Thanks. Yeah, I realized I didn't take any pictures of the hubs. I'll have to take some as they're kinda neat, as well as measure the Q factor. I do know the shell is 90mm wide vs the standard 68 or 73.
Ride was actually really nice. Felt nice and solid with a good feel uphill and down. Cranks felt wide right off the bat, but didn't notice after a while. Elastomers gave out on me towards the end of the ride so I need to rebuild the fork and put some fresh rubber in there and get some more miles in. Anxious to ride it again, it's a fun one. All Manitou ride!
dirtdrop, nice headtube shot. Did you find original decals or is that a remake? Wouldn't mind some fresh decals for the top tube on mine.
Oh, and this is the only black one I've ever seen. Anyone else seen one?
Thanks Mendon. I can get more pics. I know doublecentury has made a copy or two so I know he has good pics.
It's basically carved out of a chunk of aluminum. Not light, not too stiff, but neat looking.
I measured the Q factor and got about 197mm. The chainline is still good though with the wide rear hub. No dish on the rear wheel and tons of tire clearance too.
I only changed out the shifters which were the 1990 "push-push" shifters and the tires. Everything else is as I got it. The previous owner was a wealthy guy in So Cal that bought it for road trips to Moab with his friends. It didn't get much use. It's a fun one to ride. First thing I noticed was the very wide Q factor. I'm not sure what the BB spindle is, but it's huge.
The head badge flower is in fact the CO state flower, a Columbine, which is not what the ons in the pic are but close enough for gov't work as they say.
I saw a black one at a race in Nor Cal back in 90-91. Cow Mountain Classic in Clear Lake. He, I and some guy on a Green Ventana had an epic battle for mid pack sport. :thumbsup:
One of the differences between the Bradbury and the Answer bikes.was the aluminum tubing.
The Bradbury bikes were 6061 whereas the Answer bikes used a proprietary Easton tube set.
Probably one of the reasons the Answer bikes seem to crack more often. That and the fact that the easton tube set pushed the envelope of "thin" led to a lighter "race day" purpose built bike. The compromise was long term reliability
the Bradbury bikes, for the amount built, seem to stand up better. Not to mention all the special touches....
either way both bikes are cool for their designed intended purpose.
Yeah, they're kinda similar, but then kinda not. Both bikes had lots and lots of thought put into them, both early handmade aluminum at a time when steel was much more common, but pretty different results.
It seems that lots of these had paint, even the ones you might think are bare aluminum, they actually are painted silver. At least from what I've seen which admittedly isn't a whole lot of them. Nik's bike was also originally painted I think a navy blue (which, by the way looks great! So clean).
As for handling, I don't have a lot of time on it, but the bike felt good all around. Very stable and solid but also quick. Grafton brakes worked very well - one finger braking, no problem. I have to say I was impressed with it on technical downhills, but one ride isn't enough to get a good feel. I like to get a few in on it at least. Climbed great too with the good lateral stiffness. After riding modern 5" FS bikes which are much more biased towards the downhill portion of the trail, it's always a treat to climb on a vintage machine since they are the opposite with their long, low stem and mroe race oriented positioning.
There is a definite coolness to those DB Manitous for sure. It's the only one of the color that I've seen. I like the headtube badge, very nice and tasteful. The rigid forks for those are among my favorite forks too (although I've not had the pleasure to ride one, I'd sure pick one up if I could).
MBA = Mountain Bike Action. Best of breed magazine from the 80s.
Test bike = bike given to editors for review.
MBA was a sweet mag early on, but lost me when it became overly concentrated on racing, standings, racing, standings.
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