A while ago I decided I really want to get into trials biking.
For those who don't know, heres a typical trials/jump bike:
They're typified by their very low top tube for excellent standover height, as well as a few other differences from a normal MTB.
But there was a problem, trials bikes don't come cheap, even second hand, and I didn't fancy yogging a load of cash on something I might lose interest in after a few months.
No, what I needed was a ghetto approach!
I remembered an old 1996 Raleigh Max Lite that i'd baught new about 10 years ago. It was a good bike but too short for me really and I never got on with it, so it had been stashed in the garage and forgotten about. Here is a pic of the bike in question (only pic I can find of one, ever!):
Mine was identical, but in silver.
So, with the bike dragged out into the daylight and a head full of ideas, I got busy. I hacksawed the top half of the ally frame off, slotted the front mech mounting tube to accept a seat post, whacked it over in matt black and converted it to single speed. Then I hit Ebay for the parts I needed, and got the widest tyre I could fit between the chainstays (a Michelin Wildgripper Kevlar 2.50 for £10),
I got a rigid fork (£10), a Funn trials stem (£6) an X-Lite Assasin wide handlebar (£10), an old set of cranks with a goldtec chainring (£3) and I was good to go! Heres the result of my tinkering:
It stands me at about £20 after I sold the origional forks off it
Its actually really good, excellent for chucking around and jumping off stuff! Very stable and stiff, not super light but not overly heavy either. It didn't have a seat in the pics but it does now, and i'm upgrading the disk brake to hydraulic, it's a work in progress
For those who don't know, heres a typical trials/jump bike:
They're typified by their very low top tube for excellent standover height, as well as a few other differences from a normal MTB.
But there was a problem, trials bikes don't come cheap, even second hand, and I didn't fancy yogging a load of cash on something I might lose interest in after a few months.
No, what I needed was a ghetto approach!
I remembered an old 1996 Raleigh Max Lite that i'd baught new about 10 years ago. It was a good bike but too short for me really and I never got on with it, so it had been stashed in the garage and forgotten about. Here is a pic of the bike in question (only pic I can find of one, ever!):
Mine was identical, but in silver.
So, with the bike dragged out into the daylight and a head full of ideas, I got busy. I hacksawed the top half of the ally frame off, slotted the front mech mounting tube to accept a seat post, whacked it over in matt black and converted it to single speed. Then I hit Ebay for the parts I needed, and got the widest tyre I could fit between the chainstays (a Michelin Wildgripper Kevlar 2.50 for £10),
I got a rigid fork (£10), a Funn trials stem (£6) an X-Lite Assasin wide handlebar (£10), an old set of cranks with a goldtec chainring (£3) and I was good to go! Heres the result of my tinkering:
It stands me at about £20 after I sold the origional forks off it
Its actually really good, excellent for chucking around and jumping off stuff! Very stable and stiff, not super light but not overly heavy either. It didn't have a seat in the pics but it does now, and i'm upgrading the disk brake to hydraulic, it's a work in progress
nice lateral thinking, makes a lot of sense, now i see the original design. 
