Brooklyn Machine Works

PB Forum :: Downhill
Brooklyn Machine Works
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flag jgottya1
Posted: Aug 11, 2016 at 12:37 Quote
@Scotty1985 my Racelink has a 17 on jack and 28 on LH crank arm.
flag deadmeat25
Posted: Aug 11, 2016 at 13:13 Quote
SEADEVIL wrote:
Thank you....I'm old school....ridden everything over many years. tup
That's cool Smile
flag CT-lowrider
Posted: Aug 12, 2016 at 17:52 Quote
CT-lowrider wrote:
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1235005099845412&set=a.189864987692767.49742.100000078002640&type=3 here you go guys Jgotcha seadevil and all us brooklyn family Superco Lovers this is me for the last 2 days wed nesday thusday riding with Danny hHart AT PLATTEKILL with my RACELINK ... Literally only a hand full less than 10 where here.. Unbelievable




https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1235005099845412&set=a.189864987692767.49742.100000078002640&type=3
flag SEADEVIL
Posted: Aug 13, 2016 at 14:53 Quote
Great pic, keep spinning those pedals bro, nice one.
flag yozer13
Posted: Aug 15, 2016 at 14:18 Quote
@seadevil
still going strong that, my mate bought it off you.
one of the boys made eccentric cups for it.
need to get some of the sprockets made now the teeth are a bit worn now
flag SEADEVIL
Posted: Aug 17, 2016 at 8:51 Quote
Nice one!!! It was a monster rig for sure...got any new pics of her, just for the memory? Cheers.
flag deadmeat25
Posted: Aug 17, 2016 at 9:29 Quote
yozer13 wrote:
@seadevil
still going strong that, my mate bought it off you.
one of the boys made eccentric cups for it.
need to get some of the sprockets made now the teeth are a bit worn now

Been there with this problem, can advise unless you have it sorted already, let me know.
flag jgottya1
Posted: Aug 19, 2016 at 6:16 Quote
I have reached out to Joe numerous times over the past few years advising him that having some replacement parts for the earlier frames would be a good idea and should not take up too much overhead in regard to him already having the CNC programs to churn out some links, sprockets, hangers, etc.... But alas.... Still nothing. I have always loved Brooklyns since they first showed locally at some Nationals in the North here and i got to take the first ride on one. And i have owned up to 3 at one time, still have a Racelink and TMX. I have stepped up numerous times to help others with info, drawings, explanations of the system and pivots, and still..... To date feel left hung out to dry. Thankfully i bought multiple spares to keep them going. Sadly it seems like the company is preoccupied making hard tail single fixies for the city hipsters. Which is fine if that is your thing. But... There is a kid in New Hampshire that has been trying to get links and pivot parts for almost 2 years now... If I owned the co. I would be in there hand machining those parts, come up with a price for labor and materials, a little margin and get the rider up and back on the mountain. When you were responsible for The burliest, most iconic rig ever built... Come on... Support those that supported you!!
flag yozer13
Posted: Aug 20, 2016 at 12:41 Quote
deadmeat25 wrote:
yozer13 wrote:
@seadevil
still going strong that, my mate bought it off you.
one of the boys made eccentric cups for it.
need to get some of the sprockets made now the teeth are a bit worn now

Been there with this problem, can advise unless you have it sorted already, let me know.

if you have any info on the sprockets i can pass it n to my mate he would be grateful dude
flag deadmeat25
Posted: Aug 26, 2016 at 13:51 Quote
jgottya1 wrote:
I have reached out to Joe numerous times over the past few years advising him that having some replacement parts for the earlier frames would be a good idea and should not take up too much overhead in regard to him already having the CNC programs to churn out some links, sprockets, hangers, etc.... But alas.... Still nothing. I have always loved Brooklyns since they first showed locally at some Nationals in the North here and i got to take the first ride on one. And i have owned up to 3 at one time, still have a Racelink and TMX. I have stepped up numerous times to help others with info, drawings, explanations of the system and pivots, and still..... To date feel left hung out to dry. Thankfully i bought multiple spares to keep them going. Sadly it seems like the company is preoccupied making hard tail single fixies for the city hipsters. Which is fine if that is your thing. But... There is a kid in New Hampshire that has been trying to get links and pivot parts for almost 2 years now... If I owned the co. I would be in there hand machining those parts, come up with a price for labor and materials, a little margin and get the rider up and back on the mountain. When you were responsible for The burliest, most iconic rig ever built... Come on... Support those that supported you!!

Wind your neck in mate Smile Chris Bordeaux (Doc) who designed the link and all the other crazy machines left years ago, and not amicably i believe, Doc won't have anything to do with Brooklyn bikes or parts and Joe has nothing to gain by endlessly machining parts for these old bikes. Whilst they were on sale, they sorted anything anyone needed, but you try getting parts for a 2002 Giant or Spesh DH bike, or getting parts for any 15 year old bike, good luck, and to say if i was Joe i'd be in there machining parts etc is just silly, there were around 150 links made, a lot of them are dead, most of them are not being ridden much if at all, there is no demand for parts! It just feels like there is to you because you want some and you've seen literally a handful of people saying i need this and i need that, myself being one of them, but even if every Link ever made was still hitting the park every weekend there'd still be only 150 people to service, that's not a business maker, and if you did as you say you would, you wouldn't have a business. At some point you have to say that's it and move on, and it's my understanding that Joe binned (literally) all of the old Link/TMX etc parts he had a couple of years ago in a cathartic purge, needing parts myself this news stung a bit, but i say good luck to him.

