Category Archives: Bike

BTS at UNO Studios with Nick Turner shooting Jen Kay’s new Winspace G3.

Strip down. New logoless gloss black carbon gravel fork finally arrived from AliExpress.

105 mechanical/hydraulic shifter from my Allez Sprint.

105 front brake caliper also from my Allez Sprint.

Custom thru axle disc brake front wheel and rim brake rear wheel from ZEN Carbon Bike.

Boat anchor from my S5.

Avid Shorty Ultimates with Swisstop carbon pads.

Photo by Nick!

The wheels make the car.

My first real MTB was a Cannondale SM1000 which I built up from a second hand frameset when I was in high school. I’ve been on the lookout for one in the exact same black and white colour scheme ever since.

I’ve seen a fair few lower spec Super V’s pop up on FB Marketplace but yesterday this small 17″ 1996 Super V Active 3000 popped up for $200 AUD and I jumped on it.

These were well over $4K AUD when new (there’s one on eBay right now for $2,250 AUD). The seller had owned it since new and bought the bike in Switzerland (the shop sticker is still on the top tube!) where he rode the Swiss Alps. He then took it with him to New York, and finally he brought it with him to Sydney Australia where it’s sat in his garage ever since.

The bike is in great condition but sadly the rear Fox Alps-4 shock doesn’t hold air. On closer inspection I found a hairline crack at the top of the shock. I might be able to use some JB Weld to fix it, if that fails I’ll have to look into a replacement.

The brakes are wired the wrong way (European with the left brake lever controlling the front brake) and the stem was flipped upside down, both easy fixes. I’ve cleaned up the bike a little, but I’ll have to sort out the rear shock before I can ride it.

SPECS:

Frame: Small 17″ 6061 T6 aluminium, double-butted, heat-treated
Fork: Cannondale Headshock Fatty
Rear Shock: Fox Alps-4, 3.0″ travel, 6.5″ Eye-to-Eye
Brakeset: Shimano XT
Shift Levers: Grip Shift SRT-800 X-Ray
Front Derailleur: Shimano XTR, bottom-pull
Rear Derailleur: Shimano XTR
Crankset: Shimano Deore LX 22/32/44 teeth
Pedals: Wellgo
Cassette: 8-speed, 11-28 teeth
Seatpost: Syncros Titanium, 27.2 mm diameter
Saddle: Selle Italia Trans Am
Handlebars: CODA Competition
Stem: CODA Suspension Specific
Front Wheel: Mavic X 517, CODA 900 hub
Rear Wheel: Mavic X 517, DT Swiss hub
Tyres: 26 x 1.95″ IRC Mythos XC
Quick Release: CODA

Original Weight: 12.03kg

My 2nd set of XMCS wheels came in the mail today and weighed in at 1168g for the set.

No quality control issues at all. Super smooth edges both inside the rim bed and out. So happy to have my prefered Aero 111 front and TT TR rear tyre setup again. There were no issues with fitting tyres without levers and both wheels run true with tyres inflated to 60PSI.

I actually think the standard UD finish looks better on the bike too!

FINAL WEIGHT: 6.32kg

We did it! Wild that Nick and I were out of breath after 2 laps of Centennial Park last December, but yesterday with Gina, Reggie and Eugene we rode 86km’s from Sydney to Wollongong and with the help of donations we raised $1,560 for MS.

Much thanks to all who helped us to surpass our $1K donation goal for MS. Was a great day out!

Extra thanks to all the awesome volunteers and police who guided us and brought the vibes.

Full Photo Feature on ZEN Blog: https://www.zengarage.com.au/2025-ms-gong-ride/

More purple bits!

Flite.

Dinner Plate.

King for a Day… Fool for a Lifetime.

Humptulips.

Have a Nice Ride.