REVIEWS DEALS BIKESHOPS TRAILS

Just finished my 2006 Blizzard build, only took a year...

1462 Views 16 Replies 10 Participants Last post by islander, Jan 13, 2010

DeeEight

Discussion Starter · Jan 7, 2010

4

from the time I originally bought it on clearout at a shop i used to work at (as a complete bike, way cheaper/different setup component wise for $900cdn, tax-in) and this is what I've turned it into.

As pictured, unfortunetly without a bell (as I finish all my builds with traditionally... i ride with bells so I like to weigh and photograph them as I use them) its exactly 28.5 pounds which is on the ummm, durable side of the weight spectrum but I was actually aiming for the classic Enduro XC image that Rocky Mountain Blizzards were designed for. Aside from the Ti rail saddle and using the crank brothers smarty pedals I basically put no effort into keeping the weight down. I wanted parts that would make a nice trail bike and that's what I got.

The tires are Hutchinson Piranha Airlight foldable 2.3s (which for a large volume 690g tire roll surpringly fast due to the reduced center tread area while still railing corners thanks to full side lugs) and I used proper sized Schwalbe presta valve tubes (with removable cores, could easily fill them with slime or stan's sealant) instead of my usual habit of superlight XC tubes or undersized regular tubes stretched into bigger tires. The wheelset is actually Wheeltech built around DT spokes, Mavic X717 rims and Deore XT hubs, and the drivetrain is all shimano except for the KMC chain. I could have gotten it lighter by easily a quarter pound had I went with an Tamer featherlight aluminium post with more rear offset and a shorter stem (to have the same front-center compartment) but I felt the Raceface stem looked nicer on the blizzard and I tend to prefer building nice bikes with 2-bolt seatposts.

Commentary?

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1 - 17 of 17 Posts

What&son

· #2 · Jan 7, 2010

Very nice! A well balanced built. Sometimes I feel mine is rather over-spec, specially now I´ve seen yours is only 3 pounds heavier than mine for much less cost. I still have mixed feelings on the Blizzard weight. The quality is top, but the weight is out of place. 2.2kg for a 17.5 frame is too much. Only hope the 717´s won´t hang next to the others you have on that tree too soon! I had to replace mine after too much dents...maybe not the best enduro-xc orientated rim.
Happy new year-bike!

DeeEight

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 7, 2010

Yeah the 18.5 Blizzard was heavier than a 19.5 hammer (by an ounce), which pretty makes one question why ANYONE at rocky ever thought it was a good move to spec Reynolds 853 tubing on the blizzard in the first place. Thank god someone there decided to change the tubeset for 2010.

What&son

· #4 · Jan 7, 2010

Do you know by chance the 2010 actual weights? I asked them on another thread but still no answer...

RMB-PM

· #5 · Jan 8, 2010

Huh, sorry about that...

16.5" unpainted is 4.1 lbs.

16.5" painted 853 was 4.8 lbs.

Paint adds just under a quarter pound typically...

DeeEight

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jan 8, 2010

Except that rocky doesn't offer the blizzards unpainted... so giving an unpainted weight is pretty much useless.

Slowup

· #7 · Jan 8, 2010

Looks sharp!!
Have you had issue with the Shimano brakes (are those XT?) in the cold?
I had '07 vintage XT brakes and they became leaky in the cold weather. Fortunately they were replaced under warranty and the new '09's I have now are primo.

DeeEight

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jan 8, 2010

Haven't had any with those, or other shimano's down to minus 20, nor tektro hydraulics. Every DOT fluid brake should work well into the minus forties, not sure about mineral oil beyond the oil might thicken a bit and thus slow down pad retraction.

Mervyn_b

· #9 · Jan 9, 2010

Nice build DeeEight!

RMB-PM

· #10 · Jan 9, 2010

DeeEight said:
Except that rocky doesn't offer the blizzards unpainted... so giving an unpainted weight is pretty much useless.

Except it's the only number I have handy right now.

anthonyinhove

· #11 · Jan 9, 2010

Reynolds 853 is an excellent and very strong tubeset. You can build a frame of any weight you like with it, it just depends how strong you want it to be and which tube sizes the designer selects. If an 853 Blizzard weighs more than a Hammer, then given 853 has a slightly higher specific strength than 725, it means the Blizzard is significantly stronger than the Hammer. I have a 4.2lbs 853 frame, which is great for me, but that won’t be as strong or as stiff as a 4.8lb Blizzard. It depends what you want, if you want lighter, it won’t be so strong.

The 2010 Columbus Blizzard is lighter than the 853 Blizzard as RMB-PM’s figures show, but it’s built with a tubeset with a slightly lower specific strength than 853, so it will be less strong than the 853 Blizzard by slightly more than the weight relativities suggest. But still plenty strong enough I should imagine. I think the market for steel frames may have changed slightly in the last few years, and RM may well have judged correctly what the market wants now. But for the enduro-style, get you back from the wilderness mission of the classic Blizzard that you were talking about, your frame remains pretty much as good as it gets IMO.

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What&son

· #12 · Jan 10, 2010

but...

RMB-PM said:
Except it's the only number I have handy right now.

Maybe someone can take a new frame (in retailer condition), put it on a scale and tell us?

rockyuphill

· #13 · Jan 10, 2010

RMB-PM could take one off the paint line in St.Georges and weigh it, as soon as one rolls off the paint line. :thumbsup:

anthonyinhove

· #14 · Jan 11, 2010

What&son said:
Maybe someone can take a new frame (in retailer condition), put it on a scale and tell us?

I don't see the problem - he's already told you a 16.5 weighs 4.1lbs plus paint, and he's right to say that paint weighs around 0.25, depending on what type paint job it is.

That's 4.35lbs give or take something insignificant. So say 4.45-4.5lbs for a size 17.5, 4.6lbs for a 18.5. My read on those weights is that they're decently light, but not particularly light. But not built to be really sturdy either, like the 853 Blizzard spec was. 4.8lbs for a 16.5 853 was equivalent to 5.1 for a 18.5, and that's a sturdy build.

That's more information than most makes will give you.

jeffscott

· #15 · Jan 11, 2010

DeeEight said:
Haven't had any with those, or other shimano's down to minus 20, nor tektro hydraulics. Every DOT fluid brake should work well into the minus forties, not sure about mineral oil beyond the oil might thicken a bit and thus slow down pad retraction.

I ride shimano XTR's mineral is fine down to at least -35 C.

rufus

· #16 · Jan 13, 2010

My 2002 853 Blizzard weighed in just a hair short of 4.7 pounds, size 18.5".

islander

· #17 · Jan 13, 2010

familiar sight

For some reason, this reminds me of the one I put together a few years back. I didn't start a new thread for it, but did get it down to 25.5lbs with Reba Race....

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