# My new Bradbury Manitou FS



## pete_mcc (Aug 19, 2006)

Guys,

I'm really sorry it's taken so long for me to actually start a thread on here, been a member for a while and have lurked ever since, but I was waiting for something worthwhile to post!

I tend to spend half my life on Retrobike as, for my sins, I'm a Brit. As I'm sure you all know, outing of ebay auctions is very much allowed over there and boy am I glad it is as last week a Manitou FS frame was listed in 'ebay watch'. The details in the ad were a bit sketchy: cell phone pictures and very little text, but it did use the word Bradbury in the title that sparked my interest a little. Bradbury Manitous were the stuff of legend in the UK in the late 80/early 90s but scant few made it across the water and we had to rely on your magazines for glimpses so I was very unsure what I was bidding on - was it an Answer Manitou, a Marin or a Balance? Certainly didn't think it was going to be a rocking horse poo Bradbury, but it looked interesting enough for a punt.
I was a little surprised and concerned to find that only 2 other people were bidding (almost to the point of not bothering) and until the last hour or so the bids had only reached $100 or so but I went for it and was stoked to win with the 7th bid.
Only when it arrived was I able to get a really good look at it, and I was a little confused as it certainly wasn't an Answer (no stamped BB) or a Marin (wrong sized headset) or a Balance (very early Manitou rear end). A quick post on Retrobike had the answer: 'measure the rear drop out width and BB!'.....145mm and 90mm....now I've got sweaty hands...someone found me a pdf of a magazine review from 1992 with the same type of frame and confirmed it for me - I'd scored a Bradbury Manitou FS for less than I paid for my last 30gb ipod!























































Unfortunately the seller had lost all the other parts of the bike (unfortunately including the stem, forks and so on) in a house move so I'm going to have to start from scratch. Obviously being a Brit I shall be decking this frame out with Hollowtech cranks, Rebas and a smattering of overly priced, brightly coloured and fragile CNC'ed chi chi.........................joke, honest, but couldn't resist after a few of the threads on here  . I've already sourced a set of Bradbury forks but I could have trouble with a few of the other parts. Is Phil Wood a good starting point to find a BB and rear hub? Any pointer from you guys would be greatly appreciated

Thanks for listening,

Pete


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## dirtdrop (Dec 29, 2003)

Nice bike you bloody limey. I was always lusting for a Bradbury HT as a kiddo.

I saw that go on ebay for a pretty penny. Noice.


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

Wow. Very nice. You've already sourced a set of Bradbury Manitou forks too? Rigid or suspended? More pics please!


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## YETIFIED (May 4, 2005)

Nice score, bummer about the other parts especially the hubs. I know where two real Bradburys are locally, but I'm not tellin'. I have a newer stem nothing special, maybe a PM is in order. 

Cheers Mate,


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## pete_mcc (Aug 19, 2006)

bushpig said:


> Wow. Very nice. You've already sourced a set of Bradbury Manitou forks too? Rigid or suspended? More pics please!


Suspended of course! Not in my hands yet but doing a swap with a great member of the Retrobike community who understands my need! Did find a set in a US shop but they don't really like doing international shipping, so I was like a dog with two tails when these others surfaced!

I'll post more as it comes together but the build list so far is:

Cooks cranks
XT mechs
XT thumbies
IRD switchbacks or XT cantis
Grafton or XT levers
Turbo saddle
Ringle post
XT headset
Bradbury Sus forks

Just need to source/buy the tough stuff now, I'm guessing that Tandem hubs still come in 145mm but the spoke hole count would be a little excessive and I have got a nice NOS cooks stem to match the cranks but would have to use a shim and I'm not too sure about that...


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

Does it take a 1 1/8? I have a Cooks stem in 1 1/8th that I'm not using...


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## pinguwin (Aug 20, 2004)

Would Bullseye be able to make you a hub? It wouldn't surprise me if they would whip something up for you.


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## crconsulting (Apr 11, 2004)

Wow!!! Nice score:thumbsup: One of the top three aluminum "must have" vintage mountain bikes. Very Very Nice.....

Did those bike have the super wide WTB BB also? What size is the seatpost?

