29" Aluminum SS Frames

"Marty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Who sells them? I've been eyeing up the Surly Karate
Monkey. Nice frame. I like steel, but I want to ride this
bike year round and I live in MN.

I'm

Quoted message said:

concerned that the winter salt would eat a steel frame up.
Is that a

stupid

Quoted message said:

concern? I want 29" because I want to build it up with
700c wheels and cross/road tires. Any ideas?

Thanks.
--
Marty

Kind of indirect advice, but if you're looking to go
700c/cross tires, why not the Cross-Check over the Karate
Monkey? Mine should be built by the end of the week, and I
love it just hanging in the work stand. Maybe you just want
a little more mtb and a little less road in your bike. But,
salt should be a problem on roads - not trails - so maybe
you would be more comfortable on a Cross-Check. And, because
it's Surly, it's ready to go SS (basically, that just means
horizontal dropouts).

If you keep the bike clean salt shouldn't be a problem -
worry about the drivetrain before the frame.

Chris

Marty said:

Who sells them? I've been eyeing up the Surly Karate
Monkey. Nice frame. I like steel, but I want to ride this
bike year round and I live in MN. I'm concerned that the
winter salt would eat a steel frame up. Is that a stupid
concern? I want 29" because I want to build it up with 700c
wheels and cross/road tires. Any ideas?

Thanks.

A 700x28 cyclocross tyre has about the same rolling diameter
as a 26x2.3 MTB tyre, so you can run the wheels you want in
pretty much any MTB frame, as long as the brakes can be made
to fit. This probably means using discs. On the other hand,
I wouldn't worry too much about the salt eating your frame,
as long as you don't mind some cosmetic corrosion.

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included May contain traces of nuts Your
milage may vary

"Marty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Who sells them? I've been eyeing up the Surly Karate
Monkey. Nice frame. I like steel, but I want to ride this
bike year round and I live in MN. I'm concerned that the
winter salt would eat a steel frame up. Is that a stupid
concern? I want 29" because I want to build it up with
700c wheels and cross/road tires. Any ideas?

Thanks.

I wouldn't concern myself with road salt! I really wouldn't
worry about it ...

LGF

"Chris" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"Marty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Who sells them? I've been eyeing up the Surly Karate
Monkey. Nice

frame.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I like steel, but I want to ride this bike year round
and I live in MN.

I'm

Quoted message said:

concerned that the winter salt would eat a steel frame
up. Is that a

stupid

Quoted message said:

concern? I want 29" because I want to build it up with
700c wheels and cross/road tires. Any ideas?

Thanks.
--
Marty

Kind of indirect advice, but if you're looking to go
700c/cross tires, why not the Cross-Check over the Karate
Monkey? Mine should be built by the

end

Quoted message said:

of the week, and I love it just hanging in the work stand.
Maybe you just want a little more mtb and a little less
road in your bike.

Yes, that is exactly what I want. Mostly MTB, with a touch
of road in a SS setup. A big kid BMX bike that's just as
happy to be on the road as it is on a dirt trail. I have not
seen many (or any) of these. Maybe for good reason?

Quoted message said:

But, salt should be a problem on roads - not trails - so
maybe you would be more comfortable on a Cross-Check. And,
because it's Surly, it's ready to go

SS

Quoted message said:

(basically, that just means horizontal dropouts).

I'll take a look at the Cross-Check again.

Quoted message said:

If you keep the bike clean salt shouldn't be a problem -
worry about the drivetrain before the frame.

Thanks Chris.
--
Marty

"Kinky Cowboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Marty said:

Who sells them? I've been eyeing up the Surly Karate
Monkey. Nice

frame.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I like steel, but I want to ride this bike year round and
I live in MN.

I'm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

concerned that the winter salt would eat a steel frame
up. Is that a

stupid

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

concern? I want 29" because I want to build it up with
700c wheels and cross/road tires. Any ideas?

Thanks.

A 700x28 cyclocross tyre has about the same rolling
diameter as a 26x2.3 MTB tyre, so you can run the wheels
you want in pretty much any MTB frame, as long as the
brakes can be made to fit. This probably means using
discs. On the other hand, I wouldn't worry too much about
the salt eating your frame, as long as you don't mind some
cosmetic corrosion.

Interesting. I do want disc brakes on my setup. Been looking
at the Chris King SS Disc Rear Hub - nice. Been avoiding
looking at the price though. I like track fork ends for rear
dropouts (i.e. horizontal rear dropouts). I'm not interested
in an EBB setup. But, I'm concerned about adjusting the rear
disc break with the track fork end dropouts. Is that a major
hassle? I've never owned a bike with discs before.

Cosmetic corrosion. Errr! Damn salt!

Thanks.
--
Marty

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article <[email hidden]>, Chris

Quoted message said:

"Marty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Who sells them?

- - Van Dessel. You can get a Buzz Bomb frame for $299.

vandesselsports.comb buzzBomb.shtmlOpen ↗

Quoted message said:

I've been eyeing up the Surly Karate Monkey. Nice frame.

Quoted message said:

I like steel, but I want to ride this bike year round and
I live in MN.

I'm

Quoted message said:

concerned that the winter salt would eat a steel frame
up. Is that a

stupid

Quoted message said:

concern?

_ If you wash the bike regularly, I wouldn't worry about a
painted steel frame very much. New England Road salt never
did much to my bikes when I lived there.

Quoted message said:

I want 29" because I want to build it up with 700c
wheels and

Quoted message said:

cross/road tires. Any ideas?

Thanks.
--
Marty

Kind of indirect advice, but if you're looking to go
700c/cross tires, why not the Cross-Check over the Karate
Monkey? Mine should be built by the end of the week, and I
love it just hanging in the work stand. Maybe you just want
a little more mtb and a little less road in your bike. But,
salt should be a problem on roads - not trails - so maybe
you would be more comfortable on a Cross-Check. And,
because it's Surly, it's ready to go SS (basically, that
just means horizontal dropouts).

_ I think the big choice between the two is

1. How fat a tire do you want to run on the back?

_ While the Cross Check will fit up to 45 mm on the back, in
any kind of mud the tire packs up too quickly. 35-38 is the
max in mud.

2. Do you want to climb steep ( 20+ gradient ) dirt hills?

_ On the Cross Check, you have to stay seated to keep
traction on the rear wheel in these conditions. I don't know
if the Karate Monkey is any better, but it looks like it
should be.

_ I like my Cross Check a lot for mixed rides, but in a lot
of ways it's a kind of "neither fish nor fowl". If you want
a tough road bike that can take relatively fat tires, it's a
good choice. With flat bars it's a very fast fire road bike
and if you're willing to walk a little bit every once in a
while a very servicable mountain bike.

_ Booker C. Bense

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2

iQCVAwUBQKocz2TWTAjn5N/lAQHwzwQAkC2OrNBl8vWYz2+lAcwjyZcqFpE-
WyVxs 7o83iiy60EC0uoCKdeZPP70jlMAOs6AIUNZSCy/iZjM2Y2YiUuXYF-
rGse5Wvw9Fl GC3vAboe3HtlT7twWRbVPVhU7z+hqR+55w9wXE79sLxUGNZ-
aY6ES/ZSgmJKFreo5 Gws+j7r1jGM=
=8AoG
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----

"Marty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

"

Yes, that is exactly what I want. Mostly MTB, with a touch
of road in a

SS

Quoted message said:

setup. A big kid BMX bike that's just as happy to be on
the road as it is on a dirt trail. I have not seen many
(or any) of these. Maybe for good reason?

You just pretty much described the Karate Monkey exactly.
The shop from which I recently puchased my CrossCheck
frame is run by a guy that just built his KMonkey into a
'cross commuter. If you're near Maryland (our roads get
salty in the winter...though if you're in New England you
might be asking, "what winter"😉 go see the dude at College
Park Bikes.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

But, salt should be a problem on roads - not trails - so
maybe you would be more comfortable on a Cross-Check.
And, because it's Surly, it's ready to go

SS

Quoted message said:

(basically, that just means horizontal dropouts).

I'll take a look at the Cross-Check again.

Go ahead, but you sound like a KM man to me. The 'cross
check is just a little faster(?) as a commuter because of
the roadie tinge, but "big boy BMX" it is not.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you keep the bike clean salt shouldn't be a problem -
worry about the drivetrain before the frame.

