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A little help if poss please. I’ve bought a Stanton Sherpa gen 1 frame and planning to build a fullly rigid, drop bar bikepacking - what some people would call a ‘monstercross’ ?! But just having doubts about how well it would work geometry wise? I’ve bought forks, wheels etc but yet to pull the trigger on bars and shifters. Feedback welcome, thanks!!
Earlier this year, I built up a monster cross around a Genesis Fortitude frameset.
I quite liked it. But I think it was a half-baked idea, not very well executed on my part!
It was a Med frame, which is fine for me as a MTB with MTB bars, but was really a bit too long with drop bars, and so felt more ponderous than I'd have liked.
I've since moved the parts over to a Cotic Escapade and running it as a lighter, nimbler, SSCX, and much prefer it, but think with hindsight, that's what I'd always wanted, rather than a monster-cross.
But don't let my experience put you off ... And I would certainly entertain the idea of a monstercross again.
Drop bar bikes tend to be shorter, to allow for longer stems and the added length of drops/hoods, etc - so that might be a worry. That said, some newer gravel frames are coming with shorter (50mm) stems and longer TTs, as is the fashion.
I'm in the process of rebuilding my cannondale flash into a "monstercross" as most "gravel" bikes don't have clearance for nice wide comfy tyres. Whether it works for you will depend if you are geometry sensitive (I'm not, but some are very princess and the pea about it) and/or your body shape suits - I am rather ape like so a long tt is no problem for me. Alternatively just build a rigid 29er with flat bars and bar ends, it'll achieve much the same but just not be on trend.
Monstercrossed my swift at the start of lockdown, but needed a very short stem to make it short enough. I think the forks a a bit long so the steering is a little strange at times. However, its the go-to bike just now. Strangely, i keep getting PBs on the segments in the local trails. It appears much quicker then my Mega even on rough stuff.
Really interesting, thanks
I’m 6,6” and it’s an XL frame so perhaps the drop bars mean I’ll finally have a bike that fit me! I’m planning a short stem for comfort and handling anyway.
Are there any concerns on bar height with this kind of conversion?
Biggest criticism of the Sherpa for drop bar use (and for MTB use to be fair) is the BB drop is pretty minimal for a 29er, so the BB height is about 20mm higher than optimal for a given tyre size I’d say... Running a shorter rigid fork helps a little, but obviously also steepens the angles and increases the reach too...
I considered it for a while, cos otherwise the Sherpa is lovely. But I just can’t deal with the overly tall BB height on them, and even less so if I’m putting drop bars on one!
My Salsa Fargo has done several thousand miles since riding the Divide in 2015, and yesterday’s ride in the snow and ice above Calderdale was an absolute hoot on it. Flared barred 29ers make for the most versatile desert island bikes IMHO.
Something like this? It’s not mine and I don’t know the owner but I remember seeing it and thought what a great idea it was.
Sherpas in mk1 and mk2 variant are pretty conservative in reach so you may be ok with drop bars. I wouldn’t insult my mk1 with some though!
I have a Sherpa (Mk2) and a Pipedream gravel bike. When you see them side by side, you realise how much longer and slacker the Sherpa is (not words you'll often hear in relation to a Sherpa) and they feel so different in terms of handling, height, position etc. The Pipedream, although fun off road, makes the Sherpa feel like an Enduro beast.
I do a healthy mixture of road and off road on my gravel bike, i suppose if you're much more off-road then it might work.
A loop bar would give similar outcomes but be cheaper for brakes and shifters
I run my Sherpa fully rigid. Have the option of 2” tyres on 29er wheels for back lanes and fire roads, or a plus tyred 29 front/27 rear combo for proper off road stuff. Plan to strap some bags onto it for some longer distance adventuring when circumstances allow. The 2 wheelssets are noticeably different, as the mullet plus setup, softens and slackens
I once converted an old Rocky Mountain Blizzard frame that I bought because it was beautiful, but was actually a bit small for me to a drop bar CX set up. Even the size below what I needed for MTB was too long to work properly.
I spent a lot of time mulling this idea over last year, as my main (and most capable) MTB is a Sherpa MK1. I thought about getting an extra wheelset, running it rigid, flared drops or some kind of Jones bar, but in the end I realised I liked it too much as it is and any gravel/monstercross mods would just make it a worse mountain bike. I bought a cheap gravel bike in the end for less than the mods would have cost. I'm still tempted by the extra wheelset with fast summer tyres and maybe something like the on-one mickey bars (to use the front loop like aero bars) so I can quickly set it up as a more gnarly off-road long-distance/bikepacking machine.