I *think* the front hub was a Hi-E. Can't remember if the rears were also. But what was once modified may be modified again, if you can get a look at an original hubs and a friend with a machine shop.

--
Cheers


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

pinguwin said:


> Would Bullseye be able to make you a hub? It wouldn't surprise me if they would whip something up for you.


Pretty much MIA at this point. Seems like someone (maybe his son?) got all his old stuff and is liquidating it for big bucks on Ebay.


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## pete_mcc (Aug 19, 2006)

Thanks for all the tips, I've now got some saved searches set up on ebay and my fingers crossed.

Bushpig, I assumed the headset was 1 1/4" so I reckon I'd still be stuck using a shim  but it does sound interesting, ditto Yetified.

Thanks for all the replies, unfortunately it's a bit past my bedtime now so I'll have to catch up in the morning!


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

pete_mcc said:


> Thanks for all the tips, I've now got some saved searches set up on ebay and my fingers crossed.
> 
> Bushpig, I assumed the headset was 1 1/4" so I reckon I'd still be stuck using a shim  but it does sound interesting, ditto Yetified.
> 
> Thanks for all the replies, unfortunately it's a bit past my bedtime now so I'll have to catch up in the morning!


My Bradbury Manitou is a 1". I didn't know that he built 1 1/4.

It is interesting to me that he changed his later gussets so that the looked more like the Cunningham-style gusset. I wonder for the reason for it.


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## Slimpee (Oct 3, 2007)

What makes these so collectible?


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

Slimpee said:


> What makes these so collectible?


Doug Bradbury built bikes out of his garage for a few years - 87 to 90 or 91. He built bikes his own way, drawing on a motorcycle background, he was very inventive, building unique bikes with a longer geometry, a range of tubing shapes, machining, etc. Notably he came up with the Manitou suspension fork. A year or so after he first produced it he sold the rights to Manitou to Answer and the rest is history.

There are only a few hundred Bradbury Manitous and each is unique.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

pete_mcc said:


> Guys,
> 
> I'm really sorry it's taken so long for me to actually start a thread on here, been a member for a while and have lurked ever since, but I was waiting for something worthwhile to post!
> 
> ...


Awesome, awesome find.

Great story and I dig your humor on the suggested build. 

That project is going to take some work to track down the right parts, but I think its doable.

If you get stuck with someone who won't ship overseas from the US, I'm sure one of us here can help out.


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## alohachiimoku (Apr 7, 2006)

crconsulting said:


> Did those bike have the super wide WTB BB also? What size is the seatpost?


90mm BB shell, 145mm spindle, 31.8mm post.

Everything is NON standards


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## scant (Jan 5, 2004)

after the san andreas/ fat chance ti previous deal pete I didnt think it would be possible to achieve 2 such killer deals in 1 lifetime :thumbsup: top work dude:thumbsup: 

build sounds awesome too  if I see any applicable hubs I'll letcha know


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## heeler (Feb 13, 2004)

pinguwin said:


> Would Bullseye be able to make you a hub? It wouldn't surprise me if they would whip something up for you.


AFAIK Bullseye is RIP...

Profile might be able to help you with a custum width shell though.


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## bushpig (Nov 26, 2005)

I know a shop that has a modded Manitou front hub but they are strangely inflexible on price.


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

145mm isn't that much of a problem. Shimano and DT make tandem hubs that wide.


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## pete_mcc (Aug 19, 2006)

DeeEight said:


> 145mm isn't that much of a problem. Shimano and DT make tandem hubs that wide.


Many thanks for that, it's very similar to the route I'm now going down. I'm going for a standard XT hub with 145oln tandem axle put in, that way I can stick with sensible 32h drilling rather than 36 or 48 which seems to be the easily available options for tandem ones. Also means that the front XT which is 100mm (couldn't source a 115mm Manitou fork, so gone with a 100mm) will match nicely.



Scant said:


> after the san andreas/ fat chance ti previous deal pete I didnt think it would be possible to achieve 2 such killer deals in 1 lifetime top work dude


I was over the moon when I managed to swap my old San Andreas for the Fat Ti, so it really had to be an amazing deal to top that and this definitely was one (well, up there with the 4 sets of NOS cooks rsrs I got all for $250!)!


