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No idea what I'd use it for but thats very cool. Like it!
Same really, guess you’d use it for a bit of everything, but mainly messing about in the local woods.
Very versatile beasts Stooges.
I do a bit if everything on mine, from all day xc rides to dirt jumps in the woods.
Yep, I really like the look of that too. I suspect he'll sell those pretty quick!
Looks fantastic, I think I need to water my money tree! Looks like it will be great fun for 'messing about' on in local woods and trails.
Love my Stooge, very versatile. I have drop bars on mine at the moment and use it for gravel long distance rides and dare I say the words road.... I have a set of road plus tyres for it and rode Ride London. Also have ridden trail centres on it and get some looks when I speed past a carbon full sus!
Only one size though. Not sure the comment "trackers/klunkers are always one size" will make it fit me though
If I had the shed space and lived somewhere you could ride into town, lock a bike like that to a rack and it still be there when you returned, I’d have one. Just because I like the way it looks.
Also it comes in 'Rose Tinted', which for my money is the best colour I've seen on a Stooge so far.
That does look good.
I'm just starting to plan some bikepacking trips on my Ragley Marley. I can see myself desiring one of these if I really get into it, they look like a lot of fun.
That’s annoying. I really don’t need another bike. And it’s a perfect size for me. And I have enough parts sat in my shed to build it up. Arrrggghh.
Loved the history lesson too. 🙂
WTF is going on with that top tube?
There better be a "We did it becasue we think it looks cool" rather than "Testing made us realise the benefits of this bend here for [insert bollocks about vertical compliance here]"
@nickc the top top kink is purely aesthetic, as it was in the dirtbomb as a visual nod to klunkers and trackers of old. Stooge are unapologetically straight forward in that Andy makes bikes he like the look of and wants to ride and if folks don't get it he doesn't give monkeys as he'll sell the batch out in record time as he always does.
The comments about compliance are for the tweaked biplane for with 65mm offset which gives a bit more give at the ends when compared to the shorter offset forks (or a bit less when compared to 80m offset of the mk4)
That does look good, I've had a set of 29+ rims waiting for a project seemingly forever, picked them from the clearance/prototypes bin at Planet-X when I collected my Scandal having declared I just wanted a normal bike and was done with niches!
Anyone know any shops selling Stooge framesets that take Halfords C2W vouchers?
I don't know anything about bikes like this but it looks cool. Would make a cool commuter but it's unnecessarily nice and expensive for that.
I don’t know anything about bikes like this but it looks cool. Would make a cool commuter but it’s unnecessarily nice and expensive for that.
For a similar retro aesthetic, but more affordable, have a look for 2nd hand Pashleys. As long as you don't want a current model or something with a cult following / facebook cult group arround it (Guv'nor) they're often dirt cheap.
Bloody love Stooge bikes. Owned two, a Speedball and a Dirtbomb. Only bikes I’ve ever really regretted selling. If you’re questioning the looks or what it is supposed to be use for then I don’t think it is for you. They’re just cool looking bike that are designed to be ridden anywhere.
I love it. Good job Andy! great price too.
I'm a fanboy mind... I've had the Mk1, Mk2, Mk5, Dirtbomb, Scrambler & Speedbomb.
I just love the fun factor- I can't take myself seriously when I ride them. Yes, there's better bikes for the job, but they are jHere's a local brewery run I did if you want some Stooge inspiration.
That’s really nice. I really like my mk5, I’d buy this in a shot albeit they aren’t that dissimilar so seems pointless.
They’re just fun bikes. Which can do anything to a greater or less extent, but very much focus on fun. My mk5 I have in 650+ mode and it’s like a big bmx, probably best on quick singletrack and popping off any little stone or tree stump
Looks fantastic! If I had space and time to ride a third MTB then it would be right at the top of the running.
What’s the 29+ tyre situation like nowadays? It feels like 27.5+ went boom and bust!
Lots of 29+ still out there from bontrager, terrene, surly, duro etc... , duro crux 3.25 as a front and duro miner 3 rear is an awesome combo big stoogey shenanigans. loads of 2.8 as well thats more mainstream from folks like maxxis and terravail
Love it, I think I have everything I need except a crank and headset snd some big tyres in the shed, And absolutely no need to buy it. Still tempted.
What’s the 29+ tyre situation like nowadays?
I run a 3.0 DHF and 2.8 Rekon on my 29+ Krampus - very chunky on 45mm rims 😁
On the Stooge it's a 2.8 WTB Vigilante and a 2.6 Spec Purgatory.
Plenty of plus and nearly plus options still.
Stunning. If I ever decide to replace my Canyon Dude it will be with a Stooge. It only get used for longer gravel type rides these days or occasional bike packing but always makes me smile. I'm smiling just looking at this beauty and have admired all his designs.
