[phoenixbikes]

Nothing to see here except a mid 90's Stevenson 'Psychosis'. Bombproof chromoly Full Suspension Bike with a Risse Genesis Shock and a Fox Fork. The back has 2.25 inches of travel and the fork has 3 inches of travel. It is super pedal efficient, great for square-edged bumps.

I think I have posted this before, but I made some changes and thought I'd share. Among the changes, I put a shorter 110mm stem instead of the 125mm one in the pictures. The bike handles a bit quicker and the reach is still adequate.


Notable parts include:

Power Post - Rigged and Modified:

Since I took these pics I figured out how to rig the Power Post so that a cable loop and a cable knarp aren't necessary. I used a dremel tool to make a notch in the activating lever, and hooked the cable head into the notch. I am running another remote lever now that just pinches the end of the cable so that the cable head can be attached to the seatpost itself. There wasn't enough spring tension to get the seat to come back to full pedaling height, so I rigged it with an elastomer that gives it enough spring strength to come back up with no problem. I'll have to take some pics of that and edit the post.

Avenir Bar-Ends: Quill-Style Plug-In Model instead of clamp-on style, saves bar space.

Drivetrain
17/26/39x11-13-16-19-23-28-34-42. Shadow-style 9 speed rd's work well with big cogs, too. The 17x34 and 17x42 ratios are great for really steep climbs. The 26x42 or 17x28 ratios are good for technical climbing. I am not f*#king around about low gearing. If I am descending or need to get somewhere, the 39x11-13-16-19 combos do the trick.

Avid Levers - 1st made in U.S. version?
Shimano DX BMX V-Brakes
Salsa Boosters
Kink BMX Purple Compressionless Brake Cable Housing
Kool Stop - red v-brake pads

Tires:
Panaracer Fire FR Pro 26x2.4 - front/Panaracer Fire XC Pro 26x2.1 - back.

Bolt-on Top-pull Deore Xt M737 front derailleur. Don't see many of these!

Chris King Headset

Cane Creek Rear Wheel
Mavic/Ariel Front Wheel - Never seen another Ariel Hub!

Titec Ithy's Saddle

 

[richardjohnson]

Vintage wise you should get a mountain tamer quad and add it one there. A 18x42t would be epic low. Bet you could watch time pass while pedaling.

This guy is full of old stuff and that frame is like stevenson just threw all the ideas as that bike and said "There, that'll do".

I didn't know that the powerpost actually was ever sold. Always thought it was a great idea and droppers are a thin variation of this much more thought out idea. Though they are also probably more reliable and durable and useful than this. Still purple.

 

[Wheelspeed]

Ha ha, that is a crazy bike! Nicely done. You have to take that to some bike events.

 

[phoenixbikes]

Vintage wise you should get a mountain tamer quad and add it one there. A 18x42t would be epic low. Bet you could watch time pass while pedaling.

This guy is full of old stuff and that frame is like stevenson just threw all the ideas as that bike and said "There, that'll do".

I didn't know that the powerpost actually was ever sold. Always thought it was a great idea and droppers are a thin variation of this much more thought out idea. Though they are also probably more reliable and durable and useful than this. Still purple.

One step ahead of you there. I have a Mtn Tamer Triple on that crankset, already. The granny gear is 17t. Yes, 17x42 kicks ass. The wheelbase is really short due to the curved seat tube, so the bike handles very quickly.

 

[richardjohnson]

One step ahead of you there. I have a Mtn Tamer Triple on that crankset, already. The granny gear is 17t. Yes, 17x42 kicks ass. The wheelbase is really short due to the curved seat tube, so the bike handles very quickly.

I guess that is what twigged my memory. Looking at it now I realize that it is the triple. You'd have a hard time racing a slug with that gearing but as long as you could balance you should be able to ride up.

 

[phoenixbikes]

Yeah the 17x42 on a 26" wheel is about 10.5 gear inches. According to Tom, who runs the Abundant Adventures site and still sells the Mtn Tamer Triple and Mtn Tamer Quad adapters, it is possible to get down to 10 gear inches or so before it is too low to pedal and stay upright. For years I had ratios around 13 gear inches (For reference, 20x39=13.3), now my drivetrain is even lower. It helps to be able to trackstand, and to have a wicked spin.

 

[phoenixbikes]

Ok here's a shot with the 110mm stem instead of the 125mm stem in the first set of pictures, and the cable loop/knarp setup on the post removed in favor of running the cable head directly from the post to the remote lever instead.

 

[phoenixbikes]

I absolutely love the old school dropper post on here. Although the 'Power Post' was used and no longer worked with the factory remote, I got it to work with some modifications you can see in the pictures. A dremel tool made the notch in the internal activating lever for the cable head, and the elastomer helps the post come back to full height.

If anyone can help me think of a better solution for getting the post to pop back up and forward that would be cool. Without the elastomer, the post goes into the 2 back/down positions and will move from all the way back/down spot to the middle position, but not back up to regular pedaling height. The elastomer gives the post enough spring to go back up/forward to full extension so I can climb, but it is not a terribly elegant solution, albeit functional for now. I carved a small notch in the bottom of the elastomer to get it to sit on the ridge of metal where it fits into the seat post, which along with the zip tie helps to keep it in place when activating the post repeatedly while riding.

It seems like because I am unable to anchor a cable directly inside the internal chamber where the original one was kept in place by the now-defunct set screw, there isn't quite enough spring strength to get the post all the way back and up, to regular pedaling extension. Given that I made a notch in the activating lever for the cable head, the only way to return the seat to a normal position was with a spring of some sort. I experimented with a short piece of inner tube tied to the frame and the post, but that was overkill and looked ridiculous. That's why I settled on the elastomer to get the seat back up.

The set screw which held the original cable inside the activating mechanism of the post couldn't secure the cable tightly anymore, so it would slip right out. If I remember right, the original cable that came with the Power Post remote lever was of a thinner gauge than a standard shifter cable, kind of like the 2 thin cables Shimano used for their 9 speed XTR Bar-End Remote Shifter. I do not think the cables for the remote handlebar levers made by Power Post were meant to be replaced, which is weird. I can't get the full forward/down position, but I can get the halfway down/back and fully down/back with the modern Bontrager dropper post remote handlebar lever. The halfway back/down position is really useful for technical terrain.

 

[MendonCycleSmith]

There's a crap ton going on with this thing, but the best thing about it?

Freakin' pump peg with pump. LOVE it!

 

[colker1]

I was gonna move along but read Phoenixbikes and thought why not... Glad i did. Anything called Psychosys is already shaking the boredom. So it´s a bike w/ gearing so low you can ride beyond time and find yourself in the past doing old mistakes.. I never cared for rear suspension and never understood how it works but that catapult holding the saddle could be said to be the foundation of this sport. Whacko stuff on steroids. Well done.

 

[phoenixbikes]

There's a crap ton going on with this thing, but the best thing about it?

Freakin' pump peg with pump. LOVE it!

Good eye!

That was the lbs owners favorite part too.

 

[iamkeith]

This is awesome. Perfect example of why I still perodically check in to the forum from time to time.. Thanks for posting

 

[Ann87]

Just ordered a NOS Power Post for a build I'm working on- glad to see that it may have a promising afterlife to look forward to even after it wears out!