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

pete_mcc said:


> Many thanks for that, it's very similar to the route I'm now going down. I'm going for a standard XT hub with 145oln tandem axle put in, that way I can stick with sensible 32h drilling rather than 36 or 48 which seems to be the easily available options for tandem ones. Also means that the front XT which is 100mm (couldn't source a 115mm Manitou fork, so gone with a 100mm) will match nicely.
> 
> I was over the moon when I managed to swap my old San Andreas for the Fat Ti, so it really had to be an amazing deal to top that and this definitely was one (well, up there with the 4 sets of NOS cooks rsrs I got all for $250!)!


great find. Doug modified M730 rear hubs to work with that spacing. Ive seen pics somewhere but forgot where. Nice work on already finding the proper fork also!


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## Guest (Apr 4, 2008)

here's a photo of one from a 92 bike magazine



















Carsten


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## alohachiimoku (Apr 7, 2006)

Here is some shot of Bradbury stem for FS, 115mm F hub, and XTR M900 modified 145mm R hub. he also made 100mm spacing front hub as well.


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## crconsulting (Apr 11, 2004)

alohachiimoku said:


> Here is some shot of Bradbury stem for FS, 115mm F hub, and XTR M900 modified 145mm R hub. he also made 100mm spacing front hub as well.


All that and Nice Grafton controls too :thumbsup:

The hubs look like doable modification. Not sure what that front hub started life as..... HI-e ? Bullseye?

Better start looking fort that stem though.....

"fabbing up" one of those won't be too cost effective


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## alohachiimoku (Apr 7, 2006)

Hubs are pretty identical with Bullseye, and simple.


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## crconsulting (Apr 11, 2004)

alohachiimoku said:


> Hubs are pretty identical with Bullseye, and simple.


Pretty close, flanges are slightly different.

Nice pic!


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## pete_mcc (Aug 19, 2006)

Wow, thanks for those pics! So this is what I'm hunting for. I think the hunt for 'weapons of mass destruction' may have been an easier one than this! I have managed to find a 140mm Cooks bottom bracket to fit the 90mm shell so that's one impossible item found, so who knows......


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## 95bonty (Oct 6, 2004)

*could it be...*

not sure if you got the frame in the UK or US? the attached is a shot from the malverns race in the uk...could be yours? could also help out with ideas for the build.


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## alohachiimoku (Apr 7, 2006)

95bonty said:


> not sure if you got the frame in the UK or US? the attached is a shot from the malverns race in the uk...could be yours? could also help out with ideas for the build.


Its different, this one is early model. Nice!


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## Cycleshark (Jan 21, 2004)

yuppers...that's the real thing. beautiful frame!  :thumbsup: 

have you dudes noticed? 
the rear susp. crown seems mounted/build the wrong way.
normal is sonny side up and the bolts facing front.

uncle pete


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## alohachiimoku (Apr 7, 2006)

Cycleshark said:


> have you dudes noticed?
> the rear susp. crown seems mounted/build the wrong way.
> normal is sonny side up and the bolts facing front.


Yeah,,,,,, Its works somehow.

Have you seen the uncracked head tube FS before??


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## Cycleshark (Jan 21, 2004)

alohachiimoku said:


> Yeah,,,,,, Its works somehow.
> 
> Have you seen the uncracked head tube FS before??


...ooh that's an easy one....I just have to turn my head 136 deg. to the left :ciappa:

ministre sharkozy


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## pinguwin (Aug 20, 2004)

What is it with the cracked headtubes on Manitou anyways. I understand if the original design was faulty as Bradbury didn't make that many himself, but shouldn't Answer have fixed it as even Answer Manitous are known for cracks. Were these cracks only showing up many years later or what? Was it the type of metal, too thin, etc? Most other manufacturers seemed to avoid this reputation, why couldn't Manitous?


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## mtroy (Jun 10, 2005)

alohachiimoku said:


> Here is some shot of Bradbury stem for FS, 115mm F hub, and XTR M900 modified 145mm R hub. he also made 100mm spacing front hub as well.


Did Answer use that same CNC stem? I have one from the old days, but I thought it came from them? It may say Manitou on it...can't remember.

