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Official Bontrager Thread

416K views 2K replies 274 participants last post by  br0qn 
#1 ·
I am getting a well used Bontrager frame that definitely needs a makeover and new powder coating. I was thinking of going the original black way... but then my creative side took over... now, I cannot decide. HELP ME OUT, by posting pics of your Bontrager Race or others and let me know what color you think I should paint it...
 
#526 ·
This frame was sent as a "no fault" replacement. I had previously been on a 1991 RaceLite, with horizontal rear dropouts. When I stood up out of the saddle to climb, about 95% of the time, my rear wheel would slide in the dropouts so that the wheel would skew to the left and the rear tire would smoosh itself onto the inside of the non-drive chainstay. I would have to stop, and recenter my rear wheel.

I started out with WTB GG hubs, and some sort of light ti skewers. WTB machined some new axle ends for me with serrated steel faces; no dice. I switched to a boat anchor XT skewer; no dice. I switched to a Deore XT rear hub, with steel axle ends; no dice. Bontrager modified some Deore XT axle end nuts to be "grippier"; no dice.

So finally they met me halfway and gave me a new frame (horizontal dropouts) for $75 plus shipping and return of the old frame.

I like to think that in some small part, I helped the development of the Race/RaceLite dropouts. I must have been on the phone with WTB 15 times, and Bontrager 20 times to try to get relief. I was just NOT going to ride any other frame.

(And then I let it sit in my closet for 10 years, but that's another story.)
 
#528 ·
gotdirt said:
jason: so what's the verdict on that white bros fork?

wish they weren't so expen$ive so i could find out firsthand...
So far, so good. It's absolutely rock solid as far as torsional stiffness and tracking, but I'm still working out the ratio of air pressure to IMV damping. I have a feeling it still needs to break in a bit, as well.

BTW: I can't heap enough praise upon MRP/White Brothers' customer service. They've got great folks over there.
 
#530 ·
Where do you guys recommend I get my frame painted? I live in southern Minnesota, but I can surely ship it wherever. I have a Privateer I want to have painted nice and build up, a late model so it has a 1 1/8" headtube so I never have to beat my head against the wall looking for a fork again (theoretically). Who does good work? I'd rather not get my pants pulled down over the price, but I'm willing to invest if the work is worth it. Decals are of interest as well.
 
#531 ·
Hey everyone,

I just picked up what I think is a 96 Race. It looks an awful lot like Jak0zilla's (that top tube decal's backwards? Mine's exactly the same way!)

I was reading above about the switchblade crown and how everyone is switching out steerers. While that is totally informative, I'm also wondering about the legs? When/if the fork legs go, is it just a matter of swapping out the legs? Where can you find replacement legs?

Thanks!
 
#532 ·
Anyone know the best threaded stem for a race frame? The frame has a set of shocks on it, but I got an old bontrager rigid fork, and I want to bring it back to stock. Some have mentioned problems with the bontrager stems, but does anyone have any ideas for me? Thanks! The frame has the one-piece seat stays, and vertical drop-outs.
 
#533 ·
doccutter said:
Anyone know the best threaded stem for a race frame? The frame has a set of shocks on it, but I got an old bontrager rigid fork, and I want to bring it back to stock. Some have mentioned problems with the bontrager stems, but does anyone have any ideas for me?
Use whatever stem works to get you in the correct position. The "stock" stem would have been a Bontrager 1" quill stem. I've owned several of these stems and have never had any issues with them. Salsa Stems are a bit easier to find and also look good on almost any bike.
 
#535 ·
hollister said:
you sure about that?

lets see some pics
OK, fair enough. I'm out of town now, but I'll post when I get home. It seems a bit like a frankenbike right now, it was converted to single speed, then some random parts put on it before I got it. I'm also trying to source a long enough ritchey spindle for the BB, because the one on there now won't allow a 3-ring crank without grinding the frame.
 
