I am 52, a lifetime cyclist and just recently into doing some bike repair and restoration. This and oldshovel are my two current favorite UA-cam channels, both for getting some knowledge and just "comfort watching" when I get home on Friday afternoon. 💖 This one turned out beautiful, thanks for the great videos!
Seeing 90s steel MTBs get a new lease on life is just great. This one's a real garage queen too, no wonder it turned out so well. Brilliant stuff, thanks for another enjoyable and entertaining video.
The upgrade is even MORE beautiful! I'm a sucker for white-walled tires. And I love aluminum or stainless steel over black. I love this Gary Fisher before AND after.❤️
1980s and 1990s mountain bikes are all I own/collect nowadays. I have a 98 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo, a 93 Trek 930 and a 93 GT Karakoram. I finally discovered that I really just love old rigid steel bikes with fat 26" wheels (converted from mountain bikes to casual cruisers). I would love to find this Aquila frame in that color green...an emerald green is my favorite color. Thanks for sharing.
Hy guy, as always greetings from Germany and thanks for the video. A very nice rebuild of the bike and I liked the fact that you first mixed the levers 😄 always happens to me. Keep on going and I wish a nice weekend. 👍🌞🍀
Nice build of a very cool '90's MB. Love the paint on this one and the brown grips and cable housings go with it perfectly. I remember those 3x drivetrains well. 😄 Cheers.
Very cool resto-mod! I absolutely agree that these old '90's MTB's are a good value alternative to the Rivendell's and Surly's. There are so many 30ish year old MTB's hanging from garage rafters that are begging for a 2nd life. It's so cool to take someone else's unused equipment and get it back on the trails. Keep up the good work. Just starting my '97 Hoo Koo E Koo resto-mod.
This is one of the best UA-cam builds I’ve seen in the past year! Amazing choices, and thank you so much for the list with the parts. Also, congrats on the overall improvement of your videography and flow really entertaining , one of my top three channels
Beautiful bicycle, a classic, and a good choice to upgrade. Well made video, too. I went down to the local bike store. His lowest cost bike was $438, a cruiser from China, heavy with no name parts. I took an old 1992 TREK 970 with a lugged chromoly frame and converted it to my city cruiser. Even with powder coating, custom decals and a lots of new parts the total cost was just under $300.
It sure looks good, but the one thing that would put it over the edge is CHROME fenders! It's screaming for it & maybe a chrome back rack. Then you can ride it in the rain with style.
Great choice, I got a Gary Fisher last year and it was amazing! I love your tire choice, my only difference would be raising handle bars so the rider has an upright riding position, maybe it's just my back, but I find no advantage to bending forward on a commuter bike ride, sitting upright I can ride 5-6 hours and no back/neck/wrist/hand/butt aches! I cringed when I saw the 1" lift go higher go higher i was screaming, my bikes get a 12" lift on the bars and I love riding for hours, great video thank you
That Fisher was a good looking bike to start with, and in fantastic condition too. But looks even better now. Can you work the same magic on the cat? He definitely looks like he could do with a bit of an overhaul. 😂
great bike. I have one in purple that I used to drag my dog around in her custom modified burley flatbed trailer on the beaches of socal. still have the bike, but I think it's time to pass it on. nice work on yours
My old Trek 950 has almost identical components. I also swapped out the straight bars for one with a sweep similar to yours, and it's amazing how much that changes the feel of the bike. Very nice color choices!
Thank you for this video! I have an old Jamis...close to the same shade of green, and I think I can do it up like you here and make it look like it's twin--love the brown, too!
have a 1997 Aquila with the White Sand Matte paint and am thinking of doing a restoration similar to what you did. What handlebar did you use? Also looking at replacing the 175mm cranks with 170 or 165mm as the frame is a 15.5" and my legs are short. And what shifters did you use to replace the twist grips?
The bars were off of Amazon. There's a link in the video description. As for the shifters, those are Shimano Exage. Nothing fancy, just some older 3x7 shifters.
I have the same Fisher Aquila (with all original components) that I rode on trails in WI back in the day, except i have replaced the original with a gel seat and a taller, replacement handlebar stem(?) that reduces the strain on my arms from the original seating position which put so much weight on my shoulders and wrists (how did we ride like that?). I now find the front rake (which was great on technical trails) a bit steep and maybe unstable for my present state of balance and (much) older body. I still have the original toe-clips (made for street shoes, not clip-ons) installed by the dealer I bought her from. Thanks for the video.
