My Old-school '99 Speci FSR DH (Max Backbone) build...

Sorry in advance as this one's gonna be a bit long...
Anyway, I thought i'd start up a little build thread for the '99 FSR DH frame I recently acquired from an MTBR member. Maybe it's nostalgia, maybe it's my old-age showing through (i'm 36), but I have an affinity for some of the older bikes (not that I wouldn't LOVE to have a 2010 SX Trail II ). I just wanted to give a new-school twist to an old-school rig...

Anyway, this all starts back in '98 when I went in to my LBS back in Baltimore, MD. Went in looking to upgrade to a full-suspension bike (rode hardtails and even rigid forks since high school, later upgrading to the first Rock Shox fork - the RS-1) and came outta there with a '98 FSR Comp (with the China-built welded frameset). I REALLY wanted the red FSR Elite that sat next to it (with the USA-built Extruded aluminum MAX Backbone frameset) but I just couldn't afford it at the time. Anyway, I rode the piss outta that FSR Comp back then, did some slight upgrades and then over time stopped riding due to my increasing levels of responsibility. Fast forward to this past year...just a few months ago, when I finally dusted off the bike and decided to go riding again with some co-workers. Here's what the old FSR Comp looked like after dusting her off:


The Comp was pretty much bone stock except for me stripping and polishing the frame, a Chris King Headset, some Syncros riser bars, Oury grips, and a set of Race Face Turbine cranks...all of which were done before I stopped riding back in '98-'99. After that first ride though, while I realized how much I missed MTBing...I also realized that my equipment just wasn't really up to snuff anymore. The old Judy XLC fork was shot...leaking oil and bottoming out on even smallish bumps, etc, as was the old Rock Shox Deluxe rear shock. I thought about buying a new bike, but didn't want to go out and blow $3K on a new bike. My pregnant wife would slaughter me if I came back with a new bike in this economy. LOL. So, I set out to upgrade my old FSR...on a budget. Wanted some beefier, longer travel forks and a new rear shock for sure, and it all kinda snowballed from there. Ended up with a freshly rebuilt '04 Marzocchi Junior T (Super T internals) w/ direct mount stem, a Fox Vanilla R shock, Race Face Evolve DH handlebars (needed to upgrade to an oversize bar because of the forks) and a set of Race Face Diabolus cranks. I got great deals on most of the stuff since it was bought off of eBay with the exception of the cranks. For the cranks, I did a direct swap with a coworker for my older Race Face Turbines. I wanted beefier cranks and he wanted a lighter crankset so it worked out perfectly. I rode it like that for a bit before tacoing the front wheel in a crash, after which I ended up buying a Mavic Deetrax wheelset on clearance and upgrading the rear suspension with a Risse Racing Hex Link. Here's what she looked like after the upgrades and new wheels (with wire-bead Stick-E 2.35 Kenda Nevegals mounted):



At that point, I thought I was done with upgrades on the bike, but after the Risse Hex Link I wanted more out of the rear suspension. I wanted a longer rear shock to better match the 170mm travel of my front fork. I was running a NOS 6.5" i2i Vanilla R that I got a smoking deal on, but I figured I should be able to run a 7.5" i2i shock with the Risse Hex Link. So, I started scouring eBay for shocks again and came up on a used 7.5x2.0 '05 Fox DHX 5.0 that I got for a great price. Wasn't sure if the large reservoir on the 5.0 would fit on my frame (I figured it might if I reverse-mounted it), but I bought it anyway...the price was just too good to pass up. Of course, it didn't fit the space in the FSR Comp frame AT ALL because of the reservoir. Doh! But then I remembered seeing pics of the MAX Backbone frames with reservoir shocks like the Fox Vanilla RC mounted and figured the DHX 5.0 would probably fit on that frame as well. Besides, the MAX Backbone FSR was the bike I really wanted back in the day anyway, and the extruded aluminum MAX frame is probably better suited to the AM/light DH/FR riding i'm doing these days so it was a perfect idea. And so began the search for a MAX Backbone frame.

