[Closed] Stooge Cycles - who's interested? (slack 29er content)

Agreed.
My experience of the bike is very different from GM's. IME Back end feels really comfortable, does what you ask it to and allows for great handling. I ride allot of different terrain including rocky techy stuff which it handles brilliantly. Its not a skill compensator, not a ploddy neutral ride. Think it's improved my bike handling loads.

Krembo, what ratio are you running?

The most unpredictable thing on the bike is the Knard on the front!

Have you tried the Knard on a wider rim ?
Just about to build a Dually up for my rigid SIR.9 to run a Knard up front.
The wheel will [i]hopefully[/i] migrate to a Stooge eventually. 😉

I struggle with long sentences. But. You have seen the new Jones+ geoemtry yeah?

I struggle with long sentences. But... You have seen the new Jones+ geometry yeah?

Go on - give us an explanation! 🙂

The most unpredictable thing on the bike is the Knard on the front!

... on a Stan's Flow Rim. You won't unlock the potential of a 29+ tyre without using wider rims. Surly Knards were designed to be used with 50mm rims! (or at least something close to that) 😉

Stooge is super light on its front so does need weighting in some instances to avoid washing out

After completely destroying a/some Knard(s) I think I'll just wait for my Chronicle before returning to '29+'!

Roll on October!

Clink, while I like the stiff b&b of the Stooge for climbing I still prefer the weight of my Ti Jones

Clink, while I like the stiff b&b of the Stooge for climbing I still prefer the weight of my Ti Jones

[img] [/img]

I struggle with long sentences. But. You have seen the new Jones+ geoemtry yeah?

eeeeeeeurgh. The old truss/diamond frames were so pretty aswell.

That is not a looker

The other image on the Jones site looks a lot [s]better[/s] less worse

[img] [/img]

I think it's the seattube bend that does it. if that was straight it would look alright. maybe

i like it a lot, looks like a big stable beast. Touring bike geometry on steroids. And i'm not taking the piss here, but lateral thinking has just caused me to witness something very strange - a path-racer with 29+ wheels, now that would be a bike, wouldn't it?

a path-racer with 29+ wheels, now that would be a bike, wouldn't it?

it was supposed to be a secret 🙁

[url= https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2950/15234992377_13941ed4aa_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2950/15234992377_13941ed4aa_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/pdgjsn ]Stooge Cycles[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/78164632@N00/ ]placid casual[/url], on Flickr

That's all really...

placid_casual can you do a mini review of the jones and salsa bars on the stooge.

Jones Geometry – check the figures. Check the date.
Jones Plus Geometry - different figures. Different date.

Thread closed :O)

Eh?

Lost me as well...

Glad its not just me then.

Ok now that's all cleared up....
What bars are you fellow Stoogilists running or have tried out?

I used On-One OG's from the start and felt they really suited the bike, very comfortable and they handled way better than expected due to the old mandlebar shape of them. Almost perfect except for in certain situations elbows felt a little tucked in and felt unnatural when "power wheelieing " out of a corner for instance.

I've now fitted a set of more conventional wide mtb bars 780 trimmed to 740 initial feeling is good, putting me in the attack position but noticed the lack of comfort offered by the OG's immediately but that'll prob just need a bit of getting used to....
Was hoping to get out for a better ride today but it seems my riding buddy is being a fair weather pussy and I've got a bit of a hangover still so maybe later.
Aaanyway regardless of performance I'm liking the look of these,

[IMG] [/IMG]

[IMG] [/IMG]

proppa sick n ting ennit

That looks really nice! Suits the purple.
I'm currently running 740mm devinci bars with 20mm rise. I think it'll benefit from from something wider and lower rise. I think 760mm might do it.
I've never been a fan of funny shaped bars. Don't agree with my riding style.

81 Miles and 8000ft singlespeed on the stooge today, round Lochness

Just loving this beastie!

[URL= http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy285/kbrembo/93dc8095-2be9-4b36-88f3-1e5b7fbe2ad8_zps08633a65.jp g" target="_blank">http://i800.photobucket.com/albums/yy285/kbrembo/93dc8095-2be9-4b36-88f3-1e5b7fbe2ad8_zps08633a65.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]

^ what a great way to go Nessy spotting.