Part of the problem though is that his frame and forks really do need you to put some thought and money into the right parts to finish the job off in a way that it deserves.
Maybe I'll just buy a second hand one when I'm 60 in 7 years time 🙂
No motor? I’m out…
😉
But seriously, that’s gorgeous.
if folks don’t get it he doesn’t give monkeys
I think it looks shit. I also don't give a monkeys
Looks nothing like the 'tracker' bikes I rode in the 70's. Rear brake only, narrow road rims with cycle speedway tyres, cotter pin cranks. The only thing similar is the cowhorn bars
Looks nothing like the ‘tracker’ bikes I rode in the 70’s.
Tracking is just an attitude..
MArketing BS about attitude aside I have always maintained that approach which is why I still ride narrow tyred bikes across all terrain
@nickc and as always you are a little ray of sunshine and positivity 🤣
Don't really get the need people have for it to be 'for' something, and being a nod/homage to something doesn't mean using outdated tech like cotter pin cranks so it's the same.
It's a bike, it looks the shizzle and bikes are gid.
That's enough.
Man I want one. 😍
I don't normally like weird top tubes, but I love that.
Shed wants treating mind.
Don’t really get the need people have for it to be ‘for’ something, and being a nod/homage to something doesn’t mean using outdated tech like cotter pin cranks so it’s the same.
Nor do I but go tell the people that write the BS on this stuff, I didn't call it a tracker after all.
I think it looks pretty good and if I wanted a slow heavy bike I would be in the queue for one.
cranking out the same bike but with a slightly differently
Sort of fair comment but isn't that a lot of bikes? 'Looks like a session' may have been repeated a few times
a slow heavy bike
Fair bit faster and more fun in many places than a skinny tyre old-school tracker bike though, or a gravel bike.
Looks like it would be a right laugh off road... and look majestic propped up outside the cafe/shop/pub when doing day to day bimbling duties.
"Nice bike Mr!"
a slow, heavy bike
@kerley - not slow, and not that heavy either.
I've done 80km MTB rides on mine in sub 5 hours.
It's not a carbon xc racer, but that's not the point.
I don’t normally like weird top tubes, but I love that.
I think it's because it's in line with the chainstay, which makes it look gid.
Stooge i guess are something you get or you don't, i still have my Mk1 which rode like a grown up BMX, and latest is a Speedbomb which i love, but always had a thing for steel singlespeeds, with a Singular Peregrine and Gryphon in the garage too..
Just find it very difficult to fall in love with a modern carbon bike even though they may be more capable and lighter
The best bike is the one you look at in the garage and it makes you want to ride it...
Does anyone make a moto bar that doesn’t cost an arm and also a leg?
Fair bit faster and more fun in many places than a skinny tyre old-school tracker bike though, or a gravel bike.
Not where I ride it isn't. My fastest times on gravel are on fixed gear with 25c tyres.
not slow, and not that heavy either.
That is not up for debate. It will be slower and it absolutely heavy to someone who like light bikes (the bike I ride on road/gravel is under 6kg)
That is not the purpose of the bike though is it and as I have said I actually like the look and idea of it but whenever I own a bike anything like that I get fed up with it because if feels slow and is heavy.
On the Orange thread, there have been a few comments (some by me!) about manufacturers almost bending to new marketing rubbish - down country short travel full sussers etc so its refreshing to see a manufacturer seemingly take a "don't give a ****" attitude and just build bikes they want to ride.
I'd have one of those in an instant if I thought I'd actually use it much. Looks mega!
The best bike is the one you look at in the garage and it makes you want to ride it…
Very much this in spadefuls.
Not where I ride it isn’t. My fastest times on gravel are on fixed gear with 25c tyres.
Maybe not but I doubt your findings would be shared by many riders, even where you ride - a bike brand is making things for a more general, wider market rather than a niche edge case and in the same way I was generalising.
and as always you are a little ray of sunshine and positivity
Mleh, the whole thing feels contrived. If it works for you, great but the "Sweet ride" and "Killer singletrack monster truck" marketing schtick sets my teeth on edge. The copy either works on you, or makes you itch, Stooge's does the latter for me.
the whole thing feels contrived
I'd expect it's hard to keep the whole front going if it was contrived. It'd look fake after a while. It doesn't though, it looks like someone making bikes they like which aren't much like anyone else's, and selling them pretty quickly. He's doing well... In today's market, doing very well. Fair dues.
Is this a bike for people whose older brother wouldn't let them ride their Grifter? 😀
But :
its refreshing to see a manufacturer seemingly take a “don’t give a ****” attitude and just build bikes they want to ride.
Idlejon- surely you mean the Raleigh Bomber?
