Short travel 29'ers

Posted by: Vikb

I was an early adopter on the IGH/Hammerschmidt front. Gearboxes are the next evolution of that. I'm definitely open to a gearbox bike...particularly FS for that really light rear wheel/triangle.. I haven't seen an option that pushed me over the edge to spend money yet and I don't want to get in on the early adopter phase again. I'll let thing mature a bit. I'm not an e-bike fan, but I kind of thought mopeding MTBs might add $$$/engineering firepower to gearbox R&D as it makes a lot of sense to get rid of the standard derailleur drivetrain when every rider is at Olympic Champion level on an e-bike. I hoped that tech would trickle down to the boring old meat engine side of the market. Hasn't happened yet.

I'm still intrigued with the idea of a SS hardtail running Hammerschmidt. I think for Shore riding a 4 or 5 spd gearbox would be mint. A high gear for dh/road pedaling, a trail gear for tech riding on flat/mellow ground, a moderate climbing gear and a steep climbing/bailout gear. The option to select your own ratios would be awesome too. It's almost like the only point of a 12spd cassette is to have the steps to get you up to the low gears for climbing. Even on my 9spd bike, I mainly use 3 of the 9 gears and occasionally a fourth. It seems to  make more sense to spend extra initial $$$ towards the right gearbox setup and the advantages that come with it than money on an 11/12spd drive train where most of it doesn't get used.

This might sound terrible, but I've been turned off og gearbox bikes since ebikes increased in popularity.  They just look too similar  to the untrained eye and I don't want to be mistaken for an ebike rider. Terrible, I know. But hey I'm just being honest.

Posted by: Kenny

This might sound terrible, but I've been turned off og gearbox bikes since ebikes increased in popularity.  They just look too similar  to the untrained eye and I don't want to be mistaken for an ebike rider. Terrible, I know. But hey I'm just being honest.

I think it's less terrible for you to acknowledge it and more terrible that some of the shit attitudes in mtb'ing make this something to consider in getting a gearbox bike.

Posted by: Kenny

Posted by: Hepcat

Posted by: Kenny

Posted by: tashi

All hail the 130/150mm bike!  I love to see it after all the trail bikes seemed to get “upgraded” to 150 in the last little bit.

The 130/150 29er segment is pretty dialled I think, it will be interesting to see if the geometry evolves much from here as it seems pretty stable. 

That new mondraker has almost identical geometry in the low position to my Jibb except the mondraker chainstays are 10mm shorter. 

130/150 29er, 65 degree head angle and 77 degree seat angle, plus minus half a degree. 475mm reach and 30mm bottom bracket drop, +/-5mm. Wheelbase 1240mm ish. 

This seems to be a formula for a bike that only feels too big or too small in very extreme circumstances.

5'10", I like a reach of about 460 (assuming ~625 stack) and a wheelbase in 1220 range. To me and my particular dimensions 475 and 1240 feels like an aircraft carrier. 

From the few bikes I've tested the typical sizing of M 450 reach, L 480 reach, leaves me feeling like a bike is a size too small or 2 sizes too big. 

I've also noticed that wheelbase is every bit as important to how big a bike feels as the other geo measurements.

______

Tungsten, that Raze is 🔥. 130/150 I need to try one.

Yeah 5'10" often ends up a tweener.  On the wheelbase side of things, since getting the Jibb I've been finding it's more front centre length that makes a bike feel like a freightliner. 

I actually have two bikes with about the same wheelbase, around 1240. The Jibb has 445mm chainstays, a steeper head angle, and 5mm less reach  (shorter front center) than my HD5 which is slacker and has 430mm stays. 

The Jibb *feels* much shorter and more manageable because there's less bike sticking out in front of me, less of the "wheelbarrow effect".  I slightly prefer how the shorter stays climb interestingly enough, but I otherwise much prefer the stability and centered feeling of the longer stays, and I get that extra stability of a longer wheelbase without really feeling the negative effects.

Maybe not a popular opinion but I actually think that the main benefit as a lot of bikes have gotten longer/slacker has been the subsequent increase in wheelbase, and not due to the slackness itself. I actually think you can make a bike with similar stability/capability  to one of these super slack bikes with short stays, but with more natural handling, by reigning in the front center some and lengthening the stays.

Interesting thought on the balance of the two centre measurements. I have a new HT frame coming with sliding dropouts. I'm stoked to try some different chainstay lengths as I've never owned a bike with long chainstays.

