Getting rid of the front derailed routing is a good move. I’m a big rigid fan and, for me at least, it’s all about simplicity. Might be seriously tempted.

Almost everything about the Stooge fits the bill, however there is one thing that is a bit of concern and that would be the set or grub screww ebb, seems like it could lead to problems down the road, Can anyone with the Stooge frame or a bike with the same ebb design shed a bit of light with their experience?

Mine hasn’t missed a beat. I think it is the same design as the one Singular use and I haven’t heard of problems there.

do the screws gauge the aluminum bottom bracket and leave permanent endentiions? also, how snug is the bottom bracket insert in the bottom bracket? does the interface have a tight tolerance?

Ebb is a very snug fit no noticeable play in mine, the grub screws have left marks though but all in all its been bang on not even a hint of a creak. Set up SS too btw

Do you have a Stooge? and Is it snug with the bolts loosened?

Do you have a Stooge? and Is it snug with the bolts loosened?

Why are you so worried? It’s a recognised system. The ebb insert is easily rotated with bolts undone. Mine hasn’t budged or creaked in months (over 6) of ss use on Quantocks, Mendips and local rides.

I’ve got a Singular Hummingbird with the same EBB system, I’ve always used it singlespeed and it’s been faultless. Adjusting chain tension is probably a minute’s work using 4mm and 6mm allen keys. The set screws leave shallow marks on the insert but it doesn’t stop you making fine adjustments.
I take the insert out a couple of times a year and clean and grease the BB shell with copper grease.

Well, I was actually asking spectabilis, and these forums are for members to share info and I would like to get as much info as possible to make the best choice as it’s my money. No need to get so defensive Clink

I was worried to, but after 6 months of riding no problems. I knew it was a proven technology (tandem frames) but it is normal as ebbs have the reputation of being troublesome (a lot of older Niner frames). I am not worried any more. It’s probably the cleanest solution for tensioning the chain and you can use the ebb to lower the bb or shorten the chainstays when running gears.

calaverarider – Member
Do you have a Stooge? and Is it snug with the bolts loosened?

Yes I do, and yes when I said snug fit I meant as in a tight tolerance between insert and aperture….

calaverarider – Member
Well, I was actually asking spectabilis, and these forums are for members to share info and I would like to get as much info as possible to make the best choice as it’s my money. No need to get so defensive Clink

POSTED 12 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST

I think Clink was pointing out the obvious, to your obvious insecurity 🙂

The EBB works well. I prefer the grub bolts over the internal bolts. It gives a larger clamping diameter and it is easier to adjust. I’ve not had any issues with lots of abuse over the last 9 months.

I’m stripping and cleaning everything ready for summer soon so I’ll check out what marks the bolts have left.

i chose this system because of it’s foolproof simplicity. In the past i’ve had various types of ebb. all of which creaked terribly or were a bind to adjust. Worth mentioning that the BB shell is machined after welding to ensure a perfect fit. Also worth mentioning that the bolts only need to be tightened to 4nm, which isn’t very tight at all. The bolts are also flat-headed to prevent the gouging that can be a problem with the pinpoint bolts some companies use. If you don’t overtighten you won’t have a problem. The frames come with plentiful amounts of coppergrease in the shell, so far no problems at all. Hope that helps.

Any decision on those new colours? Still hoping for that candy red… 🙂

Any more info and pics of titanium version please Andy?

i chose this system because of it’s foolproof simplicity. In the past i’ve had various types of ebb. all of which creaked terribly or were a bind to adjust. Worth mentioning that the BB shell is machined after welding to ensure a perfect fit. Also worth mentioning that the bolts only need to be tightened to 4nm, which isn’t very tight at all. The bolts are also flat-headed to prevent the gouging that can be a problem with the pinpoint bolts some companies use. If you don’t overtighten you won’t have a problem. The frames come with plentiful amounts of coppergrease in the shell, so far no problems at all. Hope that helps.
Thanks for chiming in, I’ve had various ebb’s as well from a Bushnell expanding wedge to split shells, which have been trouble free in my limited time with them, are there any negatives associated with split shells that perhaps I’m not aware of?

no problems at all with split=shell, providing the tolerances are correct and you grease and don’t overtighten the bolts. Having said that, i’ve not used one and i can see that an opening and closing clamp isn’t ideal when you think of the welds in that area.

re ti frames, as soon as i have them i’ll be posting photos up. About a month away at the moment.

colours – don’t really want to spoil the surprise just yet

I’ve been using a grub screw ebb for nearly nine years now on my off road commuter, it’s never given me any problems in that time. It would be my first choice if I were looking for another frame.
I think I’m going to find the Ti Stooge hard to resist but in reality I think the single size is probably just a bit to big for me.