Agreed I did a similar build with a Univega steel hybrid and used the Velo Orange Seine bar at 780mm, 40mm rise and 35 degree sweep. Cut the bars down to 720 which is perfect for me.
The Shimano STX line was pretty special, 2 of my 90s bikes have the STX-RC derailleurs which was rumored to be discontinued by Shimano because they never break, I don't know how true that is but i will say they all work flawless over 25 years later.
Just got a 96 or so G.F. Marlin that I am going to work on slowly as I ride it as a commuter bike. I went blind in my left eye and my right one is a bit poor too so I quit driving and went back to the basics at age 69..
I've been doing something very similar to my 1991 Schwinn Crosscut. It is very similar to the bike you rebuilt. It hasn't been as easy as you make it look. Of course mine wasn't so pristine. However, I didn't swap my brake/derailleur controls. It was 70 degrees yesterday and I hoped to take it for a spin. Unfortunately, the derailleurs had other ideas. Nice video.
Nice build. Good man for keeping the original drive train. This one by stuff is a fad. I agree I have the same Aquila and a Rivendell Atlantis. I ride the hell out of both but The Aquila has a little more old school cred which makes it my favorite.
The shifting sounded solid and as smooth as butter when you ran through the gears in your shop. This is the kind of restored bike I'd absolutely be interested in buying if I came across one. Do you keep most of your restored bikes or sell some of them off?
Well, that's a tricky question. I try to sell them but lately the bike market is very soft and unfortunately, I acquire bikes faster than I move them along. Haha! There are a few that I do hold onto because I like them too much.
I've got the same year (1995) Hoo Koo E Koo and Cronus (frame, waiting to be repainted). These geometries are perfect and I'd say ideal for urban riding. The only downside of them is the 73mm bottom bracket width as this standard makes forces the use of a slightly wider bottom bracket and chainline which is not ideal for a 135mm rear end.
Hi from Germany Great Work. I wish i had your Skills Can you tell me, what is this for a Handelbar. I will buy such a nice and comfotable Handlebar for my old Giant Escaper. I think this would make it more Comfortable. Now i will watch all of your Videos from the Beginning. Pls more like this
I have a Yo Eddy Team Fat Chance; could I do the same thing with a rebuild? I feel the Yo's geometry is much shorter and tighter so maybe it wouldn't convert into a cruiser without becoming incredibly twitchy upfront.
Nice and fine bike.. 2010 silverback oakland.. Mid range bike... Really slow... What cause the problems.. Its 8 speed alloy frame.. With steel and alloy parts.. Shimano parts.. Only diffrence is that the derailleur is campagnolo for 7-12 speed and driftshifters from campagnolo
I don’t know if you tried off camera, but your attempts to remove the tyres looked a little half hearted and you were too quick to go into demolition mode destroying tyres and tubes in the process. Nice end result though.
Oh, so that explains your frustration. Lost in the editing. Thanks for the explanation. I am new to your channel, but interested to see more. Subscribed. 😁
I am 52, a lifetime cyclist and just recently into doing some bike repair and restoration. This and oldshovel are my two current favorite UA-cam channels, both for getting some knowledge and just "comfort watching" when I get home on Friday afternoon. 💖 This one turned out beautiful, thanks for the great videos!
Thank you very much! It keeps me going when I hear comments like this!
Seeing 90s steel MTBs get a new lease on life is just great. This one's a real garage queen too, no wonder it turned out so well. Brilliant stuff, thanks for another enjoyable and entertaining video.
The upgrade is even MORE beautiful! I'm a sucker for white-walled tires. And I love aluminum or stainless steel over black. I love this Gary Fisher before AND after.❤️
Amazingly clean to start with. Can't believe the wedge was stuck in the fork with zero rust. That seat post clamp is beautiful.
1980s and 1990s mountain bikes are all I own/collect nowadays. I have a 98 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo, a 93 Trek 930 and a 93 GT Karakoram. I finally discovered that I really just love old rigid steel bikes with fat 26" wheels (converted from mountain bikes to casual cruisers). I would love to find this Aquila frame in that color green...an emerald green is my favorite color. Thanks for sharing.
the fold up, wall mounted parts washer is so slick lol put that on my Christmas list
Yep! I love mine. I have a separate video on it.