#536 ·
doccutter said:
Anyone know the best threaded stem for a race frame?
It probably would have come with a Bontrager Race or Race Lite stem if it came with a build kit. They pop up on ebay with some regularity, and are not especially expensive.

I'll second the recommendation for a period appropriate Salsa stem. LOTS of nice bikes were rolling around with those. They are really proper stems in every sense of the word.

Other than that, just find a stem that fits you that you like! Esthetically I think welded cromoly stems look good on these frames, but so do Ibis Ti stems ...

If you want a Bontrager Race stem you can PM me. I've got a 130mm(?) in about a 5deg rise, that is in good shape. It's not the fanciest stem, and in fact you can make out the "Hsin Lung" made in Taiwan (to KB's spec) under the powder. But it has the proper logos, and the gusset. It came as part of a 1997 XT build kit from Bontrager. Lemme know if you want pics. I'd trade it for ... something interesting .... but not necessarily your fanciest bit of bling. ;)
 
#537 ·
JunkMail said:
It looks an awful lot like Jak0zilla's (that top tube decal's backwards? Mine's exactly the same way!)
Well ... truth be told ... I think mine *IS* facing the correct direction. :blush:

I have had this memory of the older OR's that were running around my shop, and if I am not AGAIN mistaken, they had the "chainwheel/OR" logo towards the rear. (I'm too lazy to go sift through the pic archive.)

I kind of thought that because mine was a "no fault" replacement there might be something there to subliminally suggest to any future Bontrager personnel that I was that trouble maker with the hub thing going on. I was on the phone with them over and over again about that rear wheel slippage thing. All polite conversations, but I really felt scandalized that every time to I stood up in the granny gear the rear wheel would "ZZZZZzzzz!" into my left chainstay. Only the constant polishing action of the Smokes kept the inside face of my stay from rusting.

Maybe I was (and now for sure am) on the edge of too big for the Race Lite, but I was head over heels in adolescent love with them. I figured if I broke it, I'd no-fault it. I'm a careful rider, and have seen 110lb greyhounds who destroy more nice gear in a year than I've done in my entire life ... ! As long as I stay away from carbon saddle rails, and no-name Ti handlebars, I'm just fine! I think spending my formative years on fragile 700c wheels, that I had to repair myself, taught me to go easy on stuff.
 
#538 ·
funny you should ask...

Boy named SSue said:
Speaking of ride reports on unusual forks, were you the guy who 69ered a ti-lite? How did that one turn out?
it worked out really well; i am sold on the big wheel up front... however, i came to realize i'm not so sold on rigid forks. :skep:

so, just finished a (re)makeover saturday-- i had an extra bonty/judy fork w/ rebuilt englund air cartridges just sitting in the basement.
just had to rattle-can it first, as i've never been a fan of the 'champagne' color (i've got another, original internals, w/ canti brake boss).



'96 bontrager ti lite:
  • bonty race stem
  • chris king grip nut headset
  • bonty race lite bar
  • bonty race lite bar ends (magnesium)
  • gripshift ESP9.0 shifters (8 spd)
  • real design levers
  • rock shox judy xc w/ total air cartridges (bonty crown)
  • XTR 952 hubs (28 f, 32 r)
  • dt swiss rims (old skool bonty valiants finally gave up)
  • avid arch rival, rear
  • avid single digit 7, front
  • bonty race seatpost
  • bonty race +10 saddle
  • XT compact cranks
  • white industries ti square taper bb
  • race face rings (got a NOS shimano IG 42, but couldn't find a 32 anywhere)
  • panaracer fire XC 2.1 tires
  • XT front der
  • ESP9.0SL rear der
  • XT cassette 11-32
  • oury grips
  • time atac carbon, world championships, pedals
  • jen green limited edition bontrager headbadge

fun bike which will see a lot of dirt miles to come...
:thumbsup:
 
#539 ·
Thanks for all the help, folks, jak0, I'm not sure I have anything good enough to trade, but I'll look through my bins when I get home. I have another question while I'm thinking about it, as I mentioned, it arrive half-converted to single Speed. The BB spindle is too short for my cranks (I have a specialized set, and a Suntour XC pro). What was the original spindle size for the bontragers? Right now I put in a sealed shimano BB, 122.5 I believe, and it's still too short. I'd prefer the user-servicable ritchey BB, I have the cups, but I can't find a 127 spindle. Any ideas?
 
