[hollister]

the illegitimate love child of othervoices and momosgarage

one helluva what if portal, my head just exploded

 

[Shogun700]

....Winter is waning, must get out and ride soon.......

Agreed! No snow here.....but my neck/back are a mess. *sigh*

Merzperson, your bike belongs here, there are plenty of older mtb's floating around the forum with newer parts like yours. Don't hesitate to post, just be ready for blunt opinions-both positive and negative. I own several bikes, both 'worthy ' and not-so-worthy, an post them all up fearlessly.

I like your ride, the 950 frame looks good with the drops and it's really clean, well done. I want to hate the tires, but it's not happening!

 

[merzperson]

Well hey - I'm here to learn, so I'll take the negative comments. I'd never claim to know more about vintage bikes than anyone else on here. I found this Trek on CL for $75 and have had a blast riding it and fixing it up (on a poor college student budget). I've always thought classic mountain bikes are some of the most beautiful bicycles that have ever been made and it's been my dream to put one together.

If anyone has any photos of Merz MTB's I'd love to see them.

 

[Mr Pink57]

Anyone make anything close to these today? The closest I could find was the Kelly Take Off
Kelly Bike Company

There is an interesting lever coming out for the cyclocross gang Retroshift.
Thread:
https://forums.roadbikereview.com/components-wrenching/retroshift-264420.html

Website:
retroshift | Mud Proof Shifting. Designed by Goats!

Youtube video, watch it. The video explains it well.
Retroshift's Channel - YouTube

Sent them an email regarding a v-brake set (disc brakes) and they said early spring is the planned time.

 

[sasquatch rides a SS]

I don't get the fuss about whether a certian bike is worthy or not worthy. He's got a mountain bike with drop bars in "The single consolidated official drop bar thread". He's out riding a bike that he built himself and he's having a good time. If he builds a bike to his liking because that is what he wants then that's great. I give him props. I'd run lime green tires in a heartbeat also.

Keeping on topic..Here is an updated picture of my bike. Since last time it was posted it has gotten new tires (I really miss the gum walls...) and tubes, a new saddle and pedals. Now the bike may seem silly to you, but I love this bike. I've got less than $50 bucks in the entire build and so far this year I've ridden it much more than my other bikes that have cost much more. :thumbsup:

I will get some better pictures, a cellphone pic on a sunny day is horrible

 

[modifier]

I don't get the fuss about whether a certian bike is worthy or not worthy. He's got a mountain bike with drop bars in "The single consolidated official drop bar thread". He's out riding a bike that he built himself and he's having a good time. If he builds a bike to his liking because that is what he wants then that's great. I give him props. I'd run lime green tires in a heartbeat also.

Most people are very simple minded. They want to be like everybody else and want everybody else to be like them. When someone steps across the line their mob mentality kicks in and they go into automatic rejection without really analyzing where their ill-founded thoughts come from.

 

[tductape]

Darn,
I was just having fun because the green tires reminded me of Othervoicez. Not sure how that was complaining, but lets be honest, those are the brightest tires to appear in VRC for quite some time.

As far as the build goes on the TREK; The drops to saddle ratio appears to be huge and I don't know if this would be conductive towards a comfortable long ride. I believe there is a lot of confusion about what the vintage drop bar mountain bike was trying to accomplish, and several builds here are put together with the emphasis on riding the hoods not the drops. This is fine if that is what you are trying to accomplish, but it is not in the spirit of the vintage mountainbike drop bar rides which were designed to ride mainly with the hands in the drops.

Vintage drop bar mountainbikes were designed to ride the drops for several reasons including an ergonomic correct hand position, and using the bend of the bars as a source of suspension.

I am now ready to be blasted for stating my opinion.....flame on.....

Ride what you brought and ride hard,

 

[iamkeith]

Darn,
I was just having fun because the green tires reminded me of Othervoicez. Not sure how that was complaining, but lets be honest, those are the brightest tires to appear in VRC for quite some time.

As far as the build goes on the TREK; The drops to saddle ratio appears to be huge and I don't know if this would be conductive towards a comfortable long ride. I believe there is a lot of confusion about what the vintage drop bar mountain bike was trying to accomplish, and several builds here are put together with the emphasis on riding the hoods not the drops. This is fine if that is what you are trying to accomplish, but it is not in the spirit of the vintage mountainbike drop bar rides which were designed to ride mainly with the hands in the drops.

Vintage drop bar mountainbikes were designed to ride the drops for several reasons including hand position and using the bend of the bars as a source of suspension.

