Is my late 90's frame too old to build up?

GRIZZ

1 mW
Joined
Aug 26, 2021
Messages
16
Location
Mass., US
I'm still weighing my options to buy a bike or rebuild my old downhill racing bike from high school.

My riding is mostly powerlines (washed out dirt roads) with some high traffic backroads with no shoulders. Due to the blind corners on the busy road being a safety issue I'd like a class3 bike to zoom through that section quickly and safely.

My old bike is a late 90's Iron Horse FS Works 2. She has a LOT of history with me and I'd love to upgrade her to EV.
Component List: https://www.bicyclebluebook.com/value-guide/product/58420/

I don't care if I go front, mid, or rear drive. But I would like the components to be easily replaceable/repairable. Mostly avoiding proprietary connectors so I'm not locked into one brands components if something breaks or calls for upgrades.

My big question is am I wasting money putting money into a much older frame?

If I got a mid drive and total the frame, would my mid-drive be sized too differently from modern frames? (Shimano BB-LP26 currently, 68x110mm)

If I got a front or rear drive would I have an odd wheel size and it wouldn't easily transfer to a new bike? (26" Sun Metal AT18 currently)

EDIT: Photo Album https://imgur.com/a/daUCQaD
 

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Sure it is worth building. Especially adequate for a moderate speed long range commuter. I would not build a dirt bike, or a fast street bike on it. But, make it 30 mph with a big battery capacity, and it might be a near perfect city commuter.
 
Ironhorse had issues with faulty frames and that is one of the least solid suspension designs i've ever seen.

Using an older frame can be okay. I've used early 2000's bike frames forever. I wouldn't put my faith in the one you have though, at least for anything other than mild power levels.
 
GRIZZ said:
My riding is mostly powerlines (washed out dirt roads) with some high traffic backroads with no shoulders. Due to the blind corners on the busy road being a safety issue I'd like a class3 bike to zoom through that section quickly and safely.

But I would like the components to be easily replaceable/repairable. Mostly avoiding proprietary connectors so I'm not locked into one brands components if something breaks or calls for upgrades.

If I got a front or rear drive would I have an odd wheel size and it wouldn't easily transfer to a new bike? (26" Sun Metal AT18 currently)

If the old dirt roads aren't super rough, and your routes don't have very steep hills (15%-20% or greater), then a rear hub motor has almost zero maintenance (your biggest issue will be flats, which are a bigger pain to fix), and probably your best bet. Having a steel frame, with suspension, are pluses. The recommendation to keep it at or below 30mph is a good one, and that will work well with the shorter travel that those older bikes have; almost perfect for the street. Potholes at 30mph on an ebike can throw you around without suspension, and that bike has just enough if you keep the speeds down.

The only thing that I would prefer that the bike doesn't have is ability to add disc brakes; but this is only a preference, since I feel they worked better when I switched over on my bike. This is more of a preference, since Chalo will chime in and point out that disc brakes are adequate (he'll say superior), which is why I say it's a preference (it's a forum topic that can create a passionate discussion).

Other than that, the frame has ample room for a decent sized battery, which is on the rare side for a full suspension frame. I say convert it and start having ebike fun!

PS. I regularly climb steep hills with my cheap rear hub motor bike, but not long sustained climbs (over a mile), which could overheat the motor. You can do things to manage the heat (ferrofluid/statorade, hub sinks), which helps a lot. Statorade isn't a bad idea in any case, but not a requirement.
 
neptronix said:
Ironhorse had issues with faulty frames and that is one of the least solid suspension designs i've ever seen.

Not the worst. The bottom bracket, and therefore pedals, makes weight on the pedals unsprung, which is a con. But since the distance between the bottom bracket and rear wheel is fixed, it doesn't have the problem of pivot point location, where that distance may vary, so a pro.
Assuming that the bike is in good working order (pivots aren't worn out, shock still functions), even suboptimal rear suspension is better than none (although a good suspension seatpost helps on hardtails like mine).
 
E-HP said:
The only thing that I would prefer that the bike doesn't have is ability to add disc brakes...

Other than that, the frame has ample room for a decent sized battery, which is on the rare side for a full suspension frame. I say convert it and start having ebike fun!

...long sustained climbs (over a mile), which could overheat the motor. You can do things to manage the heat...

