Dean Dean's Mountain Machine - Finished

Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum

Help Support Rat Rod Bikes Bicycle Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Joined
Feb 9, 2019
Messages
2,743
Reaction score
6,753
Location
Colorado
My friend Dean is not a tall person, but he has a huge heart. He loves cycling and is quite adept at the disciplines he participates in, however he has never owned nor ridden a mountain bike. About five years ago, I asked him if he'd like to try mountain biking and if so would he like me to build him up something retro cool. He said he'd like that, but is not in a hurry and said "When you find a frame that fits what you want to create, yes." A recent acquisition fits the bill and after a check of parts inventory for the build, it should be pretty quick work. They say the third time's a charm, so here's my chance to complete a build-off bike on-time.

Since this is how the base bike was acquired and remained as such until I stole the vintage XT canti brakes off of the front to complete another build yesterday, the project had not been worked on prior to the start of the build-off.
20210427_125024.jpg

Motivation is High and this bike is going to be a lightweight a-technical trail ripper. The plan is to ditch the boat anchor shock up front for a rigid fork, rock a 1x9 drivetrain, and utilize v-brakes as stoppers.
 
Cool story and bike.
The build name reminded me of Gene Gene The Dancing Machine
GO FOR IT!

88G8.gif
 
Kingfish got the reference. I've always called him Dean Dean because of Gene Gene.

Sorry Matti, but the STX rear derailleur has to go in order to make way for some 9-speed gearing. The crankset stays put though, even if it's going to be modded to a 1x. Also, if it had been a Dean frame it would have to be "Dean's Dean Mountain Machine".

Today's plan is to do some paint resto work on a few frames and I may have time to add this bike to the mix. The paint on it is really good for its age.
 
Before:
20210504_171943.jpg


After:
20210504_182447.jpg


I think the last half dozen bikes I have broken down had copious amounts of the gummy white junk grease that one of the local bike co-ops uses (or used). That is almost always preceded with a "Who built this thing last?", of course followed by the showing of the grease gobs. The rag bag of retired t-shirts is being depleted rapidly this Spring.

Dean's Machine was the last of six frame (three of them framesets) that had paint resto today. My arms are tired, but a good tired.
 
Last edited:
Looks like it cleaned up well, but it's hard to tell the difference in the low lighting.
 
CHUCK BARRIS!! ... and that comic that no one knows.
I used the unknown comic on a gig flyer once for a band I was in. One of my favorites.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think the unknown comic was Murray Langston....don’t ask me how I know, just one of the many bits of useless trivia that floats around in my noggin


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Harvested some parts off of the Azz Blaster, as it is finding a new home with the neighbor's son. He outgrew the Sedona ATX I did a custom/resto on last year. Kid's growing like a weed.

The wheelset is Alex Adventurer rims, laced to DT 340 hubs with DT Champion 2.0. I only rode dry conditions with that wheelset, so there is nominal sidewall wear and I'm still comfortable at Ludicrous Speed on those wheels. I've only had to tune them once and they are still straight as the proverbial arrow. The Continental Diesel front and WTB Motoraptor 2.4 rear tires are staying on the wheels, as they have a lot of life left in them and are tires that are largely unavailable anymore.

The 1997 Shimano XT parallel push brakeset is also getting swapped over. I knew the pads were worn a bit, but they are the furthest down I've ever worn any v-brake pads. They'll get a new set of Avid pads.

No pics yet, as everything is still a bit dusty and a large parts cleaning day is still pending.
 
Needing to stop and wait for Dean to come over for a fitment, though I could get the BB and crankset on as it is. The WTB Motoraptor 2.4 is a bit wide for the chainstays, so a comparable narrower tire has been ordered. Keeping a round profile tire in the back is paramount to the handling.
20210523_150742.jpg
 
Rattling the parts bins and made it here yesterday:
20210524_171210.jpg


That 170mm Sakae XCE crankset is beefy and doesn't weigh a ton. If I'd had a 39t ring that fit the BCD, it would be the minumum for this setup due to the crank spider being a monster. As is, I had a nice Sugino 40t and since it's going to be an a-technical trail tool, so the minimum of 40x32 will not be horrible. Besides that, the bike is a flyweight and Dean is a powerful rider.
 
A largely administrative day for me today, though breaks from the screen and paper shuffling were taken in the garage.
20210525_153814.jpg


XTR 9 speed shifter pod, Avid Speed Dial 5s, Renthal grips (from the Chicken, who now has Rave Face grips), XT parallel push stoppers, SRAM 9 speed chain and a trimmed-down steerer tube that is topped by a Bontranger headset cap. The new rear tread should arrive tomorrow.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top