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Black Giant Trials Team


Private Repress

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Ive been on the hunt for one of these for some time now, so was delighted when I found one that I felt I could rescue. Pretty much a barn find - the stuff dreams are made of for someone like me!

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The bike was covered in dirt and dust and just in generally bad shape:

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But the under the grime the actual structure of the frame was sound with no cracks or dents. 
 

It even had the mandatory race face turbine cranks - I wouldn’t built one of these with anything but!

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The wheels were in poor condition with spokes missing and worn braking surfaces. 
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To me this is the epitome of a bike project!

Edited by Private Repress
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So I got to work stripping it down and cleaning! I used a mild abrasive polish on the frame to remove the grime, then used a Matt finishing cleaner to bring it back to life 

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A good friend of mine donated a gold filthy bash guard (permanent loan) to bring the cranks to life in true hawzie style:

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this has since has the benefit of a new 22t middleburn ring 

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Now to sort the wheels...

I took the wheels apart and had the rims powder coated satin black along with some Echo Urban disc forks

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I also managed to bag a pair of second hand Magura MTS brakes, same as the MT4’s but for Specialised to equip on their bikes. This was a great find as the gold and black really fitted the theme 

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A few finishing bits and the build is complete!

I should point out my aim here was not a replica. I was looking to build a 26inch street bike, my yellow Giant remains a replica, but this was about having a bike that felt familiar with modern components where needed to deal with the type of riding I have in mind. 

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Edited by Private Repress
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7 hours ago, Bramblej said:

 What a peach!!! I know i am a little late to this post, but what rims are you using? and what width tires? i'm about to build up one of these and just getting some ideas. also, stem specs would be helpful too. 

thanks!

@Private Repress

Thanks 👍🏻

The rims are Mavic D521s that I powder coated black. The tyres in the pic are Maxxis ikon, 2.2 inch. Truthfully they are fine for a front wheel, but I ended up with a Maxxis holy roller on the rear which is 2.5 inch. 
 

For me these frames work perfectly with a 90mm stem, so that’s what I went for, with 7° rise. It’s an Easton EA50.

Hope that’s helps, good luck with the build! Get some pics up 👊🏻

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3 minutes ago, Private Repress said:

Thanks 👍🏻

The rims are Mavic D521s that I powder coated black. The tyres in the pic are Maxxis ikon, 2.2 inch. Truthfully they are fine for a front wheel, but I ended up with a Maxxis holy roller on the rear which is 2.5 inch. 
 

For me these frames work perfectly with a 90mm stem, so that’s what I went for, with 7° rise. It’s an Easton EA50.

Hope that’s helps, good luck with the build! Get some pics up 👊🏻

That's super helpful thanks! I'll be sure to get some pics up when done. Although it'll look similar to yours haha! 

 

The all black look is where its at

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Cheers @Bramblej

Worth keeping in mind that d521 rims are relatively narrow by today’s standards, and the holy roller is a semi slick style tyre, so don’t have huge grip nobbles. The Michelin on the back of the yellow giant, on a wide rim is 2.25, nothing bigger would fit. The tyre is wider than what it states which doesn’t help.

A 2.5 with lots of tread might not work, but depends on tyre and rim choice 

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15 hours ago, Bramblej said:

Both are primo! Also great to hear you can get a 2.5 in the rear. I'm thinking 2.2 front and 2.3-5 rear

 

Out of interest what size isis bb did you go for?

On the bb side of things I can’t remember, the bb in the yellow giant has been there since I bought it new in the early 2000s. The black one came with one which I didn’t take out. A bb that can be used on both 68 and 73mm shells with an axel length of 118 would fit though. 

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6 minutes ago, Private Repress said:

This is a lovely build! Looks brilliant! How are you getting on with it?

Thanks! Well annoyingly I injured my wrist a week after building it and haven't ridden it :(

looking to get tut in Feb, but the few hops I had before injury wete lush. The bike feels great

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On 1/9/2024 at 10:32 PM, Bramblej said:

Thanks! Well annoyingly I injured my wrist a week after building it and haven't ridden it :(

looking to get tut in Feb, but the few hops I had before injury wete lush. The bike feels great

Sorry to hear that, wishing you a speedy recovery! 

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