I’m late to the party but have just seen the stooge and am smitten by looks and the concept and really want one now but before I do anything stupid I have some questions for the forum:

I do quite a lot of cycle way miles .. Commuting and general pissing about on urban stuff, even skate park malarkey and currently ride a santacruz chameleon single speed which is very much like a big old bmx. So as silly as this may sound how manoeuvrable is this thing? Does the front like to pop up for easy manuals and the like? Is hopping on the thing easy? And what about getting airborne?

I realise it’s not a trials bike but I ask this as I had a fire eye frame a while back which was very slack and great when pointed down a big hill but you just couldn’t lift the front wheel it was just routed to the ground so made mucking around a complete right off. I’ll be gutted if I got one to find its just a cruiser.

The short chain stays and high front end look like it should be good for a bit of general hacking but that’s what I thought about the fire eye?

I was looking at the 650 set up (29 wheels seem to big for my liking) with those wide moto bars. Not too sure about a huge tyre up front either. I still intend on riding local single track but it needs to be an all rounder really. It would be my only bike.

So forum opinions please. Am I on the wrong track with this or should I get one now?

Oh sorry, one more question: anyone had issues with the EBB. I seem to remember a way back these were a bugger for creaking! (My pet hate)

I’ve ran it with fairly flat DH bars on top of plenty of spacers keeping the front end nice and high and weight off my wrists.
Now it’s got moto’s on and it’s like charging around on a stag steering by the antlers!
Both setups front wheel comes up no problem, bunny hops like a big bmx.
I use it daily for my farm track /Road commute,trail centres even Stiniog DH.

EBB has been fine really, I’ve had to nip it up occasionally but I’d expect that.

Had mine for 2 years ish. No problems at all with ebb.

Moto bars, B+ you’ll be smiling all over you’re face

I bought one of the last mk1’s with the intention to ship it over to my inlaws as a holiday bike.

Bike never made it as it was too much fun and it’s a pretty bike in the flesh 🙂

If you had a blue stooge with carbon wheels and let me have a test at mayhem this morning cheers! Really impressed and good to try it for size.

Oh that was mine, sorry I missed your post. Glad you liked it and didn’t ride off with it as I was far too tired to run after anyone!

having met Andy (Stooge) recently when he sorted a pair of his bar extenders out (and fitted them Foc) on my Jones style bars AND made me a coffee too, he certainly goes above and beyond in my opinion, ive tried a Stooge and would deffo have one in a heartbeat But! the lure of his New Fatbike has my interest more, Anyways, im picking up a pair of his superb moto bars next week and Hopefully test riding the Fatbike, in the short time i have spent with him i have absolutely no doubt that if anything went wrong with any Stooge product he would bend over backwards to rectify it, that alone would always sway my spending 🙂

What Lawmanmx says ^ Andy is an absolute gent.

Just picked up a steel mk2 from andy to test out before getting a ti version ordered as with all new bikes takes a little bit of tinkering to get thinks just right, but its an absolute blast. 1st time i’ve ever ridden a steel framed mtb always been alloy or carbon fibre so i was a little surprised at the frame and fork weight coming in at 9lbs however that doesn’t always tell the whole story on how a bike behaves on the trail. I’m converted and ordering a ti version. pic of mine here set up ss also a first really for me as well.

Fully built it came in at 26lbs

https://goo.gl/photos/wsJEvstPLSK3Uiz26

Rad 😉

Has anyone seen any good deals on 29+ front and 27.5+ rear wheels?

Andy is definitely a gent, no questions asked.
Great products, backed up by fast & friendly responses.
Someday I will own a Ti version..

Stooge moto bars, quite possibly THE most comfortable swept riser bars on the planet! nice and Wiiiiide too, Love Em 8)

Anyone running a surly rabbit hole 29″ rear rim and if so whats the widest I can expect to fit? Something like a 2.5″ minion or is 2.3″ the max?

Can anyone directly compare a Stooge to an El Mar? I want a new bike packing rig and favouring these two. Would the Stooge cope with Cairngorm Loop, HT 550 etc and still be relatively comfortable at the end? Or is the Stooge only good for a couple of hours?

Lotto, can’t help but..,

http://bearbonesbikepacking.co.uk/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=8093

New member to the stooge tribe here. I took the plunge and bought a frame, forks and stooge bars with the intention of using most parts from my other hard tail…… In fact the only parts recycled are the cranks and pedals.

Did the full build yesterday and been out for 3 rides now. A couple of canal and urban blasts and a quick trip to the local woods (Woburn) and here’s the verdict so far.

Well I won’t lie the ride is hugely different from previous bikes (the current being Santa Cruz chameleon) but this is not a bad thing at all… It’s just the huge tires and big wheels are quite a departure from my 26ers and bmx but after 5-10 mins it started to feel really solid and extremely stable. It’s positively tank like. No idea what the weight is but it’s certainly heavier than the cammy. Not that this seemed to create any real issues on the trail or path though as it just rolls along and the hills were still just hills, no more work than before. The silence and lack of creaking certainly makes for a happier ride.

It’s going to take a few more rides to get used to big tyres and wheels but I’m coming around that’s for sure. Stuck on WTB trailblazer 2.8 front and rear and so far in dry conditions im loving them, shit to a blanket you could say. The big old bars are great and coupled with the stupid short stem I have it gets the front moving really well.

