Vintage Mountain Bike Workshop
For The Latest:
  • Home
  • The Collection
  • Projects
  • Rare Parts
  • Other Bikes
  • Archives
  • Sale
  • Contact

1983 Checkered Demon

Checkered Demon bikes were designed and built by Martin Poole out of Lafayette, CA, who passed away in 2005.  Best estimates indicate that 3 to 4 bikes were made in total and this is the lone survivor.  It's unclear whether they were post-weld heat treated, but the failure rate would indicate that they likely weren't.  By day, Martin was an accomplished senior electronics engineer at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.  Martin was also a high school friend of Ibis Cycles founder Scot Nicol, and Scot provided a lot of help creating the Checkered Demon bikes.  That help would include the early Type II fork, which was likely built by Scot, and the Ibis-modified Hi-E hubs.  Originally the bike had roller-cam style brakes which Martin had made himself with various improvements but have since been lost.  The frame building influences of aluminum mountain bike pioneer Charlie Cunningham are readily apparent, including the oversized tubing, large diameter seatpost, dropout design, and the brake placement.  One of the more notable features of the bike is the top of the seatpost, constructed out of diamond plate aluminum with an offset well over 2 inches.  Considering that the effective toptube on this large frame is only 20.75", and coupling that with a 75 degree seattube angle, the radical seatpost design appears to be compensation for frame geometry that is aggressive even by road bike standards.  With no other surviving examples to compare with, more details about these bikes may be lost to time.

The Build

Year: 1983
S/N: N/A
Frame: Checkered Demon
Fork: Ibis Type II
Stem: Ibis Direct Mount Replica
Headset: Tange Levin Alloy LV-1500
Bottom Bracket: Cartridge Bearing
Handlebar: WTB Chrome Steel
Shifters: Shimano Deore XT M700
Front Derailleur: Suntour Cyclone M-II
Rear Derailleur: Suntour ARX
Brake Levers: Magura Motorcycle "Shortie"
Front Brake: Suntour Rollercam
Rear Brake: Suntour Rollercam
Crankset: Suntour Touring
Chainrings: SR Specialized 31-38-46
Pedals: Suntour XC-II
Hubs: Hi-E Ibis Modified
Rims: Ambrosio Durex
Tires: Specialized Stumpjumper
          Marin RockStar
Wheel QR: Suntour
Seatpost: Checkered Demon
Saddle: Ariake Jaguar II
Seatpost QR: Shimano 600
Grips: Grab-On MTN-1
Chain: Sachs
Cogs: Shimano 600 Freewheel
Picture
Return to The Collection
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.