Cycling Forums - View Single Post

01-06-2005, 12:06 PM

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <9frqt0hpq15fjtb4ovnttvbt8u3aift5l1@4ax.com>,
RonSonic <ronsonic@tampabay.rr.com> wrote:
>
>
>So there's this ancient rigid Hoo Koo E Koo for sale in my price range, says
>made in Taiwan right on the head tube. All Deore stuff on it with the back brake
>under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at it soon, but in the meanwhile can
>anyone tell me.....
>
>Is this brake location as silly as I think it is?

_ Yeah, pretty much. However, in the words of Abe Simpson

"It was the style at the time."

_ For a bike to ride in the mud and dirt it makes about as much
sense as wearing an onion in your belt. I've converted my Hoo Koo
E Koo from that era to a drop bar 26" fat tire touring
bike. U-Brakes make some kind of sense for that kind of bike.

>
>About how old is this bike - I'll be able to look at date codes later - but for
>now can anyone place it within a few years?

_ Most likely 88 or a year or two earlier.

>
>Any disagreement that this'll make a cool errand runner and occasional trail
>rider for a big old guy?
>

_ It will be just fine for that. One thing to be aware of is that
the frame is spaced for 130mm rear wheels, but will work with
135mm wheels. Also, you can't use V-brake levers, but if you
want to drop a little weight you can get some very nice
Ritchey levers at

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakes.html#leversup

You can easily drop a pound from the bike by replacing the steel
handlebars and stem. A Nitto Dirt Drop stem works well on this
bike. Guard the thumbshifters with your life,( or
sell them on ebay to finance other upgrades ). Lastly, replace
the BioPace chainrings, once worn they are very very prone to
chain suck[1]. Salsa 110 BCD chainrings will work just fine with
that Deore crank.

_ Booker C. Bense

[1]- before that they just suck period.... %-).

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBQd2aM2TWTAjn5N/lAQH8bgP+JQTsOxjhss2YH0e4OmT/59ADYkYYW8t1
qR76bkNDQN1Oy3w4W5wURdn4CGq6Wq9mrf//j5X3eQJXaPMu/ji9oWXuWPIE7yWa
E8qboQN5O7WkZ8KgRuK4D2RmGRXf5+qJK0qw5eJzAOBDKKz2Jb gzDfSH8vm4rwVE
VkZnRYs1hgI=
=9qul
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

01-06-2005, 12:06 PM	#14 (permalink)
Booker C. Bense Guest Posts: n/a	Re: OLD Gary Fisher MTB questions -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- In article <9frqt0hpq15fjtb4ovnttvbt8u3aift5l1@4ax.com>, RonSonic <ronsonic@tampabay.rr.com> wrote: > > >So there's this ancient rigid Hoo Koo E Koo for sale in my price range, says >made in Taiwan right on the head tube. All Deore stuff on it with the back brake >under the chainstay. I'll get a better look at it soon, but in the meanwhile can >anyone tell me..... > >Is this brake location as silly as I think it is? _ Yeah, pretty much. However, in the words of Abe Simpson "It was the style at the time." _ For a bike to ride in the mud and dirt it makes about as much sense as wearing an onion in your belt. I've converted my Hoo Koo E Koo from that era to a drop bar 26" fat tire touring bike. U-Brakes make some kind of sense for that kind of bike. > >About how old is this bike - I'll be able to look at date codes later - but for >now can anyone place it within a few years? _ Most likely 88 or a year or two earlier. > >Any disagreement that this'll make a cool errand runner and occasional trail >rider for a big old guy? > _ It will be just fine for that. One thing to be aware of is that the frame is spaced for 130mm rear wheels, but will work with 135mm wheels. Also, you can't use V-brake levers, but if you want to drop a little weight you can get some very nice Ritchey levers at http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brakes.html#leversup You can easily drop a pound from the bike by replacing the steel handlebars and stem. A Nitto Dirt Drop stem works well on this bike. Guard the thumbshifters with your life,( or sell them on ebay to finance other upgrades ). Lastly, replace the BioPace chainrings, once worn they are very very prone to chain suck[1]. Salsa 110 BCD chainrings will work just fine with that Deore crank. _ Booker C. Bense [1]- before that they just suck period.... %-). -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQCVAwUBQd2aM2TWTAjn5N/lAQH8bgP+JQTsOxjhss2YH0e4OmT/59ADYkYYW8t1 qR76bkNDQN1Oy3w4W5wURdn4CGq6Wq9mrf//j5X3eQJXaPMu/ji9oWXuWPIE7yWa E8qboQN5O7WkZ8KgRuK4D2RmGRXf5+qJK0qw5eJzAOBDKKz2Jb gzDfSH8vm4rwVE VkZnRYs1hgI= =9qul -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----