I was worried that it would just be a big hulk of a thing and general arsing around would be off the cards but it’s not disappointed … Thank god. It’s as nimble as advertised and I got a bit of a taste of the hooligan.

the plan is that this will be a do it all bike (trail, commute, street and pub) and I reckon it will be a good all rounder. I was under no illusion it would chuck around like the Santa Cruz and in fairness it doesn’t … Well, not yet but after a bit of weight shifting and a change of technique I got it to manual and once it hits the balance point it sits there well. Still need to play around with bottom bracket position and bar height and rotation to get the right fit. Other things I noticed were things like track stands which are just planted. I guess it’s the big wheels and bars but it just stands there for fun. Not so handy on the trail but for commuting it’s a big bonus.
Hopping is still going to take a bit of practice. It does hop, just not like a smaller wheel bike. So this one im going to have to sort with better technique. Jumps bloody fine though, actually better than the cammy.

Might change the seat soon as it’s hard as hell, also going to change the grips…. Might align the valves and tyre logos at some point as well.

So to sum up I’m pretty happy so far after just a day, it’s got to be the most planted and comfy rigid ride I’ve known and the sit back position is just what I was looking for so once I get to grips with it, it should be the big play bike I was after.

Can anyone directly compare a Stooge to an El Mar? I want a new bike packing rig and favouring these two. Would the Stooge cope with Cairngorm Loop, HT 550 etc and still be relatively comfortable at the end? Or is the Stooge only good for a couple of hours?

I can directly compare Stooge to El Mar as I’ve owned both, and I’ve done the Cairngorms Loop and the HTR550 on both.

Admittedly, I finished the HTR on a hardtail El Mar in 2014, but I got 350 miles in on a steel Stooge before I scratched in 2015, so it really wasn’t the bike holding me back. Both are great bikes but I find the El Mar too low by comparison. The Stooge is a lot of fun but still comfy over distance.

A mate is selling what was my steel Stooge at the moment on Bearbones – I upgraded to the Ti and have done many long rides on it too. Easily my favourite bike.

Hi , I’m new to this forum thingy and the webatron, I love the look of the stooge. Thinking of building one up for bike packing and I heard that the gen2 stooge forks have mounts for anything cages. Is there any truth to this rumour? I’m riding a on one inbred 69er ss with flared drop bars at mo, but thinking a stooge 27.5+ would be a lot more comfortable doing shed loads of miles.

Got mine plused up now 29″+ front on a easton arc45 with maxxis chronicle and 27.5″+ easton arc 40 rear with a maxxis ikon + 2.8″ running 10 psi front 14 psi rear, just mind blowing how much traction it has and just bulldozes it’s way up hill and down. Just had it round the Cairngorms and it was an absolute blast!
https://goo.gl/photos/XPChbsuwQPK3s1oeA

^ That’s my favourite combo too

Cush, grip, bulldozer grin factor, and staying agile with the ‘smaller’ rear 🙂

Going to join the Stooge club. Whats the colour to go for guys. Also going to run it 27+. What rims are people running with this setup.

Cheers

Oli

Also anyone selling a mK2 frame?

Also going to run it 27+. What rims are people running with this setup.

I’ve gone for love mud rumpus with nobby Nics, it’s ace in that combo so far.

I’ve just recently put wider bars on too and it’s made a huge difference to the ride. Really unleashed the playful nature.

Olibluegoat, I may be selling a mk1 frame if you’re interested, it’s blue and immaculate. Email in profile if you’reinterested.

Also going to run it 27+. What rims are people running with this setup.

Cheapo 50mm rims from Ridewill and Nobby Nic 3.0s here. They were easy to build with, hold air perfectly with a single round of 25mm yellow tape and I’d go as far as saying the NN 3.0s are my new favourite tyres.

Moto Bar for me too 🙂

Can you post me a link for the rims. Cheers for the offer happy bike. Want to run 27+ so need a MK2 frame – anyone got one

What colour is the one to go for guys?

Want to run 27+ so need a MK2 frame – anyone got one

You don’t need a mk2 to run b+, I’m running a 2.8 nn on the rumpus rims with a 3*10 set up on a mk1. It worked as standard but it goes better with some tweaking of bb spacers.

Happybiker. Can you send me details on your frame oli.burke@gmail.com

I’ve had a Mk1 and got a Mk2, and I’ve run/running 650b Plus- definitely worth getting the Mk2. The tyre clearance is substantially more over the Mk1.

Great bike by the way! Get it bought 😀

Anyone know if the next (with extra, larger size available) batch has a change in rear clearance?

I started reading through this but lost the will to live…
Can anyone tell me if the mk2 frameset has standard hubs? My current 29er has standard qr wheels and I’m toying with the idea of getting a frame and swapping everything over. Will just need a headset and seat tube I think…

Yes, 135mm rear, std front, both Q/R, threaded BB and 27.2mm seat tube.

Thanks Hudders

I sent you an email Oli, not sure if you’ve got it?

Guys – Andy is teasing Fat Stooge here and there.
Anybody knows if geo is common with Ti Stooge version? (HTA=68deg / STA=72deg / CS=440mm).

Perhaps Andy could comment?

What is the planned ST ID?

Might get drummed out of the Brownies for this…but it has done over 7.5k kms now

https://goo.gl/photos/e5JZD4h4e3pS5qqGA

hope you like

and hope you can see it…google photos!

Like it!

Is it taped or painted?