Hy guy, as always greetings from Germany and thanks for the video. A very nice rebuild of the bike and I liked the fact that you first mixed the levers 😄 always happens to me. Keep on going and I wish a nice weekend. 👍🌞🍀
Nice build of a very cool '90's MB. Love the paint on this one and the brown grips and cable housings go with it perfectly. I remember those 3x drivetrains well. 😄 Cheers.
The cat is also groovy, just like this Fisher bike. 👍 From Sweden with great thanks for the video.
I love the paint color and it goes so well with the gold graphics.
Very cool resto-mod! I absolutely agree that these old '90's MTB's are a good value alternative to the Rivendell's and Surly's. There are so many 30ish year old MTB's hanging from garage rafters that are begging for a 2nd life. It's so cool to take someone else's unused equipment and get it back on the trails. Keep up the good work. Just starting my '97 Hoo Koo E Koo resto-mod.
I just picked up one of these locally. Can't wait to update it to be a nice hipster boulevard cruiser.
Ready for another 30 years service. Lovely work, I look forward to watching more of your content 👍
The match of colours that you normally do is awesome. Many thanks and congratulations for such a good taste
This is my favorite build so far. What a beautiful bike!
I have that exact same bike I bought new in college. Mine’s purple. You’ve inspired me to do something cool with mine.
Beautiful build, looks like a dream to ride.
BEAUTIFUL bike AS IS in my opinion. I'm sure the build will be awesome as well. I love this exactly the way it is though. I wish I had it.😁
nice! what a tidy and well preserved frame, incredible.
Beautiful Bike. I like the creativity with the brown cable housing. Eyecatcher for sure.
This one turned out BEAUTIFUL!
Love the colors on this bike…great job👏👏👏
Awesome build. Love your handle bar set up
That turned out great! I love what you did with it. Still has that classic look too.
This is one of the best UA-cam builds I’ve seen in the past year! Amazing choices, and thank you so much for the list with the parts.
Also, congrats on the overall improvement of your videography and flow really entertaining , one of my top three channels
Thank you!!!
Beautiful bicycle, a classic, and a good choice to upgrade. Well made video, too. I went down to the local bike store. His lowest cost bike was $438, a cruiser from China, heavy with no name parts. I took an old 1992 TREK 970 with a lugged chromoly frame and converted it to my city cruiser. Even with powder coating, custom decals and a lots of new parts the total cost was just under $300.
....and you ended up with a much better bike!
Loved watching this build! I just picked up a 96' Marlin in the same color way
That’s a beautiful bike and a great ‘restoration’. I’d sell a child for a bike like that. Great video. Thanks.
That bike is so good lookin, I have watched this video several times. Keeping my eye out for that color.
I have been finding pretty good ones at or below 20 dollars. Love those bars and tires.
It sure looks good, but the one thing that would put it over the edge is CHROME fenders! It's screaming for it & maybe a chrome back rack. Then you can ride it in the rain with style.
And a brass bell for that stem.
Brushed aluminum fenders maybe. Or even painted cream color. Demi porteur rack in front.
Great choice, I got a Gary Fisher last year and it was amazing! I love your tire choice, my only difference would be raising handle bars so the rider has an upright riding position, maybe it's just my back, but I find no advantage to bending forward on a commuter bike ride, sitting upright I can ride 5-6 hours and no back/neck/wrist/hand/butt aches! I cringed when I saw the 1" lift go higher go higher i was screaming, my bikes get a 12" lift on the bars and I love riding for hours, great video thank you
Way cool! Nice job. I love what you do with these. That green paint is awesome.
Great job, Great video, Thank you for your time and tutorial.
That Fisher was a good looking bike to start with, and in fantastic condition too. But looks even better now. Can you work the same magic on the cat? He definitely looks like he could do with a bit of an overhaul. 😂
great bike. I have one in purple that I used to drag my dog around in her custom modified burley flatbed trailer on the beaches of socal. still have the bike, but I think it's time to pass it on. nice work on yours
Well done 👍
Greetings from Germany
Saludos desde Costa Rica...tengo bicicleta de los años 90..muy original y en buen estado...esa suya esta genial..exelente video
Another great build and great video thankyou
Picked one of these up for peanuts a few years back. it proved to be a good source of components. in fact, the front wheel is on my latest build!
