Got the Ross out into her native element during the last snow here in DC, this was at 1 AM on the Memorial Bridge over the Potomac:

[IMG]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7317/...a88fe177_b.jpgMidnight Snow Ride by mtypinski, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8570/...06158b6c_b.jpgMidnight Snow Ride by mtypinski, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7452/...0a58b7a8_b.jpgMidnight Snow Ride by mtypinski, on Flickr[/IMG]

[IMG]https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8666/...65e55df5_b.jpgMidnight Snow Ride (Death Star trench view) by mtypinski, on Flickr[/IMG]

Hey Clang: I saw that pic as well, but not certain its a complete match, (non-suspension fork).

Shp4man: Unfortunately...not very well. Will need disassembled and inspected. No signs of oil leakage, so assuming its got worn elastomers? Won't know until I tear it apart sometime later today. I do have 2 NOS Rock Shox in the box, from this same era, that I've been holding onto, for the proper build. One is an Indy the other a Judy.

You guys thinking the Titanium SL that's on there now is an add-on?

I think it's an add-on. It's pretty common for rigid mtbs to be "upgraded" with a suspension fork. They changed the saddle, stem, and shifters too. Plus it looks like they were liberal with frame stickers. Hope some of those come off! It's a pretty bike.

I have a B3 I am building. I don't have the stock fork but the PO put a rockshok judy on it. It does not have the correct front wheel or crankset but I am building it to ride.

Here's the 1986 Diamondback Ascent I picked up last week, putting me at n+1 in 2015. I should have taken a photo of the tubing decal, but the frame is double butted Tange MTB cr-mo, and the fork is also cr-mo steel. This is my first level top tube, thumb shifter-equipped mountain bike. I can't wait to actually ride it once the weather improves. If I don't end up liking the upright position, I think this would make a good drop-bar conversion candidate.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=436224http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=436223

It certainly needs new tires- the sidewalls on these 1.5" Specialized Crossroads are failing. I was thinking of trying to see if 2.3" Kenda K-Rads will fit. Or does anyone else have some thrifty suggestions?

I ditched the old, bent-railed crap saddle for a cheap LBS parts bin find: a suspiciously swaybacked Brooks Swallow. I don't know if it's salvageable. Do I just turn the nut by the nose to increase the tension on the leather?

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=436234http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=436235

Nice find. I had the chrome version of the same bike and it rode awesome. If the chrome had been in better shape, I would have definitely held on to it.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=436246

I haven't had a chrome bike since I traded my '05 Pista to a friend. I'm always on the lookout for chrome, but it usually comes at a premium. Your Ascent looks good! What sort of tire clearance did you find it to have?

I was running 26x1.95 but there was quite a bit of extra clearance.

1st generation Rockhopper (1985):

http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/a...psammvrepw.jpg

here is my steed Iggy a 1992 Giant Iguana! Best bike EVER! ;-)

Last 2 pics are from When i first got him from my grandmas. he was such a mess then. :-( But i have gave him lots of love! :-P
I have a Shimano rear 7 speed Rapidfire shifter and a Shimano sis8 derailleur on the way! I cant wait!
http://i357.photobucket.com/albums/o...pseisutsnz.jpghttp://i357.photobucket.com/albums/o...psyw5pklpn.jpghttp://i357.photobucket.com/albums/o...pspyeoa5ck.jpghttp://i357.photobucket.com/albums/o...pslxybqruh.jpg

Killer ride!

Been a while since I pulled the ole n+1, but just grabbed this tonight. 1996 Burley Rock n Roll, practically NOS... the 20 year old tubes even held air long enough to ride it 5 miles home. Deore LX brakes, XT derailleurs. Gonna swap out the grip shifters with some XT thumbies asap, actually the whole cockpit is gonna be reworked im sure.

http://i.imgur.com/lixLgGN.jpg

Picked this up a couple of weeks ago. I traded the Super V I found a while back. I think I got the better end of the deal. Working on a repaint, but getting all the coolness dialed in first. Trying to find matching tires, but that may be a lost cause.,,,,BD


Just added correct cranks, pedals, and derailleurs. Gonna be as nice as I can make by the time I am done. I already found a site with aluminum top tube cable guides that will fit nicely. I will probably epoxy them on.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...psh3amnvgx.jpg

I finished my Rockhopper build last week and took it for a maiden voyage, it was incredible. I've got to add my commuting BS onto it, but at least it's done! I can move on to my Bear Valley next. I picked up a wheelset for it, seeing that I was bouncing one between the two mountain bikes.

