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Technical & Reference Section => Tech and Restoration => Topic started by: renegaderacer on January 31, 2018, 11:06 PM
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Hot on the heels of my POS racer build, I'm now doing a build for a friend of mine and it has to be the worst named bmx ever! :LolLolLolLol:
After seeing my last build my mate got the bug and asked me if the guy I bought the Hawk Scorcher XL off had any more bikes for sale. Well, all he had was this lovely Gary Fisher Pure Bender Kick and we won it for the princely sum of £25! To be honest, it's not a bad bike for the money and it's the kind of build I like, ie. one most people wouldn't choose to build!
A bit of research shows that the Pure Bender range had three models, the Spin, Flip and Kick with this, the Kick, being the top of the range one. In fact, this was the top of the range Gary Fisher until the Air Bob came out a year later. Now, early Pure Benders were well made copies of Basic Bikes Small Town Hicks and Big City Bastards which were in turn re-badged Gardner made Standard Shorties and Lengthies (the first batch of Basic Bikes, anyway). The later Pure Benders like the one we picked up, I believe a '98, appear to be copies of the Air Bob with the only difference being the frame is part chromoly whilst the Air Bob is full cro-mo.
This build is being done on a tight budget so a lot of parts will just be cleaned up and re-used but as it comes with Dia Compe AD and FS 990's, Gryo 2 etc it already has pretty decent parts to start with.
I forgot to take any pictures of it before I started stripping it apart so here are the pics from eBay....
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If it was my bike I would strip the paint and get something a bit nicer or even clearcoat a raw frame (saw it on the Museum and it looked sick!) but due to budget constraints it's just going to cleaned up and left survivor. The strip down went amazingly well showing everything was well greased when it was first made. The only thing which was a pain the the butt was the pedals but once I'd found my special tool (six foot length of pipe to go over the pedal spanner) it was a piece of cake.
The idea is going to be a nice set of shiney three piece cranks, better saddle, maybe a chunky set of mid school wheels or just re-furbish the originals, new pegs and a set of tan wall tyres. A lot of the parts I've already got so it won't be long and I'll be able to start building it up and hopefully making something better than what we started with. Unfortunately, it'll still be called a Pure Bender!
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The knee-saver style bars are a really nice size and shape so they're staying. They were a bit rusty but cleaned up well....
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Hell yea Giles...gars came up a treat :daumenhoch:
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Hell yea Giles...gars came up a treat :daumenhoch:
Cheers! :daumenhoch:
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Jesus! they dont even look like the same bars? :shocked: great job on those :daumenhoch: what you do to them?
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Jesus! they dont even look like the same bars? :shocked: great job on those :daumenhoch: what you do to them?
Thanks.
Afraid I used the much frowned upon method of coke and foil, followed by the also frowned upon Auto-Sol, then finished off with Peek.
I wouldn't use such harsh methods on lightly affected chrome but the rust under the cross bar was quite heavy and needed a bit more abuse. ;)
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Jesus! they dont even look like the same bars? :shocked: great job on those :daumenhoch: what you do to them?
Thanks.
Afraid I used the much frowned upon method of coke and foil, followed by the also frowned upon Auto-Sol, then finished off with Peek.
I wouldn't use such harsh methods on lightly affected chrome but the rust under the cross bar was quite heavy and needed a bit more abuse. ;)
fooking coke and foil - we should have laid down some conditions before you were allowed to come back on here posting :teef:
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The parts collection is coming along nicely. Just the chainring to arrive and I'd still really like a new set of wheels as I feel they're the weak part at the moment.
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Got to work on the seat post too.....
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..and the end result...
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One more part for the pot. If your bike weighs as much as a motorbike you may as well have a strong enough chain! :LolLolLolLol:
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That’s ^^^^ brilliant!! ;D. Another top build on the cards! :daumenhoch:
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8)
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That’s ^^^^ brilliant!! ;D. Another top build on the cards! :daumenhoch:
Cheers :daumenhoch:
It won't be as nice imo as the Hawk because a tight budget means it won't be re-powdered but it'll certainly be a lot better than the original. Now I just have to invent that time machine and go back and convince Gary Fisher not to call it a Pure Bender! :LolLolLolLol:
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Another bit of bling for the Bender!
