# Got a free Gary Fisher from the mid 90's



## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Its a Mt. Tam, 24.6 lbs stock

And I want to convert it to SS to lose some fat. 

Anyone have any personal recommendations on parts that work well and/or a good value?


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

Ask ISAR for a free chainring and cog. If he says no, throw everything away and start over.


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Who is ISAR? Not too familiar with this place yet.

Also:


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Im thinking about keeping the polished/purple color scheme


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

ISAR is here, and you can buy a chainring and cog in beautiful, ugly purple.

Replace that front fork and get a steel fork instead. Straight bladed, hopefully.

Your crank is 94bcd (and that is what I linked to). Buy a 660mm(ish) wide riser bar. Take off the shifters and the rear derailer and send them to me.

Get a chain tensioner.


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## old'skool (Jul 2, 2011)

I have pretty much that exact bike. Light, yes, very light. Mines just over 24 lbs with no eye candy or unobtanium.

Geometry is, well, different. Short chain stays, and a steep head angle. Squirrley is the best way to describe it. Rides like a big BMX bike. Stay off the front, and keep your weight waaaayy back, and she behaves fine. Also likes to descend while seated. I had a thudbuster for a while and rode her like a full skoosh bike.

As far as SS, dunno. Mine is still geared. As a general rule of thumb, you can deduct 1.75 to 2 pounds for a SS conversion. That''ll get you in the really light category. 22 and change.....

Edit: Yeah, if it has 90s rapidfire, I'll get inline for them....


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Wait so people want these shifter components? What are they worth, ballpark figure?

And I wasn't serious about keeping the purple color scheme lol. Thinking I should paint the frame and bars white and everything else in black


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## old'skool (Jul 2, 2011)

NOOOOOOO keep it purple !!!

LX go for about 40 on E-Bay, XT for 75-100. I keep selling them to turn a dime on the bikes I flip, and always end up regretting it.


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## buddhak (Jan 26, 2006)

Measure the distance from the center of the rear dropout to the center of the crankbolt. That is your chainstay length. Go to the eehouse Fix Me Up calculator and figure out the best gear combo that lands you in the 45-50 gear inch area using the inner or middle chainrings you already own. Then buy the appropriate Surly or ISAR cog to match. Set up your tensioner of choice as a push up. That's my advice anyhow. Accumulated wisdom from a handful of SS conversions. You are blessed with a 94 bcd crankset. Never sell it. It will allow you to set up a very high clearance driveline (like 22:13 or 24:13).


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Awesome info! I have a feeling this bike is going to serve me for a long time.

Anybody recommend a good suspension fork if I were to upgrade in the future? Something I could put a hydraulic disc brake on and preferably light weight


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## Shalom (Nov 7, 2008)

Keep the frame as is and just tastefully highlight with purple.
Sweet find. You are lucky!
Enjoy it.


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## mack_turtle (Jan 6, 2009)

how much money are you willing to put into this? just get a SS cog, some spacers, a tensioner, a rigid fork, and some fat tires.


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

mack_turtle said:


> how much money are you willing to put into this? just get a SS cog, some spacers, a tensioner, a rigid fork, and some fat tires.


Not sure really, enough to get it performing at a level I think I need it to. Definitely needs a brake upgrade, definitely going single speed. Down the road I may upgrade the forks to something disc brake compatible.


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

Man, get the purple chainring and the purple cog. Sell the drivetrain- I think you can make enough to cover the new cog/chainring, and if you have a magic gear, ****ing fantastic.

What are the stock brakes?


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Well I ordered my PURPLE 31t ring and 18t cog from HomeBrewed 

The brakes on it are Shimano Deore LX M-System with some green pads. I don't know whether the braking problem is due to shitty pads or the rims, but I can pedal through both the front and rear brakes held down all the way. I'd like to get some Shimano XTR V Brakes


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2011)

Man, the mid 90s never gave me anything for free. Jealous.


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## djork (Nov 8, 2004)

Keep the purple highlights! I also got a free bike and want to do an SS conversion on it (low budget). I take it that your brake levers and shifters are one piece. Are you going for V-brakes when you remove the shifter/brake combo? I'm going that route. Your cranks look like mine. Is it Shimano Alivio? How do you remove the cranks to remove the granny gear? Do you just unscrew that bolt on the spindle?


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## Dion (Oct 22, 2009)

Check it for cracks.