Thanks, the inability to upgrade to rear disk was a consideration but honestly I'm comfortable with the brakes on it. They can lock up the wheel if your not careful so they have the power. I've never used disks so I suppose I don't know what I'm missing.

A cool feature is the 2nd waterbottle mount under the rear of the seat. I could fit any size battery there.

What happens when a motor overheats? I never considered this.
 
E-HP said:
The only thing that I would prefer that the bike doesn't have is ability to add disc brakes; but this is only a preference, since I feel they worked better when I switched over on my bike. This is more of a preference, since Chalo will chime in and point out that disc brakes are adequate (he'll say superior), which is why I say it's a preference (it's a forum topic that can create a passionate discussion).

Between the skinny rear stays and the telescopic forks, I would certainly shore up those rim brakes with booster arches to get the best from them. The old pads will be hard and should be replaced with Kool Stop. New slick stainless cables, compressionless housing-- not terribly expensive to make those brakes' performance befit the 22" disc rotors they have. But use them just the way they are now, and you might wish for something better.

20 year old hydraulic disc brakes probably wouldn't work at all, for what it's worth.

Those forks look sacked down, which suggests to me they had elastomer springs like most of the RST forks I took apart in those days. Replacing the forks entirely is probably the easiest fix at this point.

26" wheels are a great size for a compromise between ride quality and hub motor performance. That's still the most common size for e-bike conversion kits.
 
Perfect candidate for a thousand watt direct drive motor or a 1500 watt direct drive motor for $250 shipped with either a 48 or 52 volt battery with about 15 ah. Use Kool stop rim brakes. Ask us about the battery you want to buy before you buy the battery. As the battery is the heart of an electric bike. Use a tire liner to avoid flats. lGood to go.
 
GRIZZ said:
My old bike is a late 90's Iron Horse FS Works 2

Yeah might be worth investing in a different used full suspension frame. That being said you could certainly build this bike if you keep it under 1500w peak power and you should me ok. "Should” :shock:

Probably could use some upgrades for safety and does the suspension actually offer any movement? - The rear suspension
 
If you decide to build this bike I would upgrade both wheels, of course one wheel be coming with the motor, front suspension, rear suspension, front and rear brakes pads-ask Chalo. Then it’s not a must but that handlebar stem is so long but you’re probably used to it :D

I have an old-school Gary Fisher with a similar stem.
 
I say build on it as-is, and get a feel for how the bike rides and have fun, then after a hundred miles (a week), decide if you want to do anything. You'll know more once you zip around the neighborhood a while, and ride on the actual routes you'll be riding on.

I agree the fork looks worn, since that vintage had around 80mm of travel, but just looking at the pic, it looks like 60mm, and that's without the rider weight. If you swap that out, you can switch to a front disc, which is where most of your stopping power is anyway.

Even though it's steel, the motor will need a decent torque arm, so can't forget that. 1000W direct drive hub is probably a good place to start.

The point is, get started first, and decide what to upgrade later. You might decide you want to go with a different frame/bike, so no sense putting money into this one and deciding that later. Just put on new brake pads so you don't kill yourself.

These things are rarely a one and done kind of thing. You'll learn a lot after you put it together and get it running, and then you can make some educated decisions.
 
1500 watt kit from yescom free shipping get a battery 48 volt 15 amp your hour with charger make sure you make a cardboard box of the shape size of the battery and see if it can fit under your top tube or under your lower tube. Ask us about the battery before you buy it Go. a good chromoly frame just front suspension might be a hundred hundred and $25 we'll talk about that later plus torque arms.
 
Why putting a new fork on an old bike?
Use this one for now. It is not dangerous on the street and it will never break bottoming because it is a primitive polymer bumper fork. Yet this one is adjustable, which is pretty unusual for cheap forks of that era. If it gets wobbly, then you start worrying for wobbly forks could break in the steer tube mount.

A good fork doesn’t need to be new, only being kept in proper working order with periodic maintenance. A good used fork can be 200 or 2000$ without much differences other than weight, scratches and stickers. I have some very good DH racing forks here, that I had paid 400$ freshly rebuilt, and did ride 20000 hard miles since, replacing only oil and seals. But, riding the streets sub 30 mph doesn’t require a good fork, unless you live in potholes territory.
 
