the size would be perfect for you. I think the stooge will be longer in th toptube and slightly taller at the front, you’d have no problem emulating your current set-up. The best way to describe the stooge is that it’s a 6″ trail bike without the suspension, and by that i’m referring to the riding position. It will ride better off road with a flat bar, but if you’re a fan of dirt drops and like/are used to the lower position, then go for it i say.

I had a set of luxys once and really enjoyed them until i hit a boulder and caned myself. went back to flats after that 🙂

A good bar for you on the stooge would be the jones bend bar, lots of sweep and a very happy riding position.

re weight, my demo bike was built up just shy of 26lbs, so no heavyweight. Once i fitted dually rims and knard the weight went up substantially. Having said that it rides very well with the Big.

Nice looking frame, awful blue colour
Nicer colour than your swift

Equally bad, I hate blue

Sorry it’s a bit of a general question but how do you think the Stooge would compare to my Solaris with 120 mm forks ?

Every time this thread pops up I can’t help thinking they look like fun !

I could easily get away without suspension but I would probably only be using a large-ish standard tyre up front with a 30 mm Lite Bicycle rim.

I run mine with a 2.4 Ardent front, 2.3 Ground Control rear, Flow rims. I have got a Knard but not put it on yet, haven’t felt the need tbh. It’s a great trail bike, but I consider it more of an all-rounder. But it’s still a rigid bike. I would echo Andy’s comments – works best for me with a nice wide, flat bar.

Are the t-shirts for sale or only for owners?

t-shirts are for sale, £15 with free postage, M, L, XL. Haven’t got round to putting them on the website yet, if you fancy one let me know.

What size does the medium measure up at? I’m a racing snake!

Clink – You say you’ve ridden your Stooge on Dartmoor… Does this mean you live on or near Dartmoor?
I’m thinking if you do, I’d love to meet up to obtain a test ride…

A few miles under my belt on the Stooge and I have to say..its superb.
Very nimble,super comfy and ridiculous fun!

Clink – You say you’ve ridden your Stooge on Dartmoor… Does this mean you live on or near Dartmoor?
I’m thinking if you do, I’d love to meet up to obtain a test ride…

Somerset. Where are you?

@Kbrembo: How well do ESI Aqua grips match the frame colour?

Clink- I’m in Buckfastleigh, south Dartmoor. So not too far away from you

miranmtb – Member

@Kbrembo: How well do ESI Aqua grips match the frame colour?

Depending on the light…90% match

Depending on the light…90% match

Tnx, so not that bad … black grips look a bit dull, looking for more colour 😀

julioflo – I’m Totnes based with a Jones if you ever fancy a go on that….

oh, and we may be able to lure Clink and a certain Puffin rider off here down for some exotic riding too…. 😉

I’ve now had a couple of rides on my Stooge – Dartmoor and SSUK. I prefer it over the Jones I had. In my mind is equally good going down but a better climber (ss).

Clink, As a reunited Jones owner and designer of a few bikes now, I wondered what made/makes the Stooge a better climber in your view? My understanding is its shorter at the back, slacker at the front and higher at the BB. None of which, when applied to mechanics of climbing on a bike suggest better climbing but the opposite.

To be clear, I get to ride with a Placid Casual and his a Stooge and I like the look of it, I have no axe to grind or competitive motive, just interested from the position of a geometry geek 😀

My understanding is its shorter at the back, slacker at the front and higher at the BB. None of which, when applied to mechanics of climbing on a bike suggest better climbing but the opposite.

Head angle / slacker alone makes little odds on climbing, weight distribution and actual trail does though. A longer wheelbase can give you more room to move without upsetting your general balance – shorter works for some, less so for others. And when set-up SS, either bike will have a rear end length dictated by gearing, I’m guessing that both bikes will set up the same if the EBBs are centred in a place that allows the usual range of gears and 2.4 tyre room.

Was waiting for the Jones ride-comparisons to surface : ) The stooge seems to be as close to hardtail 29er geo as it is to a Jones but the idea of a higher front and more offset to get your hands behind the f axle is Jones-originated. That makes a big difference over conventional geo imo. There’s other bikes with 69-70 head angles and 52-55mm offset forks to compare to also – eg an o-o fatty has those numbers.

Peanut, Let’s meet up. Would deffo love to see what the Jones is like.
my email is justin at solidwool . com

Then regarding Clink and the Puffin rider it would also be good to get together as those two bikes are kind of where my next bike thoughts are leading. Or an O-O Fatty…

Peanut, Let’s meet up. Would deffo love to see what the Jones is like.
my email is justin at solidwool . com

Then regarding Clink and the Puffin rider it would also be good to get together as those two bikes are kind of where my next bike thoughts are leading. Or an O-O Fatty…

I’m up for that – probably have to be a Sunday though. Would be good to see you peanut!

I found the stooge a completely different beast to O-O Fatty I had.
I have ridden the Stooge a fair bit now and I’ve found the riding position very comfortable. Mixture of a high front, long TT and short stem have made the position perfect. I had the O-O set up similarly but for some reason it never felt right. Possibly lower front end?

Climbing on the stooge is easily better than the fatty, I realise there was a weight penalty. The ‘superior’grip, that many claim, of the fatty never shone through for me.

I fount the fatty average all round and not very inspiring however the Stooge is a superb bike all round (mix of trail centre, XC and a little road/commuting so far). It’s the sort of bike that makes you smile. It’s being used more than the Explosif and it’s not even muddy yet!

