Real Old School DH

this is my rig from '97, I raced for Dirtworks that year and this was the build. The zzyzzx forks (pronouced zie zix) looked impressive but were the biggest piece of shit you have ever ridden. I had to put those big boots on the stanchions because the first race I did on this at Plattekill they completely locked up. You see when the seals got wet they caused a pnuematic lockout of the fork because of the pressure that built up inside the huge legs. the brilliant fix was drilling holes in the bottom of the forks so air and water could escape. I worked on these forks all the time because they were always breaking down. Jan Karpiel made some sweet wet bath seals for them that helped out a lot but they still sucked big time. I remember that I could have bought a Marzocchi bomber fork with 4 inches of travel that would have been better than the Zzyzzx fork with 6 inches of travel. The bike on the other hand was awesome it was light and stiff and I wish I had that frame still because it would be an awesome trail bike today with it's 5 inches of travel. (BTW the alligator on the bars was the DH mascot! I had that thing on my bike from '91 to '98 when finally decided to retire the guy, he was broken and fixed so many times that his squeker didn't work anymore!) The build went like this

Dirt Works Monster Frame 5" of travel with a Fox Vanilla shock

Bullit bros Zzyzzx fork 6" of shitty travel

crappy red stem

Club Roost bars with cross bar

Magura HS33 brakes, blue

Curve cranks

Shimano 105 rear derailluer with Bullitbros tensioner

Ringle fron hub with Rhyno rim

Hugi rear hub with Rhynolite rim

I still have those wheels!!

Shimano 646 pedals (the best clipless pedal ever until the Crankbros mallet and Acids)

oury grips

IRC Missle Tires( some of the best ever)