here's a way overdue update for those who jumped into the fray to help me with my bike.
I finally broke down and bought a Works -1.5° headset. I shoved it in my Karate Monkey and changed a few other things:
* 3" Chronicle up front and 2.8" Coronado rear. massive tires, but I have a 29mm internal front rim and 30.5mm rear. I think these rims are too narrow for these tires, and the tires are **heavy**. I'll probably go not much larger than 2.5" in the future. I think somewhere between 10 and 15 psi works for me on this size tire. I started my first ride with them at 15 and kept letting pressure out. 10 is too low, as I can feel the tire squirming around in corners. would a wider rim help with that, or just more pressure? I have tire inserts in there as well.
* Tandell rigid fork. 495mm a-c length. It has a plenty of steerer tube to make up for the extra stack on the Works headset. I haven't tried the new headset with my squishy fork, but it might fit. Trying to get the most out of the rigid setup for now.
Otherwise, because all the new frames were outside of what I could justify buying on my income, I'm working with Marino to get a custom frame built. the geometry is almost identical to a Neuhaus Hummingbird, but the Hummingbird is $2400, whereas Marino is going to build me one for about 600 bucks. I know the sophisticated design and domestic manufacture of a H-bird is with the price tag, but I can't responsibly do that.
I also took advantage of BF sales and ordered a Bomber Z2 fork, so I'll have to resist the urge to chop the fork down too much.
![monster Monkey](https://www.mtbr.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=1920,fit=scale-down//media/karate-monkey-with-big-ol-tires.1807827/full)
Nov. 30, 2022, 5:42 a.m. - Jonathan Nolte
here's a way overdue update for those who jumped into the fray to help me with my bike. I finally broke down and bought a Works -1.5° headset. I shoved it in my Karate Monkey and changed a few other things: * 3" Chronicle up front and 2.8" Coronado rear. massive tires, but I have a 29mm internal front rim and 30.5mm rear. I think these rims are too narrow for these tires, and the tires are **heavy**. I'll probably go not much larger than 2.5" in the future. I think somewhere between 10 and 15 psi works for me on this size tire. I started my first ride with them at 15 and kept letting pressure out. 10 is too low, as I can feel the tire squirming around in corners. would a wider rim help with that, or just more pressure? I have tire inserts in there as well. * Tandell rigid fork. 495mm a-c length. It has a plenty of steerer tube to make up for the extra stack on the Works headset. I haven't tried the new headset with my squishy fork, but it might fit. Trying to get the most out of the rigid setup for now. Otherwise, because all the new frames were outside of what I could justify buying on my income, I'm working with Marino to get a custom frame built. the geometry is almost identical to a Neuhaus Hummingbird, but the Hummingbird is $2400, whereas Marino is going to build me one for about 600 bucks. I know the sophisticated design and domestic manufacture of a H-bird is with the price tag, but I can't responsibly do that. I also took advantage of BF sales and ordered a Bomber Z2 fork, so I'll have to resist the urge to chop the fork down too much. ![monster Monkey](https://www.mtbr.com/cdn-cgi/image/format=auto,onerror=redirect,width=1920,height=1920,fit=scale-down//media/karate-monkey-with-big-ol-tires.1807827/full)