Sincerely,
Owner of Cracked 90's Gary Fisher


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## umarth (Dec 5, 2007)

I'd be tempted to stick with the cantis. They are just hard to set up. Once dialed in, then tend to work great for 20 miles or so. 

I bought some XT linears for 20 off ebay...


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## old'skool (Jul 2, 2011)

essinem4130 said:


> Well I ordered my PURPLE 31t ring and 18t cog from HomeBrewed
> 
> The brakes on it are Shimano Deore LX M-System with some green pads. I don't know whether the braking problem is due to shitty pads or the rims, but I can pedal through both the front and rear brakes held down all the way. I'd like to get some Shimano XTR V Brakes


I'm running some older Ritchey red pads, with the same LX cantis and Dia Compe levers. It's one finger braking. Stop on a dime, modulate well, and don't cramp my forearms.

Before you go swapping pads, check your straddle cable height. I like running mine pretty low. Not so low that a rock can get caught, but pretty low. Ideally, you should have a 90 degree angle at the "Y", and each arms cable should be at about 45 degrees, maybe even a little lower. A too high straddle cable will rob all of your braking power. Fells nice and "snappy", but no power. Conversely, running them a little lower makes them feel "mushy" when not moving, but stops me so much better....


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## Saddle Up (Jan 30, 2008)

I'd ride it as is


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## hydrogeek (Feb 20, 2006)

I'd shave it's ass and make it walk backwards.


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

I'm going to get a new chain, does anybody have any recommendations for a good 3/32 chain? The lighter the better


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Also, I'm pretty sure the headtube is 1 1/4".. What sort of problems does that present?

Edit: And opinions on the 69er? I'd like to have a disc up front and a new (new to me) rigid fork with disc tabs wouldn't be expensive at all. And that 29" wheel would be nice with no suspension.


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## wjphillips (Oct 13, 2008)

I have a bike very similar to yours (the Mt. Tam). I have a 2003 Gary Fisher Tassajara. It makes a kick ass single speed. I love the bike. I hammer it hard at least 3 times a week on some pretty rough trails and it just takes it no sweat. I went all rigid. I found a cromo redline rigid fork on ebay for around $50. Then I purchased a set of mavic x517 (sup) off a dude on craig's list with xt hubs ($60). I also got some xt skewers very cheap on ebay (less than $20). 

It's an amazing bike and very light too.

My advice: DO NOT remove any decals or repaint it. That bike looks great the way it is (even though I'm not a fan of purple)


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## vudu (Mar 24, 2008)

Great find.. as others mentioned, keep the frame and color scheme, it works!!! 
you mentioned a 69er option.. just something else to consider, look at the 650b.. i ran that set up on my TASS, with a carbon fork.. it made a big difference compared to the 26 wheel (all good) but still felt light up front..


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## old'skool (Jul 2, 2011)

> Also, I'm pretty sure the headtube is 1 1/4".. What sort of problems does that present?


Yup, 1-1/4. Gonna limit your selection of forks, for sure. Unless you use a reducer. Headsets, too. Besides that, a slight weight penalty because of the steer tube diameter.

That said, mines sitting and under 24 lbs right now...


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## evelyn_cates (Aug 6, 2011)

you can use dmr ss hub, nsbikes pro, or any other dirtjump hub


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## wjphillips (Oct 13, 2008)

My Tass set up as a 69er. Right now I'm running 26 front and rear, but I ran it for a while as a 69er. It climbed like a goat. Unbelievable.


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Which fork is that wjphillips?

Does anyone have any experience with 1 1/4" to 1 1/8" headset adapters? Only one I've been able to find was the chris king devolution. Is that what I would need in order to use a newer 29" fork on this frame?


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## wjphillips (Oct 13, 2008)

It's a redline cromoly fork from a redline monocog. It is suspension corrected for 100m of travel. The 29er front wheel fits perfectly. This is a 1-1/8 inch steerer tube. I got this fork on ebay for $50. I don't know if any are still available on ebay....

Here's a fork similar to mine.

%% REDLINE RIGID 26" OR 29ER FORK %% | eBay


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## Wooden Payload (Aug 15, 2011)

That frame is sweet. Definitely stick with the original paint, that's an awesome find!


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Wooden Payload said:


> That frame is sweet. Definitely stick with the original paint, that's an awesome find!


Thanks, I didn't know what to expect when he said he had an old MTB, but when I saw it I figured I found something pretty good.

I did decide to stick with the silver frame, I ordered a purple chainring and cog so..

