Not where I ride it isn’t. My fastest times on gravel are on fixed gear with 25c tyres.
Maybe not but I doubt your findings would be shared by many riders, even where you ride - a bike brand is making things for a more general, wider market rather than a niche edge case and in the same way I was generalising.
and as always you are a little ray of sunshine and positivity
Mleh, the whole thing feels contrived. If it works for you, great but the "Sweet ride" and "Killer singletrack monster truck" marketing schtick sets my teeth on edge. The copy either works on you, or makes you itch, Stooge's does the latter for me.
the whole thing feels contrived
I'd expect it's hard to keep the whole front going if it was contrived. It'd look fake after a while. It doesn't though, it looks like someone making bikes they like which aren't much like anyone else's, and selling them pretty quickly. He's doing well... In today's market, doing very well. Fair dues.
Is this a bike for people whose older brother wouldn't let them ride their Grifter? 😀
But :
its refreshing to see a manufacturer seemingly take a “don’t give a ****” attitude and just build bikes they want to ride.
Idlejon- surely you mean the Raleigh Bomber?
For big braced risers at a cheaper price, have a look at ride farr, they do an alloy braced riser, more convential back sweep though, or ahearne do a big sweepy alloy braced bar, but is not really any cheaper, just a bit lighter
If you want a 22.2 steel braced riser for cheap money have a look at bars for motorbikes/cafe racers etc.... as they are cheap as chips, but heavy as a heavy thing
For big braced risers at a cheaper price, have a look at ride farr, they do an alloy braced riser, more convential back sweep though
I looked at these a while ago, but even though it's a .co.uk website, they're posting from Australia at a cost of £30.
So overall cost is over £70
Ahhhh last time i looked they had a uk distribution, was a cheap as chips for kit from them but that was early part of last year
I’ve had two and they definitely weren’t slow under the right circumstances. I love them and find the identikit nature of most modern bikes really ****ing boring. Fair play to Andy for doing something different that clearly works. As for the comments on marketing, I’ve always seen the blurbs that accompany each new Stooge as comedy, tongue in cheek ramblings. Don’t think for a minute they’re meant to be taken seriously. Just like the bikes themselves. They’re just bikes built for having fun on. I know they’ve made me grin like an idiot when riding them.
Mleh, the whole thing feels contrived. If it works for you, great but the “Sweet ride” and “Killer singletrack monster truck” marketing schtick sets my teeth on edge. The copy either works on you, or makes you itch, Stooge’s does the latter for me.
It's a stretch to even call it marketing. I don't think any of the patches on Tazzys denim jacket are sponsor logos 😂
If you're faster on 25 tyres on the stuff you like to ride, I don't think think a mountain bike is what you want. That's perfectly fine, but to argue the Stooge slow on proper off road is a bit daft.
Bikes like this don't make sense to many, yet those who ride them tend to love them. A decent rider on a modern rigid with decent tyres can travel surprisingly fast on rough trails.
I think it looks fantastic. I'd have one if I didn't have something similar in Ti already. I'm way too attached to that to change!
Slow and heavy bike
Looks great to me, and if I wasn't already in possession of a lovely dirtbomb (funkmasterp's old one), then I'd be very interested.
As for the slow & heavy comments...
Yes, it's heavy, and pretty massive too which make getting it into the car or on to the roof a bit tougher on the odd occasion I don't ride from home. Barely noticeable when riding though, other than on very slow, steep, tight uphill bends. Happily got round the Bearbones 200 on it in well under 24 hours last autumn, so the weight can't be too bad!
Speed wise, on anything other than very rocky trails or large gap jumps, it's just as fast and confident as the full Sus bike I used to have. I put a sizable crack in the frame of my full sus about 10 months ago, and once the crash replacement was refused I've not bothered replacing it as the dirtbomb does what I need. Low maintenance and looking daft/awesome/different are an added bonus too.
If you’re faster on 25 tyres on the stuff you like to ride, I don’t think think a mountain bike is what you want. That’s perfectly fine, but to argue the Stooge slow on proper off road is a bit daft
Yes, but Kerley has quite fixed (pun intended) ideas about what makes a good bike 😉
I'm having to resist the temptation quite strongly 😬
Would love one, but currently also own a Mk4, Surly Krampus, and a Transition Klunker, so something would have to go ☹️
Admittedly I don't regularly search for Stooge frames second hand but neither do I see them for sale too often. I suspect that those that buy them keep them and it appears sometimes more than one. If they were just a marketing gimmick, wouldn't the owners offload them?
