# WTD: AMP Research B3 frame decals pictures



## ti_pin_man (Apr 27, 2004)

Does anybody have a picture (gif) which includes the decals on an AMP B3 frameset that they could send me? 

It says: AMP Laguna Beach, Ca

Am needing a decent image so I can get some made up for my restoration project.

Ta
Joe


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## VT Mike (Jan 12, 2004)

ti_pin_man said:


> Does anybody have a picture (gif) which includes the decals on an AMP B3 frameset that they could send me?
> 
> It says: AMP Laguna Beach, Ca
> 
> ...


some shots of a B5 here, maybe helpful.
http://forums13.consumerreview.com/[email protected]@.efa3a31/0


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## Bigwheel (Jan 12, 2004)

Have you tried AMP directly? They may even have some of the original transfers kicking around. [email protected] is the man that will know.


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

ti_pin_man said:


> Does anybody have a picture (gif) which includes the decals on an AMP B3 frameset that they could send me?
> 
> It says: AMP Laguna Beach, Ca
> 
> ...


You might also try asking Jeff at First Flight Bikes...
I lifted this picture from his site. Is this the one you're looking for?


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## erkan (Jan 18, 2004)

A bit ofb I fear, sorry for crapping this thread, but anyways,. MBA used to hype AMP bikes back in the day (they still mention the horst link in almost every issue). You couldnt flip the pages of an MBA between 92-97 without massive hype and ravings of how great the AMP bikes where. Readers of MBA around the time of the B3/B4 and B5 will know what I mean. In almost every issue, horst link and AMP was the king, AMP frames where the lightest, best working and best technology.. (although I think they did have some negative opinion on the rear shock, but nothing to negative), and their disc brakes where suposed to be the best brakes around.

Anyway, Rock Shox buy license for the disc brakes and claims the design is wrong, the brake heats up and stops working, they even claim they would have been better off designing a new disc brake from scratch instead of license the AMP one and then having to redesign it because it was faulty from the beginning.

..and the reviews of the B5 (or was it the B4) in Mountain Bike, where the reviewer compared the carbon AMP fork to a Rock Shox Quadra 5. They didnt have much good to say about the frame, shock, the forks or the brakes in there review. Which was kinda shocking after years of AMP hype and a rave review of the B5 bike in MBA . 

So who should I believe, MBA or Mountain Bike ?

---

I think its interesting to note that when MBA tested their first AMP bike -the Mongoose Amplifier-they complained about the rear shock. That was in 92 or early 93 I think. They didnt seem to improve the rear shock at all since the same complaints reapeard in later AMP reviews in MBA. I wonder what would have happened if AMP decided to use a Noleen or other quality shock instead of their own.


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## A:42 (Jan 6, 2004)

*#@$%ing Pivots*

Just the one word sums up the biggest AMP failure "Pivots". But no arguing, they were without a doubt awesomely light.
When the very first Mongoose AMP got rolled into the Chi Chi Upper Manhattan bike shop I worked in by the proud rep, I saw those pivots and knew there was trouble ahead.

Risse I believe made a shock for AMP's which helped out massively. But there were still millions of those dainty un protected Oillite pivots held together with SnapRings.

Of all the under engineered crap thrust upon an eager, ignorant, trusting of anything proudly proclaiming "Billet" or "CNC" or preferably both, Weight Weenie 90's biking market, this one was a doozie, and MBA certainly did shove it down our throats hard.

By the way, any body wanna buy a front triangle (large) for a Mongoose B3, Or a complete B4 (never ridden after a rebuild by AMP) w/long travel fork? 
None are mine, but all are known to be gathering dust in a friend's basement


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## ti_pin_man (Apr 27, 2004)

*Cheers guys*

Thanks I think I have enough pictures now, I found a few using the google image search engine as well. The bike is now a bike and no longer just a frame so now all I need is a local ride to shake it out and see what fails - many of the parts are really retro and I need to see what does or doesn't work together... ahhh. If anybody wants I'll post some pictures up???

Cheers
Joe


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

erkan said:


> Anyway, Rock Shox buy license for the disc brakes and claims the design is wrong, the brake heats up and stops working, they even claim they would have been better off designing a new disc brake from scratch instead of license the AMP one and then having to redesign it because it was faulty from the beginning.


Actually the design was fine, Rockshox were simply morons. They bought an XC disc design and then sold units to GT who promptly wanted to put them on freeride and DH models (including the lobo), for which Rockshox offered a 7" diameter rotor to fit the Boxxer. It was never designed by Horst to be a DH disc brake or for sustained high heat generation when rockshox went and switched pad compounds (to something that didn't conduct the heat into the rotor, but into the oil instead). Used as XC discs the brakes work great.

Oh it also helps to have a brain (something rockshox staff lacked in abundance) and not use a disc caliper that had been designed EXPRESSLY for high-leverage/short cable-pull brake levers (like Canti brake levers) with low-leverage/high cable-pull brake levers (V-brake levers) instead. Your brake power tends to suffer as a result when you attempt such a bit of stupidity.



> ..and the reviews of the B5 (or was it the B4) in Mountain Bike, where the reviewer compared the carbon AMP fork to a Rock Shox Quadra 5. They didnt have much good to say about the frame, shock, the forks or the brakes in there review. Which was kinda shocking after years of AMP hype and a rave review of the B5 bike in MBA .


Common for mags to do that when the advertising dollars stop rolling in for a particular product. Mountain bike always had a much smaller readership than MBA and there's quite a few reasons for that, among them, their shoddy review habits.



> I think its interesting to note that when MBA tested their first AMP bike -the Mongoose Amplifier-they complained about the rear shock. That was in 92 or early 93 I think. They didnt seem to improve the rear shock at all since the same complaints reapeard in later AMP reviews in MBA. I wonder what would have happened if AMP decided to use a Noleen or other quality shock instead of their own.


Actually there were shock improvements but MBA staffers can't be bothered to read the freaking manual that comes with the bike half the time, otherwise they'd know what the improvements were. Late model amp-shocks got an adjustable low-speed compression damping preload circuit. That's right, adjustable SPV type damping in 1997, on horst-link equipped bikes !


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## DeeEight (Jan 13, 2004)

ti_pin_man said:


> Thanks I think I have enough pictures now, I found a few using the google image search engine as well. The bike is now a bike and no longer just a frame so now all I need is a local ride to shake it out and see what fails - many of the parts are really retro and I need to see what does or doesn't work together... ahhh. If anybody wants I'll post some pictures up???
> 
> Cheers
> Joe


amp research still provides support for the discs, forks and frames (shocks, bushing kits, pins, etc).


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## ti_pin_man (Apr 27, 2004)

*amp shock plea*

nobody happens to have a used but ok noleen shock hangin around do they?


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## erkan (Jan 18, 2004)

DeeEight said:


> Common for mags to do that when the advertising dollars stop rolling in for a particular product. Mountain bike always had a much smaller readership than MBA and there's quite a few reasons for that, among them, their shoddy review habits.


I remember there where lots of AMP ads in MB that year.

So in reality the test in MB shouldn' be taken for real?


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