neo_pop_71

F I N A L L Y ! ! !

This build took longer than any conversion I've ever taken on... I built 3 other conversion for friends and family while I was building this bike! The bike is a 1987 Panasonic Mountain Cat 7500, the top-of-the-line model made from lugged Tange Prestige with full Shimano Deore XT components. In redoing this bike I opted to go with the gloss black finish of the 1988 MC7500 as opposed to the "7 UP" colors of the 1987 model. The bike will see many miles on the pavement as a commuter but will get in the dirt on a regular basis. As far as the build went, nothing fell into place easily, there were snags with the powdercoater and sourcing my own decals proved to be an even bigger challenge. The bulk of the trouble was collecting XT components in "pretty" enough condition to have on a newly refinished glossy frame. The stock paint and components were ruined, nothing could be salvaged after being left outdoors for over a year by a family member who borrowed the bike. The bike was in great shape when I dropped it off, 18 months later when I collected the bike it was almost unrecognizable (I'll include a catalog page and photo for reference). All that is behind me now, I think the build came out great, but most of all the bike is a dream to ride!!!

Here are the specifics of the build:

1986
Shimano XT "Deerhead" BR-MC-70 front brake caliper with (Rick) Hunter Cycles "NUG" straddle cable adjuster
1988
Shimano XT BR-M731 rear u-brake with "Shark Tooth" protector
Shimano XT PD-M730 pedals
Shimano XT DF-M730 "Shark Fin" chainstay protector
1992
Shimano XT FD-M735 front derailleur
Shimano XT RD-M735 rear derailleur
Shiamno XT FC-M730 cranks
Shimano XT ST-M095 Rapid Fire Plus shifters mounted on DKG Shift-Ease adapters
Shimano XT HB-M732 front hub
Shimano XT RH-M732 rear hub
Shimano "AJ-AM" 11-28T 7 speed cassette
Misc.
Brooks B-66 saddle
Thomson seatpost
On-One Midge handlebar
Modolo Race brake levers
SRAM chain
Torelli bar tape
Tioga CNC stem
Tioga headset
CST Metropolitan 2.1 tires
Race Face bottom bracket
Ciussi Elite water bottle cages
Peace sign cable hanger
SOMA High Rider quill stem adapter

frantik

sweet.. though i think a traditional quill stem would look better. more close ups of the powder coat!

cyclotoine

very nice Neo Pop. but from the photos it appear you have a deore I rear derailleur RD-M730/2 (c. 1986/87ish?) and a FD-M737 (1994-1996ish)... not that is matters in anyway... looks like a super fun build.

neo_pop_71

Thanks man, I appreciate the input and I totally agree with you. My plan was to go with a Nitto Dirt Drop stem like I ran on my '88 Cimarron LE. However, after spending $50.00 having the decals made, the set up was limited to parts on hand until I can get my hands on a Dirt Drop stem.

Here are a few photos of the frame and fork on the day I brought it home from the powdercoater... excuse the dust.



Thanks for the kind words! It's certainly possible, I could have misread the part numbers in my haste. Like I stated in the original posting, no part of this build went smoothly... so, it would be right in line for the numbers to be screwed up! Thanks again, the bike is a blast to ride!

cooperryder

Another real beauty. You guys have been knocking these recently completed mtb builds out of the park.
That it rides so wonderfully is icing on the cake.
I really like the lugs and the fork crown.
Congrats on such a fine build.

WNG

@neo_pop_71
Oh boy! That turned out great, and worth the extra time! Nice save, it was painful to view the pics of the state it was in when you got it back. As they say, you can't choose your family.
(I hate that, it's just a bike mentality.)

I especially like the Peace sign hanger and the Hunter Cycles "NUG" straddle cable adjuster. Those are so useful! I must see if I can dig up some for my builds.
Enjoying the details of this one, the shifter solution, bars, gloss black w/yellow accents. Another wonderful build in this fun thread.

Too bad we're all scattered across the country....imagine if we all gathered for a C&V Forums drop bar mtb ride?

neo_pop_71

Thanks cooperryder and WNG, I very much appreciate the kind words! I'm excited about the build, it had been a few years since I rode the bike, I'd forgotten what a comfortable but nimble ride it had. I'd say the ride quality is at least as good as my B'stone MB-1 with slightly more forgiving geometry. Rick Hunter is a true artist and his NUGZ are brilliant but will only work with PAUL canti brakes (as they were designed for the PAUL CX team) or similar like the "Deerhead" XT like I ran. The caliper has to have a fully cut away section front and back on the release side for the NUGZ to fit properly, most Shimano cantis have an open front but a closed back.

