Breathing new life into an old school Uzzi

[Roxtar]

I've loved the Uzzi SL since I first laid eyes on one.
Several years ago I came on a chance to pick up a frameset on the cheap.
I built it up as an AM ride, swapping in an inverted SLX shock link and longer Manitou Swinger Air mated to a Nixon for 5" F&R travel and rode it for a year or two:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/Bikequiver006-1.jpg

I decided it was due for a makeover so it was stipped down and sent to the powdercoater:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/powdercoated001.jpg


A riding bud does die cut stickers and made me some sweet silver flake decals

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/bikedonepics007.jpg


The Dude Abides:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/bikedonepics009.jpg

[Roxtar]

Rode it for a year and decided it was time to upgrade the performance as well.
I started by adding a Fox 36 Vanilla160 and did some measuring and plugged the numbers into AutoCAD to see the best way to get the rear to match the Fox's performance. A lot of trial and error finally led me to the best compromise. A 7.88 X 2.25 Fox DHX 3.0 mated to 6" links will net me a little over 6" of buttery smooth travel. A near perfect match for the front end.
Headtube angle will be right at 67* with the ability to go up or down, depending on the rear shock lower mount choice.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/CAD001.jpg


And here are the links:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/CAD002.jpg


Time to fire up the Bridgeport

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/shocklinks002.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/shocklinks003.jpg


Little hiccup; the Uzzi seat tower is too narrow for a modern coil shock. Had to mill out the inside rail and then box in the outside of it to gain back the lost strength. (yes, I've seen far better TIG work too, and no, I didn't weld it :D)
Anyway, all assembled and initial backyard test ride has me very excited.
Back end is extremely plush and seems to be a seamless match to the front.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/uzzi001.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/uzzi008.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/uzzi009.jpg


2.5 Minion is a tight fit:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/uzzi011.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/uzzi012.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/uzzi007.jpg

[frorider]

Congrats on making your own links, but what's the BB height on it now?

[Roxtar]

Congrats on making your own links, but what's the BB height on it now?Just under 16" static (without sag)
Still high but manageable. I've always been a more technical rider and prefer a higher bb for obstacles.
I was aiming for 15.5".

[PeachesN'Cream]

Nice DIfugginY : )

It was going all good then the banjo kicked in at re-welding the seat stays and BB... don't ride in anything past 10mph gusts.
But hey, whatever floats yer boat. I'm just pitching shit, man. Nice effort.

[skinipenem]

Indiana. Pretty much says it all. ;


Looks sweet. Hopefully you're at least in southern Indiana, like Bloomington.

[Roxtar]

Nice DIfugginY : )

It was going all good then the banjo kicked in at re-welding the seat stays and BB... don't ride in anything past 10mph gusts.
But hey, whatever floats yer boat. I'm just pitching shit, man. Nice effort.Really?
First off, not sure what welding you think was done to either the BB or seatstays.
I did add box tubing to the seatpost tower to (more than) replace the strength lost in that component.
Like i posted, I'm not real excited about the looks of the TIG work but the strength is definitely there. It's now completely boxed in, rather than just the OEM milled out strip for support. That seatpost mount is far stronger than the one that rolled out of Intense.
But that's just the opinion of some poor dumb Indiana hillbilly (with an engineering degree from the Purdue School of Banjo Playin) :rolleyes:

[cooltsi]

Nice, what you going to do with the swing arm and seat tower for bling? Are the extra holes on the swing arm for alternate shock mounts? FWIW, I'm digging the silver on white, your buddy has skill.

[Roxtar]

Nice, what you going to do with the swing arm and seat tower for bling? Are the extra holes on the swing arm for alternate shock mounts? FWIW, I'm digging the silver on white, your buddy has skill.After I have everything dialed in and put away for the season, I plan to put the links back in the mill for a little prettying up.
I don't have access to cnc but I can do some creative triangulation. Thinking about leaving them raw but may send them in for white powdercoat with the seat tower and seatstays.
He does great work. I had an AMP Research B5 that he did all the decals in sweet faux carbon.

[toast2266]

nice. always loved those bikes too, and I'm still a little bummed that I sold mine. Seems like your next step should be fabbing up some new seatstays to 1) lower the BB back down a bit, and 2) improve tire clearance.

[Bobby Stainless]

That's amazing. I can't build shit.

[Roxtar]

As happy as I was with the new setup, there was more to be had. The BB was still a little high and the tire would actually just barely make contact with the shock as it bottomed out.
I needed more room for the shock.
Hmmm, there's some wasted space in front of the upper shock mount. Moving that mount about an inch farther forward would do loads of good.
Machine a couple shock mounts and weld them in place:


http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/frontmount001.jpg


The old location:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/uzzi008.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/frontmount004.jpg

That made a huge difference. This one change dropped the BB to 14.75" and the headtube angle to 65*
By utilizing the various lower shock placements I can bump that to 16" & 68* if the trail calls for it.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/frontmount003.jpg

Can't wait to try it out

[marshalolson]

NOW you are in business.

dude, that is the most aggressive and totally cool bike experiment i have ever seen. way to go. super rad.

[kidwoo]

Nice.

Not nearly enough fucking around with bikes these days anymore.

Just a heads up, no trail will ever 'call for' a 16" bb ;)

[Roxtar]

Nice.

Not nearly enough fucking around with bikes these days anymore.

Just a heads up, no trail will ever 'call for' a 16" bb ;)Thanks.
Point taken, however, one of my favorite local trails is basically a long trials course. It's a very tight rock garden, strewn with large log crossings. Takes a good half hour to go 1/2 mile.
I was happy to have for every inch of BB height.

[toast2266]

bitchin. the bike looks like it'll ride way better with the new mount.

[kidwoo]

You mean, like Arizona rocky? :wink:


NOTHING IS AS ROCKY AS ARIZONA!!!!!!!!!!!! NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Roxtar]

NOTHING IS AS ROCKY AS ARIZONA!!!!!!!!!!!! NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!true dat

[hick]

Awsome! I so wish I had enginerd skills, but alas I do not. Rad mod project.

[Roxtar]

Update:

Well, bought a real deal big bike over the summer...
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/009.jpg
...so it was time to reverse engines and return this bike to what it was designed to be; a sweet pedaling AM ride.

Sooo...

Time for a diet:
-Ditch the coil sprung Fox 36 for a Marz 55. Small weight savings but big performance increase.
-Ditch the DHX coil for a 7.75x2.25 RL
-Switch back to the Uzzi SLX shock links.
-Time for new legs; WTB Frequency i23s laced to Hadley rear/Pimplite front hubs shod with Rocket Ron 2.4/2.25
-Brakes. The Gustavs could stop a train but this ain't no train no more. Magura MT4s will more than do the job.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/UzziNew005.jpg


Also, decided I was sick of white. Stripped it down and sent the frame out for a splash of color.
McNichols Anodizing did a sick job on the color and, once again, my bud took care of the branding.

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/Uzzianodizedbuilt002.jpg

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh234/Roxtarfab/Bike/Uzzianodizedbuilt004.jpg

Unfortunately, that rear shock got my BB up there again. Since these pics I've subbed in a PUSHed 7.5x2 RP23 w/ the PUSH large can.
This gives me a sub 30lb AM ride with 65* head angle/14.5"BB to 67*head angle/15"BB depending on shock mounting hole.
She goes down like a fat girl on prom night and pedals like, well, like an Intense is supposed to.

Currently looking for an X-Fusion Vengeance and KS Lev to complete the transformation.

[toast2266]

Old school sexiness.

[Skipig25]

nice. new orange & green looks sick, and it seems like that shock fits the bike better. good work