Really nice pic.

I think Mr Stooge has put glow in the dark in that blue

I know how popular bikes hanging on log piles are, so here's my Stooge on a log pile

[img] [/img]

Wow, don't think I've seen a log pile that big before

Yours getting much use?

Just ordered mine!

I've spent ages musing over what to replace my 2010 Soul with. This frame appeals on so many levels, but especially the art-appreciating part of me.

Better be good! 🙂

Enjoy the new bike Ben H.

What set up are you going to build yours up like?

A few thoughts after riding mine for some time:
[list]
[*]it may be designed to run Knards on the front but wide 2.4 (Chunky Monkey, Ardent) tires work just fine. May try 29plus in the future when tire selection and tubeless support improves and prices lower.[/*]
[*]Answer 20/20 bars (20 degrees sweep) are great, especially for climbing but normal wide risers are better when descending rough technical stuff (elbows out). Still undecided on which to settle on. Prefer carbon bars on rigid bikes as they improve comfort.[/*]
[*]The paint is really high quality, my trails are rocky and had a lot of paint damage on the other frames. Stooge is sill perfect with very few marks.
[*]The bike feels efficient (stiffer at bb maybe) when climbing but it is comfortable at the same time.[/*]
[*]The bike is well balanced, the riding position is more upright, comfortable and efficient at the same time. When climbing the front wheel is planted and while descending I rarely have to drop the saddle. The saddle can be dropped all the way down too.[/*]
[*]The EBB has been trouble free for now and I like the option to lower the BB height as it rides better with lower BB.[/*]
[/list]
And now the things i would like to improve in the future:
[list]
[*]a bit more clearance at the back just to fit wider tyres (Ardent 2.4) with more clearance.[/*]
[*]remove the front derailleur guides as they are pointless imho (ss or 1x10)[/*]
[*]the reinforcing plate at the top tube looks a bit agricultural.[/*]
[*]it could be lighter :)[/*]
[/list]

Not sure it was designed to run knards, I think it was a happy coincidence...

http://stoogecycles.co.uk/the-perfect-stooge-set-up/

3. Surly Knard front tyre. The Stooge was designed to be run with this tyre. It provides all the suspension you need. Regular 29er tyres will work fine but the steering will speed up a little and obviously more chatter makes it through. I originally ran the Knard on a skinny rim and it was fine, though i now use a Velocity Dually which allows it to be run at a lower pressure.

Normal Man - Member

Enjoy the new bike Ben H.

What set up are you going to build yours up like?

To start with, the build will take everything apart from the fork, rims and tyres from my current Cotic Soul.

I'm taking the wheels from my Cotic Escapade and having my Soul's hubs re-built with some narrower rims than the Crests, which don't allow for anything less than a 35c tyre. The Crest set will be fine for the Stooge and I'll use DT X470s for the Escapade (allowing a return to 28c tyres).

Spec will be as follows:

[b]Wheels:[/b] Hope Pro 2 Evo / Stans Crest / Conti Mountain King Protection 2.4 29
[b]Gears:[/b] XTR / XT 1x10 - possibly singlespeed in winter
[b]Finishing:[/b] Hope headset, Thomson 80mm stem & layback post, Fizik Gobi saddle, EC70 bar

Based on Andy's frame weight stated in this thread, this should result in an overall weight of around 24.75lb / 11.2kg - which is about a pound heavier than my Soul with Fox 32s.

Despite occasionally experimenting with a rigid fork on the Soul, I've not ridden [i]sans suspension[/i] for any length of time since 1996. Given that the Stooge is pretty much rigid only, this is going to be an interesting experiment!

That said, now that I'm a mid-30s dad with 2 kids, my riding is almost exclusively ripping the local trails at Ashton Court (Bristol) for 1-1.5 hours. I decided that not much of the new tech - dropper posts, morphing wheel sizes, axles, headtubes, suspension etc - is going to do it for me. 🙂

Thanks Ben.

Sounds like a good plan and I totally get where you are coming from in the decision making process.

