All Categories - T E A M C O W

is it a zaskar?

8/9/2021

There's a joke in certain retro vintage MTB circles with regards to the GT Zaskar. As the online communities started up and people went to them to ask 'what is this frame I just bought?' people started to realize that the differences between certain frames were very subtle. Like say, the GT Zaskar and Avalanche. The Zaskar being a made in California frame, the Avalanche in Taiwan.

The number of posts from members asking if their new prize was a genuine American made Zaskar eventually resulted in every frame - even those that were obvisouly not GTs - posted with the question; "Is it a Zaskar?"

So, is this a Zaskar?

norco vps atomik

6/15/2021

I spend a lot of time looking at used bike listings - for various reasons. I'm always on the lookout for vintage stuff of course, and it's my part-time side hustle. As such, I think I can say I'm an authority on what used bikes are worth, so when something comes up that's maybe out of line with the market, it tends to stick out.

This week, a Norco VPS Atomik came up for $1100, and my immediate reaction was "that's too much man!"

But, the more I thought about it, the more I think that's a pretty good price.

project heck update two

6/10/2021

I think I can say that I'm no longer in project heck. It really depends on what you consider a project. I have five bikes that need to be built, but I have parts for all of them, so there's not much uncertainty there. But let's update the situation anyway.

1. Rocky Mountain Cardiac. It's the Little Rocky That Nobody Wants. I did this up in perfect mid-90's style but couldn't sell it for $200. So I'll put different stuff on it and keep it maybe. Now has a Syncros stem and a Cannondale bar.

2. Rocky Mountain Stratos. I bought this because I like Rockys. I really had no other reason. I took at apart, did some cleaning, and I'll put some different parts on it. Not sure what else to do.

3. Mystery Steel bike. Probably a Nishiki. I have all the parts to put it back together, but I know it's not going to be worth much. Even if I go to the trouble of painting it.

giant nrs xtc

6/8/2021

This is a Giant XtC NRS from 2002 - probably. I can't find a perfect match for these decals though. The '01s had a prominent 'XtC' on the downtube, and the '02s had either 1, 2, or 3 next to the 'NRS' script. This kinda feels like a warranty replacement frame? There's really no match at all for the parts on here.

Giant had dabbled with several other suspension designs before this, but this felt different. Like they were really taking it seriously. The thing was though, it was someone else's design.

project heck update one

5/26/2021

If you're playing along at home, you may have noticed the last project heck post I made is actually really old.

As I often do, I started a post, and never finished it. I'm a terrible blogger. So my January update became a May update, and things have changed drastically since then. I think we'll need two updates to catch up.

For starters, let's look at the list I had back in January;

- Rocky Mountain Cardiac - done!
- Land Gear - sold!
- Kona Fire Mountain - sold!
- Jamis Diablo - done!
- Kuwahara M4.5 Savage - sold!
- Kuwahara Instinct - sold!
- Rocky Mountain Summit Max
- Kona Explosif - sold!
- Santa Cruz Heckler
- Santa Cruz Tazmon - sold!

Whew! That's a lot of activity. The Tazmon sold on eBay, the Explosif is going to a friend, the Kuwaharas went to another collector/restorer. But there's even more, because after moving out those six bikes, I have four more in their place;

- Cannondale M500 - sold!
- Mystery Steel MTB
- Rocky Mountain Stratos
- Lemond Poprad
- Giant NRS

The Cannondale is already sold?! I can barely keep track.

The Cardiac is done, I did a series of posts on Instagram as I built it in a day. It's been for sale for months, but no takers. So I took it apart again, and I'm going to change it up. I'll have to do a post on it.

Not sure what to do with the Stratos. It's perfectly nice bike to roll around on, which describes just about all of my bikes, which means it's pretty redundant. It's just so hard to pass up and original bike like that.

The Lemond is way too small for me, but I just had to have it for the bar con shifters. And the price was just too good to pass up. It's the best kind of project; the kind that leads to more projects.

Same for the Giant NRS - it's a 16.5". But I can make it nice and it's still a decent bike. Very adjustable with the RockShox SID shock on it.