My longest lasting but least ridden bike is my fat bike. My enduro frames get swapped every couple of years but the Dude remains and always, always makes me smile when I take it out for a long ride. I could definitely imagine this bike performing the same duties.
I’d expect it’s hard to keep the whole front going if it was contrived. It’d look fake after a while.
Yep, lands flat on me, but this is also true of companies like Surly and Rivendell. The whole "we don't do marketing" marketing puts me off
Fair dues.
Oh sure, right enough. The man's carved a niche for himself and clearly has a tidy business selling variations of the same bike. Props are due.
If you’re faster on 25 tyres on the stuff you like to ride, I don’t think think a mountain bike is what you want. That’s perfectly fine, but to argue the Stooge slow on proper off road is a bit daft
I agree, I find all mountain bikes feel slow and heavy. I am talking about this is the context of me riding it which is why I said if I wanted a slow and heavy bike I would like one of these.
I think Andy has found the best way to deal with the current climate and way to do business at the moment, he doesn't sell complete bikes, so doesn't have to pander to component companies, he sells frames and the few components (bars etc) that he wants to.
He does a pre-sale, so you pay a large deposit upfront, and then the frames are ordered, with most already going to a good home, and a few left over for sale afterwards.
Makes the most economical sense to me, you're not waiting on anyone bar the company that makes the frames, he is good at communicating when the frames are going to actually arrive and he is dead easy to deal with.
So whatever you think of the frames themselves, it is one of the few sustaining ways of selling a bike these days...
Usually he does a pre sale but he hasnt on these.
Only 100 of these frames too. Sure they'll go quick.
Slow and heavy bike
Remember reading that at the time - looks ace. Unfortunately I just re-read it and remembered this:
"Essentially, I wanted to be able to rack-it and pack it then strip it and rip-it!”.
A bit of sick came up...
I think/assume he's also got the advantage of it being a hobby rather than a livelihood. The batches are <100 frames every 9 months or so, so unless he's making a much bigger margin than I'm giving credit for then it's a lucrative hobby rather than biking mega-corp.
There's also the adage about if you design the things you want then there'll almost always be a market out there for it. So as long as he keeps on making small batches of what he wants to ride so they keep selling out then it'll be a success.
“They’re just bikes built for having fun on.”
I used to try to ride faster (downhill) and now I try to have more fun with the trail and sometimes end up going fairly fast (for me!) Proper enduro race bikes are surprisingly versatile but I’m not sure my brain can work fast enough to keep up with how fast they can go.
A singlespeed hardtail however is proving very fun despite it making little sense to ride a big slack steel frame with a 160mm fork but nogears or rear suspension.
And I think the Stooge approach is the next step onwards, for riders who are either braver/better than me or happy going that bit slower.
And I love how they look!
And I think the Stooge approach is the next step onwards, for riders who are either braver/better than me or happy going that bit slower.
Weirdly I find rigid bikes closer to FS bikes than HT's. On a HT you use the asymmetry between being able to absorb rough section through the fork and pump/pedal efficiently with the rear so you're adjusting your weight for different reasons. Rigid bikes (and FS bikes) you rid much more evenly. So it's like a FS bike, but you take HT line choices, and obviously (a bit) slower (but not slow unless you're insisting on comparing against a track bike on a road).
The whole “we don’t do marketing” marketing puts me off
Well you lot are doing such a good job of discussing it he doesn't need to. I suspect it's a sideline and not his real job so buying a few frames knowing you are going to sell them easily makes the whole process a fun one.
Great looking range of bikes, just the sizing on this model means it's out of my spectrum.
Stooge is the real job, he does at least couple of frame runs a year of different models i.e. mk 6 and speedbomb, with a surprise extra of the tracker, handlebars and so on.
He just doesnt want to be a corporate ****er, doesnt believe in massive proffit margins that skin his customers has a chilled out lifestyle
He put a lot on the line to get it started and the "know you are going to sell them" takes time to build up a client base that really get what you are doing, without jazzy pr/marketing/schmoozing the bike press etc...
Must be doing something right, seeing as stuff has won awards, has mad keen owners all over the world (hell, the fact a crazy czech bloke dropped everything and came to uk to pick up a 1 off ti frame from me, made 6 page article in their equivalent of singletrack) and folks like brooks saddle give him a shout as they want to use his bikes in their marketing campaigns
All of this from a dirtbag old bmxer, who took the plunge in 2014 to setup as company to make bikes that he wanted to ride that no else was doing.
I wasn't having a dig, I just assumed it was a part time given the relatively low volumes. I love what he's doing.
mr not a spoon, not aimed at your comments old bean, just a general set of comments as the tone of most stooge threads ends up with some form of " well, he's only playing at it, and its dead easy n that to just churn out some old toot, its not a PROPPER bike company etc..."