#540 ·
Finished up the Newest Bonti in my collection -
1991 Race - Semi Horizontal Drops
Race Fork with Semi Horizontal Drops
Race Face/ Bontrager 1 piece Bar/Stem Combo
XT 732 build kit
RM-20 rims
Avid Arch Supreme Brakes
Altek Levers
XTR post
Bontrager Racelite seat W/Ti Rails



 
#541 ·
doccutter said:
The BB spindle is too short for my cranks (I have a specialized set, and a Suntour XC pro). What was the original spindle size for the bontragers? Right now I put in a sealed shimano BB, 122.5 I believe, and it's still too short. I'd prefer the user-servicable ritchey BB, I have the cups, but I can't find a 127 spindle. Any ideas?
XC Pro (non-MicroDrive) was 122.5mm, but the chainline is probably different than your sealed Shimano unit. I've used White Industry BB's in bikes that I had concerns about chainline with. They allow you to put the spindle where you need it, and then lock it in place. (The older ones more so than the new ones, but they all are great in that respect.) There are a ton of BB's out there that will give you an adjustable chainline.

You could potentially order a White, or Phil BB with a few extra mm of spindle on it.

Specialized had a bunch of different cranks made for them. Usually the nice ones were cold forged by Sugino in Japan. Nice stuff. Post a pic, and I'm sure someone could make an educated guess about spindle length.
 
#542 ·
OK, here're the shots of my new-to-me bonty. So they questions are:
What kind is it? The seller said race lite, I think it's a race.
What year?
Did it come with a shock, or should I get to work putting on the rigid fork I got?
What size BB should I use to avoid the chainring grinding the frame?
Thanks y'all!



 
#543 ·
doccutter said:
OK, here're the shots of my new-to-me bonty. So they questions are:
What kind is it? The seller said race lite, I think it's a race.
What year?
Did it come with a shock, or should I get to work putting on the rigid fork I got?
What size BB should I use to avoid the chainring grinding the frame?
Thanks y'all!
The answers to most of your questions can be found here:

http://www.eandsweb.com/me/bontrager/

If that rigid fork came with it, I'd put it back on. That's the way it should be.
Bottom bracket width is dependent on the crank not the frame. I'm not sure what model cranks you have there, but I someone here will likely be able to identify them and give you a spindle length recommendation. Good luck on the build up.
 
#544 ·
muddybuddy said:
The answers to most of your questions can be found here:

http://www.eandsweb.com/me/bontrager/

If that rigid fork came with it, I'd put it back on. That's the way it should be.
Bottom bracket width is dependent on the crank not the frame. I'm not sure what model cranks you have there, but I someone here will likely be able to identify them and give you a spindle length recommendation. Good luck on the build up.
Thanks MuddyBuddy,
The problem is that the bike arrived to me pretty hacked up, I have no idea what's original on it at this point. If I could figure out the year, that might be helpful, but it's all been painted "anti-theft black". The rigid fork I bought later, assuming that the bike was originally rigid, but I'm not entirely sure that it was! It's got single-piece seat stays, capped wishbone, and gussets on the headtube and around the bottom bracket shell. Could it be a privateer?
 
#545 ·
That's a later model frame. I'd guess that it is suspension corrected for 63mm of travel. The fork would steepen it a little, but it would work fine with the rigid or suspension fork.

A relieved headtube is the easiest indicator between the Race and Race Lite. I can't tell form your picture which it has.
 
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