Thanks Chris.
--

I try.

Quoted message said:

Marty

Chris

Looks like Gary Fisher will have a SS 29'er frame next year.
Since its a Fisher, I assume it will be alluminum. It uses
normal dropouts, but uses an excentric bottom bracket so
disc brake rear wheels will be easier to remove. I have no
idea if it will be sold as a frame or as a whole bike.

-kurd

"Marty" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Who sells them? I've been eyeing up the Surly Karate
Monkey. Nice frame. I like steel, but I want to ride this
bike year round and I live in MN.

I'm

Quoted message said:

concerned that the winter salt would eat a steel frame up.
Is that a

stupid

Quoted message said:

concern? I want 29" because I want to build it up with
700c wheels and cross/road tires. Any ideas?

Thanks.
--
Marty

Marty said:

"Kinky Cowboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Marty said:

Who sells them? I've been eyeing up the Surly Karate
Monkey. Nice

frame.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I like steel, but I want to ride this bike year round
and I live in MN.

I'm

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

concerned that the winter salt would eat a steel frame
up. Is that a

stupid

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

concern? I want 29" because I want to build it up with
700c wheels and cross/road tires. Any ideas?

Thanks.

A 700x28 cyclocross tyre has about the same rolling
diameter as a 26x2.3 MTB tyre, so you can run the wheels
you want in pretty much any MTB frame, as long as the
brakes can be made to fit. This probably means using
discs. On the other hand, I wouldn't worry too much about
the salt eating your frame, as long as you don't mind
some cosmetic corrosion.

Interesting. I do want disc brakes on my setup. Been
looking at the Chris King SS Disc Rear Hub - nice. Been
avoiding looking at the price though. I like track fork
ends for rear dropouts (i.e. horizontal rear dropouts). I'm
not interested in an EBB setup. But, I'm concerned about
adjusting the rear disc break with the track fork end
dropouts. Is that a major hassle? I've never owned a bike
with discs before.

Cosmetic corrosion. Errr! Damn salt!

Thanks.

I'm running a Planet-X hub in my single-speed on-on-Open ↗
one.co.uk/products/ss_dischub.shtml it's no King, but 1/3
of the price over here. I suspect that it's the Joytec(h)
unit rebadged.

I had a little trouble with the disc, had to fine tune my
gearing to get the hub towards the front of the fork-end
and I have to remove one of the caliper bolts to get the
wheel out. This may or may not be true with your
combination of frame/caliper. If in doubt, the Identit Dr
Jekyl or Mr Hyde frames have cool adjustable dropouts which
let you run a SS disc witha QR and no caliper clearance
hassles, but they might be a bit too MTB for your taste.
Anyway, I cured my problem by switching from 32x15 to 34x16
gearing, and there's enough scope to move the wheel to take
up chain wear.

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included May contain traces of nuts Your
milage may vary

"Kinky Cowboy" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I'm running a Planet-X hub in my single-speed on-on-Open ↗
one.co.uk/products/ss_dischub.shtml it's no King, but 1/3
of the price over here. I suspect that it's the Joytec(h)
unit rebadged.

Yea, the King rear disc hub is REALLY expensive. I'll be
shopping around for sure. May still get it if I can save
enough because it's so nice. Thanks for the Planet-X tip.

Quoted message said:

I had a little trouble with the disc, had to fine tune my
gearing to get the hub towards the front of the fork-end
and I have to remove one of the caliper bolts to get the
wheel out. This may or may not be true with your
combination of frame/caliper. If in doubt, the Identit Dr
Jekyl or Mr Hyde frames have cool adjustable dropouts
which let you run a SS disc witha QR and no caliper
clearance hassles, but they might be a bit too MTB for
your taste. Anyway, I cured my problem by switching from
32x15 to 34x16 gearing, and there's enough scope to move
the wheel to take up chain wear.

Do you have any web links for the Identit frames? I sent
VanDessel an email requesting more information on the Buzz
Bomb rear dropouts
(vandesselsports.comb buzzBomb.shtmlOpen ↗) - they
appears to be something similar to what you have described
with the Identit. I think Kona has something similar too,
but not in a 29".

Thanks again!
--
Marty