Nice build my friend.
I've often thought it would be a good idea for me to put my bike stand in an old claw foot bathtub so I could find all the little parts that I drop.
🤣🤣
I had a small 26 blue and gray Gary Fisher, with decent front shocks. it handled like my BMX. can't wait to get my red line MX24 in tomorrow
Great job.
Beautiful Bike
My old Trek 950 has almost identical components. I also swapped out the straight bars for one with a sweep similar to yours, and it's amazing how much that changes the feel of the bike. Very nice color choices!
Yep, Trek owned Gary Fisher during this time and shared alot between brands.
Thank you for this video! I have an old Jamis...close to the same shade of green, and I think I can do it up like you here and make it look like it's twin--love the brown, too!
Go for it!
that's a great way to mod that bike.. my 7300fx disc is a similar cruiser hybrid.. mullet wheels and gears
Very cool bike! These older steel bikes can go on forever with a just tiny bit of maintenance and refreshing.
Beautiful bicycle
Great job and a new life of nice bike :)
And with that silverback oakland 26er and 3x9..thank and i appreciate the feedback.. With hulp in deed
have a 1997 Aquila with the White Sand Matte paint and am thinking of doing a restoration similar to what you did. What handlebar did you use? Also looking at replacing the 175mm cranks with 170 or 165mm as the frame is a 15.5" and my legs are short. And what shifters did you use to replace the twist grips?
The bars were off of Amazon. There's a link in the video description. As for the shifters, those are Shimano Exage. Nothing fancy, just some older 3x7 shifters.
I have the same Fisher Aquila (with all original components) that I rode on trails in WI back in the day, except i have replaced the original with a gel seat and a taller, replacement handlebar stem(?) that reduces the strain on my arms from the original seating position which put so much weight on my shoulders and wrists (how did we ride like that?). I now find the front rake (which was great on technical trails) a bit steep and maybe unstable for my present state of balance and (much) older body. I still have the original toe-clips (made for street shoes, not clip-ons) installed by the dealer I bought her from. Thanks for the video.
More rise backsweep and wider bars would make it even more comfortable
Agreed I did a similar build with a Univega steel hybrid and used the Velo Orange Seine bar at 780mm, 40mm rise and 35 degree sweep. Cut the bars down to 720 which is perfect for me.
Very nice colours.
Gorgeous!
Nice job!👌
The prettiest bike I have seen.
The Shimano STX line was pretty special, 2 of my 90s bikes have the STX-RC derailleurs which was rumored to be discontinued by Shimano because they never break, I don't know how true that is but i will say they all work flawless over 25 years later.
Just got a 96 or so G.F. Marlin that I am going to work on slowly as I ride it as a commuter bike. I went blind in my left eye and my right one is a bit poor too so I quit driving and went back to the basics at age 69..
That Deep Breathe was all too familiar..
Maravilha de bike e de trabalho. Componentes System, parabéns.
Omg I love that cat!
I've been doing something very similar to my 1991 Schwinn Crosscut. It is very similar to the bike you rebuilt. It hasn't been as easy as you make it look. Of course mine wasn't so pristine. However, I didn't swap my brake/derailleur controls. It was 70 degrees yesterday and I hoped to take it for a spin. Unfortunately, the derailleurs had other ideas. Nice video.
Nice build. Good man for keeping the original drive train. This one by stuff is a fad. I agree I have the same Aquila and a Rivendell Atlantis. I ride the hell out of both but The Aquila has a little more old school cred which makes it my favorite.
Great build!! I would have done cork grips to go with the classy brown cable housings from France.
I agree! I'm not in love with the light colored seat and grips and ultimately may change those up to be darker brown.
Parabéns ficou muito linda, mais que já era.
Nice build! Would you mind sharing the saddle you ended up using?
I can't find where I got that seat. I think it may have been one that I had lying around.
appreciate the vid and the restoration. you gotta let me in on that red scrub gun/parts washer cabinet-- what's the make/model?
I wish I could tell you where I got it. I can't find anyone who makes them anymore. I love it. If I can find it, I will let you know.
I ride a Gary Fisher piranha as my workhorse. The frame is on its 3rd iteration now.
These old MTB frames are like a blank canvas ready for creativity!