A massive C&V drop bar ride would be awesome!!! However, svelte riders like you would have to make allowances for all "Clydes" like me!

wrk101

If I ever repaint my green Cimarron, this is the color! It looks fantastic. The paint on my Cimarron looks good from 20 feet, OK from 10 feet, and dreadful from 5 feet. Since it is a long term keeper, I might just break the no repaint rule.

I'm not too far from the GA mtns, can I ask who did the powder?

wrk101

Lots of recent inspiration posted above. You guys are great! I am sure glad I started this thread. My inspiration came from a bike Chris in Miami posted. So I guess he gets the "blame/credit!!" I need to find the picture of his bike.

Drakonchik

Garage sale plunder wagon:

due ruote 

+1 One of my favorite threads. Lots of good invention and practical thinking. Almost 3k posts can't be wrong!

arex

Agreed. This is some neat stuff.

puckett129

I bought this new in college (late 90's). The bars and shifters were changed before it left the shop with some travel agents added. Probably the gearing too, now that I look at it, although I don't remember that discussion. I used to ride it from my apartment in Astoria, Queens (where it is pictured hanging) to work on 23rd St in the city.

Sadly this bike was stolen in 2002 during a burglary of my apartment . I just found this picture on an old CD. Hard to believe it's been 12 years.

wrk101

Found it! Chris in Miami's chrome Ross drop bar:

Paramount1973 

Love those fenders, and the brakes.

WNG

@wrk101
Bill,
That's his smoked chrome High Sierra! With a set of CST 2.4" smoothies. It caught my attention too, and I was sucked in.

But what a great platform for creative utility! Every biking enthusiast who enjoys turning a wrench, deserves to treat themselves to at least one.

WNG

Wow! Fabulous custom!

Drakonchik

The Versa shifters for the Alfine hub crapped out after 18 months and less than a thousand miles, so I had to radically re-configure the cockpit some time after those photos were taken. (The new handlebar ensemble now uses a Nitto riser bar, thumb-activated SRAM Dual-Pivot brake levers, JTEK bar-end shifter for Alfine-8, Tran-X bar-ends married to ERGO bar-ends. One day I'll post the Plunder Wagon Mark II in the Adaptive Cycling forum.)

due ruote 

Follow up in case anyone is interested - I decided to give this a try and yes I did ultimately prevail, but I can't say it's the recommended course. I had to open the clamp a bit.

kehomer

Marc, with Creative Candy did the work. He's in Dawsonville, GA 678-462-7223. 01racing03@AOL.com. Marc is an old time sports car and cycle racer. By the way, any praise from you is high praise indeed. Thanks.

kehomer

"Neo-Pop-71" ​ Great job!

estobaughn

Hey there. This is my first post so hello.

Been riding awhile never put any money in a bike besides buying the last two off of craigslist. Had a old trek 930 that i used for ten years. Sold it to my friend and then i picked up this. Just have been tinkering around with the idea of a hybrid but leaning more on the road side. So this is a 99 Cannondale f400 i picked up from craigslist, came pretty much as is plus some pannier bags. I've been trying to keep this in the very budget category so I've been waiting on ebay listing for good prices. I put some FSA dropbars, sti 2300 shifters and FD. Still trying to find a triple crankset to swap it out (still trying to figure out what will fit), and maybe change out the tires for something a little thicker, but then I am pretty much done. Probably gonna strip it down and paint it once I have everything working smoothly.

bconneraz

Because the end of the road doesn't have to mean the end of your ride on a drop bar conversion.......Happy National Bike Week everyone!

fiatjeepdriver

I recently got this ritchey outback and I'm planning on building up with a drop bar.



One thing I'm torn on is the paint. It is in rough shape but since it's original I'm not sure if I should repaint it.

simmonsgc

Hey, we should be "build-buddies." I just got this 83 Bridgestone MB-2 Comp. Gonna do the same thing. Mine's in fer a blastin' and a sprayin' tho. Paint is SHOT.