NSMB - 2022 - Hardtail Thread...

They do this funny thing where they use the same frame for 142 or 148 rear spacing. I suspect they make the frame 145 and you just spread or squeeze it? Probably works fine but something about that philosophy turned me off but I also full well know that my custom Marino I am waiting for with 148 rear spacing may measure 145 when I get it ;)

Surly does that on most of their bikes, most steel manufacturers say you can go either way and run boost or not.  It's only a 3 mm spread per side, not an issue for any steel frame.

Love that SS Samurai, and looks like you're putting it through the paces!

Since I went riding with other humans today [only hardtail sadly] I figured I should get an "action" shot as opposed my 701st bike leaning against tree shot. Convinced my GF to take this photo. Not epic action, but nobody wants to stop middle of the shred down to do a photo shoot so a climbing shot it is! Nice day for January in Canada!

Mmm them's some tasty Chromags. More photos please.

Cracked a weld on the seat tube gusset where it joins the top tube.... sad day but it's not wall art yet.

Any of you epicureans know of anyone qualified to make the repair?

Nice touch with the vinyl.

What are you doing to that poor record? :)

Turntable on my garage office desk where the unveiling pic was snapped 6yrs ago, 'tis all. The LP was under the plastic cover, calm down ;-)

Disclaimer - my ramblings about geo are just that...nothing for certain and just personal observations not meant to imply anyone else should feel the same way.

I've been riding a fair number of frames the last few years and that has allowed me to try out some geo ideas and see what happens. It's been fun to experiment and since it's mostly been hardtail frames the cost to swap parts between frames hasn't been high which has made taking some risks a lot easier. One thing I've generally known is that I seem to prefer shorter CS and slacker STAs. I feel really awkward and uncomfortable pushed up towards the front of the bike with a lot of weight on my hands. 

I also haven't enjoyed longer CS. Lots of people seem to like them so I was kind of surprised that every time I went longer back there I didn't enjoy the experience. The one exception to this is my Krampus where I do enjoy riding it despite the 446mm CS....I'll come back to this later.

I've had some interesting experiences where I've had the same bike as a friend and we've had opposite opinions on how they worked in specific situations....like say steep techy climbs.

I'm 5'11" and wear 33" inseam pants. So roughly in the sweet spot for bike design criteria. I do carry my weight in my upper body more then my lower. I've got scrawny legs and no butt. #SadbutTRUE

Now that I have more data on these issues it's becoming clear to me that the reason I like both short CS and slacker STAs is because it's hard for me to weight the back end of the bike and it's easier for me to overweight the front end. It's kind of obvious now, but it took riding a bunch of bikes to see how my stoke for the bike really corelated to how easy it was for me to get my weight on the rear tire. That also explains why I can ride a rear tire happily up a steep climb and my front end doesn't lift. It doesn't take much of a lean forward for me to keep the front wheel on the ground.

Going back to the Krampus I think the reason it works for me despite longer CS is that it's got a slack 72.5 deg STA combined with a 1" offset seatpost, which really gets my weight back...apparently enough to counter act the long CS. 

Figuring this out better in my own mind is pretty useful as it explains why my demos of steep STA bikes weren't positive. Aside from not enjoying the comfort/ergonomics of that pushed forward position I often had issues with rear wheel traction on steep climbs. It's easy to slide forward on the saddle to make the effective STA steeper, but you can't really slide backwards off the saddle to make it slacker...especially on a long front centre bike.

This knowledge will help me pick frames in the future or may steer me towards getting custom frames made if available bike geo diverges from what I want enough I can't make things work with say a 1" setback dropper.

One thing I am still thinking about is why I like really high bars at the moment. It could just be old guy ergonomics, but I am pretty flexible with good core strength so I am wonder if it also has something to do with that upright position also helping to rotate my weight backwards towards the rear tire. I do have a "fleet" of handlebars with a variety of rise options so I really need to experiment with one bike and change the bar height in small increments to see what happens.

