I have a cannondale Road frame i thought was raw

A lot of ‘raw’ frames are actually lacquered – not all aluminium alloy copes well with being left unfinished.

Not being able to afford a shiny new bike I try my best not to get sucked into “shiny new bike” syndrome knowing that I will always be the limiting factor. Being bloody short (5 ft) helps that as other than full custom very few off the peg bikes look like they will fit me and have geometry that I’d like. This thread, however, is making it extremely difficult since the NoSoLong has come up. That looks bloody awesome for a shortarse like me. Grrrr and damn you Chainline. New 2018 Transitions look good too for shorter people too with nice short seat tubes but decently long reach and wheelbase. Damn it. How much do kidneys go for these days? I need to stay off the internet and get on my perfectly functioning old bike more.

I need to get you a test on it Littleman. I’ve just been struggling for time. It’s on the list.

For those with raw frames. It’s a scotchbrite pad hat is normally included and you need to get to bring the std finish back.

You can polish it with auto Sol if you want or use a scoured or wire wool. All will give a slightly different finish to it.

Great to see so many excited people about the bike. Can’t wait to hear the ride stories and see some pics.

Sharkattack there should have been a scotchbrite in with the spare mech and the cable guide clips/stealth plugs bag.
If you haven’t got it or that bag of gubbins, check the box and bubble wrap and if you can’t find it ring Mojo and get one sent. You will need to confirm the mech hanger offset (if any) it’s engraved on the inside of the hanger.

jes,

I’ve not used one on a GeoMetron but based on experience I would start with it Set up fast and with minimum compression damping, 50% open LSC and 80% open HSC
What air can do you have?

I’ve got a bag of bits and bobs. A spare mech hanger is a nice bonus, grommet for the dropper, cable ties and stuff. Definitely no scotchbrite pad. Today I pulled all the bubble wrap apart and there’s nothing there. I’ll pick one up but if it wasn’t mentioned here I never would have known about it.

My Hope and Shimano stuff arrived at work today but I didn’t have a spare minute to do anything with it. Hopefully it’ll be rolling tomorrow then I’ll decide on a bar, stem and saddle. I think that’s all I need now.

Only a couple of quid for scotchbrite.

Chainline, apologies, I wasn’t fishing at all, just genuinely really liking the look of the bike!

Thanks Chainline and Jes.

I have the standard air can (I think).

I started of with the standard normal settings in the cane creek manual as these were exactly the same as the one recomended for the ion 15 on the cane creek site.

I’ve added a bit of LSC and an bit of HSC after a short ride round some local woods for a shake down.

First impressions (of someone who has the full new bike excitement!)

On the flat- very long, fine on the flat twisty bits
On the steep ups- climbed like it had one gear lower. All the bits came straight off my previous frame, so this was an ace surprise. I cleaned a slippy steep bit standing- very unexpected as every other bike I’ve had has spun out if I stood here.
On the not so steep down- easy to get to grips with, was great.

No steep down or jumps.

It didn’t feel too “big” for my flatish local trails, which I thought it might.

Off to Bike park wales for a proper ride tomorrow 🙂

Thanks Martin. Let us know how u get on at bpw. I doubt the geometry will hold you back. What seems large on paper spreadsheet disappears on the trail.

This is all I got done today. Seatpost routed, discs mounted and a bloody tubeless set up that absolutely refused to hold air. I’ll get back on it tomorrow if I get a chance. It’s starting to look the part now though.

And this is what it looks like next to a Giant Glory DH bike that happened to be passing through. Both back wheels against the wall and the Geometron way out in front.

Also, I’ve got a Hope 83mm BB that has massive cups. Normal hollowtech tool doesn’t fit and I couldn’t find anything that did so I need to track one down before I go any further. Wasn’t expecting that.

Some really nice builds going on here.

It would be a lie to say I’m not looking at these and thinking I’d love to try a G16. Sadly I’m worried my riding style is not compatible, I hang off the back of the bike a lot so struggle to weight the front, my Mondraker Dune and I did not get on at all. I’ll see if Jedican help me on that front though!