Posted by: syncro

I'm still intrigued with the idea of a SS hardtail running Hammerschmidt. 

I'd buy a light [for what it is] 2 speed BB that could handle MTB SS loads and was low drag tomorrow. Unfortunately the HS added so much drag in high range I just hated using it so it was a very heavy/expensive/complicated 1x crank/BB.

Posted by: Kenny

This might sound terrible, but I've been turned off og gearbox bikes since ebikes increased in popularity.  They just look too similar  to the untrained eye and I don't want to be mistaken for an ebike rider. Terrible, I know. But hey I'm just being honest.

With my penchant for festooning my bikes with frame bags and wider tires I get mistaken for an e-biker sometimes. The fenders probably don't help. It's annoying. I'm not a fan. You don't need to apologize. 

That said when gearboxes hit primetime I'll get one. Maybe I'll make a 2hr MP3 loop of a blender and play it on one of those small bluetooth speakers and run some wires from the gearbox to my frame bag to go full faux-moped.

Posted by: tungsten

Wonder how many months out that Raze is from being available...

Not seeing any shops that carry Mondraker in Van...or Canada. Looks like they'll be going online ordering only with Stoked Canada? 

I usually wait till I'm home in Van to buy bikes, but then I only go to the same few shops on the North Shore. I need to venture out and discover other brands and shops.

Stoked Canada is saying availability in May for the Raze. Taking preorders now.

Got an email from them in broken English which wasn't very confidence inspiring.

If Mondraker can come up with a brick and mortar dealer I'd hunt down a Raze when they come out.

i think we get our ordered razes in december

Posted by: Sethimus

i think we get our ordered razes in december

Which shop you at

Posted by: Vikb

I'd buy a light [for what it is] 2 speed BB that could handle MTB SS loads and was low drag tomorrow. Unfortunately the HS added so much drag in high range I just hated using it so it was a very heavy/expensive/complicated 1x crank/BB.

It seems there's a pretty good option called the Schlumpf Mountain Drive. https://www.cyclemonkey.com/bottom-brackets/schlumpf-mountain-drive
But would you spend $1100 for it? 
Reviews seem to be pretty positive. https://www.mtbr.com/threads/schlumpf-cranks.690115/

Maybe Andrew can finagle a set for an NSMB review (Merry Christmas!)

Posted by: syncro

Posted by: Vikb

I'd buy a light [for what it is] 2 speed BB that could handle MTB SS loads and was low drag tomorrow. Unfortunately the HS added so much drag in high range I just hated using it so it was a very heavy/expensive/complicated 1x crank/BB.

It seems there's a pretty good option called the Schlumpf Mountain Drive. https://www.cyclemonkey.com/bottom-brackets/schlumpf-mountain-drive
But would you spend $1100 for it? 
Reviews seem to be pretty positive. https://www.mtbr.com/threads/schlumpf-cranks.690115/

Maybe Andrew can finagle a set for an NSMB review (Merry Christmas!)

A two speed setup would actually be pretty rad. I could see vic doing this. Make your easy gear straight Engagement and then make a harder gear for roads, fast trails etc that would be the less efficient gear. Who cares if you lose 10 watts cruising on roads or fast trails.

What's the 411 on these?  Anyone ride one?

Posted by: tungsten

What's the 411 on these? Anyone ride one?

My friend bought the last generation RSD WC. I built it up for her and help her tune/maintain it until I left Victoria.

The frame build quality was acceptable, but not awesome. If you are a stickler for the details it will annoy the hell out of you. If you just care about the fact you can ride trails and pay less than other brands it's fine.

RSD does an excellent job on the build kits themselves. My GF got a RSD hardtail and these are one of the few completes [I'll give Guerilla Gravity a nod as well] I put together and haven't wanted to toss out a lot of the parts.

The main deal breaker I had with my friend's Wild Cat was the tall seat tube and shock placement resulted in a very short travel dropper. Sounds like they improved things with the new model, but I'd confirm you can run the dropper you want before pulling the trigger.

She's too small/light for me to ride her bike so I have no trail feedback. She's a super chill cruiser of a rider so her views won't matter to you.

Having dealt with a few RSD bikes now I would happily buy one of their hardtails if I was looking for a budget friendly ride. I'd skip their FS bikes. That's not a hard no, but I'd have to see something really intriguing I couldn't find somewhere else to pull the trigger.