The Gemini. Now with overbuild!

[Customjimmy]

There's a whole Xmetal type saga about this bike. Starting with a stock Iron Horse G-out, through a Kona Coiler dee-lux and two builds worth of Gemini this is my bike now. It's taken about 3 or 4 years for the metamorphosis to be completed. Still a few finishing touches to go, bit of protective tape here and there and the rear brake fitting needs a banjo which my toddler son seems to have misplaced . I thought I'd buck the trend for lighter 'do it all' bikes and build a heavy one! Maybe one day I'll even get the time to ride it! I would like your thoughts on whether or not to run the brake line outside (as is) versus inside the fork lowers.

Spec list

Frame - 2004 Cannondale Gemini 2000
Shock - Stock Manitou 4-way (rebuilt and serviced)
Fork - Brand spankin' Totem solo air 1.5", a thing of beauty. Hard to believe the stanchions are wider than the steerer!

Drivetrain - FSA Gap mega exo cranks (32/22/bashie), V12 pedals, hg 93 chain, XT cassette. The cranks were going to be temporary, but if it ain't broke...

Gears - x9 shifters, lx front, x9 rear derailleurs.

Brakes - Hayes mags, goodridge lines and fittings, hope/hayes 8" rotors.

Wheels - front DPS 32 on hope big 'un 5 bolt, rear DPS 32 on stock cannondale hub (135x12). Double butted DT spokes and minions.

Bars/Stem - Diabolus (uncut)/Thomson 1.5 stem/Ruffians.

Seat - Laser V ti (why bother?) on stock post.

Comes in at 16.8 kgs in this trim, which I reckon is great with the heavy rims, cranks and totems.

 

[Ivan]

Looks great! I have been waiting for someone to build a sweet Gemini and I think you've nailed it. That would be an awesome trail bike.

I'm lovin those Totems. If you run your brake cable inside the forks will you be risking the tyre rubbing on the cable?

 

[Customjimmy]

Looks great! I have been waiting for someone to build a sweet Gemini and I think you've nailed it. That would be an awesome trail bike.

I'm lovin those Totems. If you run your brake cable inside the forks will you be risking the tyre rubbing on the cable?

A couple of cable ties will solve that problem I think as the line shoudn't move where it is attached to the lowers. I'm more worried about sticks getting caught and that sort of thing. Both the rear brakeline and gear cable are currently run inside the chainstay and I think this prevents snags and damage rather than causing them.

 

[chase1]

this bike is really nice. you've built her up well.
if you wanted to go the whole way then you could give her a custom paint job.

 

[Customjimmy]

this bike is really nice. you've built her up well.
if you wanted to go the whole way then you could give her a custom paint job.

I came dangerously close to polishing up (a la gemini's gemini) and hitting it with a couple of coats of a new coloured urethane finish but commonsense prevailed! I'd be too scared to scratch it if it was any shinier!

 

[Dicky]

Sweet.

Not really heavy at all either, will have most other similar travel/purpose bikes looking at their waists in dismay.

Fork is a perfect match, in both form and function.

First '04 2000 I've seen here other than mine too.

 

[AngoXC]

As said, fairly uncommon the Gemini but when they do come up, they are brilliant!

Do you have any old pics of what 'was'? (In line with the Xmetal theme..such a cliche now eh?! haha)

 

[ripper323]

Mate sweet ride, I love the gemini's, and I miss my old one.

 

[leitch]

simply awesome. i'm a cannondale fanboy at heart, and that is a fantastic bike.

 

[Jordan!]

Really good mate, loving the whole Xmetal threds these days.
Have fun with it.

 

[Customjimmy]

Ok then!

It started with a stock 2000 model iron horse G-out, a dodgy single pivot design with suntour cranks. I was riding a lot after being an involuntary pedestrian for a while and this was my upgrade from the malvern star I initially had (in hindsight, the malvern kicked this thing's arse!). The G-out was to teach me many things about how bicycles work.

