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The WTB Phoenix Thread

109K views 537 replies 90 participants last post by  Proto20000 
#1 ·
I think the Phoenix is a classic most definitely worthy of it's own thread even though its really not super old yet. Ive seen some nice ones posted here over the years, so lets put 'em all in one spot to enjoy. Ive got a few pics of mine, but I'll let you guys get this thing going as I find some good pics to post.
 
#4 ·
I've owned a '93 and a '98 (pretty much a first and a last of the series). I now own neither. :(

The first pic is a '93 SE (Special Edition) which had roller cams and a few other WYB goodies. The second is a '98 "standard" Phoenix. Both were nice.



 
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#5 ·
Heres mine.
I still remember when my friend Bryan and I stoped by our favorite bike shop one saturday afternoon. I remember we turned the corner into the second room and right there under the tv was the most beautiful blue bike with three names down the big fat seat tube. The bike stoped us in our tracks and we both simply said woooooo. Then we started asking questions about the bike. The bike was built up the way P.C.C. would typically build a bike back in those days. A splatering of WTB, Shimano, Prolong saddle,and I think it had Ti WTB flat bars. It was nice but more than a young Marine could afford. I would come in on a constant basis to hang out at the shop to visit the guys and drool on that bike. I told my wife that I wanted to buy this frame and build it up with the parts from my Stumpjumper. It was that matte grey Stumpjumper from I think 91" or so. It had 7speed XT thruout and all I would need is a front derailleur. Chuck even worked up a price for me for the frame and seatpost and wrote the price on a little piece of cardboard, I think it was from a tube box. I am sure Chuck doesnt know this but I carried that piece of cardboard in my wallet for years. Around that time my wife and I went on vacation visiting all the mountain bike hot spots, Durango, Crested Butte, and Moab. Just traveling around camping and riding with no particular place to be. One day after our trip I brought in the mail and saw the credit card bill and was wanting to see the damage we did during our trip. So I opened the envelope and started checking out the bill, I looked up at my wife and said Pacific Coast Cycles $500.00? My wifes face just fell and that is when I ruined the surprise that me wife had put the Phoenix on layaway for me. She still gives me crap that I never looked at the bill before and I still try to convince her that I was just checking to see how much we spent on our vacation. Sorry this story is getting long, I'll try to shorten it up. Shortly after we paid it off I got out of the Marine Corps and needed a job. Again one saturday we happened into the shop and I noticed that a big part of the staff was missing. I asked Chuck what happened to everyone and he explained that Mike had moved on to Haro, and either Pete or Tom went off to school and the other had just moved away. So I hit him up for a job. I guess since I hung around so much anyway he hired me. Now I couldnt build up the Phoenix with the parts from the Stumpjumper. So I slowly started piecing it together. It got the first WTB adjustable hubs the shop had, built up by Chuck with BCX 1 & 2 rims, Chris King, Bontrager grey saddle, brand new XT 8 speed drivetrain. I kept the thumbshifters from the Stumpy because they had that extra half a click. The parts havent changed much from the original build, I just changed stuff as it wore out. I had some Sims cranks on at first but after a couple of weeks they cracked so I put on the Shimano's no bling but they work. Anyway this bike has been thru alot with me, it was my main mountain bike for years. It had a repaint because the original D&D paint just chipped away. And then on a little cruise along mission beach one day I hit a railroad ti and twisted the frame. It was ugly, the top tube had a crease on one side and the down tube had a crease on the opposite side. I know Steve P. thought it was a J.R.A. story but I didnt ask him to warranty the frame I just wanted it fixed. Steve cut the front triangle off and built a new one. That was right when 1 1/8" headtubes were getting popular and that is what Steve wanted to put on but I wouldnt have it. I insisted we stayed with 1" so Steve brazed in some collars to reduce the size. Well I love this bike and have alot of history with it. Unfortunatly it doesnt get ridden much anymore (damed 29" wheels) but I will probably never part with it. Sorry this is so long I guess I was just thinking about the salad days, hope you enjoyed.
 

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#9 ·
heres one or two

man, i remember seeing the baby blue Phoenix of Stan Lee's when i first came to college in 94, and his was a 93, only it use to be gun metal blue. anyhow, so i just get into town, and am riding my crummy trek down to campus and i pass this hippie birkenstock store (coincidentally that same hippie store is exatly next to my bikeshop now) and what do i see locked to the rack just in front, but this phoenix! i about ride my bike into a parked car, turn around and proceed to check it out for about an hour, I had never seen one in person, but had always admired Steve's work, not to mention all things WTB and Cunningham, the rest has evolved into a life of pursuing the finer things from those fellow.

Stan Lee's phoenix set it all in motion.

so here's a couple of mine.

all for now
nate
 

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#11 ·
dRjOn said:
that green phoenix is truly superb. it has that purposeful, tough as nails, thread the needle sort of look i always liked with the wtb stuff in general. chapeaux!
Yep, that green one is awesome Nate. I love that one.

The only problem is the cams dont match!! ;)

I want to build one up like that with a rigid fork, drop bars, and roller cams front and rear as a sort of steel 'Ham. Both of mine now have squishy forks on them.
 
#13 ·
Jeroen said:
Still in the works....
Looking good Jeroen.

Here's mine, still in the works also. Please excuse the awful camera-phone picture.

