Sam Song Posted July 11, 2022 Report Share Posted July 11, 2022 (edited) Bit of a long story with this bike. This bike was one of Ryan Leech's original bikes. Then when he retired more than 10 years ago, he sold this bike locally in Vancouver Canada (without the forks since he wanted to keep the custom forks). Over the years it presumably changed multiple hands in the area; probably some not knowing the significance of this bike, the bike had been cheaply spray painted in black including the frame, rear rim, stem, and bar (the person decided to keep the Norco logo for some reason). The bike eventually gets stored in a paid locker abandoned, which was auctioned off by the storage company. It gets bought by a random person who bought the storage items and puts it up for sale on local Facebook marketplace. One of the local riders bought the bike for next to nothing on facebook, had plans on restoring it but decided to let it go, which is how I got my hands on this! The bike originally came with xtr cranks as well but they were destroyed beyond repair which was replaced with aftermarket cranks by the rider who bought it. It comes with many of the original parts including the wheels, rear brake, shifter, and the bar stem combo. The fork is a cheap Marzocchi. I am not sure how I will get this built but I am planning on repainting the frame first. There is a lot to be done but I will get it built properly eventually. Edited July 11, 2022 by Sam Song 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted July 21, 2022 Report Share Posted July 21, 2022 Yes! Looking forward to seeing what you do with this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted July 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2022 I am slowly getting the parts And sending the frame off to get it repainted. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted July 26, 2022 Report Share Posted July 26, 2022 Cant wait to see this. Is that a big 20mm axle on the front king? I take it you have a QR conversion in mind? Going to heat gun off the head badge? Smooth out those chain stays before paint too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted July 26, 2022 Author Report Share Posted July 26, 2022 1 hour ago, Ross McArthur said: Cant wait to see this. Is that a big 20mm axle on the front king? I take it you have a QR conversion in mind? Going to heat gun off the head badge? Smooth out those chain stays before paint too? I actually have both a 9mm qr hub and a 20mm qr hub, haven't decided on the fork yet And yes and yes on the second part :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted August 9, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 9, 2022 Frame is done 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MadsP Posted August 13, 2022 Report Share Posted August 13, 2022 Looking forward to see this… evolve 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Bourde Posted August 13, 2022 Report Share Posted August 13, 2022 Not the color way I was expecting, but I like it! Had something similar on my Exploziv zon!up. Do you know the geometry of the Norco? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted August 16, 2022 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2022 On 8/13/2022 at 3:07 PM, La Bourde said: Not the color way I was expecting, but I like it! Had something similar on my Exploziv zon!up. Do you know the geometry of the Norco? Thanks! The original color was ruined anyways so I wanted to make it my own style since I have not seen a custom painted manifesto before. So I do not know a whole lot but from a quick online search, Measured with a 440mm fork, 1055mm wb, 69HA, 395 chainstay, 308mm bottom bracket height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted October 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 8, 2022 (edited) The build is all done. Specs: Frame: 09 Norco Manifesto, custom red powder coat Control - Chris King Headset, Aliexpress Carbon stem, Jitsie Carbon bar, Sam Hill Nukeproof grips Brakes: - Front: Shimano Saint M820 with 8 inch Shimano rotor - Rear: Shimano Saint M820 with 7 inch Shimano rotor Drivetrain: - Shimano Saint M820 Shifter/Derailleur, Jagwire elite link shift cable, Truvative Descendant Carbon cranks, Chris King BB, Sam Hill Nukeproof Ti Pedals. Wheels: - 38mm Light Bicycle Carbon rims, Chris King Hubs, Alloy Nipples, Sapim CX Ray bladed spokes, Shimano XT 10 spd cassette, KMC 10 speed e bike chain - Continental Race King 2.2 Supersonic x 2, Tubolito tubes, Tannus Armor tire insert (Rear only) Fork: Manitou Circus Expert lowered to 80mm. Saddle: Tioga Race BMX Seat Weighs 24lbs Edited October 8, 2022 by Sam Song 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted October 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2022 On 10/8/2022 at 8:52 AM, SergeL said: I like that you made color accent only on a frame without collecting parts of every red tint available. But not sure carbon cranks are practical for any trials oriented bike. Thanks! Red and black are my favorite color combo both in and outside of biking. Haha So these are rated for DH/Freeride use, so I think it should be strong enough? It may not hold up as well for bashing on concrete but I built this for doing manuals/bunnyhops and not to inch hunt so I don't think I will be bashing the cranks that much. