Greetings everyone,

I am new here, so hello everyone, and I am also new to this type of bikes with suspensions and hydraulic brakes! My new project bike needs some repairs and so my very first question is how can I determine the year of the bike? It is a deep green bike with the name Beast world cup design on yellow.

One of my first tasks is to replace the triple sugino crank set, which has a stamp of 175 on the back. Gears are 42/32/22. Does it make sense to replace it with the same crank set or are there better options that I should consider that would work better for that bike?

Thank you!

GB

Ps. I tried to upload a pic of the bike but I am not yet allowed

Hello and welcome, [MENTION=473685]greenbeast[/MENTION]! Suspension and hydraulics are way beyond me, but cranks are more familiar.

My main question would be why you want to replace the crankset. If only the teeth are worn, replacing just the chainwheels would solve the problem.

It should be circa 1995-1997. I've got a mid 1990s Proflex in my database with a known serial number format, so I may be able to determine the year and manufacturer from the serial number.

Hello non-fixie,

Great point, two gears were "harvested" before I got the bike, so I need those -there is only one gear left at the front at the moment. I was planning in uploading the picture which it was easy to see that detail, and I forgot to type the info once I realize I am not yet allowed to upload pics... I cannot imagine I could just replace the gears... can I just replace the two missing gears?

Great suggestion, any thought where the serial number might be? is it stamped on the metal frame somewhere?

Hey T-Mar,

I searched for numbers, and on the hand side of the top side of the fork, I found: 200054914. Is that correct?

EDIT: After further research I found the serial number beneath the bottom bracket, aligned parallel to the frame: H6H011664

Your frame was manufactured in August 1996 by Hodaka of Taiwan. That's getting into the grey area where it may be an early 1997 model, as most companies start building the new models for the upcoming year, around September.

The Beast came out the year after I repped for them, so probably a '97 model year. Magura hydraulic rim brakes and the Sugino crank they used for a couple of years, although I do not recall the model (edit: Sugino Impel 500) or the BCD. Replacement chainrings should be fairly easy to find.

WoW,

Your bike has the same frame color, stickers, brakes, but mine has the front suspension on each side of the front fork (so there are two of them). The brand of the fork is Manitou, and the hand bar is a titec. The rear suspension was replaced because it seems it was impossible to get the one that came with the bike, the brand of the current suspension is Noleen, but the previous owner told me that the bike was never the same after changing the rear suspension and that is how I end up with it... I had no idea how it rides since I am missing gears... oh yeah, I was also told that the brakes needs bleeding!

That front fork absolutely rocks. I think it'd be great fun to build up a late-90s mtb frame, like yours, with that fork... but maybe a modern 1X setup and disc brakes.

The brakes are Magura hydraulic cantilever-mount units. They are rare birds in the bicycle world- comparatively few were sold before disk brakes started to take over. They are popular among the bicycle observed trials people.

Spare parts are available from Magura USA: Magura USA | MAGURA Rim Brakes

IIRC, bleeding them is very similar to bleeding any other hydraulic system. I bet there's a YouTube video that shows how to do it.

That front "Girder" fork does look cool. Suspension technology for mountain bikes back then, was an exciting thing to see develop so quickly, with so many design options, mostly sourced from the motorcycle industry.
I remember seeing an unbranded mountain bike brought in by a person into a shop I was visiting in the 90's. It had an "Earl's" type fork on it. The Earl's fork would have eliminated any dive on the front suspension when the brakes were applied, and maybe, minimized unsprung weight.
I found this one in the net,
self made 26" 27.5" and 29" lefty earls fork- Mtbr.com
but IIRC, it was built much better/cleaner, more finished than the one shown on this article.....

My favourite linkage forks were Horst Leitner's AMP forks.

The whole bike ain't bad either - here's my 1996 Amp Research B4. Had it in the LBS last year for a new headset bearing, the mechanic was really impressed with how light it is (23lbs) and how well it's aged.

The Beast photo I posted earlier is not my bike, but was a pic from the 'net. Here's another of a slightly later version with a telescopic fork instead of the earlier Girvin Vector. I did have an 855, essentially the same bike and a couple of years older but with cantilevers instead of the Maguras. Regarding Noleen, the Girvin/Proflex company bought Noleen and began using "real" shocks and springs instead of the urethane elastomer bumpers as pictured in the first Beast photo. The disadvantage of the bumpers is that they harden with age and it severely alters the suspension characteristics of the bike, in some cases rigidifying it. Like that word? I just made that up.

It's possible to re-soften the bumpers by nuking them in a microwave oven for a (very) few seconds, but they're never as good as when fresh and any replacements you're likely to find will almost certainly be old stock. Noleen is better.

In addition to the 855 I also had an aluminum hardtail with a Girvin fork on it and liked the ride and fork action, but I did not have either bike long enough or put enough miles on them to realistically evaluate the aging of the forks.

The fork you saw might have been a Lawwill Leader, made by motorcycle and MTB legend Mert Lawwill. This is one of those forks on an old Lotus hardtail of mine.
Lotus Leader.JPG

I lusted hard for one of those girder forks but I never could afford one back in the day.

Well, that is fantastic, thanks to you guys now I know it is a 1997 bike and the type of brakes I have! I also found a used complete crank-set for $60 for this bike... does the price sounds reasonable?

Thanks

It's OK if it's in good shape. The mid-'90's were when cranksets were generally interchangeable across all similar bikes. Lately bikes have been getting further and further away from what were the "standards" of that time.

I would go for a Shimano M730 Deore XT crankset. These were the bees knees back then although the later M739 8 speed XT or XTR series might have been de rigeur at that point in the mid 90s.

I found a Shimano XT Mega9 HollowTech 2 Crankset

• 9 speed M750 group (1999-2003)
• 44/32/22T
• Includes stock self extracting crank bolts.
• Uses Octalink V2 bottom bracket, such as the BB-ES70

What do you think about this crankset? Is it better that the Sugino Impel 175L 42/32/22T 94/58 BCD Triple crank set that the bike came with? Also, the Sugino was 42/32/22... Does the difference would really matter? What does the T means after the 22...


Thanks!

T is the number of teeth on the chainring. The higher the number, the more teeth, the harder it is to pedal but faster you go. The reverse is true for rear cogs. The fewer, the harder to pedal. Make sure the teeth are in good condition and not worn if it is used.

The crankset should be good quality - XT ones are high end - if you have the bottom bracket.

Hey there Narhay,

Many thanks for your reply... Which is the bottom bracket? This guy is selling the crankset complete, fully assembled with all 3 gears...

Edit: OK, after some research I figure out what the bottom bracket is which was a great tip because the seller was NOT including that!

Anyone has any comments on a Shimano Deore LX FC-m569 crankset in comparison with a Shimano M730 Deodore XT crankset?? The seller of the first set has the lower bracket included on the sale....

Second edit: OK, I am exhausted, never realize how complicated all of this is... My bike has a BB-UN51 is a square taper bottom bracket. It's not compatible with an octalink crank which is what the Shimano XT FC-M751 has.... I was also told that if I were to get this crankset I would have to source a Shimano Octalink Bottom Bracket and I will also need a special tool to install the bottom bracket into the frame. WoW, my brain hurts! So I decided to sit this one out for today.... your advice is gracefully appreciated!