If you'll indulge me with another bit of rambling about bike nerdery...another thing I have learned [just for my own situation/preferences] is that there is such a thing as too much dropper drop. I swung for the fences and put a 200mm dropper on the Bird. It fits fine so that's not the issue. What I am finding is that I am missing the more useful end point saddle height of my 150mm & 175mm dropper on other bikes. My habit on my bikes is to ride the saddle down until it hits bottom when I drop it. That position is low enough I can attack a descent just fine, but it's also high enough I can sit and pedal comfortably for those intermediate sections where you don't need to stand, but you know you'll need the saddle down in a moment or two so it's not worth futzing with the dropper lever. On the 200mm dropper the low end point is so low it comical and I can't sit and pedal. It's also so low I don't feel like I am getting any incremental benefit with that extra 25mm drop vs. a 175mm dropper.

I have been trying to lower the saddle without hitting the bottom of the drop range. That sort of works, but has some issues #1 it takes some extra brain power right when I am getting ready to drop into something spicy [hence lowering the saddle] and #2 the saddle ends up at different heights each time which is annoying and takes a bit of attention to adjust to. So while this does improve things it adds in some new problems that I don't enjoy.

So one of my projects for today is to watch some YT videos on the method for adjusting the drop on my PNW post. I think I can set it between 170-200mm. I'll go all the way to 170mm and see how that feels.

In the future I'll shoot for 175mm droppers. That seems like the sweet spot for me.

Posted by: Vikb

If you'll indulge me with another bit of rambling about bike nerdery...another thing I have learned [just for my own situation/preferences] is that there is such a thing as too much dropper drop. I swung for the fences and put a 200mm dropper on the Bird. It fits fine so that's not the issue. What I am finding is that I am missing the more useful end point saddle height of my 150mm & 175mm dropper on other bikes. My habit on my bikes is to ride the saddle down until it hits bottom when I drop it. That position is low enough I can attack a descent just fine, but it's also high enough I can sit and pedal comfortably for those intermediate sections where you don't need to stand, but you know you'll need the saddle down in a moment or two so it's not worth futzing with the dropper lever. On the 200mm dropper the low end point is so low it comical and I can't sit and pedal. It's also so low I don't feel like I am getting any incremental benefit with that extra 25mm drop vs. a 175mm dropper.

I have been trying to lower the saddle without hitting the bottom of the drop range. That sort of works, but has some issues #1 it takes some extra brain power right when I am getting ready to drop into something spicy [hence lowering the saddle] and #2 the saddle ends up at different heights each time which is annoying and takes a bit of attention to adjust to. So while this does improve things it adds in some new problems that I don't enjoy.

So one of my projects for today is to watch some YT videos on the method for adjusting the drop on my PNW post. I think I can set it between 170-200mm. I'll go all the way to 170mm and see how that feels.

In the future I'll shoot for 175mm droppers. That seems like the sweet spot for me.

Good insight here, I went from 150mm to 180mm dropper in last iteration of bike futzing and I can confirm the experience of "hey that a little TOO low thanks".

Fortunately it's a OneUp and I can adjust the travel as well - I hadn't considered doing it until now, your rambling bike nerdery has given my psychic permission.

Posted by: smoochy

Good insight here, I went from 150mm to 180mm dropper in last iteration of bike futzing and I can confirm the experience of "hey that a little TOO low thanks".

Fortunately it's a OneUp and I can adjust the travel as well - I hadn't considered doing it until now, your rambling bike nerdery has given my psychic permission.

Ha! It's always okay to mess with your bike...especially if it results in a more enjoyable riding experience.

It took me longer to find and watch the PNW travel adjust video than to make the adjustment. Wow. That's a great system. I set my post at 170mm drop. The saddle doesn't look quite as steazy when fully dropped, but it's a much more useful saddle height now and is well out of my way when standing  on the bike. I'm glad I tried the 200mm dropper even if it was just to learn I don't need/enjoy that much drop.

Posted by: Ned

Cracked a weld on the seat tube gusset where it joins the top tube.... sad day but it's not wall art yet.

Any of you epicureans know of anyone qualified to make the repair?

I know of a few that broke there. For the ones that were purchased new, Kona was very proactive in honouring warranty with equivalent value in product.

Used market find, it’s probably wall art now. But if you do find someone who will repair it please let me know so I can share that info.

Titanium is technically repairable but, unlike steel frames, what you see is not always what you get (welds could look good but be compromised) so my understanding is most Ti builders will only repair frames they made versus the more universally repaired/modified steel machines.

sounds like dekerf has dabbled with ti frame repair; checked with him?