Haven't been posting much lately but it is starting to slow down a bit at the shop. As we try and make the displays better at the MOMBAT, we find that there are just too many bikes to move around. The best way of making the displays look better is to have fewer bikes to cram into our limited space. So, it is time to move some metal. It is easiest for us to post them on the MOMBAT Facebook page so just head over to Facebook and search for MOMBAT and smack the "like" button. We will also be posting them on the web site as well. Check 'em out!

The blog to end all blogs (at least here!)

It's been awhile since I have posted anything on the MOMBAT blog. It isn't because nothing has been going on, it is just more of a time factor. Anytime, I posted a blog entry, I felt the need for it to be somewhat "robust" and informative.......which takes times. On the other hand, Facebook posts can be pretty quick and are easily shared so we have been posting there a fair amount. The web pages and photos for many of the vintage bikes have been updated recently and I think there are about 20 more to go. Every time a page was update, it was easy to post it to the Facebook page and then easy for others to share.

So,take a minute and "like" the MOMBAT Facebook page and you'll get up to date information.

Neat Old Stuff

Just took delivery of a nice stash of vintage goodness last night. We will be unpacking everything over the next day or two so follow along with the progress on the MOMBAT Facebook page @ http://www.facebook.com/pages/MOMBATorg/166038966758066

Dirt Rag and Bicycle Times

It is fun writing the articles for Bicycle Times and Dirt Rag. Every month, I look around the shop and try to find a bike that has a good story (this makes writing the article much easier!). This month, I chose the Schwinn Varsity for Bicycle Times. A customer brought one in for new tires and I thought it was neat that a 30 year old bike was still getting regular use. We have a couple of nice examples upstairs so we used one of those for the pictures. Most riders who are now in there 40's probably have owned a Varsity at some point in their lives.



For Dirt Rag, I tried a comparison format for the article. The Fisher Sawyer came out this year and reminded me of a couple of earlier "klunker" replica bikes, the Fisher Klunker and Breezer Ignaz. Josh, editor of Dirt Rag, sent me an email that said they received favorable feedback on this idea so look for something similar in future issues:

MOMBAT on Facebook

Pop on over to the MOMBAT Facebook page and "like" us. This is where we will post any new bikes we get.

1984 Hanebrink rear suspension

If you ask most people, they would probably guess front suspension came first......but they would be wrong. The earliest suspension bikes used rear suspension about 6 years before suspension forks surfaced. The builders often used motorcycles parts. The damping on this bike was actually adjusted by tightening the quick release skewer on the top of the shock! We've added this one to our Descender and Hanebrink SE Shocker which makes for a nice display of the evolution of the design.

More pictures and details HERE

Salsa Cycles scans and photos

In the slower months around the shop, we get an opportunity to clean up the shop, build displays and work on the web sites. One task that always get pushed to the bottom of the pile is the scanning of literature. It is interesting but takes a lot of time and doesn't generate revenue..........but I do enjoy reading up as I scan and it is a great resource when we are trying to make a bike "period correct". Over the last weekend, I scanned in over 100 pages of Salsa literature and some pictures that Ross Shafer provided. Pretty cool stuff. Check it out on the Salsa Page.

couple of sample pages:

1991 Ellison elevated stay bike

Elevated chain stay bikes were supposed to eliminate chain suck which it did but at the expense of a heavier and more complicated frame. Eventually, frame makers decided this minor advantage wasn't worth the extra effort (although it did make cleaning the chain easier!). Ellison was a smaller manufacturer out of Texas in the early 1990's and it looks like he just worked in aluminum. The bike features the 1.25" head tube and a polished finish. Parts are pretty standard Shimano Deore XT with Rapid Fire shifters.

More details and pictures on the Ellison Page:

Tandem Klunker project??

I had originally checked this bike out at a local swap meet last year and thought it was pretty cool. The seller had this and a neat old Peugeot tandem with MAFAC brakes and some Shimano Deore XT (deer head) stuff on it. I made an offer on both bikes but didn't end up taking them home. At the time, I thought the wheels, fork, drum brake and tires would be pretty cool on an old style Klunker frame. I had originally thought the bike had been repainted but believe it to be original after a little research. There aren't any decals on the bike but it appears to be built by Rixe in Germany. The rear hub has a "56" stamped on it which might be a date code. Anyway, still haven't decided what to do with it yet but it is pretty cool.

Fisher MountainBikes scans

Kinda interesting to see all the different names in the early catalogs: Mountain Bikes, MountainBikes, Kelly-Fisher MountainBikes, Ritchey MountainBikes, Fisher, Gary Fisher and today the Fisher Collection by Trek. We've scanned in some of the older catalogs starting as far back as 1979. check 'em out on the Fisher page.

Here are a couple of sample pages:

Vintage Funk Scans

Next up in the snowed-in-scanathon is Funk. Full set of scans HERE but here are a couple of samples.