That leaves the Mystery Steel bike. I don't know what it is, but I will put it back together as best I can. Though I don't know how much work I want to put into it.

project heck

1/14/2021

Welcome to Project Heck.

I have currently, an eye-watering nine bikes in project status. Some to keep, some to sell - none at 100%. Here they are in order of done-ness;

- Rocky Mountain Cardiac
- Land Gear
- Kona Fire Mountain
- Jamis Diablo
- Kuwahara M4.5 Savage
- Kuwahara Instinct
- Rocky Mountain Summit Max
- Kona Explosif
- Santa Cruz Heckler

There's also the Santa Cruz Tazmon, which I'm not counting because it's stripped to the frame, and ready to sell, but I don't have a box to put it in.

The Cardiac needs a tube, and then it's good to go. As long as I'm certain I want to sell it. I'm about 90% sure.

The Land Gear somehow ended up having an 8 speed cassette and 7 speed shifters. Not sure if I was just really tired that day, or maybe I was going to solve this later and I forgot, but that needs to be fixed obviously. Also I think I can find V-brakes other than those XT units.

The Fire Mountain is going to a friend of mine, but needs new cranks first. These ones were part of a recall, plus I can do better with other parts.

The Kuwaharas need various things. Wheels and bars and shifters and just all kinds of things. I thought it was a good omen when I happened to have a fork that fit one of them, but then they both stalled out after that.

Same for the Diablo - it just needs weird stuff. Pretty sure it's got a 126mm spaced rear end, and I'm just not interested in trying to figure that out.

The Explosif I can deal with. The fork has damaged brake mounts, so I need a new 27.5 fork - that shouldn't be a problem. And it needs a front brake caliper, but I'm pretty sure any Shimano caliper with a banjo fitting will work.

So, lots of work to update, stay tuned.

2003 haro werks xls 3.0

12/3/2020

Without a doubt, this was a bike I did not need to buy. Nor was there even a good reason to buy it. I don't have another frame to put those parts on, I'm not now or have I ever been the type to ride a lightweight race bike - especially one that's obsolete - and nobody else in the family needed an upgrade.

But this, I just had to have...

1997 santa cruz tazmon

11/9/2020

This is one I just couldn't pass up. A 1997 Santa Cruz Tazmon, with a Manitou FS Bulge Ti fork. I was always curious to know how this bike rode given it's unusual shock mounting.

By the early 2000s, designers were looking for suspension to be 'active' - meaning they would react to any bumps, not just the large ones. Early bikes like this Tazmon though, seemed to be more about riding like a hardtail until you hit something big.

india pale ale

9/17/2020

What the heck happened to the beer?

Yeah, I don't know. I'm not a very good blogger.

I am back though, with a big question - what is Canada's best IPA?

And I mean a regular lineup beer - not the limited run or seasonal deals like Driftwood's Sartori Harvest, for instance - something you can find easily and not use up your weekly budget on one bottle.

The best is Driftwood's Fat Tug. It's exactly what I think of when I think of an IPA. Clear and bright, bitter and hoppy as heck. And I don't know I would have even entertained debate - until Category 12's Chromatic came along. This beer is really a stunner. I've had Imperial IPAs that would run screaming from this beer. Yet it's perfectly drinkable.

But then I started thinking about it, and I wonder if Driftwood's own Raised by Wolves isn't better. I mean it's really really good. This is a pretty hard choice.

Honourable mentions? Hoyne, Yellow Dog, Copper, and oh yeah... Big Mario from BNA. Keep an eye out for Big Mario. If you like Fat Tug, you need to check out Mario.

1998 marin team issue

9/16/2020

I have always wanted a titanium bike, and for reasons I don't fully understand, I've had two and sold them both. When the opportunity arose to buy this after selling my Devinci plus bike, I figured I finally have my forever Ti bike.

It's a 1998 Marin Team Issue, made by TST of Pasco, Washington. I think TST used to be Sandvik? Or maybe Sandvik made the tubes that TST used to make the frame? Honestly some days the Internet just makes things worse.

Let's just check it out;