At this point, sometime in 2004 or 2005, all I knew about bike maintenance was fixing flat tyres. Anyway, the cranks gave out so I sourced a new pair, going for raceface evolves. I buy a run-down giant ATX-990 for the wheels, as the parallax hubs on the Iron Horse were cactus. The old manitou magnum forks and wheels go onto the giant and I buy some stances for the iron horse (seemed like pretty good forks on paper). So at this stage I've got a lightweight low-end bike with dice SMOs, which I later find out to be the heaviest rims on the planet!

These forks are disc only, and I, not knowing shit did not realise this. I get an XT disc hub and build my first wheel. A mate gives me an old Amoeba DH bar and stem and on they go. So does a hope mono mini front brake (seemed like a pretty good brake on paper). I crazily upgrade the shock to a 3-way air, get a pair of mobsters for christmas and top it off with a Wipperman teflon-coated chain for some reason. The rails on the Avocet saddle are shot so I get a Power V. I am now responsible for one of the most impractical and ill-conceived builds on the planet. (Photo 1).

Point of interest - I had that bike and the malvern star unlocked on the verandah one night and the malvern got stolen.

Anyway, I learn a few more things, read a few mtb magazines and realise I need some improvement. The Iron Horse is parted out and I buy a coiler dee-lux frame. I buy diabolus bar and stem because they look cool. The evolve cranks go on a Rockadile frame I bought for the wife, and I get XTs with Blackspire rings off ebay. The 8 speed SRAM 5 goes to the wife's bike and I get an X7 set-up. On go Hayes mags, the same front wheel that's on the gemini now and a 721 rear on hope bulb. I have just joined Farkin. I'm starting to know a couple of things and the build is going well, until I get to the forks. The stances go and 3 or 4 different forks get a guernsey. I foolishly go for triple clamps, thinking that they must be better, even though they screwed the geometry. so I end up with the coiler (photo 2).

Point of interest - this is one of the few bikes that sported 170mm triple clamps and a 90mm Thomson stem. Not great I know, but I'm improving.

Anyway, I've now rebuilt hubs, built wheels, and learned the hard (and often a bit expensive) way how most of a bike is put together and loved every minute. The Gemini is just how I wanted it as a result of trial and error, lots of work and Farkin. There you go, my Farkin life story!

Jim

 

[Old Shagger]

another 1 soon

And chilli man...i am building up a Gemini now 2...and it will be finished in a couple of day, very similar style to yours however with a diferent build spec.
I will have photos soon.....i chose the 66's ata's....

 

[Customjimmy]

And chilli man...i am building up a Gemini now 2...and it will be finished in a couple of day, very similar style to yours however with a diferent build spec.
I will have photos soon.....i chose the 66's ata's....

Don't mention chillis at the moment, we had a massive hailstorm two weeks ago and my garden got punished - not a leaf left on anything! You'll see behind the netting in the first photo my only remaining chilli from last year (the hail went through my table and chairs but not the shadecloth). some of the others are coming back but sad times indeed.

Anyway, on topic, I nearly went with marzocchis but I thought I may as well use the 1.5 steerer if I can (and I already had the headset and Thomson stem). I'm still waiting on a brake fitting so as yet the bike hasn't been ridden, very frustrating. Very frustrating indeed! Looking forward to seeing another gemini done up - they seem to be popping up a bit over the last couple of months.

 

[Giantrider]

That looks so hot with the Totems!!! CANT Wait to get MYN TOMORROW!!!!!!

 

[leon123]

thats a great looking bike mate

 

[jbrandy]

wow!!

the Gemini must be a treat to build up, they're so lite and look super specially yours, best Gemini ever seen!!

if you build the Gemini up like that do you loose your warranty??

sweet bike

 

[Customjimmy]

wow!!

the Gemini must be a treat to build up, they're so lite and look super specially yours, best Gemini ever seen!!

if you build the Gemini up like that do you loose your warranty??

sweet bike

Cheers mate. I don't know what the original warranty was (I bought the frame second hand) but it would have probably been limited to the frame and would probably have been compromised by altering the geometry with longer (only just!) travel forks than stock ones. Anyway, the original frame warranty would have run out by now, even if it was transferable (unlikely) to a different owner. Most of the components on this bike were chosen for strength so I don't think there'll be any problems, especially seeing as I'm getting soft and sensible in my old age!