For big braced risers at a cheaper price, have a look at ride farr, they do an alloy braced riser, more convential back sweep though, or ahearne do a big sweepy alloy braced bar, but is not really any cheaper, just a bit lighter
If you want a 22.2 steel braced riser for cheap money have a look at bars for motorbikes/cafe racers etc.... as they are cheap as chips, but heavy as a heavy thing
For big braced risers at a cheaper price, have a look at ride farr, they do an alloy braced riser, more convential back sweep though
I looked at these a while ago, but even though it's a .co.uk website, they're posting from Australia at a cost of £30.
So overall cost is over £70
Ahhhh last time i looked they had a uk distribution, was a cheap as chips for kit from them but that was early part of last year
I’ve had two and they definitely weren’t slow under the right circumstances. I love them and find the identikit nature of most modern bikes really ****ing boring. Fair play to Andy for doing something different that clearly works. As for the comments on marketing, I’ve always seen the blurbs that accompany each new Stooge as comedy, tongue in cheek ramblings. Don’t think for a minute they’re meant to be taken seriously. Just like the bikes themselves. They’re just bikes built for having fun on. I know they’ve made me grin like an idiot when riding them.
Mleh, the whole thing feels contrived. If it works for you, great but the “Sweet ride” and “Killer singletrack monster truck” marketing schtick sets my teeth on edge. The copy either works on you, or makes you itch, Stooge’s does the latter for me.
It's a stretch to even call it marketing. I don't think any of the patches on Tazzys denim jacket are sponsor logos 😂
If you're faster on 25 tyres on the stuff you like to ride, I don't think think a mountain bike is what you want. That's perfectly fine, but to argue the Stooge slow on proper off road is a bit daft.
Bikes like this don't make sense to many, yet those who ride them tend to love them. A decent rider on a modern rigid with decent tyres can travel surprisingly fast on rough trails.
I think it looks fantastic. I'd have one if I didn't have something similar in Ti already. I'm way too attached to that to change!
Slow and heavy bike
Looks great to me, and if I wasn't already in possession of a lovely dirtbomb (funkmasterp's old one), then I'd be very interested.
As for the slow & heavy comments...
Yes, it's heavy, and pretty massive too which make getting it into the car or on to the roof a bit tougher on the odd occasion I don't ride from home. Barely noticeable when riding though, other than on very slow, steep, tight uphill bends. Happily got round the Bearbones 200 on it in well under 24 hours last autumn, so the weight can't be too bad!
Speed wise, on anything other than very rocky trails or large gap jumps, it's just as fast and confident as the full Sus bike I used to have. I put a sizable crack in the frame of my full sus about 10 months ago, and once the crash replacement was refused I've not bothered replacing it as the dirtbomb does what I need. Low maintenance and looking daft/awesome/different are an added bonus too.
If you’re faster on 25 tyres on the stuff you like to ride, I don’t think think a mountain bike is what you want. That’s perfectly fine, but to argue the Stooge slow on proper off road is a bit daft
Yes, but Kerley has quite fixed (pun intended) ideas about what makes a good bike 😉
I'm having to resist the temptation quite strongly 😬
Would love one, but currently also own a Mk4, Surly Krampus, and a Transition Klunker, so something would have to go ☹️
Admittedly I don't regularly search for Stooge frames second hand but neither do I see them for sale too often. I suspect that those that buy them keep them and it appears sometimes more than one. If they were just a marketing gimmick, wouldn't the owners offload them?
My longest lasting but least ridden bike is my fat bike. My enduro frames get swapped every couple of years but the Dude remains and always, always makes me smile when I take it out for a long ride. I could definitely imagine this bike performing the same duties.
I’d expect it’s hard to keep the whole front going if it was contrived. It’d look fake after a while.
Yep, lands flat on me, but this is also true of companies like Surly and Rivendell. The whole "we don't do marketing" marketing puts me off
Fair dues.
Oh sure, right enough. The man's carved a niche for himself and clearly has a tidy business selling variations of the same bike. Props are due.
If you’re faster on 25 tyres on the stuff you like to ride, I don’t think think a mountain bike is what you want. That’s perfectly fine, but to argue the Stooge slow on proper off road is a bit daft
I agree, I find all mountain bikes feel slow and heavy. I am talking about this is the context of me riding it which is why I said if I wanted a slow and heavy bike I would like one of these.
I think Andy has found the best way to deal with the current climate and way to do business at the moment, he doesn't sell complete bikes, so doesn't have to pander to component companies, he sells frames and the few components (bars etc) that he wants to.
He does a pre-sale, so you pay a large deposit upfront, and then the frames are ordered, with most already going to a good home, and a few left over for sale afterwards.
