Two very different & equally valid takes on bike design:
https://fat-bike.com/2017/04/fat-camp-jeff-jones-interview/
&
https://www.pinkbike.com/news/the-interview-chris-porter-2017.html
Each design to best suit the builders local riding, style & ethos.
Horses for courses and all that, but it'd be great to get Chris on a Jones & Jeff on a Geometron!!! (*future mag article!!!).
I wonder what they could create together.....
They are so polar opposed the result would be a raleigh activator. Its not that they "design to best suit the builders local riding, style & ethos" its more that they completely disagree with the things the other thinks are answers to the question of how to achieve X on a bike.
I get that they're polar opposites but believe they do
.design to best suit the builders local riding, style & ethos
Having met Chris a few times as our local riding spots are similar, initially I thought he was pretty far up himself. Since have realised he’s a genuinely nice bloke, soft spoken and always willing to give advice. At a local spot recently a guy turned up not having ridden there before and pretty sure Chris showed him around the whole place.
Having not ridden a geometron, I can’t comment on whether they’re good/bad, but the principle makes complete sense, and I haven’t read a bad review. However, his point about how the British tend to session stuff, ride up fire roads and down trails makes a lot of sense.
that pinkbike interview makes porter out to be right up his own arse.
Met him once at Ard Rock and once at Mojo when he was setting my shock and forks up
Didn't come across "up himself" at all - he knows what he's talking about and he's got his own way to communicate that.
He's not a "teacher" though...but definitely a visionary (tho his vision isn't necessarily shared). I'd be happy to spend some time with him over a beer
that pinkbike interview makes porter out to be right up his own arse.
I didn't get that from it. Opinionated yes, and that's what fuels drive - no?
that pinkbike interview makes porter out to be right up his own arse.
Completely disagree, he simply gave his strong opinions on bike design and the MTB industry at large.
In reply to should people listen to him
to me that is the very opposite of up yourself.They shouldn't necessarily, should they? That's their own decision, isn't it? I'm not saying I'm any better at it than anyone else. I'm still learning
He is dead right about the MTB industry being lead by fashion/appearance and if you ride a Geometron you will know that he knows a shed load about how to build a superb all round bike.
Porter is a little bit of a crazy genius, he recommended (at least I'm sure it was Porter on the end of the phone) some pretty extreme settings for my DHX2 (something like high speed rebound run wide open, high speed compression run wide open, 10-15 clicks from fully closed on the low speed compression and control bucking with the low speed rebound) - which I think I need to tone down a little - because the rebound was a bit too unintuitive/hard to predict throughout the shocks stroke - but the result was that the shock utterly erased rock gardens and I'm now going to have to send my coil pike back to get a faster high speed rebound tune because I had to run the low speed rebound way to open to get it took keep up with the rear and not pack down.
You should listen to him, I had issues with long bikes to begin with - but it was my riding style (bit to over the back to compensate for wearing flats).
He comes across very well in that interview.
And he seems to indirectly acknowledge that the Geometrons are built for winch & plummet style riding, rather than putting in a fast lap at the trail centre. So perhaps not ideal for everyone.
Not entirely sure that the reason world cup XC racers stand up for the climbs is because the seat is "in the wrong place" tbh!
He also slags off derailleurs that pretty much just work, for most people, most of the time (and are cheap, easy to fix, light, have a wide gear range, work when dirty, and don't wear out that quickly)
And if it's so easy to redesign bikes to be much better, why hasn't he done it?
And he's miles off with the cost of a CNC tool/pattern for a CF bike, which makes me wonder how much machining he has had done? These days custom CNC stuff is very cheap.
The Chris Porter interview is a strange one because as much as I like what he's doing, his arguments don't really make much sense when you look at them analytically with reasonable knowledge.
For example, the easy trails in California thing - a guy I know over there who rides a lot used to just ride downhill bikes for all his trail riding, because the trails were so steep and gnarly that the all-mountain bikes of the day were undergunned, especially in the fork department. To climb he'd compress the fork and strap it down short to give the bike reasonable uphill geometry. Normal rides there are thousands of feet of climbing per ten miles.
I wish the Jeff Jones thing was written down, it takes ages to listen to podcasts!
I was so hoping there'd be a picture.... 🙂
he sounded a bit ranty and angry at the industry for some reason, I could only ready the first few questions before I got tired of it. The riding in the US and nobody builds prototypes to test stuff were particularly weird ones for me.
THe love child eh......
As it happens I'm soon to take delivery of a custom B+ frame with geometron esque geometry....and a truss fork to go with it 🙂
They seem to agree on long wheelbases
Getting close.... just needs a spaceframe...
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/new-bike-day-ti-chopper-content
The truss is on its way 🙂
Jo murray? :p
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Initial spin around the street would confirm that I thankfully haven't completely screwed up the numbers!
Proper spin this afternoon. Going OTB shouldn't be an issue on the steeps with this machine. 8)
Like that. I did wonder what it would be like with a truss when you first posted it up 🙂
I really like the look of that too.
Wouldn't mind a go and comparing to it running suspension.
Wouldn't mind a go
If you're attending SSEC17 at the weekend then you're welcome to!
Honest question - do you often find this is a problem? What makes you think this bike will be better for steep terrain?Going OTB shouldn't be an issue on the steeps with this machine
Honest question - do you often find this is a problem?
No, not since moving on from bikes with 70 degree headangles, 120mm stem and tiny wheels, no. 🙂
I've not gone otb in years as far as I can remember. All I meant was that on this bike, it's evwen less likely regardless of how steep the terrain is.