Brooklyn Machine Works

All old DH bikes are kinda crap in comparison. The wheels are too small, the wheelbase too short and the headtube angles aren't slack enough.

Riding a modern DH bike is like playing in cheat mode compared to the old timers. I have an M1 for reference.

Pretty sure mine were 25.4mm clamp section...But they were the 4" rise version.

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Blimey!!

Hadn't read back through the thread much and just see it.

Do you still own this?!

Apologies if this has been covered further back in the thread. Trawling through now

Yeah this is my worry that riding a racelink would feel shit.

Do you still ride the M1 much?
I had a 26" Intense 951 and still owned it until a few years ago. While it was my main bike it of course felt great but then long low slack happened and any time I'd get on the 951 it was the head angle that made it feel terrible in comparison to my newer bike.

I guess I already know the answer to my question. It's just that the desire to own a racelink was strong!

Nah never. It's just an ornament now. The ZZYZX forks are well and truly fucked.

I wish I'd kept my 951 as an ornament for the garage. It was in raw alu then I polished it to a mirror finish which lasted less than 10 minutes of riding.

The ZZYZX forks are well and truly fucked.

Which year is your M1? Must have been pre 2000's if it had ZZYZX forks?

Yes I had one for years. Cracked the swingarm flat landing off flights of steps. Sent it back for repair and respray. Then got a chance to own a Big Link which was my dream BMW. Had that far a few years until it was stolen. Got it back ten years later, but realised after a couple of rides that I would never really use it anymore. That thing weighed about 70lbs.
The race link also weighed between 47-53lbs depending on which forks I had fitted at the time.
Great frame and had a lot of fun on it, but it was back in the heavy build, hucking period of DH.
If I had any need for that type of bike again I'd go with a Tora simply because of the weight and geometry. Plus they're not overpriced like all second hand BMW stuff is now.

Racelink is overrated, people froth on them but there was far better bikes out at the time and it'll certainly not be a patch on modern dh bikes. Tora will probs ride a bit better as its got better geo.

I think it was bought in 96 from Walton Cycles, (little shop at the back of Kingston). I'm the second owner and bought it in 98. When I got it it was frameset and had 1st get Boxxers on so I switched them out for a set of Monster T's but they looked kinda weird in orange (frame is red) so I later got the Bullets.

No way, are you the chap who posted on pinkbike about the bike turning up on gumtree ten years later?!

Very cool. I wish I'd kept a couple of my old dh frames.

Yeah I realise that it's just the nostalgia that makes them appealing.
My current dh bike wheelbase is loooong and I notice the difference in straight line speed and stability even against my slightly shorter wheelbase enduro bike. So going back to something as short as the racelink just wouldn't feel right.

The Tora is cool as fuck. No plans to replace my current dh frame any time soon but when I do I think the Tora will be high on the list.

There was a period in the early 00's when stuff could be picked up cheaply and I had a perma-search on eBay for an STS-Lobo. Went and looked at a few and never jumped in always thought one would turn-up. Now $$$$$

I'm literally just about to put a 96 King Kikapu in the bin because the Fox Alps 5R rear shock is gone and the only place that can fix it is in the USA and they want £200 to do it. Plus the Z1's are a big leaky mess so they'll need £100 worth of repairs to make good. It's just not worth it.

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Indeed.

Ha! I also went through a phase of looking for old GT's.
The late 90's and early 2000's is the golden era of mtb for me.

There is a guy on instagram who owns machine shop and is building a modern version of the Marzocchi Z1. So far he has made the arch and the crown. https://www.instagram.com/marzocchi.z1/

Incredible that you got it back.

My friends Norco DH bike was stolen in 2005, it was one of only two imported into the UK. Purple frame with Monster T forks.
I still keep an eye out for it turning up.

Yeah it was a really weird situation too. A guy who spotted it messaged me. Then a different guy bought it but pressure and his conscience got the better of him and he contacted me. Then the police were utter dicks who refused to release it without a frame number, despite the frame number being '8'...and me having written proof from Joe himself at BMW.
Then I ended up selling it to a friend of the guy who bought it then handed it back to me, for £2000 complete, only for him to put it straight on ebay for £7000 😂

the police were utter dicks

Every single interaction I've had with the police has been sickening. When my pals bike was stolen they done literally nothing about it.
It cost £4k in 2004. If I robbed a bookies for £4k there would be a fucking manhunt.

put it straight on ebay for £7000

Cunt!

feel totally shit compared to my modern dh bike

almost certainly the case

I would agree with that, apart from mayve the Lahar as it was slack and well ahead of its time when it came out.

Enduro bikes now ride better than most old DH bikes, although I recon I could ride my 26” DH bike better than a lot of folk on a 10 grand Santa Cruz Still.

its a used frame priced the same as a brand new v4

V4 to the UK comes with heavy taxes though. Think the price is fair enough.

wbase sell them for 640£ (99000 yen) and shipping was 63£ (9800 yen)
i didnt pay any tax when it entered the UK, parcel force delivered it straight to my door. maybe i got real lucky. Shipping took just under 2 weeks though

I’d say that was lucky, I’ve been stung recently and the bills don’t add up and they are non negotiable. It’s a farce

what do you mean they dont add up?
unnecessary costs ?
there are different logistic airports around the uk and maybe they work differently to one another. i dont know.
i think mine landed at east midlands.