Hi

I’m trying to find one… Needs to meet these criteria:

– Not be a silly amount of money ie £1500 max.
– Not have slider dropouts as I think they are ugly.
– Not have an EBB as the one I have now creaks like hell and I want to get away from that.
– Be a proper SS frame and not have gear hangers or cable stops.
– Have an internal headset, preferably 44mm.

I was set on a Salsa Selma ti but it appears they are all out of stock.

Ideas?

GB

So, track ends & sliding disc mount? Spot?

I’ve looked at a spot – ££££££

Also track ends make the brakes a nightmare.

Does anyone else make a dropout like the Salsa alternator?

GB

You could easily get a custom frame for that money. Could try Burls, amongst others I’m sure.

So basically you don’t like any of the trad tensioning systems? 😀

I have to say the slot dropout with one chain-tug on O-O frame worked perfectly for me over several years. Only issue is if you puncture and you have to re-position the wheel.

btw try triton in Russia for custom – big threads on mtbr

Burls is an EBB.

I guess I was really keen on the Salsa and now need to rethink…

GB

I’ve never yet had an ebb creak. I really wouldn’t write them off wholesale.

how about a pipedream , they do custom builds too
http://www.pipedreamcycles.com/ti_29er_2010.html

Whyte 19Ti gets close, not sure about the price though.

The Whyte isn’t a 29er. Should have stated that…

The Pipedreams look nice – I thought that company had folded though?

Maybe you’re right about the EBB – that would open up more options.

GB

My Phil wood ebb works flawlessly, I don’t however like bushnells

Did you see that Sam had a couple of large Pegasus left? Different type of EBB.

That said, I think sliders are the best solution – light & work.

gee, my ti ss has a Bushnell and it’s been flawless so far, 5 months, a lot of use and a few gearing changes etc, not a sound from it. Good tolerances in the BB shell and a proper EBB design and it should be fine.

So you don’t want EBB, sliding dropouts or track ends? How are you planning on tensioning the chain? Unfortunately both the frames I have also have gear cable mounts.

A bit leftfield and you may, not unreasonably, hate the idea, but I’m using a Forward Components external eccentric botton bracket thing on my old Setavento hardtail.Bolts on and allows you to use a HT2 crank-set.

Clean rear end, easy enough to fit and adjust, doesn’t slip, hasn’t creaked so far despite me being a little dubious about it. Means you can singlespeed a geared hardtail frame without some godawful tensioner at the back and if you want to swap back to gears, just take it off again.

I ran a Voodoo Wanga with sliding tensioner things for ages and I prefer the Forward Components thing. Gives you a much wider choice of off the peg frames as well.

Anyway, just a thought.

I ran a Ti456 as an SS for the best part of two years and couldn’t fault it TBH.

I used a Rolhof chain tensioner, because it makes all the faff of sliders, EBB’s and chain tension disappear.

That said, the only option I can see that you’ve left yourself with is swingouts, a la salsa and black cat bikes.

Given the rest of your criterion, I suspect you may be going the ‘custom or compromise’ route.

I’d get Enigma to make me one of these with the dropouts I wanted and no geary stuff;

£1300

I wouldn’t buy an(other) Enigma.

Not only will the frame exceed the budget, dealing with Enigma will also exceed your patience and goodwill.

(A distinctly disgruntled Enigma customer)

What I want is something like the Salsa Alternator dropouts.

Maybe I should look again at the adjustable dropouts – those Lynskey ones look quite neat.

It’s more that I would like no gear stops and a 44mm head tube.

GB

EBB on my tandem works fine – with the right system its no issue and surely the neatest solution?

vassago optimus Ti, ace geometry by all accounts

Proper noodly, that one tazzy! Very nice.

gee- have you thought about a Ragley TD1? there are a few kicking around in sales.

That looks noodley to say the least…

Edit – I’m not the only one then!

That vassago has long stick out and a front split,on the seat tube not a good combination IMO

Back to front or front to back…

ade – your pic, sorry if it’s one of yours, and glad people are experimenting and stuff, but that one really raises the question “WHY?”

It’s on my estay bike, I wanted very short chain stays 407-427 mm loads of mud clearance it has 10 mm all around a
2.5 tyre I also fancy trying a belt drive

So the dropout gives me 20 mm of adjustment with less than 1 mm of change in ride height
You only need a 4 mm Allen key to adjust it
It has three main fixings rather than the normal two much better mounting
No need to readjust brake every time you adjust chain

Those dropouts above might work but are just hideous.

The Ragley and the Vassago don’t have an internal headset 🙁 thing is I have a set of those cheap Rebas from Merlin that have a big fat crown that would fit flush with an internal 44mm headtube but looks horrid in a normal 1 1/8 one.

GB

New Lynskey’s have 44mm headtube & SS has no gear gubbins.

Can you get those in the UK? I saw they are on the US website? How do you order one?

GB

The Lynskey? Try Hotlines. My VF was a warranty replacement.

Burls will do you anything you ask for- doesn’t have to be an EBB…

I think it worth repeating that there are EBBs and there are EBBs.

My opinion is that problems with the EBBs are with the EBB frame shell. If it is too lightly built, a heavy handed owner can ovalise it, so from then on the EBB will creak or slip.

Singular are a good example of how to do EBBs properly – using Phil Wood EBB. I have had 2 of them and never a problem, and know several other owners, again, no problem. Simple and quick to adjust and never slip or groan.

Not “liking” EBBs is a bit like saying you don’t like spoked wheels because you’ve seen collapsed ones on someone’s BSO.

On the extended seatube argument, is there anything to stop you specifying a ~25″ seatube on an otherwise 17″ frame and sticking the stub of a seatpost in it on a Ti bike?

Kona Raijin- single speed, nice chain tensioner, 44mm headtube…maybe a bit hardcore long travel for your racer boy stylee gee?

Have you considered a Philcentric BB – then any frame of your choice?

Ooh now that Kona is lovely. I always wanted a Hei Hei and that could fill the gap… It has the same bullet end dropouts as the old ti frames used to have.

I wonder if the production one will have cable stops? Bet it does.