# 1992 Bianchi Super Grizzly - Thoughts on forks wanted



## datmony (Jul 12, 2012)

I just bought this frame and fork from a guy and am waiting for it to be shipped. Frame looks to be in amazing condition and the fork is said to be in good working order as well but I will judge that when I get it.

That said, what options are there for a more modern fork on here but that would keep the geometry the same as stock? Also does anyone know if there were any of this year of the Grizzly that came with a rigid fork and if yes, what fork was it? I think in '92 they were all running shocks on them but I am not 100% certain of that.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts/advice. Can't wait to get this thing built up. I did also pick up the Continental Leader Pro from it and the XTR front derailleur.


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## crossracer (Jun 27, 2004)

That's going to be a sweet ride. Now your fork question. Those mag 21's are tough, but the travel was something like 1 3/4 inch travel. I might be wrong but it wasn't a ton. There are people on here who rebuild those shocks and swear by them. 
Inch diameter forks are hard to find , maybe something like an old Judy with Englund air cartridges if you are trying to stay kinda period. 
But the short travel of the fork will definelty be a problem. 
Good luck, can't wait to see the finished product 
Bill


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## Fred Smedley (Feb 28, 2006)

Z2 65mm with 45mm rake.


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## zygote2k (Jun 5, 2011)

How about a Proflex fork?


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## chefmiguel (Dec 22, 2007)

Ritchey rigid.


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## Shayne (Jan 14, 2004)

Matching Bianchi rigid


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## girlonbike (Apr 24, 2008)

I'm with Shayne.


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## datmony (Jul 12, 2012)

Thank you to everyone for the replies. If I thought I could find a Bianchi Rigid quickly I would definitely go that route and if someone has one please let me know.

That said, I don't think any of the grizzly frames from this year were sold still rigid. Would Bianchi have suspension corrected the geometry already for that or should this still be the same geometry of the earlier Grizzlies that had a rigid fork on them? 

Thank you to Fred as well as that is a route I was thinking too. I am kicking myself as I had my original Atom Bomb Z2 with the 1" steerer up until a couple years ago. Did some house cleaning thinking I would not use it again and now am kicking myself.

What about some of the SID/Judy conversions I have seen posted about from time to time? Is there a way to get one of those to the right amount of travel to keep the geometry intact?

I have a Ritchey Logic rigid already that I might play around with on it but would love if someone has a line on a rigid Bianchi and could point me in that direction and if this frame would not have been suspension corrected already, I am thinking the travel on the forks of the time was small enough that the geometry was still the same as the earlier ones but can't find any documentation to confirm that.

Thanks everyone, you all rule!!


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## Vespasianus (Apr 9, 2008)

My wife has, and still rides, a 1994 Grizzly RC. Fantastic and sweet riding bike. Her bike has a newer hydracoil Judy (1999) that was available with a 1 inch steerer. The fork works well but at 80mm, is not the right fork for that bike. I have been looking for a Z2, which would be perfect for that bike. Heavy as all get out, but darn near unbreakable and best of all, Italian. Sorry to hear you let one slip through your fingers! 

The 1992 frames could be had with both a rigid fork and with a Mag 20. They were not suspension corrected. I have kept an eye out for one of the original bianchi 1 inch steel forks but don't really see them on ebay.


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## Silver King (Mar 5, 2013)

Shayne said:


> Matching Bianchi rigid


The matching Bianchi rigid was a Ritchey Prologic, no?


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## datmony (Jul 12, 2012)

I would love some thoughts there as I already have that and would gladly have one painted to match. 

Thanks for everyone's thoughts here, I don't see much posted on here about the Bianchis so I am glad to see folks excited about this one. Been looking for that same frame for years. I had the same years Project 7 but ended up getting rid of it.


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## Jak0zilla (May 16, 2010)

My memory of original spec is Ritchey Pro Logic as Silver King suggests.

