# 1996 BMW "Olympic" folding bike



## AvgJoeSF (Oct 6, 2016)

I picked up a 1996 BMW-branded Montague last week at a scrapyard. It's in rough shape but totally repairable, so I snagged it for $15.
I've always wanted a full-size folder.

This particular version was the "official bike" for the 1996 Olympic games, hence the super-cheesy paint job. Supposedly it was featured in the closing ceremonies.

It's heavy (30+ pounds) with ancient Rockshox fork and low-grade Shimano components. I can't figure out why a "BMW" bike would have had such heavy, entry-level components. I intend to lighten them up with some newer components from ebay and my spare parts bin. I'm thinking a light rigid fork will be a great improvement if I can somehow find a good one that fits with the weird frame.

I found an original manual online, but not much luck finding specs anywhere. Right away I noticed that it's a 1" steerer and a weird seatpost size. I emailed Montague customer service for info, but haven't heard back from them. After dealing with BMW for my motorcycle, I'm not even going to bother asking them.
I'll post updates on the build as it progresses.


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## lewisfoto (Nov 12, 2013)

It's heavy because it is a cheap bike. And yes the only thing BMW had to do with it was allow the decal to be used in exchange for some money. That said if the project is something you enjoy knock your self out, I would not put too much money in it myself.


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## AvgJoeSF (Oct 6, 2016)

Thanks, I don't plan on putting any more money into it than I'd spend on lunch. BMW sold them through their dealerships for an absurd price but obviously didn't care about premium parts. Of the half dozen bikes I have sitting around my garage it's by far the heaviest, but it also offers the utility of a full-size bike that folds in half to easily go inside my office or on transit. It was a very minor effort to make it nicer with components from my spare parts box. It turns out it rides WAY better than I expected, and will only get better when I give it a rigid fork. If the crushing weight of shame from letting the weight weenies see me on a "cheap" heavy steel bike becomes too much to bear, I can always hop on one of my nicer bikes.


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## Mr. Claus (Oct 5, 2015)

AJ, hmmm I think that paint job is actually kinda nice, $15 for a folding cruiser to get to work sounds more than fair, not to mention saving it from the scrap yard! Putting some commuter tires on it and obviously different seat and a cheap rigid fork (many used ones to choose from) would slim it down a good deal....just my 2 cents


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## AvgJoeSF (Oct 6, 2016)

Mr. Claus said:


> Putting some commuter tires on it and obviously different seat and a cheap rigid fork (many used ones to choose from) would slim it down a good deal....just my 2 cents


My thoughts exactly.


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## AvgJoeSF (Oct 6, 2016)

I finally got around to giving this bike a facelift. I'm actually pretty shocked at how well it rides after some spare parts, a couple of cheap upgrades, and a $3.99 roll of contact paper.


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## chazpat (Sep 23, 2006)

lol, I was afraid to click on this, I figured it was going to be one of those "it's a rare collector edition worth thousands of dollars" type things like I've seen in the past for these bikes. But for 15 bucks, not sure I could have turned it down. Nice to hear you're enjoying it.


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