Also I discovered cross levers for my brakes, which makes me an official convert to drop bar vintage MTBs :)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=438969http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=438970http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=438971

Here is a 94 Specialized Rockhopper Comp FS I found in the fall. It had almost no wear, but had sat in storage for ever. It had granny bars, big comfort seat, bike rack and had http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=439101never seen a trail but was super dirty. Just years of collecting grime. I found the original bars and a vintage saddle. Cleaned it up and rebuilt the vintage fork this week. The suspension now hold air and it rides really nice. I still have some work to do on the brakes, but it is ready for the trails.

Very nice bike.

Beautiful example of what I call the "85-1/2" Rockhopper. It rolled out in mid-85, as configured on your ride, but was not in the Specialized catalog until the '86 year. By then they had already dropped the maligned Suntour Mountech derailleur for the Shimano Deerhead group. It's nice to see an original survivor in such great shape. I've think Rockhoppers were/are some of the best-built, best-value bikes from the mid-80s to early 90s. It was alway the ugly stepchild to the Stumpjumper, but really, it was just a "trickled-down" Stumpjumper -- by a year, or two. I also have an '85, and an '89 that I just finished rebuilding. Both great bikes. Thanks for sharing.

I no longer have it since it was to big and I sold it a few years ago. Redline Fifty Five. Nice Suntour XC Comp components. In retrospect I should have kept it for that.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n...s/IMG_0594.jpg

The value in that saddle is in the steel parts for recovering. I have seen people ride worse and claim comfort. They might also like riding on a 1" piece of webbing, the exact opposite of those nose-less saddles with two pieces, one for each sits bone.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=441140
1989 Merlin, XT 737, XCII pedals, Panaracer Smoke.
Worn out rim
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=441141http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=441142

Thanks for answering my question about the Brooks. Once it got a little warmer I rode for a bit on it and confirmed my suspicion that it wasn't rideable as-is.

I've seen people stuff foam under them and zip tie the whole thing closed
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=441225http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=441226

Cons: looks kludgy.

I think there's someone on bikeforums that fixes Brooks by using new leather but I can't remember their username. Could be worth looking into.

I've put in a few more rides on the Diamondback and it's an interesting bike. Very upright with super-wide 27" bars. Until I can find some bar-cons for a drop bar conversion, I'll keep the riser setup and treat it more like a cruiser.

I just found this post and will say that I once did the drums but don't know if I have a picture of the bike. I built it for my then-girlfriend (now wife of 29 years so you know how long ago it was built) from a Chiorda mixte framed road bike. The rear triangle would fit a 26x2.125 wheel and tire so I fitted a 26" CroMo cruiser fork, had the frame painted hot pink with light metallic blue panels (her choice--she's a designer) by Marinoni and built it up with drum brake wheels. *****in' little bike that we later sold to a friend for his teenaged daughter.

The frame was of the type I've been told is called a Berceau, utilizing curved mixte lateral tubes instead of straight ones for even better clearance on the step-through.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=441787

*edit*

Looks like you cannot use the word b*I*t*c*h*I*n' as an adjective in this forum.

Wow!! two seriously hot mtb's

\

LOL, is that @konaaronsnake 's old faux huffy? Crazy nice though, apart from that rim.

My latest is a 1989 Univega Range Rover ES. Tange cro-moly frame, cro-moly fork, Exage components and biopace chainrings. The odd thing about this MTB is that it has a low bottom bracket, a shorter top-tube and more rake to the fork, giving it a lower trail measurement. It's very much like the 1989 Specialized Rockcombo. It's sort of the missing link in my experiment with old MTB's and how bikes from different eras ride.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=441831http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=441832