Crazy how narrow those handlebars are, I've almost never seen brake levers that lose together on any size of bike.
very nice
for the tires, were they deflated? I find it easier to take off when the tube has been deflated where you can squeeze the tire to insert the levers.
I had them totally deflated. For some reason, these were extra tight.
Nice work! Just subbed..
Awesome, thank you!
The shifting sounded solid and as smooth as butter when you ran through the gears in your shop. This is the kind of restored bike I'd absolutely be interested in buying if I came across one. Do you keep most of your restored bikes or sell some of them off?
Well, that's a tricky question. I try to sell them but lately the bike market is very soft and unfortunately, I acquire bikes faster than I move them along. Haha! There are a few that I do hold onto because I like them too much.
Hi there, amazing looking bike! Do you know the code of the paint? I'm amazed about it!
Sorry, I don't. They are quite popular in that color.
Lovely build! Just curious, does it matter which way the BB is installed? Genuine question from a hobby mechanic here.
Yes, the threads are opposite of each other and they only go in one way. The right hand side of the bike has backwards threads.
I've got the same year (1995) Hoo Koo E Koo and Cronus (frame, waiting to be repainted). These geometries are perfect and I'd say ideal for urban riding. The only downside of them is the 73mm bottom bracket width as this standard makes forces the use of a slightly wider bottom bracket and chainline which is not ideal for a 135mm rear end.
I don’t quite like the stem and bar that is one ver nice build. Good looking bike with smart touches
Hi from Germany
Great Work.
I wish i had your Skills
Can you tell me, what is this for a Handelbar.
I will buy such a nice and comfotable Handlebar for my old Giant Escaper.
I think this would make it more Comfortable.
Now i will watch all of your Videos from the Beginning.
Pls more like this
Thanks!! The link to the handlebars is in the video description.
I have a Yo Eddy Team Fat Chance; could I do the same thing with a rebuild? I feel the Yo's geometry is much shorter and tighter so maybe it wouldn't convert into a cruiser without becoming incredibly twitchy
upfront.
Where did you get the bars from like the build 👍🇬🇧
All the stuff I bought for the build is in the video description. The bars are aluminum and have a great finish, and best if all, they are affordable!
Love your videos. Do you put any grease or other thing on the chain ring bolts before assembling?
Some things I don't grease. I don't grease the chainring bolts.
Great bike and vid! What’s the frame size?
I believe it is a 17-inch bike. A bit too small for me, but still fun to ride.
Very nice build!I really dig those bars,do you have a link?btw what’s your go to putter?
Link to the bars and other things are in the description. Thanks for watching!
My putter is a Never Compromise.
I used to sell these. Super light steel, Fisher stable geometry! Replace those horrible pads with some Yokozuna!
Use cable donuts to protect that frame. Please…
You're right! I need to get those on there!
I like that bike it is just to bad they cant get any other cruiser bike with gearing like that for anyone who has hills
Could you please tell me what tool/size tool you used to remove the crank? I have to remove the exact one. Thanks 🙏
It's a bicycle special tool. They are not too expensive. Search "crank puller" on Amazon or eBay you will find several different kinds.
What stem are you using, and is it a 1 inch quill?
It was a stock Gary Fisher/Trek stem that came with the bike. It is a 1-1/8 quill stem.
@@DePuesshop Thank you - like you videos...
That trespasser looks like Ali Clarkson's part-thief,
better check if something is missing.
Nice and fine bike..
2010 silverback oakland.. Mid range bike... Really slow... What cause the problems..
Its 8 speed alloy frame.. With steel and alloy parts.. Shimano parts.. Only diffrence is that the derailleur is campagnolo for 7-12 speed and driftshifters from campagnolo
If it's slow, it could be the bike needs some lube or the tires are low or the bike is just big and heavy.
I would like to buy a Riv...
❤
I don’t know if you tried off camera, but your attempts to remove the tyres looked a little half hearted and you were too quick to go into demolition mode destroying tyres and tubes in the process.
Nice end result though.
I had broken 3 tire tools off camera and then gave up.....
Oh, so that explains your frustration. Lost in the editing.
Thanks for the explanation.
I am new to your channel, but interested to see more.
Subscribed. 😁
Needs a second water bottle cage.
The 29-year-old brake pads must be as hard as a rock. They may "work", but perform poorly, especially on a wet rim.
Good excuse
This bike is 4 sizes too small for you.
Haha! I think so!