride it every day to and from work.