Lots still to do: re-cover the saddle, find some appropriate rims, polish the cranks, decide between the FSX's and Project 2's (I know neither is "right" but I can't afford a Type-II !), buy a transmission, etc.

Better photos to follow, once it's finished...
 

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#14 ·
@Moonter;

family reunion:

yours and mine when the both where still mine ;-)





 
#16 ·
My Phoenix

Courtesy of ~martini~, after I hounded him for a period of time, this is now my trusty steed. Took it out for a ride in the hills behind my house today so I could take some pics and take it off some sweet jumps.:D It will soon have a Steve Potts built Type II and front rollercam.


It was in the process of toppling over as this shot was being taken :sad: But, no harm, no foul.





 
#17 ·
Phoenix

I read this thread with great interest. you all seem to love your Phoenix frames.
Here in Marin County- birthplace of the Phoenix, most people could not have cared less about that frame. It was dated as soon as it was introduced. It was steel, it was not light, the first ones were not even suspension corrected.
As I recall most of the people that owned them got them at or below cost or by trade with WTB- hardly anyone who had one actually went to a bike shop and paid retail for it.
I guess coal becomes diamonds in time?
Don't think I'm a hater- I would take an old school Potts or Cunningham with a type II and rollercams in a heartbeat- I'm just saying that in Marin County when these bikes were current they were not the deal by a long stretch.
 
#18 ·
bootsie_cat said:
I read this thread with great interest. you all seem to love your Phoenix frames.
Here in Marin County- birthplace of the Phoenix, most people could not have cared less about that frame. It was dated as soon as it was introduced. It was steel, it was not light, the first ones were not even suspension corrected.
As I recall most of the people that owned them got them at or below cost or by trade with WTB- hardly anyone who had one actually went to a bike shop and paid retail for it.
I guess coal becomes diamonds in time?
Don't think I'm a hater- I would take an old school Potts or Cunningham with a type II and rollercams in a heartbeat- I'm just saying that in Marin County when these bikes were current they were not the deal by a long stretch.
FOOLISH!!!!........

i did some ridn' in marin back in 95' we were the guys on the mountain cycles san andreas' 4x4's...all the locals on hard tails were laughin' at us......funny.....
 
#21 ·
Phoenix

They probably kept making them because they still had tubesets?
Why do you think Potts fraes were made out of Tange MTB tubing for ever?
Heck, you could probably go by WTB and still get a Bon Tempe- I know that they made 20front triangles as a 1st batch- probably 15 of them still there.

hollister said:
how could a bike considered " not the deal by a long stretch" make it so long. when were the last ones made, 2001?beyond? (formerly known as phoenix counts imho).

who's got one of the 29ers?:D
 
#22 ·
bootsie_cat said:
Here in Marin County- birthplace of the Phoenix, most people could not have cared less about that frame. It was dated as soon as it was introduced. It was steel, it was not light, the first ones were not even suspension corrected.
I'm sure lots of people everywhere felt the same way, but to a few it was a very nice frame. There were maybe 500 made, so it was never intended to sell all that well.

The blue one that I posted above spent many years on the trails of Marin (ridden by the original owner), and I always thought that it rode really well when I owned it.

I still prefer to ride non-suspension correct steel. The newest bike that I own (made in 2004) is rigid (not corrected for suspension) and steel. I agree it's not what people people want, but some of us prefer it.
 
#23 ·
ssmike said:
Cool post Rob. Brings back a ton of memories. I'll get some photos of mine posted later today.
Thanks Mike,
I Hoped you would like it. Do you have any pictures of the shop from back in the day? I remember walking in there and seeing a rack full of the bikes that are talked about here. Potts, Salsa, Ibis, Bontrager, Monolith, and then the employee bikes and of course Chuck would have his Cunningham there somewhere. Alot of bike goodness.
 
#25 ·
bootsie_cat said:
I read this thread with great interest. you all seem to love your Phoenix frames.
Here in Marin County- birthplace of the Phoenix, most people could not have cared less about that frame. It was dated as soon as it was introduced. It was steel, it was not light, the first ones were not even suspension corrected.
As I recall most of the people that owned them got them at or below cost or by trade with WTB- hardly anyone who had one actually went to a bike shop and paid retail for it.
I guess coal becomes diamonds in time?
Don't think I'm a hater- I would take an old school Potts or Cunningham with a type II and rollercams in a heartbeat- I'm just saying that in Marin County when these bikes were current they were not the deal by a long stretch.
I know this group of Ford lovers that think the Chevy guys are dumb.

I guess we all have our preferences. The Phoenix in 1995 (or especially '98) was not a cutting edge FSR with a carbon Future Shock (or name any other bike in those glossy MBA ads). It was a light (4.3 pounds of Ritchey oversized Logic tubing), lively, well thought-out trail bike that handled really nicely. I think its probably the best trail bike Ive ever ridden. Ive ridden a lot of bikes on trails for more than two decades and this one is magic for me. Hard to beat unless your looking to catch big air or doing the hardcore DH thing. I even did a decent little drop on mine, ask Rumpfy. :)

Bottom line is, I think most people like em for the ride. But, it doesnt surprise me that in the 90s that these were probably not the most sought after bikes. Most people were chasing that magic in full suspension I think.
 
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