Winter Project: 1997 Bontrager Race Lite all og

The beginnings of a winter project. Ive got a brand new set of decals. Just touching up some chain suck and a chip. Tomorrow, I'll be removing that last of the shredded decals and polishing it up with rubbing compound.

Undecided as to whether its going to be 1x8 with a Race Face Narrow Wide (for training) or single speed. I love vintage mtbs

 

Post up some pics! I had a 94 Race Lite that I rode for years, both geared and SS. Sadly, the lack of fork options with 1" steerer tubes caused me to trade it away.

 

I have the same vintage Bontrager but mine is a race, not race lite. Where did you get the decals? I would like to put new decals on mine

 

Looking closely at your frame are you sure it's a race lite? I don't see the step down in seat stays nor do I see a machined turned head tube.

 

Here is my Race

 

Double post. I couldn't see that the pics had posted already while at work

 

The decals, or any other decals are repros made by the resident expert at retrobike.co.uk. Contact him at Gil <[email protected]> About 60 dollars per complete set shipped.

Yeah, it is a Race Lite. I have the original purchase receipt from the og owner, there is machining on the head tube and there is no step down in the seat stays as its a 1997. Only the earlier version from 1994-95ish had these.

 

Frame is now retouched and polished. Decal applied. On to the fork Still undecided whether to go OG 3x8 or 1x8 or single speed. Next will be to rebuild a Judy XC fork.

 

Very nice!!! if you're taking a poll...

I vote "single"

 

I vote 1x8 but mostly cuz I'm thinking of doing the same sort of thing to a 97 Specialized Rockhopper Comp FS and I hadn't thought of doing it 1x8 and now I'm thinking....hmmmmm...why not.

 

I say 3X8, I watch a lot of American Restoration and just seeing it looking almost like it first did is a kick in the head.

 

It's winter again. I just finished rebuilding the Judy XC fork

The fork took a while. I had to dig real deep to find the motivation of cracking open the damper cartridge For the last year, I've been trying to find an era appropriate 1 inch fork, but nothing ever came to fruition. When I did get in there, was pleasantly surprised to find the compression damper to have a shim stack controlled ported piston unit. Amazing. Even back then, they had pretty much the same tech available. For whatever reason, RS used elastomer springs and their inherent rebound control. The rest of the bike is going to come together pretty fast from here.

Check out the brand new decals and freshed up paint on the fork!

 

That bike looks great.

Go with 1x8. Nice and simple, no goofing around trying to find the right ratios, and no chain tension issues.

 

I would have gone SS, but seeing the nearly finished product with a 3x8, you made the right call. Great choice and great all-around restoration job.

 

I must say, thats a tasty looking ride. The frame's wishbone rear takes the brunt of the rear "suspension" hits, as I used to have a 1998 Schwinn Mesa that had it as well. But in this case, since its chromoly, the ride will be smoother than the aluminum frame that I had.

The bike looks great you can probably sell it easy to a hardtail fan of the same era. Older Made in USA bikes are hard to find and new ones are just plain expensive to make (ask Intense & Ellsworth)