Thanks for the replies chaps.
Now with Mary Bars 🙂
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Nige.
Do you want to borrow a loop bar to try on it?
Sure. Thanks
YGM
In my opinion, experience, the benefit of a rigid fork, is the rigidity. You don't want it to flex at all if possible. This will give the most precise, direct handling characteristics - the main benefit of a rigid fork. Comfort comes from the tyres, 3" Knards, or even better a 4.8" tyre.
A new rear option may be a 650B wheel with a 2.8" tyre. I'd like to see a frame with slider/swinger dropouts to take 29+ and 29er wheels and have short chainstays.
The Jones, by the look of it, also has a lower bottom bracket.
Hi,
I'am new on this forum. Dutch and VERY interested in this Stooge 29er......close to push the "order button" 🙂
@bonesetter
I am just under 6'1" .
Interesting why you put a Marybar now? (would be my idea too) and at what length of stem ?
I see you are running a Knard upfront, at what internal rimsize ?
About climbing:
I have a Karate Monkey and its shortest chainstay position is very similar to the Stooge.
I have found it difficult to keep the frontwheel down on steeper (granny) climbs. Sliding it 14mm back to 445mm (using so called "monkeynuts" in the sliding dropouts) improved that very much. How about the Stooge?
Hi monkey, and welcome
I'm trying the Mary bar soley on a recommendation from Mr Stooge. I have to say so far it's lasted one ride. More on that later. 90 stem. Bit more on bars here: http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/difference-between-mary-bars-and-jones-h-bars/page/2#post-6088041
Knard is on a Stans Flow at 25.5mm internal width. Went up tubeless first time and so far performing well at ~18psi. May try a little lower, say ~15
Climbing seems OK. Mind you, I did a last season's mostly worn out Racing Ralph (2.4). It's pretty good considering, but in the wet woods does slip and clag up, so halts progress temporarily
Hi bonesetter,
Thanks,
I run a Marybar on a rigid Karate Monkey same TT, same 90mm stem. I love them on a rigid bike, great for singlespeed too. Gives you more flexibility on your wrists and arms if it gets rough on a rigid bike.
I was just wondering how it worked on a Stooge, if you compare them to a "standard" wide bar.
I have quite narrow rims (internal 19mm), probably that too narrow for a Knard. Flow seems to be within limit.
Tip: Onone Smorgasboard is great in muddy, wet conditions. Quite heavy but amazing traction and rolls quite well.
Great to see your ride reports on the Stooge !
The 'inspirational' Stooge...
http://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/brants-new-frame-but-he-wont-say-what-it-is-yet
Keep Pedalling in Manchester are now a Stooge stockist and have a demo bike, should anyone wish to try one out.
Charlie the Bikemonger is also on board and will be holding frames in stock as of next week. Charlie has strong legs, he snapped the chain on my test bike halfway up the first hill, either that or it was Sram's fault for making chains from toffee. Anyway, the sport of chainless downhilling was resurrected for a day. All good.
Any more pics (especially of purple or singlespeed ones)?
Also interested to hear how it works with the loop bars or similar...
bike works great with Jones bars, though my personal fave is the Salsa 23 degree. Here's a photo of my latest build with Dually rims and fat tyres. Unbelievably capable machine that dares you to launch yourself of anything.
https://upload.facebook.com/StoogeCycles/photos/pcb.267181493467074/267180550133835/?type=1
oooo Very interested in this.
Have been riding a Scandal 29er with 2.4's and 100mm sus fork for a while. But have been lusting after a simple, beautiful but capable machine for a while. Not found the right one until now.
I have never ridden rigid of road in anger. So one question I keep coming back to is, Rock Gardens.
How do rigid bikes and specifically this Stooge with 29+ tyres fair? For instance I feel I can ride my 100mm forked 29er with 2.4s through a local rock garden quicker than a 26'' 5'' trail bike I used to have....
am interested to know peoples views on rigid forks. My take is that a bit of flex is a benefit for comfort and ride qaulity. The whole idea behind a 'fork' is that it provides a little spring to the ride, isn't it?
Andrew, I hope this helps, mainly because a key reason I didn't buy a Stooge was it is rigid only. (This is not idle talk, I just bought a very similar & quite expensive US frame that can take sus forks).
my take on forks, all from experience. mostly I ride Surrey Hills, XC and trails:
* '2 tubes' style carbon forks are quite twangy (fore and aft style), I didn't notice much damping
* I had some Niner carbon forks, very stiff but again I found them too harsh
* I rode some steel Swift forks for a while, on a Swift frame. Felt a little gentler but the bloody things weigh so much there is near no weight advantage over sus forks.