I had the 2nd gen Manitou FS (single, elastomer shock) until I crashed it and bent the TT/DT behind the HT. Sweet bike. I think I still have the odd shock with the giant blue cushion.

I would love to have a Manitou (or Answer) HT from that era. Those were just beautiful.

I wish I had kept the frame even though it was bent, just to hang it up and look at it.


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## crconsulting (Apr 11, 2004)

pete_mcc said:


> Wow, thanks for those pics! So this is what I'm hunting for. I think the hunt for 'weapons of mass destruction' may have been an easier one than this! I have managed to find a 140mm Cooks bottom bracket to fit the 90mm shell so that's one impossible item found, so who knows......


alohachiimoku bullseye front hub call is a good one. Here's the guy bushpig was talking about. That front hub is a dead ringer.......

just a "tad" expensive

http://cgi.ebay.com/BULLSEYE-HUBS-C...ameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohosting


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

pinguwin said:


> What is it with the cracked headtubes on Manitou anyways. I understand if the original design was faulty as Bradbury didn't make that many himself, but shouldn't Answer have fixed it as even Answer Manitous are known for cracks. Were these cracks only showing up many years later or what? Was it the type of metal, too thin, etc? Most other manufacturers seemed to avoid this reputation, why couldn't Manitous?


Ive only seen the Answer versions cracked.


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## alohachiimoku (Apr 7, 2006)

Fillet-brazed said:


> Ive only seen the Answer versions cracked.


Seems like many Manitou had cracked when Bradbury switch the material to EASTON PROGRAM 7005.　I saw lots of cracked head tube even with Bradbury MANITOUs.

Like Pinguwin said, material is too thin, also too hard.(I think,,,,)


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Cycleshark said:


> ...ooh that's an easy one....I just have to turn my head 136 deg. to the left :ciappa:
> 
> ministre sharkozy


Thats because you have 20 of them.


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

Rumpfy said:


> Thats because you have 20 of them.


yeah, I was thinking 136 degrees was a long way to turn to find one. There must have been a dozen or so 'Hams in the way.


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## scant (Jan 5, 2004)

95bonty said:


> not sure if you got the frame in the UK or US? the attached is a shot from the malverns race in the uk...could be yours? could also help out with ideas for the build.


i've got a photo of that same bike taken from a slightly different angle, note the ti chainrings 
there were also 4 custom spray mountain goat WTR framesets in the corner


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## floibex (Feb 7, 2004)

Fillet-brazed said:


> yeah, I was thinking 136 degrees was a long way to turn to find one. There must have been a dozen or so 'Hams in the way.


... 2 hams, 2 potts, some cloned hams (called SMALL oder in swissgerman KLEIN) 1 ibis mountain trails and sum ritcheys. nothing spectacular 

ciao
flo


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## pete_mcc (Aug 19, 2006)

Previous owner of this frame emailed me to say that he had found something in his friends shed that may be of interest as he thought it was part of the original bike. A small amount of money later this arrived:










another hard piece off the list!


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## Fillet-brazed (Jan 13, 2004)

pete_mcc said:


> Previous owner of this frame emailed me to say that he had found something in his friends shed that may be of interest as he thought it was part of the original bike. A small amount of money later this arrived:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Wow. Thats a huge find! Ask Laffeaux.


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

pete_mcc said:


> Previous owner of this frame emailed me to say that he had found something in his friends shed that may be of interest as he thought it was part of the original bike. A small amount of money later this arrived:
> 
> another hard piece off the list!


Excellent pick up!!

I have a set of Bradbury hubs, but mine are modified Bullseyes. Those look pretty cool with the extra machining.


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## pete_mcc (Aug 19, 2006)

It's a real interesting one: it's basically a shimano hub with shimano guts, axle, cones, freehub and seals but with a custom machined shell, should make finding spares easy!


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## laffeaux (Jan 4, 2004)

pete_mcc said:


> It's a real interesting one: it's basically a shimano hub with shimano guts, axle, cones, freehub and seals but with a custom machined shell, should make finding spares easy!


It's also cool that it uses a cassette. The Bullseye-style are freewheel only.


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