My old Cannondale

[Spleeble]

I bought this 1994 Cannondale Killer V second hand about 7 or 8 years ago with the view of turning it into a trials bike. I rode it once and the chain snapped so I half stripped the bike and then lost interest. Since then the bike lived in my mums back garden for 5 years. Now I have made the spiders homeless and want to use it as a commuter bike. After 5 years in the elements the bike looked ok, the hubs still felt smooth and the frame was clean. The Stronglight headset was very gritty and brake posts were very rusty, I removed the BB and the flexmatic FSA Power Pro cranks some years earlier,otherwise I could be looking at a written off frame.


XT chainset and XT front mech


XT cassette, XT mech and HG93 chain


Avid SD7 V brakes, Cannondale Fatty forks and VP Components A69AC headset


Avid leavers and Deity Classic lock on grips


How the bike looks at the moment

I'm still waiting on some parts such as xt shifters, wheels, tyres and other bits and bobs.

This is one of my other long term projects, an Arrow DSS 24".

[itsnotarace]

I'd swap those Avid V brakes and levers for XT if you can, never got on with the Avids myself.

[Spleeble]

itsnotarace said:

I'd swap those Avid V brakes and levers for XT if you can, never got on with the Avids myself.

10 years ago, when I was last using rim brakes, I had Avid and was impressed with the level adjustability, feel and power they offered. I believe that they were far superior than any Shimano offerings at the time. For that reason I have stuck with them on this build. Should they turn out to be underwhelming I will change them.

[itsnotarace]

Fair play, see how you get on with them. I have both here, the XT's 770's are on the bike and the Avids are in my spare parts box. It was the levers themselves that let them down more than anything, I really like the servo wave of the Shimanos.

[Spleeble]

It has been close to 8 years since last messed about with bikes and things have changed a bit. It took me a while to work out what I wanted and if new bits would fit my old frame. The biggest problem I had was with the Cannondale 1 1/4 headset, I had to get some spacers so I could fit a standard 1 1/8.

[carter711]

That DSS is lovley, I remember them being one of the first 24" specific slalom frames and I badly wanted one after reading the MBUK review!

What are you going to build it up with? Z1 bams and hope pro disc brakes would fit it really well. I can see Middleburn RS7s looking the part on it aswell..

[Spleeble]

carter711 said:

That DSS is lovley, I remember them being one of the first 24" specific slalom frames and I badly wanted one after reading the MBUK review!

What are you going to build it up with? Z1 bams and hope pro disc brakes would fit it really well. I can see Middleburn RS7s looking the part on it aswell..

I was drooling over the Arrows in MBUK too. Really liked the DS3 which was the short travel full sus one. When I saw this pop up on fleabay I just put in a silly bid of £50 and won it.

It really needs a new paint job as it has loads of chips. I will probably get it painted white and get some new stickers for it. I have some Arrow 24" FHX rims that I found for £20 a pair and want to get them built up with Hope Pro II's. I love Marzocchi forks and would like to get the 4X World Cup Forks depending on budget. I really like BMX style 3 piece cranks as they were popular a few years back, but the Middleburn's are a good idea that I like the sound of. Brakes are a bit of an issue as it has the old style 22mm hayes mount on the chain stay, I found an adapter but it doesn't leave much space for a calliper. I will keep a lookout for some Hope Mono's as they're small and should fit in the space.

I have one other bike but I haven’t got any photos as it's in the shop having a Hope headset fitted, brakes bled and fork serviced. It’s a 1999 silver Kona Roast that I bought at The Bike Show, it’s the one with the better looking oval tubes and not that ugly clump rubbish. While I was there I got it signed by Scott Beaumont. This one was also left in my mums garden for 7 years. The Hope C2 brakes were seized, the Woodman headset had rusted solid, the Azonic 453 cranks wouldn’t spin, Sram chain wouldn’t move but the Hope Bulb hubs and Z1 QR20 fork seemed perfectly smooth. Currently getting this one running again with a load of new bits.

[carter711]

Spleeble said:

carter711 said:

That DSS is lovley, I remember them being one of the first 24" specific slalom frames and I badly wanted one after reading the MBUK review!

What are you going to build it up with? Z1 bams and hope pro disc brakes would fit it really well. I can see Middleburn RS7s looking the part on it aswell..

