Gary Fisher Restoration / Modernization

[kppolich]

Great thread and thanks for posting!

[jacrider]

Originally Posted by truth

What a great new life for that old bike. Out of curiosity, if you bought new hubs and built the wheels, why did you opt for 130mm spacing?

The Bitex rear hub has a 130 spacing. It fits the 12 speed cassette. It was what I could find easily. Most of the 135 rear hubs I could find were disk hubs. Maybe I missed something else that's available. Thanks.

[jacrider]

Originally Posted by MagicHour

Awesome job! - I'd love to have a steel hardtail from that era, wish I never sold my old Rockhopper.

I agree, these steel hardtails are great bikes. You can find them for cheap. They can be rebuilt as is they were originally designed, or you can swap in a drop bar for a retro-styled gravel bike. The Velocity rims are fantastic and really make a 26" rebuild better as these are modern light rims.

[Rpoole8537]

Very nice work.

[charliedid]

Great job on that Fisher.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by jacrider

I thought about this. I felt as I was applying pressure at the same time to both rear triangles hopefully this wouldn't be an issue.

I have been trying to figure out a way to measure this, but is seems to be escaping me on how to test this.

However, for only changing the spacing by 5mm, as you point out, not sure it matters.

Thanks.

String from one dropout, around headtube, to the other dropout..measure the distance between the seat tube and the string on each side.

Ahh been mentioned and done by OP..Huzzaah!! Nice rig, well done!!

[bgymr]

That is awesome. I have a pair of those GK and they do well in most situations. Mounting them tubeless was a bit of a pain, but it was the first tubeless I have done, and it went on a 26" random rim. I'm sure folks with more experience can easily dial them in.

[slambers3]

That bike is from 1996 or 1997, not 1991. Reducing the dropout spacing on a frame like that to accommodate the use of a road hub as opposed to just finding a correctly spaced 135 cassette hub is an odd move.

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by slambers3

That bike is from 1996 or 1997, not 1991. Reducing the dropout spacing on a frame like that to accommodate the use of a road hub as opposed to just finding a correctly spaced 135 cassette hub is an odd move.

I wouldn't have done it. Also, the dropouts won't be parallel to each other.

[Ken Robb]

the geos on mtn. bikes from late 1980s to mid 1990s can vary a lot. I had a 1989 Bridgestone MB-3 and my riding partner had a Specialized Stumpjumper of similar vintage. The MB3 was much quicker handling due to geos closer to a roadbike whereas the Stumpy was much more relaxed with slack angles, etc. My pal was a road racer and he preferred my bike. I liked the Stumpy for how easy it was to maintain a line through deep sand and gravel.

Try to ride a few of these old mtn. bikes if you can to get an idea whether they are toward the quick or stable handling spectrum. I'd bet there were more made that lean toward stable but I don't really know. I put some Rivendell "Priest" pull-back bars on my MB-3 and everyone who rode it loved it for a cruiser.

[jacrider]

Originally Posted by MikeD

I wouldn't have done it. Also, the dropouts won't be parallel to each other.

I couldn't find any rim brake hubs with 135 spacing - my usual suspects I checked included Bitex, DT Swiss, White Industries, etc. What hubs are available? Can use the for the next build!

The dropouts were not far off after the reset. I use a large crescent wrench (18" leverage) to tweak them back. The derailleur hanger also had to be trued, but that could have been required anyway as this is an older frame.

All said however, I think all these adjustments took me about 15 minutes to do.

[retropean]

I love it, I hope to do similar for my next project!

[MikeD]

Originally Posted by jacrider

I couldn't find any rim brake hubs with 135 spacing - my usual suspects I checked included Bitex, DT Swiss, White Industries, etc. What hubs are available? Can use the for the next build!

How about Shimano? I see some on Amazon, but not 12 speed. I wouldn't put 12 speed on an old bike like that either.

[rustychisel]

Well done, and a brilliant back-story.

Most weight loss comes from those tyres (true boat anchors) and new wheels.

I've rebuilt/repurposed a bunch of hardtails etc over the years; your results are outstanding and I hope the new owner is very pleased.

Oh yeah, bugger the naysayers.

[jacrider]

So I did a 25km ride this evening on the Gary Fisher. Great bike. Nice feel. Shimano drivetrain worked really well. Wheels nice and light. Handling nice and predictable. Good brakes. Very happy with the performance of the bike.

Question however, I have built this with a 10-50 cassette and a 32T chainring. I ran out of gears going down hills. I wonder if I have too small a chainring because of the smaller 26" wheels? There is a 34/36/38 available. The Chinese cranks that came with the group have individual chainrings available.

Feedback from the group? Those with more MTB background? Would a 36 or 38 make sense?

Many thanks.