Luckily, that search didn't take too long. A couple of posts and PM's on diffeent sites and I had a line on a couple of MAX frames for sale. I settled on a '99 FSR DH frame because of the added gusseting Specialized added to the head tube for the '99's. I figured the added gusseting would definitely be needed with the taller fork I was going to run this frame with. Here's a pic of the frame as it was when I got it:



After driving about 85+ miles roundtrip to go pick the frame up, I got to work stripping the paint right away. Felt kinda bad because the frame had been recently re-painted (hadn't even been built or ridden since the repaint), but oh well...wasn't really a fan of the paint scheme. Anyway, looks as thought the red/black paint scheme was spray canned over the factory powder coat. Using my usual brands of paint stripper, the red/black spray paint came off easy. The powder coat...not so much. Had to step it up to something more caustic to get through the resilient powder coat. Ended up with some Tal Strip II Aircraft stripper. Brushed it on THICK, let it sit for 30-40 minutes, waited for the powder coat to bubble, then scraped off with a plastic scraper and rinsed with water. Repeated this process till it was all gone (kind of a messy PITA!) then gave the complete frame a good rubdown with some Scotchbrite pads. Here's what I ended up with:



Just for fitment purposes, I mounted up the rear triangle and test fitted the Fox DHX to the frame (with the stock link since the Hex Link is still on my FSR Comp for now):


The DHX fits perfectly and should be even better with the Risse Hex Link.

For paint, I decided to just spray paint the frame for now and settled on going with a gunmetal color. I'd really like to get it powdercoated for a more durable finish, but I don't want to spend the $$ right now for it and am kinda anxious to get the bike together so i can ride it.
Before getting to paint, etc though, I drilled out all of the cable guides since I am going to run full cable housings on all of the cables. After that it was time for paint.
Here's the cans of primer and paints I used:


I cleaned up the frame first, blew off any dust, etc and sprayed a few coats of sandable primer:


After the primer coats were done and dried, I wet sanded any rough spots or imperfections then laid down some primer sealer:


After the primer sealer was dried, I again wet sanded any imperfections and laid down the color coat. Here's the frame after I sprayed the 3rd coat of color:

And a closeup of the color itself:


After the color was sprayed and allowed to dry for almost a month, I wet-sanded with 1000grit and sprayed a couple coats of Krylon flat clear. During the wait time for the paint to dry, I ended up deciding to replace my old, wornout Shimano drivetrain and decided on going with an '09 SRAM X9 drivetrain (amongst some other new parts).
Here's the pile of new parts i've collected for this "new" frame. Don't even want to think about the $$$ i've spent on bike stuff this past year...


Got $4 worth of hardware from Home Depot to make a headset press. A piece of 3/8" all-thread and some nuts and washers worked perfectly. Just coated the face that would touch the headset cups with some silicone RTV to protect the aluminum and it worked flawlessly. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pics of it in action...


Here's a pic of the painted frameset assembled with the Risse Hex Link and Fox DHX 5.0 installed:


Here's another picture from a slightly different angle to better show the flat finish. I'm actually pretty pleased with how the flat clear turned out...it's exactly the finish I was hoping to achieve. We'll see how it holds up to the rigors of use on an MTB though. Now if only I could get those decals...


And a few more to show the progress thus far...




Hopefully i'll have the time to get most of the build done by the end of the weekend. Unfortunately, the PC-991 Cross Step chain I ordered won't be here till Monday or Tuesday so I can't officially finish the build till then. That being the case, won't get to have a first official ride till Thursday...
Anyway, that's all for now. Will post some updates as the build progresses. Comments and criticisms welcomed...

Alvin Caragay
Hermosa Beach, CA

 

:bang:nice build, looks reallly nice for a 89-99 bike

 

Now that's effin cool!

Nice job.

I'm looking for a green w/gold trim '84 Ross Mt. Hood myself to build a retro ride.

 

Looks awesome Alvin!!

Did you decide against decals?

 

Thanks for the compliments guys.

JoJon...still gonna apply some custom colored decals. Unfortunately i'm still waiting for them to come in. I originally was going to apply the decals before I cleared the frame then clear over them, but I got tired of waiting. Figured i'd just finish the build then apply the decals whenever they arrive. I NEED to ride this thing! Especially since my wife is pregnant and due Jan 1st. After the baby comes, gonna have to take a break from riding for a bit. I NEED to get this bike out on the trail BEFORE that happens!