Now I need to source a 29" fork, wheel, disc brake, lever, bars, stem, headset.. Fuuuuuuuuuuu

Oh and some shoes for the clipless pedals it came with.


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

I'm looking at the Salsa Cromoto 29er fork, 468mm from Axle to crown. Is that going to alter the stance of the bike in a bad way when combined with the extra 1.5" of height from the 29" wheel?


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Hit up a LBS today, picked up some cheap Shimano V brakes, an Avid lever, cable and a 3/32 chain

Then did a little bit of work:





































Cable housing needs a bit more trimming and I need to figure out how I'm going to run the cable permanently. Wheels need to be trued up and for some reason, the rear wheel doesn't seem to be riding squarely in the rear dropouts making it not true with the frame???


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## old'skool (Jul 2, 2011)

Totally OT. I didn't notice the Flite Ti. Quite possibly, the nicest looking seat ever made.

As far as the rear wheel, check your dish maybe ?


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Yesterday I dropped the bike off at an LBS, had the crank removed for the new 31t and had them install and tighten the rear cog as I didn't have the proper tools for either. Chain alignment is perfect, but even with the use of a half-link could not achieve proper chain tension.

The question now is: Who makes a chain tensioner that will work with this bike and the 3/32 chain?

As for the Flite Ti seat... Yeah, they are the sexiest looking saddle I've seen. I wanted one for my race bike when I was younger but could never afford one. Whoda thunk I'd finally get one on a free bicycle 12 years later?


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

Soon as my surly chain tensioner gets here, should be good to go.

The spokes on the rear wheel are chewed up from what I suspect to be a chain derailment. Going to have to have the wheel re-laced sometime in the near future.


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## sasquatch rides a SS (Dec 27, 2010)

Don't re-lace your whole wheel...just replace one spoke at a time that is eaten into. 8 or 9 depending on if you have a 32 or 36 hole hub...I've done it before and it worked fine. Put one spoke in, true. Put another spoke in, true..etc.


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## pokerphrog (Nov 13, 2011)

I hate to intrude on your thread, but it sounds like this is the crowd I need to ask this question to.

Background -
I, too, was able to get an old gary fisher TARPON($50). It seems to have stock parts But it still runs very nice. I actually took it on single track for the first time today even without front suspension, faired well. I also recently got a TREK 4300 and intended to replace the stock parts and basically trick it out. I have already bought a new fork (Rock Shox Recon 120mm) and Avid BB7 brakes with Avid Speed Dial 7 levers.

Questions-
I originally intended to put these new parts on the trek, but I am starting to think I want to put it on the Gary Fisher. Can anyone provide some insight on compatibility of putting the Recon fork on this old bike?

Also, kind of a side question. Can my new Avid speed dial 7 levers work with the old brakes (just until my BB7's come in the mail.)

Thanks for the help. Newbie looking to get smart.


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## rangeriderdave (Aug 29, 2008)

The fork most likely will not work with either frame those frames were most likely made for a fork with less travel. It will depend on what year the frames were made. The frames if they were made for a suspension fork they would use an 80 to 100 mm travel fork. What kind of brakes are on the bike now? Vee brake would most likely work ,cantilevers wouldn't. The levers pull diffrent amounts of cable. You should post your own tread next time. You will get plenty of help.


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## pokerphrog (Nov 13, 2011)

Thanks for the info. Working on doing this in my own posts. Had to get my inital 5 posts before I could start my own. Again sorry for the intrusion.


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## essinem4130 (Jun 20, 2011)

It's been a long time coming.. The SS conversion was completed about 2 years ago, but today, I picked the bike up from a LBS after having them press in a 1 1/4 to 1 1/8 headset adapters, install new headset, Surly rigid fork, new stem and a Shimano disc front brake and disc brake wheel.

Rode it about 2.5 miles home and what a difference. Pedal effort is much easier compared to the ~20 year old RockShox fork that was on there. On flat I can maintain speed much more consistently (as much speed as a 33/18 has to offer) and climbing the previously difficult long, mild grades is almost effortless in comparison.

Pre-rigid fork:



















Today after work  :



















What an awesome riding budget bike. Mechanic at the bike shop commented on how awesome the bike felt to ride and after taking her home I couldn't agree more.

About $450 in (getting the bike for free) and I would have to test ride a pretty amazing SS rigid bike I would trade this one for.

I'll get some better pictures tomorrow when the lighting is better.


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## JakeStroganoff (Oct 22, 2013)

keep it purple. that is a sweet ride, and will be way sweeter SS.


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