Latest plan for my Wicked

Jeeves

New member
Hi all,


I've been flip-flopping about what to do with my '87 Wicked for a while now. The drivetrain was pretty much shot (I bought it new, and rode all through college and grad school on it).

It's mostly original, although I bent the fork, put some abysmal (in today's standards) gen 1 Manitous on there, and then went back to a Fat fork - a black BOI. That fork was also bought new from the LBS (those were the days). Only other switched up components were the seatpost (broke the Kalloy's bolt, so I bought a 2-bolt IRD), a new headset, and a new rear rim. The handlebar was cracked by using wonderfully kooky Syncros Steerhorns with expander bolt mounts - but thanks to Ebay, I found a replacement.

I had been assembling a collection of NOS parts in the hopes of doing a full resto - but now that I think about it, it doesn't make sense to do that, since the original wicked fork is missing. I decided, therefore, to make this a fast city bike - slicks, single speed, and STEALTH. This means no repaint. The custom blue/silver fade is in relatively good condition, although the BOI is stock black. Stickers have cracked and gone - the only one intact is the True Temper sticker.

My thought is to do a combo old/new part set to keep the thing under the radar. That means keep the fraying Flite saddle, keep the vintage bars and stem. I have two Mavic Oxygen M6 rims in barely ridden condition, I'll lace those up to a White Industries ENO hubset and I'll be 90% of the way there. I'm thinking narrow-ish slicks, SS freewheel, with a gear ratio suitable for road.

My two questions for the group:
1) has anyone ever installed a White Industries SS crankset on a sealed FC BB? Any issues that I need to be aware of?
2) Any reasons (other than bling) to swap out the Shimano XT Cantis for Paul's levers and retro-cantis?

Any thoughts or suggestions? How do you feel about a mashup like this? I think it'll end up being a great collection of both classic and new/classic parts that'll come together nicely. I hate to watch the old girl just sit there.

Thanks for reading. . .
 

colker

Well-known member
shimano slr levers are way better on cantis than anything else. heavier? yes but action is superior.
I tried narrow slicks on my wicked and hated what it did to the handling. I would go w/ fat slicks. 2.0 like.
why not keep the cranks and just install a single speed ring?
get a big mean lock to keep that bike safe. love wickeds w/ yo forks. wicked forks are easy to find btw. they are no different than a tange fork sold online..
 

Jeeves

New member
Thanks for the info, Colker! I'm afraid your answers have raised a few questions:

Good suggestion on the tires. I guess I have only ridden slicks in wider range myself. I was hoping that they would be faster and lighter if I went with something closer to 1.5, but if they mess with the handling may not be worth it - a Wicked is all about the ride quality.

I'd love to keep the cranks and just install a SS ring! Do you use the outer ring mount or the middle one? I guess I could run a rock ring of some sort on the outer if it's the middle one that gets the SS ring.

The other question about using the old cranks is the chain line. I have NO experience with this. Since the ENO hub is a thread on freewheel (no cassette) I have no spacers for it. Is there some adjustability with the axle? My thought was that if I bought a complete White ind. drivetrain that this would give me the best chance for compatibility. . . .

Yes, I like the look and the ride of the YO fork. Not tempted to go back to a unicrown, but it is what made me think that this wasn't worth doing the full restoration. Now that I've decided about going this route, I'm quite happy with the decision - I think the result will be a lot cooler than a stock resto.

Thanks again!
-Raj
 

colker

Well-known member
A fat slick will be more fun and won't slow you down. Schwalbe has the big apple i believe is the name.
Regarding the cranks.. i see the problem lies w/ the Bb spindle. I don't know if the spingle you have there will give you a good chainline w/ the WI cranks.. I haven't done a conversion to SS yet but i believe the simple way is to keep your cranks and adjust chainline by how you place the ring: inside, outside, spacers.
I agree that a creative mod is cooler than another wicked resto. Imho, mountain bikes are about personalized builds, faithfull only to the owner's imagination. :)
 
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dolefee

New member
I have Schwalbe City Jets in a 26x1.95 size, a little on the heavy side(580g, wirebead only), but comfy and fast rolling once you get going. CRC has them priced pretty low plus $9.99 flat rate shipping to U.S. Have fun with the rebuild!
 
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