* some people think rigid and SS are natural bedfellows, I ride my trail bikes SS a lot and actually find sus forks work well both up and down. (On the ups they help stop the bike getting hung up on trail crap).
* sure one can put a big rim and tyre on the front, but then you're getting a bike that takes an awful lot of effort to get up to steam. OK for Clydesdales but I'm a middling sized (and age and fitness) guy, I don't need the handicap.
Mucho 'spec to you for keeping to and executing your vision, obviously this is only 1 person's view and I hope to buy a Stooge one day, I'm on your side, but not for now.
rock gardens? Pedal like hell and try and clear them all!
But seriously, there are certain types of terrain that will never be suitable for fully rigid, but then there's a whole lot more (like most trail centres) that will allow you to totally rip. It's a different kind of ride, a lot more technically demanding and ditto a whole lot more rewarding.
Mattjq, cheers for your words. It's a little known fact the Stooge will take 100mm forks very happily. I call it rigid specific because i recommend it's ridden as is, but the forks are tall to get the front nice and high. The biggest problem would be finding nice suspension forks with an 1 1/8 straight steerer these days.
Ah. Ironically, I have a pair of 100mm straight steerer 29er Rebas hanging on the wall in the garage ... you're right they're hard to find.
Jonestown re RockGardens, as expected horses for course etc. Love this. Would love to try one sometime - Have any made it to the SW / Devon yet?
Julioflo, thanks. I was down in Swanage and the new forest last week, Charlie the Bikemonger has a frameset in stock, not sure if he's planning on building a bike from it. Give him a shout i say, and cheers.
Here's mine now with Salsa 23deg Bend 2 Bars bought from CTBMonger yesterday (had a chat with him re the Stooge, and he commented on how much he liked it, and the way it turns in a corner)
Personally, I'm loving mine and ride it every day I'm around.
Such a capable bike, incredibly light front, and immense fun
My riding is hilly and steep so lots of snakes and ladders through woods and small paths/singletrack - performs perfectly in this
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the way it turns in a corner
As opposed to how it turns whilst going in a straight line perhaps?
Rorschach - Member
the way it turns in a cornerAs opposed to how it turns whilst going in a straight line perhaps?
boom-teesh!
It looks great. At first glance the Salsa bars look very similar to the Mary bars you started with, but maybe the Salsa bars are wider, lower, and less swept back. Do they feel quite different? Also, did you manage to try the Jones bars to compare them?
Regarding the effective toptube; I see 23" and 23.5" mentioned on different sites? What is actual? In metric?
Hi Monkeyrider, 23.5 is the correct measurement, check my website on the geometry page and all measurements are there in metric. I noticed that earlier on in the thread it was actually me that quoted it as a 23" top tube - must have been a long day 🙂
Looking at pictures, showing you on the bike ( being 5'9" I thought?) it looks really short ?
I am running a 18" rigid Karate Monkey and medium Ragley Big Wig 120mm, both 23.5" (ish) effective tt and they show a bit longer (?) I am 6'1"
NB: I am still looking for a reason to buy this (beautifull!!) bike, next to my KM and Ragley. KM with very short chainstay, lower bb and steeper headangle, Ragley with longer chainstay, same bb and slack headangle.
What would be my main benefit riding Stooge vs my rigid Karate Monkey ? ( Except being the proud owner of the first Dutch Stooge 😀 )
Re: the tall front end versus suspension fork, I'm more than pleased with the X-Fusion Slide on my 29 Inbred. It's set at 120mm but the stanchion length is 140 so that gets around the height issue I'd imagine.
Hi Monkeyrider. I'm actually somewhere between 5'11 and 6', so not much shorter than yourself.
Re the difference between the KM and the Stooge, the slacker headangle and increased fork offset make it incredibly stable at speed, you really feel as though you can hit anything with full confidence. It will also have a much lighter, more unweighted front end, so less punishing and a lot more chuckable.
pluss, no-one else with have a bike like yours in Holland 🙂
Regarding this unweighted front; Are you still able to keep the frontwheel on the ground when climbing seated?
Jonestown - what are the reach and stack numbers?
yes, of course. when i say 'unweighted', what i really mean is the ease at which you can loft the front end and, compared to more traditional rigid bikes, the sense that your whole weight isn't bearing down on your wrists when riding off road. It's not a case of the front being so light and airy that you can't keep the front wheel down.