Just the new wheels to arrive tomorrow to complete the makeover.
I'll restore the original wheels in case my mate fancies a different look at any time and then it'll just be re-assembly.
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While I was waiting for the wheels to arrive I took the time to start building the bike up. Everything went well until it came to the brakes and then I remembered why I hate setting up Gyro's! >:( Give me a Rotor any day! While I was at it I took the chance to rub down the rusty front brake mounts and give them a lick of paint. The seat had a rubber cover on the underneath of the front section that I had to remove because of the shape of the seat post with the horizontal top section. It was either that or have the seat sitting an inch above the seat post which was never going to happen. The stem and brake levers had a quick polish and everything else was cleaned and greased/oiled.
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Just as I was finishing up for the day, the wheels turned up.
Really pleased with them. I got them for a song on the Bay. NOS Sun Black Label rims with a nice mid school deep rim on Pro-lite hubs. They came with KHE tyres but I'm fitting the tan wall's I bought as I don't want too much black on the bike. The only issue is the front axle is 14mm whereas the drop outs are 10mm so I'll slot them and then, hopefully, it should all be done! :)
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Managed to squeeze a bit more time in today on the bike and hoped to fit the wheels. I'm pleased with how the tyres look on the wheels but I knew it couldn't go that easily. When I went to remove the freewheel, the removal tool I have if for 3/8 axles and the standard Gary Fisher wheels and the new ones are both 14mm. So new freewheel removal tool it is then!
On the plus side, I managed to successfully slot one side of the front axle to fit the 10mm drop outs. I started on the other side but was dragged off shopping with the missus!
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Finished the wheel off today and it fits a treat. Set the front brake up and am now just waiting for the flywheel removal tool to arrive so I can finish off the rear wheel and attach the chain, then polish everything up and it should be done! :)
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Nice job that dude , I think I have a chrome one in my garage somewhere
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Nice job that dude , I think I have a chrome one in my garage somewhere
Cheers bud,
I'm really pleased how it's turned out so far. Really under rated bikes IMO. :daumenhoch:
Giles :)
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Nice resto. When I was a bike mechanic back in the mid 90s we used to be a main dealer for GF. Mountain bikes mainly, but obviously we got all of their BMXes too. Pure Bender actually wasn't the worst named one. They did one called a Pure Bender Spin as well :LolLolLolLol:
They were actually good bikes, but came in drab colours with stupid names. So we had trouble selling them really, whereas the GT Performer was selling hand over fist. The only one I can remember selling was brought back to the shop three days later because the kid's mates were all taking the piss out of him because of the name of the bike. So I upsold him a Hoffman Condor.
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Nice work... looks tidy. :daumenhoch:
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Nice resto. When I was a bike mechanic back in the mid 90s we used to be a main dealer for GF. Mountain bikes mainly, but obviously we got all of their BMXes too. Pure Bender actually wasn't the worst named one. They did one called a Pure Bender Spin as well :LolLolLolLol:
They were actually good bikes, but came in drab colours with stupid names. So we had trouble selling them really, whereas the GT Performer was selling hand over fist. The only one I can remember selling was brought back to the shop three days later because the kid's mates were all taking the piss out of him because of the name of the bike. So I upsold him a Hoffman Condor.
Pleased you're enjoying the thread. :daumenhoch:
I can't believe they'd give their bikes such bad names, not quite sure what their marketing department were smoking that day but the bonus is they're cheap to buy! Agree with you that they're not bad bikes. They're well made with nice welds and good quality components. Also they certainly shouldn't break considering they weigh as much as many of the people riding them! :LolLolLolLol:
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Nice work... looks tidy. :daumenhoch:
Cheers mate :)
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Nice resto. When I was a bike mechanic back in the mid 90s we used to be a main dealer for GF. Mountain bikes mainly, but obviously we got all of their BMXes too. Pure Bender actually wasn't the worst named one. They did one called a Pure Bender Spin as well :LolLolLolLol:
They were actually good bikes, but came in drab colours with stupid names. So we had trouble selling them really, whereas the GT Performer was selling hand over fist. The only one I can remember selling was brought back to the shop three days later because the kid's mates were all taking the piss out of him because of the name of the bike. So I upsold him a Hoffman Condor.