You might consider looking for a nice quality chrome unicrown. It would match the Bianchi esthetic, and save you the headache of matching the particular shade if celeste (and factoring in sun fading.) With all the silver ano parts I'd think that would look really sweet.


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## muddybuddy (Jan 31, 2007)

Looks like the Mag 21 was original spec in 1992:

http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/the-bianchi/1992.htm


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## Rumpfy (Dec 21, 2003)

Have the Mag21 rebuilt and stay with that. Or matching Bianchi rigid. Proflex fork only if you want to make the bike ugly and work shitty.

Too bad all the M900 is gone.


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## datmony (Jul 12, 2012)

The guy actually still has all the m900 stuff and it is in excellent condition. He just thought that everything was worth a lot more than it really was. I am not as nostalgic as a lot of the folks here so I more go with the things that I have found over the years work the best and last the longest for me so it wasn't super critical to me that I have one like Bianchi built it. I did grab the front derailleur from him though as they are far and away my favorite and I have one on every bike I own except for one that has a XC pro on it. They just work so darn well with thumbies and they last forever. Still running the original one that I had even got used back in '93. Well over 10k miles on it and still tight as the first day.

I am definitely going to ride the Mag to check it out (comically I even am getting the original pump with it) but likely will have the Ritchey Logic painted to match the frame or start with it just in black for now. I already have the Logic Fork so no expense there. 

Thanks for those scans Muddy Buddy, I wish they were bigger pictures so I could mine through a little and check geometries on the other frames and what forks were sourced on them. 

What is strange about this find too is I think the thing that I am most excited about is the leader pro I also bought from him. That was my favorite front tire back in the day and I can't wait to put it on my MB-1 and take that out for a spin like the "days of yore" or whatever.


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## Fred Smedley (Feb 28, 2006)

My Bridgestone Ritchey Logic forks are 40mm rake. Did they come in other rakes?. This Grizzley definitely has a 45mm rake. 







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## datmony (Jul 12, 2012)

Would love thoughts from folks there. What will crack my up to no end is that if that is the case I just sold that same Tange fork shown in the picture. Sometimes you just gotta chuckle about the things that you think you won't use again and then find that it was exactly what you needed. 

Thanks as always Fred, you are the best!!


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## datmony (Jul 12, 2012)

Thanks to everyone for all of the thoughts they gave. So I decided to have some fun and do a ton of testing of various setups. Here are the planned trials. This will in no way be scientific and will simply be me having some fun doing various build ups on this frame. 

Forks Options 

1. - Ritchey Logic - talked with a fellow VRCer and we are swapping Logic forks. Amazingly from the pictures, the one that is on it s way to me looks to be from a Bianchi and in Celeste. Talk about a needle in a haystack, god love VRC. Will post some pictures once I get it.
2. - Original Mag 21 - Found this to be a very nice Mag and in great condition. I will post some close up pics of it once I have a little time as I would like some insight from folks on it. This one has a machined crown on it and would love some insight if it was the one that was recalled many moons ago. Will test ride it though as it still is holding pressure fine and seems very smooth in operation.
3. - Marzocchi Z2 - Found one with a 1" steerer that is on its way to me. Should be fun to ride with and it is black so it should look decent on the bike. Curious to feel the difference between the Mag and this.
4. - Marzocchi Superfly - Same era as the Z2 and I will be using the 1" crown from the z2 on this fork to try it out. I always had wanted one of these forks back in the day but could not afford it way back when so this is going to be fun to play with.
5. - Older SID - I still need to find a 1" Judy crown for this one so if anyone has one around I would love to know about it. Hope is to find both a 1" and 1 1/8" Judy crown to have around and then be able to use this fork quick on a few different builds just to play around. The blue should look pretty good with the Celeste too.

Will be sure to post some pictures of it in various incarnations. None will be period correct nor fully retro builds other than maybe the rigid setup there but still not 100% certain if that will even be. Hope everyone had great weekends and if you know of any Judy crowns around let me know via PM. Thanks.


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