Andy was trying to convince me to set my own frame company up recently, but there is no way I would have the large dangly bits to make the financial jump and also to have to deal with public !
and obviously (a bit) slower (but not slow unless you’re insisting on comparing against a track bike on a road).
So you at least admit it is slower and it is definitely heavy. I would put a lot of money on me personally being faster on a decent XC bike than on a Stooge, because of the riding position primarily as I am faster when in a more head down position.
So to cause less of an issue I will say if I wanted a slower and heavier bike I would want one of these as they look great and support the idea.
Absolutely lovely bike and all the bike most of us will ever need. Only thing that holds me back is those size restrictions as others have mentioned. Just waiting for XL's one day.....
Really not a fan of the curly top tube.
The split top tube on the previous one put me off as well.
Wish there was a no frills/curls option.
Andy was trying to convince me to set my own frame company up recently, but there is no way I would have the large dangly bits to make the financial jump and also to have to deal with public !
Given there's usually a queue for your titanium sloppy seconds I'm sure you'd sell at least a handful.
fab review of a stooge dirtbomb being booted over all sorts of big jumpy enduro stuff in America
My titanium is never sloppy....I always wipe up after a hard ride in a mumsnet approved styleee
Wish there was a no frills/curls option.
https://singularcycles.com/products/swift-steel
That + a slackset?
That + a slackset?
That's lovely.
It looks hideous. So.....why do I want one?!
There is something pleasing about how wrong the top tube and fork look.. Argh it's messing with me!
Only thing that holds me back is those size restrictions as others have mentioned. Just waiting for XL’s one day…..
I have a mk5 as they came in 18 or 20 inch seattube. A few of the models have had two size options.
I’m glad the second hand bike market isn’t great at the moment. The more I look, the more I’m tempted to sell my current bike to build one of these.
If you aren't old enough to remember the constant club hammer bashing of cotter pins to try and take up play you might think that bike really needs a cotter pin crank 😉
Similarly centre pull rim brakes 🙄 mid 60s bikes for dirt tracking consisted of 5 speed racers ditching drops for cow horns or ape hangers if you could find them , tin can shim to make them fit the stem and tacoed road wheels that were never designed to be ridden in the woods 😁 Not forgetting the playing card on the seat stay for that authentic scramble bike sound 👍Grandstand Saturday afternoon, live scrambling, in between races back out on the bikes pretending you were Badger Goss or Dave Bickers 👌👌👌👌
Sorry got a bit carried away there 😁
I’m glad the second hand bike market isn’t great at the moment. The more I look, the more I’m tempted to sell my current bike to build one of these.
That's what's stopping me, I'd have to sell something to make space, and the only obvious ones are the singlespeed'ed Scandal and my commuter, neither of which are going to fetch a worthwhile amount in the current market. Might hold off and see if CRC do any more daft offers on full bikes, those £400 Sentiers would have made a great donor, sell the fork, use the rest, if the frame sells for anything it's a bonus. Doesn't solve the space problem but at least offsets the pain a bit 😂
I have been pondering this and was chatting to a fellow rider who swaps between rigid, hardtail and full-sus when we were out on Sunday:
“Weirdly I find rigid bikes closer to FS bikes than HT’s. On a HT you use the asymmetry between being able to absorb rough section through the fork and pump/pedal efficiently with the rear so you’re adjusting your weight for different reasons. Rigid bikes (and FS bikes) you rid much more evenly. So it’s like a FS bike, but you take HT line choices, and obviously (a bit) slower (but not slow unless you’re insisting on comparing against a track bike on a road).”
Now I don’t ride rigid MTBs but I do swap between hardtail and full-sus and the only real change in how I ride is that I preload earlier on the full-sus for hops/jumps/drops or corners/pumping. I stay pretty central and tend to straight line (laterally) through the rough although on either bike I try to unload or hop or pump to carry/generate more speed more smoothly.
My mate was saying that he tends to do as you’ve said, using the fork more on the hardtail, literally trying to land jumps on the front etc, so I think it’s a very personal thing. I am running a 160mm fork so I’ve got about 50mm of travel at my feet if I huck it to flat rear wheel heavy, which could make quite a difference.
I also noticed when following a friend on a Privateer 141 that he tended to flick around the rough as I pumped over it on my hardtail so if anything he was taking “the hardtail line” whilst I was doing the opposite. Uphill I think I’m too prone to taking the hardtail line because of years riding hardtails! Downhill I’ve always liked riding hardtails through rough sections because it seems like it shouldn’t work but it does!