Pleased you're enjoying the thread. :daumenhoch:
I can't believe they'd give their bikes such bad names, not quite sure what their marketing department were smoking that day but the bonus is they're cheap to buy! Agree with you that they're not bad bikes. They're well made with nice welds and good quality components. Also they certainly shouldn't break considering they weigh as much as many of the people riding them! :LolLolLolLol:
They did everything a mid school bruiser needed to do really. Good metals, as you say good welds, strong etc. But the colours? tank green, battleship grey and so on. I think the naming came simply from them being from America, and at that time we still were not globally connected through the internet fully (only geeks like me used to post on BB at that time). But yeah, talk about not even knowing your target audience :LolLolLolLol:
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Same goes for Wimpy with their 'bender in a bun'
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0o8Hx87HkcU/T-dp3n9EKdI/AAAAAAAAAcs/lPFr3hx38-c/s400/IMG_2342.jpg)
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They did everything a mid school bruiser needed to do really. Good metals, as you say good welds, strong etc. But the colours? tank green, battleship grey and so on. I think the naming came simply from them being from America, and at that time we still were not globally connected through the internet fully (only geeks like me used to post on BB at that time). But yeah, talk about not even knowing your target audience :LolLolLolLol:
Yeh, the colours are just as dodgy as the decals! If I was building it for myself it would definitely be at Dan's now having a re-spray. I'm hoping once my mate sees it he'll have a change of heart and the bike will have a change of colour! :daumenhoch:
Same goes for Wimpy with their 'bender in a bun'
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0o8Hx87HkcU/T-dp3n9EKdI/AAAAAAAAAcs/lPFr3hx38-c/s400/IMG_2342.jpg)
:LolLolLolLol:
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If he wants a chrome one give me a call
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If he wants a chrome one give me a call
:daumenhoch:
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Same goes for Wimpy with their 'bender in a bun'
(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0o8Hx87HkcU/T-dp3n9EKdI/AAAAAAAAAcs/lPFr3hx38-c/s400/IMG_2342.jpg)
I remember back in the early 90s before my mates started driving we used to walk up to a Wimpy in SW London and have comps to see who could eat the most benders. Amazing they are.. I've actually got one local to me now (In Littlehampton) but IDK if they sell those any more. Must get over there this summer and see :D
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Got my freewheel tool through today so I could finally fit the back wheel on the bike. The chain is a chunky mutha but looks the nutz.
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One annoying problem, actually two annoying problems I have noticed on the bike now is the front sprocket is a gnat's cock away from the rear brake and the fat chain literally rubs on the rear triangle. I can hopefully squeeze a spacer in the rear wheel to solve the clearance issue at the back but I'm not sure about the front sprocket. If I space out the front sprocket I don't know if it will fit correctly? Might be alright as it is, but there's always one more hurdle just as you can see the finish line!
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Had a bit of time today so I fixed the chain clearance problem at the back by squeezing in a thick washer. Not an easy task when it was a tight fit to start with and the frame is built like a tank. Old school frames are so much easier to work on! :LolLolLolLol:
I adjusted the back brake a give a bit more clearance on the chainring. It's not exactly how I'd like it but the brake clears it now.
With those bits done, I gave the bike a quick polish and that's going to it for now. If it was up to me, it would have new paint and decals but even as it is I'm pleased with how it's turned out and think it looks ten times better than when we picked it up. Starting to like these mid-school builds now! :daumenhoch:
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a couple more pics........
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.....and a couple more.
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Oh yeh, I decided to weigh it on my digital fishing scales and it's 38 lb 1oz! :LolLolLolLol:
The final spec is:
Standard 1998 Gary Fisher Pure Bender Kick apart from.....
SE 3 piece cranks from Voivod
Profile Imperial 43t chainring
Primo Tenderizer re-pop pedals
KMC 415 size motorcycle chain
NOS Sunn Black Box 36 rims on Prolite sealed hubs
14mm axles front and rear with fronts slotted to 10mm
NOS Fishbone Spectra pegs
Illegal 20x2.0 tyres
Gusset saddle