Hi Guys,
I hear a lot of talk about Bridgestone MB1s and Fat Cities, but I haven't heard much about the old s-works bikes. Here are some mostly pointless jumbled ramblings about my classic, retro, vintage Specialized.
I have a 1991 or 1992 18" Dark Green Specialized S-Works Steel. The frame has a 1" headtube and is made of "quad-butted" Prestige Ultimate Ultra-Light tubing (IIRC?). It came with a full Suntour XC Pro Microdrive group.
Over the years, I threw away parts that wore out or performed poorly: seatpost, rear hub (replaced with another Suntour), brakes/levers, front derailluer, s-works pedals. I trashed the original WTB(?) headset which buggered the threads on the rigid "direct drive" unicrown fork. I replaced the fork with a Funk 1.5" travel elastomer shock which I threw away in 1994 (dangit, I should've kept the Funk, though a poor performer, it was a museum piece of early CNC suspension work!) I installed a Rock Shox Judy w/ Risse GEM cartridge and White Brothers coil springs. The upgraded Judy has performed flawlessly and still compares decently against mainstream forks today.
I even have chi-chi Topline Microdrive cranks on it, with Suntour's 56mm inner chainring spacing instead of Shimano's Compact 58mm.
It has taken quite a beating in Moab and all over Colorado, most recently in Crested Butte when my full-suspension bike was at the shop getting the frame replaced. I had no problem keeping up with the modern bikes except on the huge descents on 401/403 and Monarch Crest. My hands cramped up from the relatively crappy stock cantilever brakes (Diacompe SS7 levers / 287? brakes). I pitched those in a fit of pique, replacing them with the far superior Avid Arch-Rival's.
I probably should've kept everything to be able to restore it someday.
So, is there anyone else out there with an s-works steel or anyone who knows some additional details, history or stories about these bikes?
I hear a lot of talk about Bridgestone MB1s and Fat Cities, but I haven't heard much about the old s-works bikes. Here are some mostly pointless jumbled ramblings about my classic, retro, vintage Specialized.
I have a 1991 or 1992 18" Dark Green Specialized S-Works Steel. The frame has a 1" headtube and is made of "quad-butted" Prestige Ultimate Ultra-Light tubing (IIRC?). It came with a full Suntour XC Pro Microdrive group.
Over the years, I threw away parts that wore out or performed poorly: seatpost, rear hub (replaced with another Suntour), brakes/levers, front derailluer, s-works pedals. I trashed the original WTB(?) headset which buggered the threads on the rigid "direct drive" unicrown fork. I replaced the fork with a Funk 1.5" travel elastomer shock which I threw away in 1994 (dangit, I should've kept the Funk, though a poor performer, it was a museum piece of early CNC suspension work!) I installed a Rock Shox Judy w/ Risse GEM cartridge and White Brothers coil springs. The upgraded Judy has performed flawlessly and still compares decently against mainstream forks today.
I even have chi-chi Topline Microdrive cranks on it, with Suntour's 56mm inner chainring spacing instead of Shimano's Compact 58mm.
It has taken quite a beating in Moab and all over Colorado, most recently in Crested Butte when my full-suspension bike was at the shop getting the frame replaced. I had no problem keeping up with the modern bikes except on the huge descents on 401/403 and Monarch Crest. My hands cramped up from the relatively crappy stock cantilever brakes (Diacompe SS7 levers / 287? brakes). I pitched those in a fit of pique, replacing them with the far superior Avid Arch-Rival's.
I probably should've kept everything to be able to restore it someday.
So, is there anyone else out there with an s-works steel or anyone who knows some additional details, history or stories about these bikes?