 

Got a little more work done on the bike this morning. Installed the front and rear Avid Code brakes (203mm rotors), cut, shortened and ran the hoses through my drilled out cable guides, and bled both. Also installed the X-9 trigger shifters and new Oury Grips. Was gonna install the front and rear X-9 derailleurs, run the Flak Jacket cables, and install the old Race Face Diabolus Crankset, but ran into a bit of a snag. For some reason, the X-type bolt on the cranks just won't budge and I can't get them off of the Comp to swap over to the MAX frame. I just don't have enough leverage to break the bolt loose because I can't keep the crank from rotating. Might have to wait till Tuesday when I can bring it to work with me and zap it off with my 3/8" Impact gun. The new chain isn't going to be in till then anyway, so no big deal really. I also was gonna install the new Thompson Elite seatpost and Specialized Rival SL saddle, but realized that I forgot to bring my saw home with me from work, so that'll have to wait as well. Anyway, here's some updated pics of the progress thus far:

 

Some updated pics of the completed build (well, sort of completed anyway...minus the front derailleur still due to some issues with the front derailleur cable):



























And here's the specs of the build:

* Fork: 2005 Marzocchi Junior T - 170mm travel
* Brakes: Avid Code 203mm rotors front and rear
* Cranks: Race Face Diabolus 24/36/bash
* Front Derailleur: '09 SRAM X-9 (Low-cage, Top-pull)
* Rear Derailleur: '09 SRAM X-9 Rear Derailleur (Mid-Cage)
* Pedals: Wellgo MG-1's (for now)
* Stem: Integrated direct-fit (part of Marzocchi Jr. T fork)
* Handlebar: Race Face Evolve DH low-rise
* Seatpost: Thompson Elite
* Saddle: Specialized Rival SL
* Bottom Bracket: Race Face Diabolus BB
* Cassette: SRAM PG-990 11-34
* Headset: Chris King threadless
* Grips: Oury MTB (clear)
* Front Tire: Kenda Nevegal - DH casing, Stick-E (26"x.2.35")
* Front Rim: Mavic Deetraks wheelset
* Front Hub/Skewer: Mavic Deetraks wheelset/ 20mm Thru-axle
* Rear Tire: Kenda Nevegal - single-ply, DTC (26"x2.10")
* Rear Rim: Mavic Deetraks wheelset
* Rear Hub/Skewer: Mavic Deetraks wheelset/thru-axle
* Weight: unknown at this time...(still need to weigh it)

As usual, comments and criticisms are welcomed...

 

you really like BMWs.

 

Heh...actually, I work for BMW as well...

 

One more set of update pics...after applying the custom colored replica decals I had made (Thanks to jncarpenter over on MTBR!):

 

Looks really nice. I like that color. Is the shock reservoir going to clear the seat mast? It looks kinda close in the pics.

 

Nice build! I'm diggin' all the bimmers too! :clap:

 

Nice build. Clean E30!

 

Real nice.

On one of you earlier posts, you mentioned having trouble with leverage on a bolt. It was allen I take it? You can use a box end wrench or a pipe to add leverage. I prefer a small pipe that can slide over an allen wrench. Use a box end wrench in a pinch, but be careful

 

Thanks! I've already taken the bike on 3-4 good rides and the shock reservoir does have enough clearance for the seat mast in it's current configuration. It clears that part fine. The problem i've found is that I can't change the settings on the rear Risse Hex Link to lower the rear end a bit (slackening the HA) because that'll cause the the backside of the reservoir (the propedal knob side) to contact the yoke of the seat stay when the rear suspension compresses. I'm currently working on a solution though that will give me full adjustability...

Thanks. I'm actually a professional BMW Master Technician and have a whole 3-bay Matco box full o' tools. The original problem I ran into wasn't really not having the right tool, but I was trying to remove the Diabolus crank from my old frame after the wheels, fork, etc were off of it. Trying to break that X-bolt loose while merely holding/bracing the frame, etc. just wasn't happening. The whole thing just wanted to rotate instead of the force being applied to the bolt itself. Ended up bracing the crank arms against my leg and the ground and was finally able to get the bolt to break. If I was at work, I woulda just used my IR 3/8" impact...

Anyway, thanks for the comments everyone!

 

Ahh, gotcha. Yeah, sounded like a tough one. I was an aircraft mechanic in the USAF, so yeah I know what you mean about having all the right tools at work. I do wish at times I got to keep my tool box :lol: