[Closed] Surly Karate Monkey OPS

£2K ?? I think Surly's latest pricing is pretty optimistic considering what you get, not just with this but across the whole range.

As a Karate Monkey owner and lover, I can't help feeling they've wandered a bit with this. It's a lot of money for what it is, and geometry-wise, it's still the same bike but with a few mod-cons. I did wonder if it would have been better off being a sort of Krampus-Lite, as there's now loads of crossover between the Karate Monkey, Ogre, ECR and Krampus now.

I quite like it but have to agree with some of the other comments on pricing. 1900 quid vs 2000 dollars in the US. The other Surly models don't have such a large US-UK pricing differential. I've been toying with either this or an Ogre suspension build. Price is not in favor of the KM OPS complete bike, but on the other hand it has a few nice improvements: MDS dropouts seem a lot simpler than old-style (though losing Rohloff capability), and 44mm headset opens up a lot of more modern fork options, plus the 142x12 rear thru-axle option. Generally seems to include a bunch of more modern standards...

Re the crossover between models, yes I guess. But if you want something with front suspension forks the ECR and Krampus are pretty much out except for a very few fork options, no? Which leaves Ogre and KM but not as complete bikes.

salsa el mar?

salsa el mar?

Not a bad alternative, but RRP is same and I see very little stock in the UK for the geared Mariachi 2 at least.

I was liking the look of the KM OPS when it went on their site a few weeks ago. But at £2000 it's a bit steep. Looks like it'll mainly be sold as frame only in the UK. Which is still pretty tempting but there's something about the El Mar that gets my vote - and its £100 cheaper!

I think the price got dropped to 1900 when the bikes actually arrived, at least according to the distributor's website. Still steep, agree, although the El Mar 2 is also 1900 RRP. KM OPS Frame-only not yet in the UK. I see a few 2013 El Mar 2 discounted online but only in small sizes, don't see the XL anywhere in UK. Agree it looks quite good though.

Not a bad alternative, but RRP is same and I see very little stock in the UK for the geared Mariachi 2 at least.

Ison told me they weren't bringing in the complete bikes this year as they felt LBSs should be able to put together a similar build for similar money. They've also run out of 2014 frames bigger than an S

DOI Have a M frame on back order, which is apparently due to show up early next month.

They are pretty new-to-market

Got this in 06 and they'de already been out for years. 😉

[url= https://farm1.staticflickr.com/121/294618397_536d71b647_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm1.staticflickr.com/121/294618397_536d71b647_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/s2ZMx ]2006_1111monkey0010[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/18504429@N00/ ]multispeedstu[/url], on Flickr

Nice bike, but that's the KM, we're talking about the 2014 "OPS" version...

Got this in 06 and they'de already been out for years

Was the donkey optional?

There's a new 2013 XL salsa el mariachi in the classifieds right now...

Nice bike, but that's the KM, we're talking about the 2014 "OPS" version

Yep looks like they've changed everything about it. 😆

What do you guys think of the new MDS dropout system? Is it a worthy upgrade? Unless you need Rohloff, it would seem that it is an easier system if you are running a geared setup but still want a bit of flexibility. But I'm a total newb so interested in what those who've actually used dropouts like what the Troll/Ogre have think...

Unless you need Rohloff, it would seem that it is an easier system

How do you lose the ability to run a Rohloff?

How do you lose the ability to run a Rohloff?

Gosh I'm stupid. I've never actually used a Rohloff and was confusing the trailer mount of the Troll/Ogree with some kind of Rohloff compatibility. I did say I was a newb... Thanks for correcting me.

On a slightly different note, I've read lots of people using the Ogre/Troll dropouts with a geared setup and clearly it works, but it seems to get a secure mounting is more finicky with a rear-facing dropout like that. Is this correct? The thru-axle option of the MDS would be better for a geared setup, yes?

Don't think it matters much; I think the problem with rear-facing dropouts and gears is that getting the wheel out becomes a bit of a ball-ache.