I was drooling over the Arrows in MBUK too. Really liked the DS3 which was the short travel full sus one. When I saw this pop up on fleabay I just put in a silly bid of £50 and won it.

It really needs a new paint job as it has loads of chips. I will probably get it painted white and get some new stickers for it. I have some Arrow 24" FHX rims that I found for £20 a pair and want to get them built up with Hope Pro II's. I love Marzocchi forks and would like to get the 4X World Cup Forks depending on budget. I really like BMX style 3 piece cranks as they were popular a few years back, but the Middleburn's are a good idea that I like the sound of. Brakes are a bit of an issue as it has the old style 22mm hayes mount on the chain stay, I found an adapter but it doesn't leave much space for a calliper. I will keep a lookout for some Hope Mono's as they're small and should fit in the space.

I have one other bike but I haven’t got any photos as it's in the shop having a Hope headset fitted, brakes bled and fork serviced. It’s a 1999 silver Kona Roast that I bought at The Bike Show, it’s the one with the better looking oval tubes and not that ugly clump rubbish. While I was there I got it signed by Scott Beaumont. This one was also left in my mums garden for 7 years. The Hope C2 brakes were seized, the Woodman headset had rusted solid, the Azonic 453 cranks wouldn’t spin, Sram chain wouldn’t move but the Hope Bulb hubs and Z1 QR20 fork seemed perfectly smooth. Currently getting this one running again with a load of new bits.

Haha I had one of those Roast frames! It was a 1999, I got it as I put a small crack under the headtube of my celebration Nunu and Kona offered the Roast frame to me for £80 which I thought was an amazing deal.

I've been reliving my early interest in bikes recently by builing up a 15" 1999 Kona Chute frame which I though was the daddy of all hardtails back then, I've built it up with 1998 orange Z1 bams, M952 Shimano cranks and gears, NOS Mavic D521s and Avid Arch Rival V brakes, Azonic handlebar and stem, all painstakingly found and bought on ebay and mountain bike forums.

This build has sparked a new found interest in mountain bikes and I now have a load of bikes I've picked up including a Kona Stab, Raleigh DHO, Ellsworth Joker (one built up with modern parts and I've got another Joker frame in the shed) Azonic DS2 Evo frame, and an Azonic B52 frame!

[Spleeble]

carter711 said:

Spleeble said:

carter711 said:

That DSS is lovley, I remember them being one of the first 24" specific slalom frames and I badly wanted one after reading the MBUK review!

What are you going to build it up with? Z1 bams and hope pro disc brakes would fit it really well. I can see Middleburn RS7s looking the part on it aswell..

I was drooling over the Arrows in MBUK too. Really liked the DS3 which was the short travel full sus one. When I saw this pop up on fleabay I just put in a silly bid of £50 and won it.

It really needs a new paint job as it has loads of chips. I will probably get it painted white and get some new stickers for it. I have some Arrow 24" FHX rims that I found for £20 a pair and want to get them built up with Hope Pro II's. I love Marzocchi forks and would like to get the 4X World Cup Forks depending on budget. I really like BMX style 3 piece cranks as they were popular a few years back, but the Middleburn's are a good idea that I like the sound of. Brakes are a bit of an issue as it has the old style 22mm hayes mount on the chain stay, I found an adapter but it doesn't leave much space for a calliper. I will keep a lookout for some Hope Mono's as they're small and should fit in the space.

I have one other bike but I haven’t got any photos as it's in the shop having a Hope headset fitted, brakes bled and fork serviced. It’s a 1999 silver Kona Roast that I bought at The Bike Show, it’s the one with the better looking oval tubes and not that ugly clump rubbish. While I was there I got it signed by Scott Beaumont. This one was also left in my mums garden for 7 years. The Hope C2 brakes were seized, the Woodman headset had rusted solid, the Azonic 453 cranks wouldn’t spin, Sram chain wouldn’t move but the Hope Bulb hubs and Z1 QR20 fork seemed perfectly smooth. Currently getting this one running again with a load of new bits.

Haha I had one of those Roast frames! It was a 1999, I got it as I put a small crack under the headtube of my celebration Nunu and Kona offered the Roast frame to me for £80 which I thought was an amazing deal.

