The MTB thread

[Jayneflakes]

I am not amused.

You see the thing is, I have more than one bike. Yes, I have a hard tail XC race bike that I adore and like to play with when things get wet and muddy, but I also have a strange contraption of my own design. I designed this bike in 1998, I was younger, fitter, leaner and somewhat more of a tom boy than I am now. So said bike was a super fast, short chainstay road/mountain hybrid. Let me explain.

I love riding on the road, but I can't use road bikes because of the horrific pain I get in my hands from riding hoods (got a pair of 8sp STI if any one wants them cheap?), so I have a flat bar. I also run 26 inch wheels for their rugged strength with a pair of Conti slicks. The frame though is a master piece of shed engineering, a custom made super light steel affair made from Collumbus Max and Max OR. Fantastic.

Said bike was finished with Shimano XT, LX and Avid components with Gripshift X-Rays. Ten years on and all is still running sweet. Middle burn rings last year on the 93 LX chain set are gorgeous. Yet there is a problem.

The rubbers on my X-Rays have worn out. £40 shifters that are in perfect working order except for the rubbers. My place says no hope of spairs. The local bike shop sold their last pair in the summer and the nerds in the carp shop say I should "up-grade" to Alivio rapid fire!

So where do I find a set of Gripshift Rubbers for my top flight, MTB based Urban bike? I do not want to down grade the kit to Alivio (spits in horror at the thought of Rapid Fire, still has Thumb shifters on MTB, despite them being nearly a hundred years old!) nd modern kit is nine speed. A change to nine speed means new deraileurs, sprockets, chainset and shifters, all because of a piece of worn out rubber!

[Luckypants]

Originally Posted by Jayneflakes

So where do I find a set of Gripshift Rubbers for my top flight, MTB based Urban bike?

hmmmm might be able to help you there...... I'll pm you in a couple of days.

[northwind]

You probably already know about Retrobike.co.uk? Might be worth asking there, those guys know their dinosaurs

I found this on Ebay but I'm not sure exactly what part you need. Any chance that a SRAM X0 compatible grip would work? Gripshift is a SRAM-related brand isn't it, pre-SRAM?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sram-Gripshift...3286.m63.l1177

[northwind]

Ah, ebaying sram and gripshift gets loads of hits, some for 8-speed. I have no clue if they're what you need mind! But maybe worth a look!

[Jayneflakes]

Originally Posted by Luckypants

hmmmm might be able to help you there...... I'll pm you in a couple of days.

Thank you Honey, but I may have a solution that could save you routing through the loft trying to find that box of old bike parts... If you are like me, you have enough stuff to build a whole bike with early 90's bits!

Originally Posted by northwind

You probably already know about Retrobike.co.uk? Might be worth asking there, those guys know their dinosaurs

Oh yes, but thank you anyway Sweetie.

Thanks to the wonderful internet, I found another soul who has the same problem, so ordered a large shipment from the US. Problem solved hopefully.

I just have to find out what colour he is going to forward to me, Yellow or Blue. Bad Dog (my Urban/touring bike) is already Dark Blue, so either could look good.

Now I just have to fix the Giant... Where did I put the Araldite? Changes in tolerances mean that my new rear Disk for my Hopes is 1 mm too large, so I have to glue a washer into the drop out... Why do I run this old Rubbish? Because when it was brand new and expensive I bought it, it just refuses to wear out.

I've been useless and not been MTBing for a month. Been a bit despondent about it.

Still trying to gel with the Marin, I think it's the clipless pedals that make me feel nervous on it.

Defo going to try get out more in the new year. I want to try this but will need to get my fitness up.

Originally Posted by Law

I've been useless and not been MTBing for a month. Been a bit despondent about it.

Still trying to gel with the Marin, I think it's the clipless pedals that make me feel nervous on it.

Defo going to try get out more in the new year. I want to try this but will need to get my fitness up.

Poor show Law...you'll lose your cycling legs pretty quick if you don't get out there often enough!

I did a route today, Woking to Basingstoke along the Basingstoke Canal. Was just under 50km and was bloody freezing. Highlight of the day was seeing a swan slipping and slidding on the canal, looked hillarious! The canal was frozen pretty much all day, as were my toes!!!!

[northwind]

I had a lovely run on sunday, didn't get in til 6pm so full darkness on trails I didn't know, great fun. And the new frame's arrived, and the forks are on the way, woo hoo!

well washed the claud butler after a year of no washing and being out all weathers in all the grime and wet and road salt and it doesnt show it tiny bit of surface rust on the crank thats it so i just sprayed it with mucc off washed it down lubed the chain and scot oiled it and it's shiny and ready to go another year i really am impressed with it for a reasonably priced bike it does the business.

going out tomorrow up on the moors for first ride in about 9 months. Feels good to be looking forward to getting back out there. Hopefully itll be cold and frosty, should be good!