If you want to keep your bike alive you're on your own, but you just need to think about it, firstly on the point of sprockets, and this references the last post by 'yozer13', getting custom ones made to fit the proprietary spline on the link will cost a shitload unless you know 'A Guy". Whoever makes them has got to tool up, measure up, provide materials, make them, finish them etc, your looking at like £300 for a bloody sprocket, i phoned around, it's not happening. Then I spoke to the guys at Profile Racing about their Nano splined sprockets, utilising a cut down Profile hollow Titanium axle, it should be doable for less and can shed some weight too which is cool! Smile The sprockets themselves are around $50, so after the initial cost of the mod you at least have a supply of cheap replacement sprockets but there are a few caveats, the smallest one they make is 18T, not too bad, it will replace a 17T so slightly larger drive sprocket and you're there, right?... Well, if you factor in the 9 and 10 tooth cassettes you can get now this slight lowering of gear ratio doesn't matter one bit, also, the 18T is only available in 3/32, so you have to run a 3/32 drive sprocket and a skinny chain, but that's another weight saving Smile

Onto the right hand sprocket, this is where it starts to get a little tricky, the 23T Profile Nano ring is 1/8 only, this is fine if you want to run single speed, but if not, they will machine it down to 3/32 if you request it but won't finish it apparently, i didn't ask why, i was just trying to gauge viability and anodising is cheap anyway.

The big issue here though is the new axle diameter, the original axle is 20mm, the profile axles are obviously 19mm, so the only thing that really needs to be custom made is a new jack shaft sleeve and spacer, the first is a simple aluminium tube machined at the ends to accommodate bearings, the spacer is just a tube that sits between the bearings like the one in a bottom bracket, albeit a very precisely cut one Smile The sleeve just needs to be exactly the same as the old one except machined to fit standard 19mm bottom bracket bearings rather than the 20mm ones used for the original axle, this should be much cheaper to have made than a custom sprocket, and, once it's done it's done and like i said before, you have an endless supply of sprockets from a company that aint going nowhere for very little money, even if they do have to shave it a bit Smile

Well that's my idea anyway although i'm yet to get round to it myself Smile My sprockets are fine, i grabbed the very last ones off Ged The Head but it's a bridge i will have to cross again Smile

Sorry for the novel, i could go on at length about the all mods i want to do but haven't got round to yet, but maybe in there lies point, is it worth it? i don't know, yes and no perhaps, it'd be cool to make the Brooklyn better, but i could just buy a newer bike, and if i had a newer bike would i even ride the Brooky enough to warrant all this modding? Don't know. Is it worth messing with it just for fun? Yep Smile

If i ever do attempt any of the crazy ideas i have i'll be sure to post them, but would love to see more mods others have done to theirs Smile

P.s. I have one tip for all RL owners, to get your BB in the lowest and furthest back position you ned a 26T drive sprocket.

Smile
flag yozer13
Posted: Aug 27, 2016 at 2:11 Quote
[Quote="deadmeat25"]
jgottya1 wrote:

Smile

cheers for the info dude,
i had thought about looking into something like that, like you said will be cheaper and better in the long run.
could maybe even match up new bearings instead of making a spacer but if not making a spacer is fairly simple.
cheers for the thoughts.
i told him when he bought it its gonna be a pig for parts plus its old and heavy and well he just says its a brooklyn though dude. fair point lol
i had a old old v10 and in all fairness to santacruz they still stock linkages and everything for them.
nice bike shame the link design had major flaws a bag of sweets with a toddler would last longer
flag CT-lowrider
Posted: Aug 27, 2016 at 18:02 Quote
DAM MEAT DROP THE KNOWLEDGE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
flag SEADEVIL
Posted: Aug 27, 2016 at 20:14 Quote
Just class the Brooklyn as a piece of mtb history, a bit like the bmx that came out after the 80's. I always wanted a GT Pro Performer after watching Eddie Fiola on TV, but have you see the prices they fetch....and not many nos parts either. I got three fatbikes now, easy to maintain at home, no regular expensive servicing costs for shocks/suspension, even though I live near Fox UK. The fattys remind me of a big boys bmx from back in the day, but running 4.6in tyres. They growl their way around the Welsh hills like a Hummer 4x4....not the fastest going up, but they ride mental across the mountains and pretty fast coming down...the ride all based on tyre choice/pressure, but no rebound valve. Or my riding, location, and out and about with my photography, I don't need nothing else? The Brooklyn is something special matched with an Avalanche shock, and will always remain a classic rig for the few that ridden and owned one.
flag deadmeat25
Posted: Aug 28, 2016 at 4:59 Quote
CT-lowrider wrote:
DAM MEAT DROP THE KNOWLEDGE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Boom? Smile

 


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