Yes, a really good old used fork is good as well
A fork thats rebuildable
Not sure if old suspension forks are rebuildable if you can find the parts.

Fork would be a good upgrade
That stock fork looks deflated as Chalo mentioned.
 
markz said:
That stock fork looks deflated as Chalo mentioned.

Not deflated-- the elastomers are pulverized or melted. If it were an air fork, you could pump it back up.
 
Power line tracks around me have some of the steepest /roughest sections of any off road trails.
I would not even attempt to ride them with a hub motor...even a 1kW mid drive on a FS MTB fails on some of these.
If you are comfortable with the way your bike rides and stops unpowered, just go with a simple mid drive conversion.
Speed on the tracks is generally limited by the terrain and conditions, not much faster with a Ebike than a pedal bike so dont worry about the brakes or suspension...if you are happy with them as is .
 
So here’s some food for thought if you do end up considering changing the front suspension and wheel. I don’t think you need to change it for safety reasons but just simply comfort, but yeah also to take some of the stress away from the frame traveling at 30-ish miles per hour while hitting potholes etc..
The link is for the 27.5” fork which would give you a slacker head tube angle which will help at higher speeds for stability or just in general for stability. The link to the wheel is 26” so that would match your hub motor kit.

But then the domino effect starts if you change the front suspension as you will need new wheel, disc brake and rotor. You could keep the rear "rim brake” to keep it simple.

These parts below are budget but quality. I have two of those rock shock Judy silver on two different hard tails and they perform well. I have over 2000+ miles on them. It’s a great entry level fork Especially for commuting and light trail use.

The total for all those upgrades is around $350.
Then if you get 1000w or 1500 W kit you’re looking at another $350. So to be safe you could say you could convert your bike for around $750 with upgrades

RockShox Judy Silver TK Suspension Fork https://www.amazon.com/dp/B085724DYB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_412FKRRVHWKDFV272BBY?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

26” sram wheel
https://www.contebikes.com/product/quality-wheels-sram-406-6-bolt-sun-sr25-26-inch-front-340821-1.htm?variations=803688,803629,803604?utm_source=google%20shopping&utm_medium=organic&gclid=Cj0KCQjwvaeJBhCvARIsABgTDM6JrrBOJntEHCwsRyq2Yai_YFFvE33836r8XEdys4xo9JWBfAWuRLwaAnSvEALw_wcB

DNM Mountain Bike Rear Shock - probably the cheapest quality part of all the links
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BIQN6CI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_8A3PNTDZR41K2ZEJP3FM?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

SHIMANO Bicycle Disc Brake Assembly
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07M9T34VW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_JB42HN7J0YJ2N68RH40P

Cheap snail rotor, for the front
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SNAIL-Floating-Rotor-160mm-180mm-203mm-MTB-Bike-Disc-Brake-Rotor-6-Bolts-Caliper-/124298875777?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0
 
Ya I know I just not good at word finding.
Maybe offhand, "saggy"

I would chose the proper kit to install at the power level and speed you want for the terrain.
Then start upgrading with easy things first.
Grips, cables, housings
Do a good cleaning
then move to upgrade harder things
fork would be the first on the list because I hate saggy suspension forks

Chalo said:
markz said:
That stock fork looks deflated as Chalo mentioned.

Not deflated-- the elastomers are pulverized or melted. If it were an air fork, you could pump it back up.
 
looks like you have a good place for the battery on the top tube and you can put the controller on the lower slant tube. Just do your bike. just remember to get a good battery with good cells. and make sure it's put two torque arms on that thing in the rear
Battery.
https://bicyclemotorworks.com/product/52v-16ah-samsung-40t-high-output-lithium-ion-e-bike-battery/. Plus you have to buy a charger.
That's a xt90 anti spark plug you plug it halfway like the Green arrow shows electric controller turn on and then plug it in the rest away. ask him to send you the other side of the ft 90c you can hook it up to the controller need 40 -60 watt soldering iron.
https://batteryhookup.com/collections/all/products/60w-110v-adjustable-soldering-iron-with-tip.
 
Hmm.. That bike is in great shape for its age, which kind of puts it into that collectible category. Might be 30 more years before its worth much. And worth nothing if not completely original.

But my best advice would be to upgrade to a 2010 or so MTB to motorize. But you could put a 1000w kit on that bike while you look for a better bike for dirt riding.
 
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