I've been reliving my early interest in bikes recently by builing up a 15" 1999 Kona Chute frame which I though was the daddy of all hardtails back then, I've built it up with 1998 orange Z1 bams, M952 Shimano cranks and gears, NOS Mavic D521s and Avid Arch Rival V brakes, Azonic handlebar and stem, all painstakingly found and bought on ebay and mountain bike forums.

This build has sparked a new found interest in mountain bikes and I now have a load of bikes I've picked up including a Kona Stab, Raleigh DHO, Ellsworth Joker (one built up with modern parts and I've got another Joker frame in the shed) Azonic DS2 Evo frame, and an Azonic B52 frame!

I loved my Roast, it was such a nice ride. One of my mates had a Scott P1, another had an Azonic DS1 and another had a Planet X Jack Flash, they all prefered my Kona.

I'm doing the same as you. Probably because I want an excuse to get away from the missus for a few hours at the weekend. The orange bams just look awesome and the D521's are what's currently on my roast. eBay has taken alot of my money recently, just too much good stuff on there!

I loved the Ellsworths but they were a bit expensive and the Stab is one of my all time favorite frames. I am currently on the lookout for a Curtis SX24 Racelite and a Norco A Line or Shore 2 when the money allows.

[Spleeble]

Well I finished the build last night and took it out for a spin round the block at midnight. It feels pretty good but the rigid forks make it feel very snappy, probably just because I’m not used a bike with a steep head angle and no suspension. I still have a few things I want to replace like the saddle, post, bars and seat clamp but they can come later.

This was actually my first bike build and I did everything apart from the headset, the idea of ruining a frame as I tried to tap the cups in with a bit of wood and a mallet just didn’t appeal. Here are some things I have learnt.

A Halfords bike tool kit for £30(ish) will do almost everything except Hollowtech BB’s
A 2ft long breaker bar and 32mm socket is useful when removing rusty BB’s
Removing a cassette lock ring can take a lot of effort
It is all pretty simple bolt together stuff
Setting up gears may look complicated but it isn’t really
Cover everything in grease
A bike stand would be useful but you can do without
eBay is your best friend
Instructions supplied by Shimano are pretty rubbish
You tube has loads of good videos on bike maintenance
Park Tools website has lots of bike building advice
The length of a chain is tricky to work out, you tube was the most help.
When a shop gives you a date when something will be due in stock, they will be lying.
Routing cables is easy
Give it a go, you might as well considering bike shops charge £12.50 just to fit a bottle cage

I will post up some pictures of the competed bike later.

[pdV6]

Spleeble said:

A Halfords bike tool kit for £30(ish) will do almost everything except Hollowtech BB’s
A 2ft long breaker bar and 32mm socket is useful when removing rusty BB’s
Removing a cassette lock ring can take a lot of effort Really? Did you have the right tools?
It is all pretty simple bolt together stuff
Setting up gears may look complicated but it isn’t really
Cover everything in grease
A bike stand would be useful but you can do without
eBay is your best friend
Instructions supplied by Shimano are pretty rubbish I usually find them pretty spot on
You tube has loads of good videos on bike maintenance
Park Tools website has lots of bike building advice
The length of a chain is tricky to work out, you tube was the most help. There is a dead simple rule of thumb, incidentally this is given in the Shimano instructions
When a shop gives you a date when something will be due in stock, they will be lying. Sounds like your LBS is pants
Routing cables is easy
Give it a go, you might as well considering bike shops charge £12.50 just to fit a bottle cage Sounds like your LBS is pants (mk2)

[pdV6]

Spleeble said:

I did everything apart from the headset, the idea of ruining a frame as I tried to tap the cups in with a bit of wood and a mallet just didn’t appeal.

It does sound risky at first but once you've seen it done (thanks, Neil!) it's not so worrying any more...

[Spleeble]

Removing the lock ring could have been easier if I had a bench and a vice but I do indeed have a chain whip and lock ring tool, my breaker bar was very useful for this small job.
I found the Shimano instructions a bit vague and includes too much other stuff on the sheet. The instructions that came with the cranks had a bit on the cranks, then had some brief detail on every other part they make. The instructions for the chain made it too long, a you tube search found a more effective method. By the time I got onto the gears I had given up with the instructions and worked it out for myself.
The bike shops I used were a large national chain and what is supposed to be the worlds largest online bike shop. Some of the set pricing for services offered are horrendous, you don’t want to know how much they charge to fit a tyre.
I would like to see a headset filled as it will give me more confidence when I attempt it myself.