Bontrager Privateer

A 1996 Bontrager Privateer Comp has been my bike of choice when attacking trails in the woods or simply looking for a leisurely ride around town. I bought this bike new in 1996 as a high school graduation present to myself. Of course, being a high school student, money was tight so when I picked up the bike it looked like a random selection of parts from all the deletions I made to fit it in my budget. Here is the catalog showing the parts the bike was supposed to come with. I had the shop delete the tires, tubes, seat, and pedals and I cannibalized parts from my aging Trek 820 to replace those.

The year before I bought this bike, I had broken my wrist and arm in a soccer game. Because of that injury, I had the shop replace the X-Ray Grip Shifts and Dia-Comp brake levers with a single Shimano XT combination unit. This alleviated my mental discomfort about changing hand position and rotating my wrist while on the trail. The other parts were replaced with Continental Explorers (gum wall of course), a Vetta TT Tri-shock saddle, and a set of Kore Gas Pedals (death traps).

This bike survived a season of racing while I was at Clemson University and several seasons while riding with LSU Team Mountain Bike. As time wore on, parts began to fail. First to go was the seat. Next, the suspension bottomed out and taco'd the front wheel. I managed to replace the seat with a Bontrager branded Selle San Marco seat in 1999 (to this day feels like it need a few more years to “break in”) and that same year I acquired an XTR front hub laced to a Mavic ceramic rim to replace the taco'd wheel. The wheel is probably older than the bike but had been hanging on the wall of the LBS for so long that I got a great deal on it and I had a race the next day so I couldn't afford to be too picky. About a year later, the entire wheelset was replace with a set of Deore hubs laced to Mavic rims with titanium skewers.

Soon after, the stock RockShox Quadra 21R died. The increased sag left a feeling like I was hanging over the front wheel and made the bike incredibly twitchy on descents (even mild descents). At that point, the Bontrager was semi retired and I got a Specialized Stumpjumper M4 to replace it. Although my computer said I was faster by an average of 2 mph on our local trail, the Stumpy just never felt right. After about a season or two, I replaced the Stumpjumper frame with a K2 Razorback with a Nolean Air rear shock. This bike was a couch on wheels! Supper comfortable, responded well to steering input but it still suffered from two problems that I could never correct. First, the rear shock was constantly leaking air. I received a rebuild kit from K2 for free even though I bought the frame off Ebay and it most definitely did not come with a warrantee (thank you K2 for the wonderful customer service!). The rebuild kit made a dramatic improvement in the shock but never really solved the problem. Second, the lock-out switch would lock the rear (sometimes) but would never release it (ever). It was then that I realized it was time to sell the K2 and Specialized frames and rebuild the Bontrager.

The Bontrager presents some unique challenges to rebuilding as compared to other bikes from its period. The fork was blown and needed replacing. When the bontrager was built, it was one of the few bikes that kept a 1” steerer tube. The industry standard had already shifted to 1 1/8”, a standard that is more or less with us today. The option to replace the front fork was limited to either bargain basement forks which were likely to fail in short order, ultra expensive custom fork from White Brothers, or rigid. Since the theme for this build was going to be “budget friendly bombproof” I elected to go with a quality rigid fork. Bontrager, however, threw in an additional little problem with the fact that his bike used a custom crown to achieve a non-standard offset. After a lot of searching, and some waiting for the stock to be replenished, I was able to get my hands on a Kona Project 2 fork with an axle-crown length that would be nearly perfect for the original geometry of the Bontrager. The original fork was threaded and the new fork was threadless. This created the new problem of having to replace the headset and stem. I wanted to keep as many original parts as possible and I saw no need to replace the handlebars so I needed a stem that would fit the original 25.4mm bars instead of the current standard 31.8mm. A 100mm Soma stem was called in to replace the Bontrager Race stem. Since the Soma is designed to fit a 1-1/8” steerer tube, a shim was installed. Cane Creek was sourced to provide the headset, an S2.

The drive train had been through hell and back. A new drive train was in order to revitalize this beast. Shimano LX crankset with external bottom bracket and LX rear derailleur were installed as was an XT front derailleur. SRAM Rocket 9 speed shifters control the gears and a SRAM 9 speed cassette grabs the chain. The old cantilever brakes have found their way to the parts bin and Cane Creek Direct Curve levers and calipers now scrub off the speed. Shimano M520 SPD pedals long ago replaced the KORE deathtraps and allow for proper release when needed.

The grips are Ritchey TGV but on the last ride, I had one actually slip off while navigating some nasty downhill. Lock-on grips will be on order soon but I haven't yet decided on round or ergo, bar ends or not...

 The original Bontrager Comp seatpost remains but gone is the Bontrager Selle San Marco torture device. A Specialized Body Geometry Tomac saddle now provides a surprising degree of comfort for my hind bits. Specialized Team Ground Control and Team Dirt Control tires keep the bike firmly planted.

No, its not full suspension, a 29er, or carbon fiber. It is a reliable, lively, predictable steel bike. Would I like other bikes? Sure. Will I ever get ride of this? Never! Don't buy the hype, by the bike that makes you want to ride it.

I still haven't gotten around to weighing the bike yet but I am pleased to say that it tears up twisty singletrack! Now the only problem I have is that I am feeling the effects of taking several years off of the trails. Unfortunately, there is a distinct possibility that this bike may soon be equipped with a set of slicks and be relegated to cruising the city streets. I am still on the fence about whether to repaint or not. As it is, there is no rust on the bike but it does have several spots that are paint-bare. As always, I am open to suggestions and I would love to hear your opinion on what you would do and what modifications you would make.

Future Plans:

26x2.3 Front and 26x2.1 Rear Tires (more volume to take the edge off the rigid build)

Lock-On Grips

Paint/Powder Coat?

Current Build--
Frame: Bontrager Privateer
Fork: Kona P2
Headset: Cane Creek S2
Stem: Soma
Handlebar: Bontrager Race
Shifters: SRAM Rocket 9 speed
Brake Levers: Cane Creek Direct Curve
Brakes: Cane Creek Direct Curve
Front Derailleur: Shimano XT
Rear Derailleur: Shimano LX
Crankset/Bottom Bracket: Shimano LX
Cassette: SRAM Powerglide 9 speed
Chain: SRAM Powerglide 9 speed
Seatpost: Bontrager Comp
Saddle: Specialized Body Geometry Tomac
Grips: Ritchey TGV
Wheelset: Shimano Deore
Tires F/R: Specialized Team Dirt Control/Specialized Team Ground Control

This is one of the bikes I will never get rid of no matter what. What bike do you have an irrational attachment to?