Cheap old bikes and a new one too

Gary's Projects has recently bought a Boulder 500, which makes me think that this bike might be cool now. Maybe it was always cool. I just stuck some Maxxis DTH on it, and I thought it's about time I updated this thread.

In the last 6 months I've taken off the guards, stuck on some wide Renthal bars and a Noswohl stem, took the anodising off a Superstar ring and bought some cheap chainring bolts from a brand called "Snail". I've done some other bits too but I can't really remember everything. Gone from knobby fast rollers to pump track tyres and excited to feel the difference over a weekend of city cruising. I like the knobby look, but the new tyres make it feel like a big BMX.

I will get around to taking some better photos at some point, but for now enjoy these screenshots I took from a video I sent to Gary himself.

Yes the stem converter/Noswohl looks SHIT. Any recommendations, I'm all ears. I think it needs to be silver to match the seatpost. I miss the old quill stem look but enjoy using the wide bars, maybe BMX stem and moto bars?

Off to ride it get some corriander from Co-op

These photos really are shit.

This bike is bloody rad. Needs some loud pink pedals though.

Thanks dude! Pedals are on the list for sure. Silver/pink/red, keeping an eye out. Maybe some coloured cables too.

Took the wheels off to change the tyres today, felt the bearings were a little rough and the bb isn’t all that smooth. Visuals might need to take a back seat while I give the bike a service.

Looks ace. Bar and stem looks sweet as well I think. Went for an XTR rear mech as well hey?

Get them pedals swapped out asap it it will be the dream.

Yes went for the XTR, picked it up for £25 and shifting has been great. Forgot to get back to your last comment! Looked like routing was the issue for the Alivio mech.

Off to a bike jumble tonight, keeping a beady eye out for pedals!

Jumble bore no fruit of the platform variety, but I did get this rather swanky frame bag for a fiver. Looks neat on this bike and will be handy on the roady too.

My friend Ollie has some ratty white DMR V8s which might undergo a makeover this weekend. I’m stuck on colour, but a trip to Halfords might spark inspiration

1 Attachment

This bike is sick!

Agreed, just pedals needed for the full #cheffskiss

As for the chunky NOSWOHL, an X2 is slightly more slender, or a slim steel Nitto stem would dovetail perfectly; the outer diameter matches 1” spacers.

Seem to have missed this in the CP section - it looks excellent. I’ll keep an eye out for it Locked up in Bristol!

Don’t think the stem adapter is too offensive personally !

A friend has donated these old V8s to the project! A little play in the bearings, but spin nicely. I planned to disassemble, strip and repaint the bodies, service and reassemble. But after spending £19.50 on a socket set from Wilko I find you need a DMR specific tool to remove the axels?

Anyone in Bristol help a fella out with this? With the socket set (needed to get one anyway) and the tool, I might as well have bought a new set of pedals. Ah well, better to fix what you have!

1 Attachment

DMR tool arrives tomorrow, just done 30 miles with rattling pedals so excited to get some grease in there.

In other news, new (old) bike day today. Any guesses?

1 Attachment

Any guesses?

Hei Hei?

Any guesses?

Hei Hei Or Explosif?

Nice. Already loving the levers.

Close! A 1995 Kilauea. Misspelt on eBay. Unpacked and assembled last night to find the drive side crank either bent or assembled wonky (how would you do that?). Results in a slowly rotating right foot, almost Elvis style, when pedalling.

Not the end of the world, looking to remedy it this weekend although I lack a crank puller (one day I will have so many tools I won’t know what to do with them).

2 Attachments

Plan with this bike is unknown! I have a very capable and fun bike in the Giant, but couldn’t resist the Kona. They are wonderful frames.

The paint job isn’t original and is missing a few decals. It’s shoddy in some spots so would like to redo this at some point. The frame/decal colours aren’t stock for any Kilauea but I really like the combo!

I managed to find some Project 2 forks for a good price on Gumtree and they’ve arrived today (it’s like Christmas in my flat). Turns out they’re threadless though, so having to decide what to do with them. Any ideas? They’d drop the head tube back down 50-60mm which is more true to the original spec, they also look fantastic so keen to make it work.

1 Attachment

From my brief wobbling-leg ride around the block, the Avid speed dial levers and ‘single digit’ V-brakes far outperform the Giant’s cantis. Even with about 2mm left on all 4 pads. Very impressed

This is absolutely fantastic!

Nice find. I would convert headset to threadless, it would open up so many possibilities.

Nice idea, although I do like the velocity stem a lot. Are there comparable options if I go to threadless? Need to trawl Retrobike for some inspo.

Crank oscillation is annoying me. It could be that the arm is not mounted straight, as the rings move in and out ever slow slightly as it spins, but I’m unsure how anyone could tighten a crank on a tapered BB without it straightening itself. Anyone seen this before?

1 Attachment

I get what you're saying about the stem.. Maybe you could get a local framebuilde (Clandestine?) to braze on a new open face 31.8 mm clamp on?

Is it definitely the crank and not the pedal? It's hard to tell from the photo. I've experienced a similar feeling to what you're describing when riding a bike with a wonky pedal.

There are bunch of 110 - 130mm 90s stems with 25.4 clam, they look nice but in practice, I never got the fit right with this massive top tube + long stem.

Maybe VO tall stack stem would be a solution? Cheaper than custom one.

Take the crank off, have a look at the bb, if that's OK crank or pedal could be bent.

the rings move in and out ever slow slightly as it spins

Makes me think its not a pedal issue