I’ve been using a grub screw ebb for nearly nine years now on my off road commuter, it’s never given me any problems in that time. It would be my first choice if I were looking for another frame.
I think I’m going to find the Ti Stooge hard to resist but in reality I think the single size is probably just a bit to big for me.

How tall are you?

bear in mind the shortest rider to buy a Stooge is 5’4 and she has no problems with sizing. I know it goes against everything we think we know, but it really does shrink and grow very easily. The standover is the same as a 15″ bike, but the front triangle is longer and taller. come and have a ride on one.

From what I’ve read the Stooge is a very capable descender however I do quite a bit of sustained climbling before going down hill, for all those who have the Stooge is it a capable climber as well or is climbing a bit more difficult because of the slack angles? I plan on running it single speed with a Maxxis Chronicle.

Climbs fine. It’s not a race bike but it is a nice solid platform (mine is ss).

Agree. Actually really good technical climber. You can move around allot on the bike, it feels like it has a low centre of gravity, combined with big grippy tyres its very capable. Lighter wheel set made a difference for me on longer days with lots of climbing. Maxi Chronicle up front is perfect IMHO.

Lighter wheel set made a difference for me on longer days with lots of climbing.

What did you go for?

Agree the bike climbs really well. I run 32:18 singlespeed and can winch myself up most things even when practically not moving it’s so well balanced you can ratchet up the steep bits. Not had a pic for a while so…..

Whats your back tyre Mr Guitar Hero?

It’s a Minion DHR2 2.3, I’m currently rather fond of it. Got a nice profile on the 50mm Nextie rim

Hey Guitarhero, whats the clearance in the rear look like with those Minions on wide rims, ie:chainstay and seatstay clearance? Do you have any pics? Curious to know if those tires are wider and taller than the Ikon 2.35¨ when mounted on such a wide rim.

what would happen if you put FS on it?

There’s a little more clearance than the 2.35 Ikon on a flow EX rim.

Quirrel – Member
what would happen if you put FS on it?

I’m curious about this.

Andy says that the availability of straight-steerer forks is the main issue, although it’s also explicitly a rigid-fork design and it looks like it’d be hard to match the rigid fork’s trail with an off-the-shelf bouncy version…?

Not for me. It’s designed as a rigid bike. If you want to use sus forks buy something designed to work with them?

What did you go for?

Wide lightnings. Rear pick up isn’t quite up there with Hopes, but (touch wood) fine over the winter. Nice light, wide enough, stiff and resilient enough, work well tubeless, ( I ride steps/rocky stuff routinely).

For calaverarider

Thought it looked bigger than my rear, which is a DHR on a p35. Great tyre and yes you have even less clearance than me. Its good to know it fits as I have an idea…

Well I’ve just built myself a Stooge, had 1 ride on it and it’s great. The last rigid bike I rode was my 1996 Kona Lava Dome, this is better! I wanted to be able to ride this all day and was a bit worried it would be too much of a hooligan, it is a hooligan, but could still put in long days. Climbing is pretty good because you can really move your weight around to find traction.
Excuse the taped on brake hose, I’ve used left over bits and the hose is too short, I might swap the bars to something with more sweep. Frame was 2.9kg and built with carbon wheels and 1×10 it’s 12kg.

One ‘ride’ is usually all of a legover conversion you need to for a Stooge 🙂

And you’ve got lots of enjoyment to come on that bike from ride number 2 on… 🙂

re suspension forks, the bike is designed for rigid forks and as such it would be pretty hard to find a pair that would preserve th geometry, the great thing about rigid bikes is that the geometry doesn’t alter at all and once you dial into that you can really become one with the way it handles. Secondly, most suspension corrected frames will have downtube clearance, this doesn’t. Having said all this, one of my customers fitted a pair of Reba’s with a longer lower headset cup and reports that it works very well.

The Stooge geometry is designed for slightly larger diameter front wheel, ie 29+. The rear is designed for a 29 x 2.3 rear tyre, 27.5 x 2.8 also fit, both of which will preserve the geometry. regular 29er tyres will work front and back but the handling sharpens up a little, though not in a bad way at all.

Out of interest what color EBB do people have in there Purple frames? Mine came blue, but in the pics the rest look silver?