I run my own Stooge with 40mm of headset spacers. The riding position is more like a modern 6" trailbike than an xc bike. With this set up it excels at technical riding in the woods, really comfortable for all day rides. You could run the front end lower and it would put you in more of an attack mode, better for climbing etc, but the set up i have is, in my opinion, what works the best.
deejayen - Member
It looks great. At first glance the Salsa bars look very similar to the Mary bars you started with, but maybe the Salsa bars are wider, lower, and less swept back. Do they feel quite different? Also, did you manage to try the Jones bars to compare them?POSTED 2 DAYS AGO # REPORT-POST
The two bars couldn't feel more different.
I spoke to a dealer who sells alot of 29er bikes and as soon as I mentioned the Mary Bars, he said they're too narrow - which are the same as my impressions
The Salsa's on the hand are night & Day better. I can't say perfect, but very nearly
I would prefer a tad wider and a little more sweep
However, the front of the bike feels brilliant now. They have given more control, made the front feel lighter (as if it could any lighter), easier to loft/wheelie, turn corners, technical - a very big overall improvement
Just fitted Mary bars to my commuter & they feel very narrow. Wouldn't put them on the mtb (Niner SIR.9), & I'm running old fashioned 685mm bars.
Nice build at CBMH
My riding is hilly and steep
lollercopters.
You bimble round Clent.
singlespeedstu - Member
My riding is hilly and steeplollercopters.
You bimble round Clent.
That's right yeah, in my world, the Col-de-Clent is hilly & steep 🙂
The Col-de-Clent sounds like a severe test of man and stooge.
Oh yeah, a true test, if it wasn't for the Stooge I'd be sat at home every time 🙂
Nige.
You still want to try the loop bar?
^ Yes please 🙂
Pick em up tonight if you want.
Just ordered a purple. Excited.
Jonestown - have you got reach and stack figures available?
Hi Cheezpleez, thanks for the order, your frame will be with you on Tuesday. Yabadoo.
Reach is approx 427mm, stack is 584.
Thanks Jonestown 🙂
I just read this thread again and no weight of frame and fork is mentioned yet.
Does anybody have actual weight of frame and uncut fork?
Hi Monkeyrider, i'll get the weight for you as soon as i can get my hand on some scales. I wasn't watching the weight when i designed the frame, but having said that, the bike on my website (with a Knard) weighs in at 26lbs, or 11.8 kg. There's nothing especially lighweight about the build so i imagine you could get a bike down to 24lbs quite easily.
Interested in frame and fork weight too.
Any near future planes for frames without ebb?
Really like the frame but i have no plan on running ss on this one.
weight still to follow. I may well do a regular BB version, but at this stage its economy of scale, i'm a very small outfit trying to be all things to all men. One upside of the ebb is that you can play around with geometry (chainstay length, bottom bracket height)and i like that. But the ebb is fit and forget if you run gears (as i do). Don't let it put you off 😉
I was a bit worried about the eccentric BB as well, my single speed days are done.
But its not much weight, and probably means stiffer BB generally, plus being able to play with single ring setups, and BB position for the reasons listed above and for me also being able to get seat position just right for the cockpit, but being able to independently modify relative peddling position ( a bit) is an unforeseen plus.
Just started building mine up. Proper lovely frame. Looking forward to see how 29+ front works. Felt great on the test bike. Andy couldn't have been more helpful.
^
Any pics yet??
Anyone know the seatclamp size please?
Just ordered a blue frameset at CTBM .........first Dutch Stooge will be born 😀
Charlie was very helpfull in sharing his experience on a Karate Monkey and the Stooge; Both great bikes but quite different ride: Stooge more agressive and fun, KM more for long steady days.
Sounds there is a place for a Stooge next to my KM. 😀
It will be a bit of "classic" build with what I have in my barn (mosty new or hardly used):
polished stuff, bit vintage and modern mix; 1x8 34(or 30) x 11-34 with square tapered crankset (Shimano STC-RC 5arm 1995! almost new) Surly SS chainring,jumpstop, Sachs (yes...real "Sachs") gripshifter, Salsa bend2 bar, Avid bb7 and some flatpedals.
I already have received my Velocity Blunt35 wheelset from "Just Riding Along" with tubeless Knard front and Conti Xking2.4 rear.
I will post pictures asap
Nice! I picked up a frame from CTBM yesterday - very helpful 🙂
Do Avid BB7 fit fine on the back, what rotor size (160,180)?