Sharkattack, you need a hope ‘htt188’ tool . Not expensive. I too was caught out by this. I thought maybe the tool was big and did not fit into the crank box, but as you will see it fits in perfect.
Anyway it’s a nice crank and bb 🙂

It is a mildly frustrating thing that Hope don’t include it with their crankset really as you can only use the BB with the Hope.

I think the Glory looks a tad steep too! Perhaps 63 😆

Wife was out on the NSL on Friday with AirMaidens at Chicksands. Amazing change in her confidence on the NSL. She said Katy Kurd was showing a lot of interest in it…

Just let me know if I’m boring anyone with the daily updates 😉 But I can only work on it in short stints (plus I’m getting pretty excited about it!)

Click here for a big pic-LINK

I found the BB tool. I expected that we’d have one at work but it was hidden in a place where I never would have looked. So that’s sorted.

I love how you can access the chainguide bolts through the chainring and easily drop spacers in and out. It would be a major ball ache to fit and remove that crank arm multiple times in a day. It’s another level of faff compared to Shimano but it’s so satisfyingly robust and chunky.

The DMR Vaults I bought a year ago because they were super cheap just happen to match the frame almost exactly. My tyres are now fully airtight. I’d cocked the tape right up first attempt. Not the job to do in a hurry. I went for my favourite tyres but there’s so much mud clearance that it looks like I have the wrong size wheels in. I’ll experiment with bigger rubber when these are worn out.

Annoyingly, it looks like a bike but I still can’t sit on it. I’m undecided on a saddle and I’m waiting for a mate to produce a bar and stem. I’ve got some red E4’s to go on then it’s done.

I also got a very in depth tuning guide from Paul at Mojo. What adjustments do what and what to change and when according to feeling, conditions etc.. First ride will probably be Grenoside where I can do lots of short, repetitive runs and get it dialled in.

Even I’m excited with these daily updates!

Chainline, I messaged the Geometron Facebook page earlier but I had spoken to one of the guys at the Tweedlove demo day who said they might be able to sort me out with a G16 without a shock. Do you know if they would do this? Thanks

Are you able to share Paul’s tuning guide Sharkattack? I’ve barely altered mine from the original settings but would be good to know.

This is the last email I got from Paul. Obviously it’s specific to what they’ve done for me but you might get something from it. I know the bike is designed to be progressive anyway but I asked them to make it firm enough for a lively ride. I like jumps and drops and I want a bike that pops rather than wallows.

I also explained that I love DH but have reluctantly learned to pedal because I don’t live in Whistler and I plan to do uplift days and summers in the Alps etc.

SAG = the amount your suspension compresses under rider weight and riding gear.
LSC (Low Speed Compression) = is useful to control shock / fork performance under rider weight shifts, G-outs and other slow in-puts.
HSC (High Speed Compression) = control shock under bigger hits, landings, and square edged bumps.
LSR (Low Speed Rebound) = control under brake bumps, technical climbing and off-camber cornering, when extra traction is needed.
HSR (High Speed Rebound) = recover from bigger hits and square-edged bumps quickly enough to absorb consecutive hits.
Vol (Volume reducers) = clip on spacers that allow you to change the amount of mid stroke and bottom out resistance.

Base shock settings:
Sag – set sag and aim for 30 % when hovering in your attach position with all riding gear inc hydration pack etc. 30% is 19mm. Remember to cycle the shock through the first 25% of its travel around 10 or so times to equalise both chambers.
Vol – The shock is fitted with 2 of the orange volume spacers and the red spacer limiter. Video here if it helps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mv6_AU4w3pE
LSC – 18 clicks from fully closed / positive
HSC – 22 clicks from fully closed / positive
LSR – 13 clicks from fully closed / positive (Really dependant on footwear i.e. if riding flats try adding more damping to keep in contact with the pedals)
HSR – 15 clicks from fully closed / positive

Base fork settings as follows:
Air Pressure – set sag and aim for 20% sag when in attack position standing on pedals (DON’T hold the brakes) 20% = 34mm. you can run up to 48mm sag but you would need to address the air spring curve progression to achieve a workable balance.
Vol – x3 orange spacers fitted which might be overkill but give it a go. You can go down a volume reducer or two if you are not achieving full travel or it feels too harsh!
LSC – 19 clicks from fully closed / positive
HSC – 20 clicks from fully closed / positive
Reb – 13-15 clicks from fully closed / positive (dependant on air pressure and chassis balance)

***** Important note – seal “bed-in” period is 30hrs *****

Give us a shout once you have ridden it a few times and we can double check the settings based on your experiences.