I take it you are bit of a Cotic fan then? As I've before on this thread, if I hadn't recently bought a Solaris (before really noticing the Stooge) I'd have been mighty tempted with one of the Stooge 29ers. (In purple, but not that I have built one in my head or anything!)

Normal Man - I did strongly consider the Solaris and, yes, I am a major Cotic fan.

I set aside a fair old chunk (£3k) for a replacement bike. I even started off looking at dream machines and custom frames, but didn't think I'd get great VFM spending that much.

The Solaris is lighter and has more modern standards than the Stooge - offering more build possibilities.

But to get the benefit from a Solaris (as I see it), I'd have budgeted for: a nice rigid fork (£250), suspension forks (£500, for what I'd want), a new seatpost (£50-300) and headset (£65). I do like the Duck Egg blue, but I have that on my Escapade and find it marks easily compared to their gloss paint; and I don't like the green.

Basically, it was going to cost a fair old bit to get what I wanted. I weighed that up against this being my first 29er and what I really use my MTB for these days (mainly short blast around the woods, in between work and childcare).

The Stooge is a reasonably low-risk punt for me and most parts move across from my Soul. I also need to replace the Crest rims on my Escapade, as they're too wide.

If I hate it, then it won't have eaten-up too much cash. 🙂

Knard on a Dually.
Not sure I'd want to run one on anything narrower TBH.
Profile [i]looks[/i] a good bit rounder than on the Rabbit Hole it was designed for.
Went up ghetto tubeless ok, with a 24" tube.

Your reasoning makes sense Ben and I hope the Stooge works out.

I'd been won over by bigger wheels by a Spesh Carve. I'd got a good deal on one in the end of model year sales and thought a 29er ht would suit my riding, especially as much of the off road I do either has a tarmac ride to get there or to link up sections.
When my son outgrew his Hardrock he wanted to try the Carve (he had been eyeing it up from day one!) So I thought I'd look around and was drawn to Cotic. Initially, the Solaris then I started to think about the Soul due to it having such a classic reputation, then the 275 version but in the end the call of big wheels won out and I ordered the Solaris.

I went complete build then just swapped out a few bits with what I had in the parts bin.

Maybe if I'd been looking at frame only to build up, then the process would have taken longer and perhaps I'd have spotted the Stooge and it would have been in the mix.

I certainly admire them. Look forward to hearing how you get on with it.

Sorry, meant to put the pic to go with the above post.

[url= https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3943/15309404338_b0da3955a5_z.jp g" target="_blank">https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3943/15309404338_b0da3955a5_z.jp g"/> [/img][/url]
[url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/takisawa2/15309404338/ ]IMAG3977[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/people/takisawa2/ ]pten2106[/url], on Flickr

Hi Ben, super-chuffed you chose one of my frames over the competition, i'm hopiing you'll like it a lot. Just for your info, i'm just shy of 6' and i run with a 70mm stem and 30mm of spacers up front. For bars i alternate between Jones Bend bars and Salsa 23 degree bend bars. Love the salsa for flingability, love the Jones for uber-comfort on longer rides.

It's a case of suck it and see, mess around with stem length etc and find one that suits you, but if you need any help with the set-up don't hesitate to give me a shout.

Re front tyres, i did design the 29+ size in. My own experience having spent 6 months riding it - the bigger tyre is great if you do lots of big mountain work and fast descents, a regular tyre is great for woodland hacking and speedier line-changes, both work great, you may prefer one over the other in the long run.

cheers again, Andy

And now the things i would like to improve in the future:
a bit more clearance at the back just to fit wider tyres (Ardent 2.4) with more clearance.
remove the front derailleur guides as they are pointless imho (ss or 1x10)
the reinforcing plate at the top tube looks a bit agricultural.
it could be lighter

agree with most of the above. Doubt it will get any lighter, though 🙂

Nice summary Miran. Would agree with most of that.
Weight hasn't been an issue since switching rabbit holes to wide lightnings. Certainly wouldn't want to lose that balance of strength and compliance.

Anyone considering running a Minion 2.5 on their Stooge?