 

[jbrandy]

Cheers mate. I don't know what the original warranty was (I bought the frame second hand) but it would have probably been limited to the frame and would probably have been compromised by altering the geometry with longer (only just!) travel forks than stock ones. Anyway, the original frame warranty would have run out by now, even if it was transferable (unlikely) to a different owner. Most of the components on this bike were chosen for strength so I don't think there'll be any problems, especially seeing as I'm getting soft and sensible in my old age!

nice! i herd somewhere a while back that cannondale have life time warranty on all there frames!!

nice bike anyways love the totems!!

 

[mcsin]

sidebar to life story.

Lets mention Jim, that the Coiler was sold on ebay but magically only moved 15kms from Lismore to Alstonville and still enjoys trails weekly - and still occasionally with you in the gang! Ah - bikes bringing the boys together....

Oh - its also now in-line for new Pikes (much better fit than the triples!) at least when the two Norco frames Im selling on Farkin give me some $

See ya out there Jim.

It started with a stock 2000 model iron horse G-out, a dodgy single pivot design with suntour cranks. I was riding a lot after being an involuntary pedestrian for a while and this was my upgrade from the malvern star I initially had (in hindsight, the malvern kicked this thing's arse!). The G-out was to teach me many things about how bicycles work.

At this point, sometime in 2004 or 2005, all I knew about bike maintenance was fixing flat tyres. Anyway, the cranks gave out so I sourced a new pair, going for raceface evolves. I buy a run-down giant ATX-990 for the wheels, as the parallax hubs on the Iron Horse were cactus. The old manitou magnum forks and wheels go onto the giant and I buy some stances for the iron horse (seemed like pretty good forks on paper). So at this stage I've got a lightweight low-end bike with dice SMOs, which I later find out to be the heaviest rims on the planet!

These forks are disc only, and I, not knowing shit did not realise this. I get an XT disc hub and build my first wheel. A mate gives me an old Amoeba DH bar and stem and on they go. So does a hope mono mini front brake (seemed like a pretty good brake on paper). I crazily upgrade the shock to a 3-way air, get a pair of mobsters for christmas and top it off with a Wipperman teflon-coated chain for some reason. The rails on the Avocet saddle are shot so I get a Power V. I am now responsible for one of the most impractical and ill-conceived builds on the planet. (Photo 1).

Point of interest - I had that bike and the malvern star unlocked on the verandah one night and the malvern got stolen.

Anyway, I learn a few more things, read a few mtb magazines and realise I need some improvement. The Iron Horse is parted out and I buy a coiler dee-lux frame. I buy diabolus bar and stem because they look cool. The evolve cranks go on a Rockadile frame I bought for the wife, and I get XTs with Blackspire rings off ebay. The 8 speed SRAM 5 goes to the wife's bike and I get an X7 set-up. On go Hayes mags, the same front wheel that's on the gemini now and a 721 rear on hope bulb. I have just joined Farkin. I'm starting to know a couple of things and the build is going well, until I get to the forks. The stances go and 3 or 4 different forks get a guernsey. I foolishly go for triple clamps, thinking that they must be better, even though they screwed the geometry. so I end up with the coiler (photo 2).

Point of interest - this is one of the few bikes that sported 170mm triple clamps and a 90mm Thomson stem. Not great I know, but I'm improving.

Anyway, I've now rebuilt hubs, built wheels, and learned the hard (and often a bit expensive) way how most of a bike is put together and loved every minute. The Gemini is just how I wanted it as a result of trial and error, lots of work and Farkin. There you go, my Farkin life story!

Jim