I’ve been following this thread and been meaning to write a response but it looks like you beat me to it and phoned the shop. I’m not sure who you spoke to but unfortunately they haven’t given you quite the response I was thinking of. It is a lot of work and certainly won’t be cheap and I would need a bit more info to quote accurately but it’s definitely something I’d be up for. The 6 month lead time is probably fairly accurate though as we’re quite busy at the moment and there’s quite a bit to do with this project before you start cutting and metal. We would have no issue designing the mounting points and some fairly simple fixturing should be all that’s needed on that frame but again, I would need a bit more info!

The comments above about curved downtubes used the wrong way round may work (I’ve seen that before) or aiming below the BB but depending on the exact geometry it might not be required. Seat tube placement will need a bit of thought but shouldn’t be too hard and allowing for a big dropper is no problem (see our hardtails!)

Feel free to drop me an email (matt@18bikes.co.uk) and I’ll work out something more accurate

Cheers,
Matt

I was about to suggest you did a frame building course and make it yourself but the response from Matt above sounds pretty promising. Time to put your hand in your pocke<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>t Its going to be an expensive experiment </span>

Thanks Matt, I’ll be in touch!

You could build it yourself Northwind.

You’ve already put together some “niche” geometry builds…

joshvegas

Member

You could build it yourself Northwind.

I love the idea- I can more or less weld, and I have most of the skills and kit to at least be able to start messing about with carbon. But I’m realistic, I’d never actually get it done. I always have too many projects on and way more motivation to start new stuff than to finish things.

Apart from that one time, all the geo changes I’ve ever made have ended up being mainstream and boring a couple of years later. In some ways it’s happened here too, Trek muled up the Fuel Ex and Slash 29 that replaced this bike in much the same way, it’s just that neither of those 2 bikes ended up going quite where I’d have liked. Selfish, I calls that.

Funnily enough this is something I’ve thought about too. Remedy 29 with a new front end. The nice part about the remedy is that it only needs two pivot locations, and they’re simple plain holes. The free floater design means no shock mounts are needed.

After receiving a few bonkers quotes (I.e more than a new frame which I’d be more than happy with) I shelved the idea. I looked at U.K. made, and Chinese titanium.

Interested to see where you go with yours. What size is it? Mines the 19.5” I think.

Do it do it do it do it do it!

I love a bonkers project (obviously!), and even if it doesn’t turn out quite perfect, hey at least you’ll have ideas for mk2 😉

Why not send Marino in Peru a message? He can knock up a full sus frame for £450 so should be able to do a front triangle easily enough. Use that as a mule, see how you like it and then when you decide what you’d have preferred to differently (geometry, size, weight of tubes etc) you can go to Matt at 18 and get it done properly.

More expensive in the long run, but every manufacturer goes through prototyping.

Marino might be too difficult to onshore 😉

cakeandcheese

Subscriber

What size is it? Mines the 19.5” I think.

Same here (and excellently, Trek sold the exact same size of frame with 2 different sizes stuck on it, because nobody understands Trek sizing, not even Trek).

32 front I think, might be a 34.

I think the issue there, is the reactiv (very regressive damping) shock they used on these. The frame itself has a fair bit of antisquat in the middle ring but it doesn’t feel it. TBF it’s got a lot of marketing surrounding it but to me it’s basically like propedal except better.

I’ve got to be honest and say I don’t know what parts of what I like come from the shock and what parts come from the suspension design, I can take simple info from Linkage etc and compare it to what I’ve felt in the real world but that’s about my limit. They did use the same shock concept in the slash but with a different suspension design (and an even more gimped bent seattube)

Been thinking about this thread today whilst out and about, musing about what you have recognised yourself above. My fear is, that the feeling of plush suspension you love from your existing Remedy is a result of the (highly controversial) proprietary DRCV shock that Trek fitted, rather than anything inherently special from the back end of the bike itself. The Trek design is essentially just a take on the traditional 4 bar linkage (but without a Horst Pivot, so it actually works like a single pivot with a linkage actuated shock), it’s not anything special.

