First struggle on the old bike: find a GOOD tire that will actually fit! While I didn’t have to jump through many hoops, I did recycle some old rims I had that turned out to be one of the few options for this build. They are a bit of a unicorn product in that they have both rim brake compatibility AND work with tubeless tires! These are old school Stans ZTR 355 rims, and you can check out modern day Stans stuff at Jenson USA here: https://bit.ly/JensonUSA2022JKW.
I scored an original Shimano M-950 hub from my neighbor for $10! Tight on time, and high on enthusiasm, I headed down to the local shop to get the wheel built up. The mechanic took one look at my haggard 355 rim and told me it’d be two weeks for them to get it together. I figured I should just roll the dice and build the wheel myself- what could go wrong? The shop cut me some 260mm spokes on the spot, and I ran home, dreaming about tensiometers and spoke prep the whole way! Once the wheel was together, I could then test fit tires.
Mark Slate, original WTB co-founder and current day co-owner, sent me a care package for the build. Thanks Mark! In that package he included an ORIGINAL WTB SST Ti saddle! SWEET! This is one of the comfiest saddles I’ve EVER used- still to this day! Have a look at current WTB saddles at Jenson USA here: https://bit.ly/JensonUSA2022JKW
See the SST saddle in the 1995 WTB catalog here: http://www.mtb-kataloge.de/Bikekataloge/PDF/WTB/1995.pdf
Mark also included both a Nano 2.1 TCS Tubeless tire and another rather unicorn product: the coveted Mutano 2.2 TCS Tubeless tire. The Mutano was well used, but still had plenty of life in it. I guesstimate it at 10 years old now. But it mounted up great, and IT FITS in the tight chainstays of the bike! What a home run! This should be a KILLER set up!
Other parts that went on the bike this episode include a Shimano XT M8000 11 speed grouppo. I’m using 170mm crank arms, a 34t ring, and an 11-42 cassette. While I’m not particular on 10 vs 11 speed, I AM particular on using modern, splined cranks, as old school square taper BBs are total junk. Seriously. I twisted and snapped many of those 20 years (and 40 pounds) ago! I am also adamant about running a Shadow Plus rear derailleur, as quiet running and proper chain retention is the only way to go. Check out the XT M8000 series at Jenson USA here: http://bit.ly/2x8beKm
Paul Components (check out their products here: http://bit.ly/2Npi7jD) helped me out big time, and supplied me with some killer brakes (Touring canti: http://bit.ly/2MRGy9S; Neo-Retro: http://bit.ly/2LZHWlH, a set of skewers: http://bit.ly/2NuhXYx, and a proper 90mm stem: http://bit.ly/2M67e1p. Thanks Paul! These parts are beautiful, and they function perfectly.
Stay tuned for episode 3!
General Affiliate Links:
- Jenson USA: https://bit.ly/JensonUSA2022JKW
- Industry Nine: https://bit.ly/IndustryNine2022JKW
- PNW Components: https://bit.ly/PNWComponents2022JKW
- Shimano: https://bit.ly/Shimano2022JKW
BIG THANKS to the Patreon supporters who made this episode possible! Support me at https://www.patreon.com/jeffkendallweed
- Jeff KW rides an Ibis Mojo 3: http://bit.ly/2Oodh2X
- Jeff KW wears a Camelbak Kudo: https://bit.ly/2tHs5ku
- Jeff KW wears the Kitsbow Trials Jacket, Ride Tee, and Origin short: https://bit.ly/2N2SeTY
- Jeff KW is protected by the Kali Maya helmet: https://bit.ly/2KmcCgJ
- Jeff KW runs the PNW Components Bachelor 170 post: https://bit.ly/2IvG0zA