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted October 11, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2022 3 minutes ago, SergeL said: Ok then, I was misled by stem-bar combination choice. Oh yes, that stem is gone after the first ride. It has a 80mm stem now. It was just my inexperience with these short mtb style bikes putting that long stem on. I like the short stem a lot better for what I want to do with this bike. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeRider Posted October 12, 2022 Report Share Posted October 12, 2022 It turned out to be a great restoration! I guess all that's left of the Ryan Leech's bike is the frame? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted October 12, 2022 Report Share Posted October 12, 2022 (edited) That's an amazing resto-mod! One or two teeny pick ups would be that the cassette range seems a bit too wide. Would you ever use those spinny gears? Closer range would be lighter, look cleaner, allow you to run a shorter chain and feel nicer to click through between gears. Those orange warning stickers on the rotors don't need to be there and the dust cap on the front calliper needs popping back on Again, amazing job dude! Edited October 12, 2022 by Ross McArthur 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted October 12, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 12, 2022 (edited) 6 hours ago, Ross McArthur said: That's an amazing resto-mod! One or two teeny pick ups would be that the cassette range seems a bit too wide. Would you ever use those spinny gears? Closer range would be lighter, look cleaner, allow you to run a shorter chain and feel nicer to click through between gears. Those orange warning stickers on the rotors don't need to be there and the dust cap on the front calliper needs popping back on Again, amazing job dude! Thanks Ross! You are so detail oriented like a true trials rider. Lol. The dust cap must have fallen while taking it in and out of my car. I always left that orange sticker on but now that you mentioned I took a look at it for the first time. It is a warning sticker not to put your finger through while the wheel is rolling. Hahaha. So I did not post it in the original photo, but as this bike is my only bike with a seat, I am going to be swapping the seatpost back and forth with a dropper post with the actuator lever at the seat for pedaling riding cruising in the city, as well as some mountain trail riding with uphill climbs. Since this Norco has a decent sized seat tube, you could actually get a full leg extension with a dropper post extended and all the way up, which you would not be able to do on a modern Inspired. Because of where I am living right now, I can really only have two bikes because of space issue. With one being a high bb trials bike, I wanted the second bike to be able to do as diverse of riding as possible. If I just wanted a good street/Street trials bike, an Inspired Hex would have made a lot more sense. As for the cassette, I originally had a Shimano Duraace 12-23 cassette, which is smaller than the Shimano XT mountain 11-32 cassette I have on right now. The reason I switched from Duraace to XT Mtn cassette is that road cassettes tend to have a narrow base, which can easily dig into the Chris King aluminum driveshell I have in the back (which you cannot even find a replacement for since Chris King discontinued the parts for the old hubs). For the Duraace cassette I first had the 18 tooth sprocket I would be using the most was joined with another sprocket to make a slightly wider base but still quite narrow. I was reading on some other forum posts that people have destroyed their aluminum freehub driveshell using a road cassette. However, on the XT mountain cassette, the 18 tooth sprocket sits on a wide uninterrupted aluminum sprocket carrier plate, which distributes the torque a lot better which should prevent the sprocket from digging in. I have ridden King hubs long enough to have dealt with cogs digging in. I just did not want to deal with the BS. 7 hours ago, JakeRider said: It turned out to be a great restoration! I guess all that's left of the Ryan Leech's bike is the frame? Yes pretty much, I am still holding on to some quality XTR parts off of the bike. There would be some traditionalists who would rather see old bikes with 'period correct' parts, but I am not one of those people. Haha Edited October 12, 2022 by Sam Song 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted October 24, 2022 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2022 I am looking for an OG trials style mini seat for this bike, if anyone has any for sale! I will pay shipping to Canada 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted November 7, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2022 On 10/12/2022 at 4:09 AM, Ross McArthur said: That's an amazing resto-mod! One or two teeny pick ups would be that the cassette range seems a bit too wide. Would you ever use those spinny gears? Closer range would be lighter, look cleaner, allow you to run a shorter chain and feel nicer to click through between gears. Those orange warning stickers on the rotors don't need to be there and the dust cap on the front calliper needs popping back on Again, amazing job dude! After actually riding this bike, you are right. I am not using the spinny gears, even on a trail. It is just way too low to be useful. And the geo of this bike was still not meant for any serious climbing anyways. So for the 10 speed cassette I am using, the biggest three sprockets are on the same carrier plate that I can take off, so it would effectively be a 7 speed cassette. Can I run this as a 7 speed with the same 10 speed Saint shifter/derailleur? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwitchTrials Posted November 7, 2022 Report Share Posted November 7, 2022 (edited) Yeah you can, you'd need spacers on the hub though and, although I guess not totally necessary; see if the high limit stop screw can hold the derailleur at the 7th-ish gear. I'd personally run the cassette the closest inboard I can with the bulk of spacers on the lockring side. Adjust your high limit screw so it runs smoothly on the highest gear/smallest cog with no cable tension. Make sure the shifter is in the highest gear available and tighten the cable, this ensures you wouldn't have loose cable as it would only shift back down to the 4th position in the shifter, and the low limit screw would prevent any further up-shifting. (whereas if you did it the reverse there's nothing stopping you shifting into 8/9/10 once the derailleur has hit the limit) B-screw will likely need some adjustment as well. If that way doesnt provide smooth shifting then I'd do everything the same but with the cassette spacers all inboard. Edited November 7, 2022 by TwitchTrials grammar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted November 8, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 8, 2022 5 hours ago, TwitchTrials said: Yeah you can, you'd need spacers on the hub though and, although I guess not totally necessary; see if the high limit stop screw can hold the derailleur at the 7th-ish gear. I'd personally run the cassette the closest inboard I can with the bulk of spacers on the lockring side. Adjust your high limit screw so it runs smoothly on the highest gear/smallest cog with no cable tension. Make sure the shifter is in the highest gear available and tighten the cable, this ensures you wouldn't have loose cable as it would only shift back down to the 4th position in the shifter, and the low limit screw would prevent any further up-shifting. (whereas if you did it the reverse there's nothing stopping you shifting into 8/9/10 once the derailleur has hit the limit) B-screw will likely need some adjustment as well. If that way doesnt provide smooth shifting then I'd do everything the same but with the cassette spacers all inboard. Thanks for the help! I am using a Shimano XT 10 speed cassette with the range of 11-32, I am reading that the 11t cannot move inwards? Is this correct? If so, I would actually need to take out the 11t sprocket and make it a 6 speed in order for me to move the cassette all the way in right? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwitchTrials Posted November 8, 2022 Report Share Posted November 8, 2022 (edited) No worries. Ah yeah, of course! I must have filed off that lip when I did it, or, just smashed it on with a mallet knowing my way of doing things back then... ...however, you could just make it 6 speed and continue with everything else already mentioned. I'm not sure the high limit screw will reach all the way to 6th though; you might have to move some spacers about until you get it where it needs to be. First port of call, for me, would be to loosen the cable and wind in that screw, see what gear it rests in/near and then decide on where to go from that. Edited November 8, 2022 by TwitchTrials grammar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted November 23, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 23, 2022 (edited) After riding it for a couple months made some changes - Removed the 3 spinny gears, currently at 7 speed right now - shorter 80 x 10 stem - newer continental race king tires. Edited December 4, 2022 by Sam Song 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross McArthur Posted November 24, 2022 Report Share Posted November 24, 2022 That thing is such a Super Bike. May the trials gods bless you for going all out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Knight Posted November 24, 2022 Report Share Posted November 24, 2022 Looks awesome, nice work! The Leech was one of my favorite bikes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted November 25, 2022 Author Report Share Posted November 25, 2022 (edited) 21 hours ago, Ross McArthur said: That thing is such a Super Bike. May the trials gods bless you for going all out! Thanks Ross! Thanks for telling me I do not need the spinny gears. I should have listened to you the first time. Haha Riding this is such a nice break from just inch hunting type of pure trials riding I was doing. Edited November 25, 2022 by Sam Song 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Song Posted April 8, 2023 Author Report Share Posted April 8, 2023 Well that is the end of the Shimano Saint brake in the back I suppose. Haha 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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