It appears as if Funk may be back making bikes again so maybe we can get a little more info for the web site. Don't have one of the bikes in the collection but we do have a couple of the suspension forks.

Retro Bontrager scans

As the year starts off, we often find that we have a little extra time on our hands. The rush of Christmas is past and inventory is finally behind us. This is a great time to do a little work on the MOMBAT web site so I am getting back in the swing of scanning some literature. Started out with 50+ pages of Bontrager literature dating back to the late 1980's and going through 1999. The composite fork manual is an interesting read. You just don't find info like that any more. Here are a couple of pages but for the complete scans, go to the MOMBAT Bontrager page.

Trimble 140 Unlimited w/ Campy Record OR

The original Trimble Carbon Cross frames were not very durable since the bottom bracket wasn't reinforced. Brent added an additional brace which made the frame stronger and was called the Inverse 4 frame since the new frame shape looked like a "4". In the early 1990's, suspension was becoming more common and required a revised geometry to maintain the handling while coping with the additional length of the fork legs. Trimble used the same main frame but revised the dropouts to accommodate the new suspension forks. Weights were also becoming more important so lightened frames were offered. The model names reflected the maximum recommended rider weight: 140, 160 and 180. There was Unlimited versions of each model which lightened up the aluminum frame bits and added $400 to the cost. This frame is a 140 Unlimited which should have been the lightest version. the serial number is 0001 so this may be the first production 140 Unlimited model. We received this bike with a more modern parts kit so we replaced it with a period Campagnolo Record OR parts kit. More pictures and details on the MOMBAT web page.

1990 Pinarello resto-mod

The resto-mod has taken root in vintage car circles. They take an older car, gut it and install modern running gear and interior. You end up with the best of both worlds. Vintage style with all of the modern conveniences. We recently acquired a 1992 era Trimble mountain bike that was done this way. It had a Shimano Deore XT 9 speed drivetrain with Rapid Fire shifters, Hollowtech cranks and V brakes. Pretty current technology on a vintage platform. We really wanted to put the Trimble back to being era-correct since it is an early 140 Unlimited model (serial in actually 0001)and fairly rare. This left us with an entire drivetrain.

Looking around the shop, we didn't have any frame of the appropriate era for the parts. What we did find, was a couple of NOS Pinarello frames from around 1990. These are cool frames that we picked up several years ago. This seemed like a good match and the parts fit nicely on the frame. We capped off the build with our own Goat Horn handlebars, Grab-On MTN-1 grips and Ritchey Z Max tires. Ended up as a pretty nice riding bike. Since it doesn't really "fit" in the museum, we are offering it for $999 (frame alone sells for $650).









More here

Purchase info here

Trimble

I always thought the Trimble frames were pretty interesting looking and a neat idea. When Brent Trimble was working on his "new" frames, he decided to clean out some of the older frames that he had laying about. He sent us pictures of 5 or 6 of the frames but we never ended up with any of them. I am pretty sure this frame was one of those. The original owner purchased it from Brent and they build it up with the (then) current Shimano Deore XT stuff. Not sure whether to leave it as it is or try to put more period correct parts on it. Anyway, neat looking bike with a "giraffe" motif paint. The dark spots are just the natural frame fiber with a red metallic clear coat over it.

Ritchey Z Max Evolution Pro skin wall tires

We finally just received our Ritchey skinwall tires! These are the Evolution Pro with a Kevlar bead. Weight is in the 475 +/- gram range which is about 80 g lighter than our Timbuk II tires. If you want some nice high performance tires for your vintage ride, these are a great choice. They also would set apart your more current bike if you want to stand out from the crowd. To purchase them hit the MOMBAT web site.

1983 Mantis Sherpa

Mantis was the original bike company what was owned by Richard Cunningham from the early 1980's through the mid 1990's. RC went on to become the long-time editor of Mountain Bike Action and just recently stepped down from the position. The first Mantis bikes were fairly conventional frames but Mantis quickly became know more for their wilder designs including the multi-tubed Valkyries, monocoque framed Screaming Vs and full suspension Pro Floaters. It seems like we see quite a few of the later bikes but don't run across the early bikes too frequently.

This bike was obviously used quite a bit but was used for its intended purpose. Components are fairly straight forward Shimano Deore XT (deer head) parts with Phil Wood hubs and Specialized crank. The Mantis stem is interesting with the 3 bolt removable face plate that also has the front brake cable running through it.

More details @ the 1983 Mantis Page

1983 Mountain Goat Escape Goat

The early Mountain Goats used oval tubing and beautifully finished fillet brazed joints. All of the tubing manipulation and finish work drove the cost of the frames up. The Escape Goat was an effort to bring theses costs down. The frames featured standard round tubing and unfiled fillets. Parts were often less expensive as well with items such as the fork being an off-the-shelf part as opposed to the custom Mountain Goat forks found on the top models. For more pictures, see 1983 Escape Goat page.