Remember not to pull the brakes when setting sag and make sure to compress the bike a few times to break any chassis stiction.
After a ride just check to see how much travel you have used! Ideally with the suspension progression I would expect you to be able to use around 80% travel in a typical carpark test, (trying my hardest to bottom out the suspension without using the brakes to pitch my weight on the bike)

Thanks Sharkattack, shock set up is fairly similar but my fork settings are very different.

NoKills, they shouldn’t be apart from the volume spacers unless you’ve gone mad without talking to me!

Well updated thoughts on my extra long G13 after 4 days riding in wales

It only just fits in the car with one wheel off! I had thought of this, but thought it would be fine. Its a bit tight for any passenger in the front seat with the back seats down.

Bike park wales-
It only just fit on the uplift trailer. They had to use a third strap on the wheel to make it secure. Not something I had thought about before buying it. It felt very long and odd to start off with, after a few runs it was fine. I went round some of the corners I struggled with on a couple of other bikes with ease.

Mach 3 and the climax trail-
I wasn’t sure what it would be like on a day out in the hills. On the Mach 3 trail it was absolutely fine. It is 0.7kg heavier than my previous bike (the only thing that has changed is the frame). After the Mach 3 trail I still had more than enough energy for the climax trail.

Penmachno
The bike was ace! The trail was ace, but loads was under water. I had more than enough confidence to hit the underwater bits and the bike soaked up some poor line choices.

Llandegla
This was all going swimmingly until I cased a jump on the black hard enough to put a thumb sized dent in to the rear rim. Not sure if it was over confidence, low tyre pressure or just pure lack of skill.

So
Bike park- good
trail centre- good
Natural big day out- good
Local trail- good

Last couple of things to try are a full DH uplift day and flat riding round Nottingham.

I’m a happy Bunny 🙂

Tall_martin how tall are you and what were you riding before for comparison?

Tall_Martin Just have half a mind on the rear travel when reviewing the full DH uplift day!

apart from that, excellent news.

I’m 6″4 with 36″ inside leg.

Last year I’ve been on an orange Segment.

Chainline- i have a 200x57mm rear shock lying about and I trial fitted it before I bought the correct 190x50mm. The longer shock fitted with no problem.

Other than raising the bb and steepening the ha, would the longer shock do anything nasty? It will clearly change the handling and give 148mm travel at the back. There was clearance with the shock fully compressed

Tall martin, must have been you I saw on Saturday at Dyfi/CXlimachx I’m guessing? I was on the long G16. The answer to the car problem is clear, buy a van.

tall_martin check there is no binding at either end with the longer shock on the lever and downtube mount.

Other than that no the issue is the BB height and the HA.

In reality the BB on the G13 is slightly lower than my preference for a 29er irrespective of travel so I doubt that will cause an issue to you. worth measuring and reporting back I’d guess still sub 340mm which is fine. Personally I like a 350mm BB on a 29er giving the same BB drop as the 27.5. I think it helps with agility.

It wont cause any damage if there is no binding on the body.

I wouldn’t like the HA any steeper. For me it already needs a -2 angleset for work best. If you also did that and added the shock then did the measurements that would be helpful..

Alternatively, the Mojo DHX-2 shock runs 190-57 to also give the 148mm rear travel, but clearly would incur some cost. You could offset that by lettint the two shocks you have now go. Curve works well with a coil.

steveh – yep! Nice to meet you. He bike fits with just me in the car, It will just have to have both wheels off with two people. While I’d like a van again, the car is staying for the foreseeable future 🙂

Chainline- There was no binding on the shock, I might give it a go in the future. As for a custom mojo shock, I’ll stick with the s/h shocks I have for the moment. More riding less shopping 🙂

I’ll give the bike a measure when I do, i used an app on my phone so the measurements would be good to show a change, not an absolute number. The app measured different angles on the two sides of a fork stanton last time I used it.

