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

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..
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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

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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?

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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?

Very nice dalhalvaig

Painted...all rattle can and Halfords Heavy Duty lacquer
Colours are Ford Olympic Blue and Ford electric Orange.
Was aiming for a Gulf scheme so thought Ford colours as a Le Mans GT40 homage.

Cue fingers down throat...

Very brave, Sir
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Not sure the mudguard is helping your cause :p

Not sure the mudguard is helping your cause :p

Stooge curious here. Anybody built one up super cheap? Thinking of building one ss for the winter. Have bars, stem, saddle, grips and a set of brakes laying around. Just wondering what sort of price I'd need looking at for an El Cheapo winter build. Thoughts?

You could pick up a frame and forks around £250, then everything else is how much you want to pay. £100 Deore/Flows from Merlin, as they'll take a 3" tyre easily - I use 3" Fattys on my Ti on Flows. Chainset and SS kit for under £100 all in - Deore cranks perhaps?

Funkmasterp- yes, my first Stooge (mk1) was built with the sole purpose to be a cheap winter bike and explore SS. I used bits lying about, second hand stuff and some special offers. It cost me £450 all in. I loved it! I rode it through the winter slop and the carried on into summer. Fantastic fun. I ended up rebuilding it with nice components because I spent so much time on it.

I'm now on my second Stooge, mk2, with a nicer SS build, plus the addition of some Stooge Moto bars. They really are good. Nice and wide to help crank up hills and also high rise to take pressure off your hands. The MK2 has plenty of tyre clearance, even with 27.5x3.0 tyres.

So, start with a cheap Stooge build, but be prepared for it to turn into your main bike and therefore (possibly) spending money to get the nice spec it deserves.

funkmasterp - Member

Stooge curious here. Anybody built one up super cheap? Thinking of building one ss for the winter. Have bars, stem, saddle, grips and a set of brakes laying around. Just wondering what sort of price I'd need looking at for an El Cheapo winter build. Thoughts?

Got a pair of CST BFT 27.5 3.0 tyres, previously on my Genesis Tarn 10, that are now just taking up space in the shed. Say £20 plus postage?

Cheers for the advice and offers. I need to look at funds and weigh up expense versus buying a full bike in the sales. The Stooge is such a nice looking bike though.

Mines running deore and was on 29er wheels built up cheap. But its just had new b+ wheels and I might upgrade it to 1x drive train and some better kit. They do that to you.

Afternoon
Been searching around for my first off road bike and recently stumbled across Stooge and have found a 1st Gen frame for a ridiculous price which I'm very interested in. Just have a few questions......

I'm 6ft 1" Any problems with fit? Should I go for a set back seatpost?

Anyone using an Alfine on their Stooge? I have a spare from a previous build which I will probably use.

What's the rear tyre clearance like with a wide rim such as a Rabbit Hole?

Is the BB a standard 73mm?

Cheers

Chris

I tried a rabbit hole rim on a mk I and clearance was waffer thin. On a Wide lightening rims an ardent 2.4 was OK in summer, but not enough mud clearance for winter 2.2 and 2.3 tries of various shapes and sizes all seems fine.
Great bike.

Sorry to be clear Rabbit hole was fine up front. Too tight for my liking at the back...

Thanks for the replies. The frame i was eying up has been sold! Liking the look of the Stooges so much am seriuosly considering getting a 2nd gen frame. What is the rear clearwnce on the newer model? Would rabbit hole / ardent fit easily ? Thinking about it probably would give b+ a go anyway

I'm selling my Mk1