Since buying a new bike recently (A Giant Trance X5), to replace my 9 year old Ellsworth Isis, I've been stripping down the Isis & flogging all the parts on e-bay. My intention was to sell everything that was okay to sell, including the frame. But once I'd got down to the frame I kind of realised that I really didn't want to sell it. It's been a great bike & I didn't think I'd get much for the frame anyway.

I started toying with the idea of building it back up again as a project bike. I wanted to learn more about bike maintenance & mechanics & so working on my old bike seemed like the ideal way to do this. I had the Trance to ride so it wasn't like I was in danger of screwing up my only bike. Anyway things have grown from here & I'm really enjoying the process of working on the bike. So much so I decided to start a blog to chart the projects progress. Check it out here;

https://isisreborn.blogspot.com/

Hey that's cool, I'll check that out later tonight. I love crap like that. It's bed time now though...

I just read all of that. Moar?

Nice project. Don't know what size you need for that frame; but if you're still shopping for a shock, Transition is selling off 7.5x2 '07 Swinger X3 Airs for $100.

I need a 190mm rear shock for the frame. It has mounts for 165mm shocks as well, which is the size the bike had when I bought it. Think I'll step up to 190 for the new build though. Been looking at the Rock Shox Monarch range. I might just go for the basic 2.1 model. This only has reboun damping. The higher up in the range you go the more features you get i.e. compression damping, floodgate on/off. With this kind of tweaking available I'd probably spend more time fiddling than riding! I like the idea of a set & forget system.

https://sram.com/en/rockshox/rearsuspension/monarch/

With a frame like that...I'd go with an RP of some sort.

rp?

RP2, RP3, RP23 Something with a switchable platform.

Nice job. Good to see a cool bike have a second life...

Pretty sweet project

Looking good, like the powder coating.

Yes, the powder coating came out very well. It was aqua blasted first to get all the old paint off. The finish is really nice & I'm glad I went for the arctic white colour. I think it looks good on this frame. Unfortuantely the paint has already suffered a few dings following the work I did to get the new bearings in. A real pig of a job that was. I really needed some sort of press (this is what Tony Ellsowrth told me, in an email, they used in the workshop). Still, the good thing about the frame being white is that it's not hard to dab a bit of white spray paint over it to hide any blemishes. But in future I'll try to avoid any further damage. I might wrap the frame in card to protect it whilst working on it.

How much does it cost to blast it?

I paid about £50 for the aqua blast & powder coat. Check out my blog for details.

https://isisreborn.blogspot.com/

Bought a rear shock for the rebuild the other day. Whent for a Rock Shox Monarch 2.1.

Wow, I love bike rebuilds and this looks fantastic! As a tip from the auto world, to get press-fit bearings in it helps to throw the bearing in the freezer and the part it fits in into the oven for a bit. The bearing will contract a tiny amount, and the part will expand, which makes getting it in just a touch easier.

Sounds like a good tip. I ended up using a vice to drive the bearings in, finishing off with a large hammer & a block of wood! not the most elegent way to drive your new bearings hom & certainly not recommended. An Arbor press would have been useful but I didn't have access to one at the time.

Don't feel too bad; I drove the bearing race onto my fork with a hammer and screwdriver. Of course, I was very careful to tap on a lip that didn't touch the BBs, took my time, and used the heating/cooling trick too. Now that I'm thinking about it, I drove the starnut in the same way.

LOL. I was concerned I might have done some damage but I guess I'm not alone in the odd bit of botched MTB DIY mechanics :-) I guess I won't know until I finally get to ride the rebuild.

I did have the sense to get the BB & headtube chaced/faced ready for the bottom bracket & headset. Only cost me £15 at Cycle Surgery. The tools used cost around a grand I think!!

The rebuild is coming along nicely recently. just fitted the wheels + seatpost & saddle. Now I can actually sit on it again for the first time since stripping the bike down. Just the disc brakes & the rest of the drive train to go & I think I'll be ready to ride again

..... however, a bit skint this month after paying off some debt & taking a short Easter break.

So yesterday I ordered a pair of new bottle cage bolts for £1.99 from e-bay. About as much as I can afford towards the rebuild at the moment!!

s1ck biek yo

I think I understand what you mean.

Cheers

It's done :-)

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ugbd_NRjER...0/DSC00460.JPG

https://isisreborn.blogspot.com/

More pics here;

https://www.flickr.com/photos/5060372...7624026078173/