Cheers!

@blakec , how you getting on with that big g16 and that x2 , did you get it working for your weight . Im waiting for dpx2 and probably doing Pauls(mojo) head in .@chainline what size shock do I need for the g16 to run 29 wheel , I am going to have a look on ebay and see if I can get a cheap monarch till the dpx2 comes in

I fitted a -2 angle-set and the BB sits at 330mm off the floor to crank spindle. Personally I prefer how it rides with the lower BB/slacker head angle as find it easier to turn and find it carries speed better.

Also have a DHX2 arriving tomorrow so looking forward to trying the coli shock in there with the longer travel.

BIGMAN, I prefer the slacker angle but a higher BB BUT that is on a 155mm-175mm travel so likely the dynamic ride highlight similar to a 133mm setup.

BIGMAN, I prefer the slacker angle but a higher BB BUT that is on a 155mm-175mm travel so likely the dynamic ride highlight similar to a 133mm setup.

Chainline – Is there anything that can be done about the issue I have on all my geometrons of the rear mech cable walking along the swingarm and extending the loop at the rear mech end? All the slack heads that way until I notice as it gets tighter at the other end. I’ve tried cable ties etc but they’ve not helped.

Steveh – From new I was advised to put some of the tape linked below under the cable clamps around the headset and on the downtube to protect the frame. Given its a squishy rubber it certainly locks them in place and I never noticed them moving.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/RUBBER-MASTIC-TAPE-2228-1X10FT-3M/dp/B001B1AP3O

Same as this stuff I believe but without the ‘branding’…

Slapper Tape

There is an extra longest G16 on eBay if there is anyone tempted by secondhand geometron goodness 🙂

Thanks gotama, will give that a go.

I’ve not had my cables migrate that I’ve noticed. I do secure it at the back of the swingarm with a elastic band or velcro, I dont use any tape normally but seems like a sensible idea.

I never posted any pics of the finished bike. Well here it is…

I’ve ridden it twice but nothing demanding yet. I had to test it on the boring stuff to see if it’s going to be useful or if it’s going to live in the garage like the DH bike. So it’s been to Parkwood and Lady Cannings via the roads and bridleways of Sheffield. It zips along at least as easily as the bike it’s replacing (Cotic Bfe) with exactly the same tyres on.

With the saddle up it puts you in a nice, assertive position for spinning along where the Bfe is more laid back in the seat tube and feels like it needs constant encouragement to keep the cruising speed up. It’s had some brief Peak District style climbing where it crawls over rocks very satisfyingly. My hardtail would wheelspin and pop the front wheel up all over the place and this thing is totally planted.

I haven’t ridden anything steep or rough yet, just the swooping berms of LC and Parkwood. No complaints but can’t wait to ride something challenging. The experience is bizarre though. When you’re standing up and hitting stuff fast it feels like a DH bike. It’s just weird riding from home to the trails on a normal bike then dropping in on something that feels like the bike I used to take to the Alps.

So yeah, no regrets yet. I was worried that it would be too big and ridiculous on normal stuff like the routes I do on a weekend with the Mrs. but it was fine. Now I just need to see what it’s like on steep and nasty stuff. Got a day at BPW booked in a few weeks and want to explore the Peak a bit more and find all these descents people keep talking about.

Well tasty

anyone read the long term reviews in MBR* or MBUK? Both have ended up trying to mellow the bike out a bit for “normal” riding?

MBR chap who had the largest grand rbded up saying he’d prob go down a size for use as his only bike and MBUK have fitted and angle set to steepen the head angle?

Both seem very different to what people have said on here, and Chainline is slacking things off a bit more rather than mellowing out the HA.

*Id like to publicly thank Large supermarket chains for allowing me to keep up with the MBR reviews while out shopping.