The main pivot point dictates the anti squat on what is effectively a single pivot bike, your Remedy looks to have a fairly neutral position on a traditional 32/34T middle ring. Back when chainsets had many rings, a more neutral degree of anti squat was good in the middle ring, and in the granny ring (the ring used for climbing) a much higher degree of anti squat was inherent and often seen as a good thing anyway. These days, main pivots do seem to have moved a little higher in general, in response to single ring drivetrains with as many as 12 gears. That said, going up 2 teeth on a chainring can make a profound difference how a bike pedals! And unless you’re already running a 50/51T largest sprocket on the back of your bike, you can easily increase a chainring size and the cassette size to compensate with no ill effects on pedalling dynamics.

Reading into your posts further, it sounds to me that what you want is an incredibly linear feeling suspension setup, or possibly even a slightly regressive one. You’ve said about how you’ve gone to a coil sprung 36 on the front to attempt to match the suppleness of the back end. So… Here’s what I’d suggest…

For the very reasons I didn’t get on with it myself, get a go on a Starling Murmur… Either with a modern large can air shock, or even better, an EXT Storia coil shock. The frame has very little inherent anti squat with a stock 32T ring, it has a very slightly regressive leverage ratio, the back end is the same length as on your Remedy, and the front end is longer and slacker to your individual requirements… And you’ll get a silly long dropper post in there too as you require! Cheezybeanz off this forum has my old Murmur and loves it, fortunately for me he was waiting for me to offer the frame for sale as I discovered I really do prefer a much more progressive and slightly stiffer and shorter platform myself…

Or… Just saw this on Facebook…

$3200 for a custom frame apparently…

This is the single most painful and masturbatory thread I ever read. Please get over yourselves and just go try some other bikes. I doubt you, like me and everyone else on here, are competing at a pro level so should be able to last five to ten years on a decent stock bike. If you’re really a princess who can’t cope with the odd pea (or the need to tell everyone about how sensitive you are) then maybe just build your own frame and stop seeking verification of your own self importance.

It’s 2020 man get a **** grip.

Buuuuuuiiiiiiilllllllddddd itttttr…. With inverting fork bottomless travell incorporate into the rear with or without a whores linkage.

Get over yourself yourself! It’s just riding bikes in the mud round in circles for fun, let people pay as much or as little attention to it as they want, and feel free to ignore threads that don’t interest you.

Happy 2020!

I see someone had too much to drink last night, I hope that karma gives you a big hangover.

Personally I’m enjoying reading the thread and looking forward to seeing where it goes even if it’s just pondering.

This is the single most painful and masturbatory thread I ever read.

Not by a long shot. Anything involving weight-training advice will pretty quickly bring out a bunch of big hitters boasting of how hard they are.

Why buy a new bike when you can just replace the front half of the frame of the one you already like and keep all the other parts?

I like stuff like this its interesting and akin to kit car builders.

I did thin about a frame for my tracer but I just flogged it …

Do a full size 1:1 drawing to get things clear in your mind what it is that you want. This will help explain to others what it is that you are trying to do.

Curtis might be able to help

Frames

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-designing-and-manufacturing-a-bike-frame.html

https://www.pinkbike.com/news/building-a-custom-bike-frame-at-home.html

@Northwind,

Did you go down this route or just buy something?

I’m also tempted by this – I’ve got a 19.5 Trek Remedy and love it, especially with the coil rear shock. I’ve got an angleset and offset bushes but it could still be longer and slacker. Will look a little further into it as I like a good project!

Why didn’t I see this before?

You could build it yourself Northwind.

You’ve already put together some “niche” geometry builds…

😁

Instagram Feed

Ti front triangle would be cool.

Just build your own! How hard could it be? Clue – it runs to 6 episodes despite Alec being an experienced metal worker with lathe, milling machine etc