I am now ready to be blasted for stating my opinion.....flame on.....

Ride what you brought and ride hard,

That's just good, constructive critique. What he's saying, @merzperson, is that you'd probably be more comfortable on a stem that is much shorter taller. (look for a kalloy, if you don't want to spend a bunch of money) Unlike a road bike, you should ride in the hooks 100% of the time, and your grip area wants to be in roughly the same position, relative to the saddle, as it would have been if you were using a typical flat bar and that 140mm or 150mm stem.

I never read the "hello, my name is Othervoicez" thread, or I might have laughed.

 

[Fillet-brazed]

The saddle to bar drop doesn't look all that bad for his height, but the reach does look fairly long. Remember taller guys can get away with more of a difference between bar and saddle height because their longer arms make up the difference. In the end, it's about the angle of your back, not a set in stone bar to seat ratio, because everybody's got dif bodily proportions.

Heck, look at the king/originator/founder of off road drop bars (Charlie Cunningham) and his bike has a 2-3" (maybe more as I'm going off memory) difference between bar and saddle height.

And the height of the bars isn't necessarily a comfort thing (people do the RAAM with low bars), it's more to do with weight distribution for riding in the dirt and technical terrain vs the road which doesn't ever need much rearward body English.

 

[tductape]

saddle to bar drop doesn't look all that bad for his height

Ok probably just the angle of the photo and a strong back. FWIW here is a pic of mine 6' 3" , 48 YO and slacking in the yoga classes. I think I squatted down a little more when I took the pic.

the reach does look fairly long

I Agree

 

[Fillet-brazed]

saddle to bar drop doesn't look all that bad for his height

Ok probably just the angle of the photo and a strong back. FWIW here is a pic of mine 6' 3" , 48 YO and slacking in the yoga classes. I think I squatted down a little more when I took the pic.

I Agree

that's a pretty bike.

I know of some guys that ride in the midwest on dirt drops with a standard mtb stem (you know who you are) and it's fine. I'm guessing the trails are flatter/less technical there, not requiring excessive body weight shifts to the rear.

Whatever works for your body and terrain I guess.

 

[DoubleCentury]

This setup is good for riding on the hoods on dirt roads, but not good in the drops on technical stuff.

This setup has proven to be good for riding in the drops all day long.

A little more height on the Ham and less reach made all the difference.

 

[Fred Smedley]

You can do better.

While we're at it....I find that Trek offensive.

It's a terrible thing , a $50.00 dollar bike that rides better than your $500.00 bike.

 

[trailville]

It's a terrible thing , a $50.00 dollar bike that rides better than your $500.00 bike.

Yeah, it's just not right that someone with virtually no knowledge of boutique bike brands and vintage components, who doesn't spend endless hours scouring Ebay and Craigslist for the rare finds, can put together a bike that provides pretty much the same ride experience.

 

[tductape]

who doesn't spend endless hours scouring Ebay and Craigslist for the rare finds

Is this what collecting is now? Ebay and Craigslist?

I spent part of this morning communicating with a friend who I met here on VRC and have shared a few emails and phone conversations with over the years. I appreciate the heck out of his bike passion, opinions and daydream about having a collection that contains a few bikes as nice as his someday.

We have traded parts back and forth before. No ebay, Clist, cloak and daggers involved, just the same passion for nice old bike stuff.

I came back from Vaca. on Monday to another email from a different friend who wanted to touch base and share some pictures of his latest bike find. Again, just a passion for old bikes.....

 

[merzperson]

Re: my bar to saddle ratio. Part of this is that my stem doesn't go any higher (I have it just above the max height line - probably shouldn't ride it like that) and I'm not having much luck finding a suitable high-rise stem with comparable reach. I'm 6'5" and all torso. Mostly importantly, though, my background is in road racing where there's easily a foot of drop from the saddle to the bars. I ride my Trek 950 in the drops 90% of the time on the roads, and 100% on the trails.

Anybody have a recommendation for a 1" stem with decent rise and reach? Preferably of the inexpensive variety?

 

[tductape]

Nitto Dirt Drop 26.0

 

[CS2]

Otherwise, they would have a dedicated, private forum to talk to each other about the bikes deemed worthy, and there is simply no fun or point in that!

I thought we had that at one time. There was a lot of flak on it if I remember.

 

[Rumpfy]

It's a terrible thing , a $50.00 dollar bike that rides better than your $500.00 bike.

I'm embarrassed to say I don't have a $500 bike.

 

[muddybuddy]

That's nothing to be embarrassed about.