Museum of Mountain Bike Art & Technology

1993 Retrotec

One of about 50 of the Retrotec "Human Powered Dirt Craft" bikes.  Similar construction can be found in bikes from Trimble and Grove but this one differs in the use of braided cables to replace the seat and chain stays which allows the rear forks to flex.  The lower cables use skateboard bushings to give a little extra flex.  They could be changed out to change the ride characteristics of the bike.  Other than giving a little more comfortable ride, the flexible rear end allowed the tire to "stand up" straighter when cornering and allowed more of the tire to contact the ground resulting in better traction.  The picture on the far right is what the bike looked like when we got it.

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Before (below)   :  After (Above)

 

Frame		Steel
Fork		Steel
Rear Shock		NA
Rims		Specialized GXL21
Hubs		Suntour XC Pro
Spokes		DT Stainless Steel
Tires		Tioga Wonder Dawg
Pedals		None
Crank		Cook Bros Racing
Chain		Suntour
Rear Cogs		Suntour 7 speed
Bottom Bracket		Suntour
Front Derailleur		Suntour X-1
Rear Derailleur		Suntour XC Pro
Shifters		Suntour XC Pro
Handlebars		Tange Prestige Cr-Mo Double Butted
Stem		Offroad Flex stem
Headset		Suntour XC Pro
Brake set		Dia Compe 986
Brake levers		Ritchey Logic
Saddle		Ritchey Vector Plus
Seat Post		Alloy
Colors		Yellow
Size		17"
Serial #		None Found