I will be using 160 rear and 200 front. I guess that's no problem ?
somebody must know the seatclamp size??
31.8
I use 200/180
Good to see more folk getting into the Stooge - great bike and looking forward to hearing ride reports - as I'm sure is Mr Stooge
Would you please all hurry up and buy up the first batch of these frames as the second batch will have a fork with anything cage mounts 🙂
31.8 seatclamp on a steel frame with 27.2 seatpost ??????
30.0 is more-or-less "standard"
i thought 30.8, but this hope one says 31.8
the OD of the ST (which I did measure before posting) is indeed 31.8
You are totally right! Just had some emails with CTBM and indeed: Stooge has size 31.8 seatclamp !
Heavy tubing at that part ?!
steel jones has 31.8 seatclamp too 😉
Saves me having to ask. Thanks. No pics yet. Knard arriving tomorrow with any luck...
OK, so i REALLY need to put the seatclamp size on the website, and it is.... 31.8. The seatmast has a brazed shim inside to provide all important strength at the top tube junction. The actual tube is a lit thinner once you head down to the BB.
Monkeyrider, your build sounds sweet, can't wait to see some pics of that one.
BB7's will fit on the back with a 180 rotor. I've not tried a 203, i imagine it might be okay, though a definite case of overkill 🙂
The BB shell is 68mm I think. Listed as 73mm.
Lovely looking/sounding bikes here. Why the love of mechanical brakes by the way, simplicity?
Nearly all parts have been ordered.
I'll start the build tomorrow. Can't wait!
Spec for me:
SS 32x18
XT cranks
740mm low rise devinci bars
50mm Kona stem
Charge Spoon
SS seatpost
Deore brakes & 160mm rotors
Cane Creek headset
Flows on ProII- not sure on tyres yet.
KMC chain
Then just pedals and done!
Total cost around £800 and should weigh about 25 lbs.
This build will be my winter hack bike/no maintenance option.
lol ^^, back to a 29er trail bike then?
how's that student loan coming on 😉
Tis 68
I'm off up to Sideways tomorrow to collect my bits. A collection of purple Hope (hubs, headset) Thomson (post, stem) and XT (brakes, mech, cranks) with Dually rims and a Knard up front. My frame, which has been mantelpiece art for the last six weeks will finally get built.
Expect this thread and [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/placid_casual/sets/72157644970654521/ ]my Flickr album[/url] to be inundated with photos...
[url= https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5585/14141182589_e032c4b5e0_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5585/14141182589_e032c4b5e0_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/nxBfUV ]Mantelpiece art. #newframe #stoogecycles[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people// ]placid casual[/url], on Flickr
Yeah, you know I've got a problem Matt 😆
If you're nice I'll let you have a go at Swinley sometime.
Payrise and overtime means the MSc loan should be gone by the end of the year 😀
good job. swap you for a go on my nice new chrome Nimble 9. Stooge looks good to me too, one of my riding buddies has just received a purple one.
@placid that looks lovely on the mantelpiece, best buy another for riding!
BB 68mm and not 73 as listed on website???
Shure?!
Unpleasant surprize:
Means I need to order another square bb .........
deffo 68
C'mon Andy, website detail needs sorting 😉
Confusing....just got a message from CTBM to confirm its 73 😕
Andy........HELP !
Just put a BB in one today 68 it be .
Aye 68 here too.
Finally got all the bits to build the Stooge up. Apologies to Andy for any compromises valve/logo misalignment 🙂
Rabbit hole rims, Knard front and Ardent 2.4 back (comes up nice and wide on these rims). Set up tubeless with sht load of Stans and Gorrilla tape.
1 x 10 thick/thin chainring / clutch mech. So we'll see how that handles steps...
Will probably go for layback seat post, depending on how the cockpit fettling goes. Keeping the front high on Andy's recommendation. Opposite to what I'm used to, but felt right on the demo bike, so I'm going to try it for a bit.
Generally built burly. Lovely frame.
SLX front brake on a Surly hub was tight with IS to post adaptor. May need some tinkering later.
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Right lets get the thing... dusty 🙂
firstly, massive apologies re the website misinformation, the bb is 68mm, used to be 73 when i specced a threaded BB, update on the way. Especially sorry to Monkeyrider for buying the wrong size, what size T shirt do you wear, i'll send you one gratis to make up for the bother (when they arrive).
M(alec) - your build looks very very nice, can't wait to hear what you think of it on the trails. Keep me posted.
