Completely off topic - old MTB refurb

[Hilux]

Evening all,

I am refurbishing my older MTB (Kirk Revolution) and it has a Shimano BB-CS21 68mm bottom bracket with1.37 x 24 thread (taper fit - spindle ref D - NL)

It is u/s and I need to replace it but cant find definitive info on the net regarding which modern variant will fit and big MTB sites I have contacted just dont reply (obviously dont need the business)

Any suggestions or contacts who might help?

Old but funky cast magnesium alloy frame

 

[JamesO]

Cool bike.
For a part like that I would take it along to a proper bike shop rather than go online. More expensive but more chance of getting what you want.

 

[adrian996]

Hi Paul,

Not sure whether this will help at all: http://mountainbikers.hubsystems.com.au/pdf/barnetts/chapter10.pdf

Scroll down to the comparison table.

Also, you could try giving someone like Wiggle a go: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano/bottom-brackets/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=shimano%20BB&utm_campaign=shimano&referid=googwig&utm_adgroup=Shimano%20Bottom%20Brackets%20-%20CO%20Stage%201

Best of luck.

Adrian.

 

[Spy]

Probably worth asking on the more dedicated bike forums like:
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/index.php

or

http://www.mtbe.co.uk/

 

[zcacogp]

As spy said - bikeradar is a good forum, and I use it occasionally for advice.

As with all forums, ask nicely and be very polite if you are a newcomer. There are some knowledgeable chaps on there.


Oli.

 

[Geoff_Fields]

I have found that Chain Reaction Cycles are always very helpful.
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/SearchResults.aspx?Search=bottom+bracket

 

[JamesBall]

IMO, singletrackworld.com is a better bet than bikerader for advice (but that probably reflects more on me than the forums).

Also, for your particular bike www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/ may be better still.

ETA - I think you just need a square taper bottom bracket that fits a 68mm shell which is the right length. The thread count info is irrelevant as they are standardised. Whip out out old BB and measure its length then buy the right one from HERE

 

[John Sims]

I built a Kirk from the frame up. It was a great bike until the truss rod came adrift and it went really floppy. It is quite a heavy frame but had the advantage of being very stiff (until the truss rod lets go which was relatively common). They sent me a replacement frame which sits in my shed unused.

I spent a small fortune on components to try to make the Kirk an acceptable weight so, when the frame gave up, I put them all on an Orange Prestige frame which resulted in a truly awesome bike.

So, in summary, don't bother. There are much better frames out there. If you are in a rebuild put the stuff on a better frame.

If you insist on sending good money after bad [] when I bought the bottom bracket there was nothing special about it (I used a standard Shimano Deore XT (sweet [8D]) but don't recall there being anything complicated in its purchase.

If you can source one made of pig iron this might help to keep the weight down low in the frame. []

 

[VanhireBoys]

Id do as John advised as well.. ! No point in throwing away cash.. There are a great selection of bikes at the minute... One with aluminium tubing has both strength, durability and lightness... You could start with a bare frame and put all the parts off teh old bike on it...

I got my old bike out again after a long lay off (23 years) Its a Franceso Moser from about 1986. It weighs about 14kgs ! I had terrible trouble getting a 7-speed SIS block for it... She is now back on the road again but I am not as fit as I was 20 years ago and struggle against todays machines...

I bit the bullet and got myself a Felt F5 second hand (There goes the 944 fix up money[]) and its an absolute flyer - I am able to mix it now with the rest of the boys.... I still have to get fit but.... You wouldnt believe the difference in the 2 bikes. The felt is about 7.5kgs and that does make a good difference

The Moser

The Felt

 

[spyderman]

MTB? I was expecting a big wooden boat with torpedo tubes down the side...

 

[John Sims]

As a point of interest (or not) the Kirk frames (there were two types road and off road) were produced by Norsc Hydro and, at the time, were the biggest single magnesium casting of it's type, apparently. I was given a frame as,in those days, we were using tones of aluminium sections from one of their subsidiaries. IIRC the bikes were made up by Dawes (not renown for light bikes at the best of times).