I’m a serial bike swapper because I rarely get on with bikes but when I find a good one it stays with me for a long time. I think I found one of my perfect N+1s!

Ride 1 completed. Wheels and drive chain borrowed from the Jones for convenience.

My initial impression was that the Stooge delivered the same playful/chuckable feel that I had from my previous Paradox and Yelli but with a classic steel smoothness. With a Thomson layback post, a 70mm stem, 2″ of spacers and a low riser bar the fit was fine. I’m guessing the ETT with this setup is around my usual 24.5. If you’re 6′ 4″ and are happy with a shorter, more upright ride you should be OK.

The Stooge with Knard up front rides really well. I like the Knard on my Jones but it raises the front and BB just enough to compromise the handling making it harder to keep the front weighted. It seemed perfect on the Stooge.

I think why it climbs well is the stiffness of the bottom bracket. It feels like the is no flex at all. The front fork is stiff too, tracking well through the high speed bumps. This stiffness comes at a cost. In comparison to a Ti Jones I could really feel the weight difference. But then I feel that whenever I switch to another bike (except for the Yelli). Over some surfaces I did feel more vibration through the pedals too. On the plus side the extra weight gives the bike a more planted feeling, something I expect steel Jones’s have too.

For ride two I’ll definately change the bar. I liked the 745 riser but it was too stiff. I’ll try my Renthal next time.

The Stooge with Knard up front rides really well. I like the Knard on my Jones but it raises the front and BB just enough to compromise the handling making it harder to keep the front weighted.

Interesting, I haven’t fitted a 3″ front to my Jones partly for that reason. But the Jones has a lower BB than pretty much any 29er to start with, lower than the stooge so I guess it’s the shorter wheelbase and reach that makes it more sensitive to the front end lift?

MartinH – just wondering what stem/bar combo you have on your Jones.

The Jones was never designed to have a 29+ wheel. But you’d think that the increase in diameter would slacken off the head angle and as you say raise the BB a bit too, it also has a high front end to start with. The new Jones plus has a longer wheelbase doesn’t it?

worth noting also that with the knard up front, the head angle of the Stooge is about 67 degrees. With a regular front tyre it’s 69 degrees. It’s a bit like sites quoting non-sagged geometry but the other way round 🙂

Knard vs an average 2.3 is only a degree max, less than that between an Ardent 2.4 and a Knard. It’s more the overall effect on trail the bigger f tyre has (ie greater than just the HA change) that I felt wouldn’t be to my taste where the Jones is concerned.

I think its a combination of the huge Jones head tube and relatively narrow Jones bars vs the shorter head tube (even with spacers) and wide bars on the Stooge. I did remove the one spacer I had under the Jones stem when I installed the Knard but there’s no more adjustment unless I get a -ve rise stem. The 24″ Jones has a even longer head tube than the 23″.

The Renthal carbon bar on the Stooge is much more comfortable than the Alu it replaced.

I’ll try my Light Bicycle 35mm wheel + Ardent upfront next ride.

The Stooge with Knard up front rides really well. I like the Knard on my Jones but it raises the front and BB just enough to compromise the handling making it harder to keep the front weighted.

Interesting. When I first had my Jones I tried to replicate my normal riding “style!” of weighting the front wheel; then I swapped the Unicrown (which is for sale btw 😀 ) for a Truss which calls for a much higher front end which with the Knard on means weight is further back. I think it’s infinitely better as a result.

When I spoke to Jeff about it he agreed, he said he designed the frame/bar/fork so that you were much more centred, with your weight through the pedals, not the bars.

It’s only when cornering I look to weight the outside edge. When it’s dry and loose failure to do so leads to disaster.

Stooge Cycles: Back to mountain bike basics

Great write-up featuring interview with Mr Stooge

I am currently running Ardents at about 20psi tubeless on my Stooge but as soon as they wear out I’ll be shifting to a pair of 2.35 Hans damphs. Knards just wouldn’t work on my trails around Dunkeld and pitlochy. Very natural and sometimes very steep loam and the damphs just work in these conditions. I’m totally addicted to my stooge by the way and I’m an old school down Hiller. #justgetone

I am currently running Ardents at about 20psi tubeless on my Stooge but as soon as they wear out I’ll be shifting to a pair of 2.35 Hans damphs. Knards just wouldn’t work on my trails around Dunkeld and pitlochy. Very natural and sometimes very steep loam (and usually wet)and the damphs just work in these conditions. I’m totally addicted to my stooge by the way and I’m an old school down Hiller and still love my full bounce but the stooge is addictive and so much fun. #justgetone

Stooge Cycles: Back to mountain bike basics

Great write-up featuring interview with Mr Stooge

New models planned…any info?

very early days yet, but i’m working on a fork and bars at the moment, very interested in producing a Ti version, and then there’s the whole idea of 650+. All i need to do now is sell more frames to fund all the above shenanigans 🙂

ti version mmmmmmmm…… 😀

Or get funding??

I would put my name down for a Ti version!
How about a kickstarter project? You’ve proven yourself with the current Stooge.

About to settle in for a ‘working at home day’ while waiting for my Stooge to be delivered.

^ ooh congrats

You’re in for some fun 🙂

Do post pics

If all goes to plan, I’ll be test riding one this weekend 🙂