Well my newly-built Karate Monkey OPS is now here 🙂

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

Have made a gallery of more pics here: [url= http://imgur.com/a/DRgQ4 ]Karate Monkey OPS[/url]

[i]First off I want to sincerely thank everyone here who answered all my stupid questions on a whole bunch of threads here, which really helped me.[/i]

In the end I had it built from the frame up and went with a 1x10 setup in a mix of Shimano XT, SLX and Deore and after my first ride today am very glad I did go with 1x10 - I find it has plenty gearing range for my needs and the lack of front derailleur makes everything a whole lot simpler. The full build list is below in case anyone is interested:

Frame:Karate Monkey OPS 22"/XL (spraytan)
Fork (Susp.): Suntour Epicon 2014 w/ remote lockout
Fork (Rigid): Surly KM OPS rigid fork (spraytan)
Wheelset: Spank Oozy 26AL EVO 29" black
Tyres: WTB Weirwolf 2.3" TCS (with tubes)

Rear Derailleur: Shimano XT M786
Crankset & BB: Shimano SLX M675
Cassette: Shimano SLX 11-36
Shifter: Shimano SLX M670 10-spd
Chain: Shimano SLX 10-spd
Chainring: Rapide 34T narrow-wide
Brakes: Shimano Deore M615
Brake rotors: Shimano SM-RT56S 160mm 6-bolt 160mm (F + R)

Seatpost: PRO XLT 27.2mm 400mm
Stem: PRO XLT 100mm
Handlebar: PRO Koryak 5-degree flat bar
Headset: Gusset EC44 top & bottom
Grips: Ergon GP3
Pedals: Wellgo Flat black
Saddle: WTB Rocket V

A few notes on the build choices, many of which were determined by availability of parts where I had it built:

- Size: I'm 6'3" with a bike inseam of 36" and weigh 84KG/185lbs. The XL seems to be the right choice. I have at least 3" of standover and if I'd have got the Large I think the top-tube would have been a bit short for me.

- Black vs Spraytan: I was gonna go for the "stealthy" black but when I saw the spraytan in person I thought it was really nice. It's kind of a brushed sparkly orange underneath the clear coat. Some the later pictures in that gallery above show it reasonably well.

- The Spank Oozy wheelset seems really nice and light. I was tempted by wider rims (this is 21mm internal width) but the lower weight and excellent reviews swayed me. I stayed away from Shimano after reading a bunch of reports on the MTBR forum about rear hubs cracking. Maybe isolated instances, although seems not, and I couldn't afford to take that chance.

- Went with XT rear derailleur figuring with a 1x10 setup it made sense to put my money there.

- Deore brakes with 160mm rotors - Sort of wanted to go SLX on these and 180mm rotor at front like the complete bike, but the price differential was a lot and frankly they have more stopping power than I could ever need.

- The narrow-wide chainring combined with clutch derailleur seems to do its job well and I didn't hear any chainslap, though I have put a chainstay protector on just in case while I figure out if I actually need it. Have 34t upfront which seems to give me the range I need.

- Ergon grips - Really love these so far, very comfortable for me and I find the bar ends useful for uphill.

- Suntour Epicon fork - Suntour? Really? Yes I know their low-end forks have a bad reputation but the reviews of the higher-end Epicon are all pretty good, its fairly light, and from my very limited riding it seems quite decent. Also, it has a sealed cartridge which I figured would help given the need for low maintenance that was rather important for me. And it was exactly half the price of a Reba. This is the 2014 model (SF14-EPICON-XC-DS-RL-R 15QLC) with remote lockout and rebound adjust.

Now, the one issue (or is it? I don't know) is that I asked the builder to get me a 100mm Epicon and it seems that this one is pre-set to 120mm. Me and the bike are now in a different country. I know the travel can be adjusted from 80-120mm but I'm not sure I can be bothered to do that at the moment, so wondering how "OK" it is to run a 120mm fork on the KM OPS. I know the rigid fork is 80mm and the complete bike comes specced with 100mm Fox forks, and I guess a 120mm slackens the head angle another degree and raises the BB slightly.

I rode it today and didn't encounter any issues. At the moment the sag is about 20mm and I'm thinking to compensate a bit for the extra 20mm travel I could increase the sag another 10mm. Does that make sense? The photo below shows the maximum total actual travel (blue ring) on the ride I did today which is pretty representative of my usual riding:

[img] [/img]

Any thoughts on the fork aspect?

Did I mention IT'S REALLY SWEET!