While having dissed the frame it is something of a point in history and, although I haven't built up another bike I certainly wouldn't get rid of the frame. Well I guess I might for a significant sum but otherwise. In addition to being a casting of some note it used cutting edge adhesive technology to bond in a truss rod and the cover plate bellow. Regrettably, as can be the case with cutting edge technology, there wasn't sufficient experience available in this field and hence the failure in the truss rod.

 

[John Sims]

ORIGINAL: adrian996


Also, you could try giving someone like Wiggle a go: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano/bottom-brackets/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=shimano%20BB&utm_campaign=shimano&referid=googwig&utm_adgroup=Shimano%20Bottom%20Brackets%20-%20CO%20Stage%201

How times have changed. Of that lot the only one which would work would be the UN54. The swine's note it as for use with a "traditional chainset". My view of a traditional chainset is the one where the cranks are held on with cotter pins - the kids of today don't know what they are missing not being able to shear off the thread on a cotter pin and then have to walk to the youth group that evening.

 

[zcacogp]

John, I'm disappointed in you; when precisely that happened to me I rode with only one crank attached. Perfectly possible if you have toeclips and can get a decent push to start ...

(Oh, and I was going to my girlfriend's house, not the Youth Club. Perhaps my journey was more appealing than yours! [])


Oli.

 

[peanut]

ORIGINAL: VanhireBoys


I bit the bullet and got myself a Felt F5 second hand (There goes the 944 fix up money[]) and its an absolute flyer - I am able to mix it now with the rest of the boys.... I still have to get fit but.... You wouldnt believe the difference in the 2 bikes. The felt is about 7.5kgs and that does make a good difference

The Moser


The Felt

nice bike. What Shimano components does it have Dura Ace ? or Ultegra ?
I'm looking seriously at a Cannondale CAAD10 .Like you I've been off the bike for quite a few years. Did you join a local cycle club ?

 

[sawood12]

+1 for Johns advice. I used to do alot of mountain biking and road biking about 20 yes ago and recently took it up again and got a 2010 Boardman bike off eBay for £360 (£800 brand new) and it is in a different league to anything I rode back then, so your old bikes are really out of date and it is time to put sentimentality to one side - which sounds strange to say on a forum for enthusiasts of 20-odd yr old cars.

Even a £300 bike will be better than anything you could have bought back then.

 

[zcacogp]

I like my sentimentality. And I also like my old Peugeot Premiere road bike ...


Oli.

 

[sawood12]

I know it's hard Oli, I liked my old Raleigh Striker (even if it was a poor substitute for a burner), especially when you folded back the rubber mud guards so they flicked against the nobbly tyres and made a motorbike noise, but sometimes you've just got to let go and move on!

 

[JamesO]

Judging from the original post its not about ultimate performance but about refurbing an old favorite, a bit like some of the cars we drive.

Heres my old sleds I don't ride them as much as I should, in fact the 944 is to stop me picking up any more injuries.

Yr 2000 Santa Cruz Bullit for downhill,

Yr 2001 Kona Cinder Cone for cross country and road.

 

[944Turbo]

Having just put new tubes and tyres on my raleigh record sprint owned from new, I am also in the retro ride camp do like the look of that felt though!
Think the rider needs to lose a few pounds before he invests in a new bike though!

I used to do 32 miles a day on the RRs 16 miles each way to college 35 mins there 45 back, what suprised me was when I wore out the sprockets and it was off for repair, I was almost as quick on a single gear ex-postmans bike. Would take me a couple of hours each way now.
Tony

 

[VanhireBoys]

ORIGINAL: peanut
nice bike. What Shimano components does it have Dura Ace ? or Ultegra ?
I'm looking seriously at a Cannondale CAAD10 .Like you I've been off the bike for quite a few years. Did you join a local cycle club ?

Its 105 equipped .. [:'(].. I have a set of Cinelli Pista bars and 52/39 rings coming for it ! I find it a real flyer - If I had the legs for it now......! German Engineering again....! I joined the West Coast Wheelers http://www.westcoastwheelers.com/ and they are a nice bunch who cover all sorts of abilities ... I ride the bike to work as well which is 7 miles each way.....Trying to smoke the rest of the cycling commuters.... I am not suffering the same way I was so that means I am either getting used to the pain or getting a bit of fitness !

My advice is to go for it.. Get out there again... ! The old racing head is still there in me even I dont have the legs .. That Canondale is a right good machine... You know you want it......[]