Makes the most economical sense to me, you're not waiting on anyone bar the company that makes the frames, he is good at communicating when the frames are going to actually arrive and he is dead easy to deal with.
So whatever you think of the frames themselves, it is one of the few sustaining ways of selling a bike these days...
Usually he does a pre sale but he hasnt on these.
Only 100 of these frames too. Sure they'll go quick.
Slow and heavy bike
Remember reading that at the time - looks ace. Unfortunately I just re-read it and remembered this:
"Essentially, I wanted to be able to rack-it and pack it then strip it and rip-it!”.
A bit of sick came up...
I think/assume he's also got the advantage of it being a hobby rather than a livelihood. The batches are <100 frames every 9 months or so, so unless he's making a much bigger margin than I'm giving credit for then it's a lucrative hobby rather than biking mega-corp.
There's also the adage about if you design the things you want then there'll almost always be a market out there for it. So as long as he keeps on making small batches of what he wants to ride so they keep selling out then it'll be a success.
“They’re just bikes built for having fun on.”
I used to try to ride faster (downhill) and now I try to have more fun with the trail and sometimes end up going fairly fast (for me!) Proper enduro race bikes are surprisingly versatile but I’m not sure my brain can work fast enough to keep up with how fast they can go.
A singlespeed hardtail however is proving very fun despite it making little sense to ride a big slack steel frame with a 160mm fork but nogears or rear suspension.
And I think the Stooge approach is the next step onwards, for riders who are either braver/better than me or happy going that bit slower.
And I love how they look!
And I think the Stooge approach is the next step onwards, for riders who are either braver/better than me or happy going that bit slower.
Weirdly I find rigid bikes closer to FS bikes than HT's. On a HT you use the asymmetry between being able to absorb rough section through the fork and pump/pedal efficiently with the rear so you're adjusting your weight for different reasons. Rigid bikes (and FS bikes) you rid much more evenly. So it's like a FS bike, but you take HT line choices, and obviously (a bit) slower (but not slow unless you're insisting on comparing against a track bike on a road).
The whole “we don’t do marketing” marketing puts me off
Well you lot are doing such a good job of discussing it he doesn't need to. I suspect it's a sideline and not his real job so buying a few frames knowing you are going to sell them easily makes the whole process a fun one.
Great looking range of bikes, just the sizing on this model means it's out of my spectrum.
Stooge is the real job, he does at least couple of frame runs a year of different models i.e. mk 6 and speedbomb, with a surprise extra of the tracker, handlebars and so on.
He just doesnt want to be a corporate ****er, doesnt believe in massive proffit margins that skin his customers has a chilled out lifestyle
He put a lot on the line to get it started and the "know you are going to sell them" takes time to build up a client base that really get what you are doing, without jazzy pr/marketing/schmoozing the bike press etc...
Must be doing something right, seeing as stuff has won awards, has mad keen owners all over the world (hell, the fact a crazy czech bloke dropped everything and came to uk to pick up a 1 off ti frame from me, made 6 page article in their equivalent of singletrack) and folks like brooks saddle give him a shout as they want to use his bikes in their marketing campaigns
All of this from a dirtbag old bmxer, who took the plunge in 2014 to setup as company to make bikes that he wanted to ride that no else was doing.
I wasn't having a dig, I just assumed it was a part time given the relatively low volumes. I love what he's doing.
mr not a spoon, not aimed at your comments old bean, just a general set of comments as the tone of most stooge threads ends up with some form of " well, he's only playing at it, and its dead easy n that to just churn out some old toot, its not a PROPPER bike company etc..."
Andy was trying to convince me to set my own frame company up recently, but there is no way I would have the large dangly bits to make the financial jump and also to have to deal with public !
and obviously (a bit) slower (but not slow unless you’re insisting on comparing against a track bike on a road).
So you at least admit it is slower and it is definitely heavy. I would put a lot of money on me personally being faster on a decent XC bike than on a Stooge, because of the riding position primarily as I am faster when in a more head down position.
So to cause less of an issue I will say if I wanted a slower and heavier bike I would want one of these as they look great and support the idea.
Absolutely lovely bike and all the bike most of us will ever need. Only thing that holds me back is those size restrictions as others have mentioned. Just waiting for XL's one day.....
Really not a fan of the curly top tube.
The split top tube on the previous one put me off as well.
Wish there was a no frills/curls option.
Andy was trying to convince me to set my own frame company up recently, but there is no way I would have the large dangly bits to make the financial jump and also to have to deal with public !
Given there's usually a queue for your titanium sloppy seconds I'm sure you'd sell at least a handful.
fab review of a stooge dirtbomb being booted over all sorts of big jumpy enduro stuff in America
My titanium is never sloppy....I always wipe up after a hard ride in a mumsnet approved styleee