Ragley mmmbop Custom build

I am starting a custom build on a Ragley mmmbop frame (I believe it is the last green one in the UK – took me ages to get hold of one!)
I just wanted to get some opinions really.
I am hoping to do a decent job and turn it into a bit of a beast. Its going to cost a bit, but IMO, there is no point in doing a custom build and compromising on the quality of the components.

Anyway, here is what I have so far:

Ragley mmmbop 18″ quick lime
FSA Big Fat Pig 1.5″ headset
Hope BB (gold)
Fox 2010 Rl 140mm 1.5″ steerer

And once the relevant components come back in stock, I plan to get:
Chromag QR seat clamp (purple)
Chromag HiFi 1.5″ stem (gold)
Chromag Fubars OS (rootbeer)
FSA 1.5″ spacers
ODI Troy Lee Lock on grips (yellow/purple)

Not sure about drivetrain yet, as I was toying with the idea of making it a single speed. Partly because that then means I don’t need deralieurs, shifters, big chainsets etc, so will save a fair bit of money, but also because I fancied a bit of a different MTB and the challenge of a single speed. I have recently build a fixie road bike, so thought it might be interesting to try a MTB singlespeed.

Anyway, end of ramble. What do we think?

Cheers!

What do we think?

You’re colour blind and/or on acid

Green
Gold
Purple
Gold
Rootbeer?
Yellow/purple

the colours will be appalling, so give it a go.
Not sure it’ll be any good as a singlespeed though. But again, give it a go.

BoardinBob +1

I did a custom build and LOVE IT. I had tapered forks rather than 1.5″. I’m wasn’t impressed with my Big Fat Pig though. Caged ball bearings and bad seals mean it’s on it’s way out already after barely 12 hours winter riding. If I were you I’d look at the new Superstar headsets. This could also be because I didn’t face the headtube (LBS did not have a 1.5″ facing tool) so be wary of that.

Every comment I’ve seen about the mmmBop is that it likes ups and downs but not so much the flat. I’ve not noticed any particular lethargy on the flats, but I’d question doing it singlespeed when it is designed to go up and down steep hills. Are you legs made of iron or do you live in Norfolk?

Happy building, but give it some gears 😉

I heart my Bop, it’s being treated to a new coat of paint just now… But singlespeed, mmm, well… It relishes being ridden excessively fast on descents and it can grunt up most climbs so a range of gears does suit it. I’m dimly considering 1×9 for it though as a compromise.

Can you do anything other than a ‘custom build’ on a Ragley? They don’t sell complete bikes do they? As far as what anyone else thinks, who cares, stuff ’em and use what you like. That all sounds spot on to you.

As far as what anyone else thinks, who cares, stuff ’em and use what you like

The OP cares, hence asking

What do we think?

😉

BWD – was just about to say the same. Colour wise it sounds horrible with that mix. rule of thumb imo is KISS

Lots of clashing colours is da ting wit da yoof, no?

“rule of thumb imo is KISS”

What, all black and white?

keep it simple stupid

Ok thanks for the input. I realised after posting how mental my colours were!

I have to say, when it comes to colours and matching them, I am not in touch with my feminine side…

I have decided that the following may be better…

Gold qr clamp,
gold stem,
green chromag fubars OS
white ODI troy lee grips.

I think that will probably be a bit more respectable!

The colour scheme of it has actually been my biggest dilemma!
I want it to stand out and don’t want it to be plain, and having seen a lot of other ragley builds, I wanted to do something different, which I think is the reason for my previously mental colour ideas…

Ok, so maybe my idea of single speed might be a bad one. In which case, can anyone recommend a chainset (in terms of value for money, aesthetics, and how it will fit in with the rest of the build)?

I decided that if I end up going for gears, I was going to get the shimano saint shadow m810(?) rear deraileur, but I wasn’t really sure what the differenced between the two versions were. I gather that it will probably depend on the chainset I have?

Thanks for all your help everyone!

I’ve got a gold Chromag qr seat clamp and black Chromag OS bars on my Heckler and rate them.

Did briefly consider the green OS bars on my mmmbop, but wasn’t convinced the green and the green frame worked as complimentary colours. So black bars on my green mmmbop, with green ODI grips, and a Saint M810 RD matched with an SLX double & bash chainset. Did have an SLX RD but managed to snap the inner plate after about two months.

I wasn’t too sure about the different greens either, but looking at them, there are some lighter green patches in the design that are pretty close to the green of the mmmbop (well, from what I can tell from looking on the internet, anyway. I may have a poorly calibrated monitor for all I know!).
I have chromag QR clamp on my FS and didn’t have to think twice about which QR to get for this build.

Which saint RD do you use? Are the two versions GS and SS? I can’t remember now.

strangertothelight – Member

“Ok, so maybe my idea of single speed might be a bad one. In which case, can anyone recommend a chainset (in terms of value for money, aesthetics, and how it will fit in with the rest of the build)?”

Whatever Shimano fits in your price range. Have to be daft to get anything else unless you’re spending a bomb IMO.

thanks for the input Northwind.
I did have a thought about the Saint chainset, but couldn’t decide if it was really suitable and if it was overkill or not. It seems that the saint range is aimed primarily at DH usage?
Its tricky to narrow down the choice as there are so many good components to choose from…

Yup, saints are pretty mighty. If in doubt, SLX- tough enough for any use you’re likely to put it to, reasonably priced, stiff, and at a decent weight too. Deore is good as well though. Saint I’d not put on a bike myself, maybe if I was heavier but if my SLX is happy with world cup dh routes I figure it’s tough enough for me 😉

Ok, thanks! Hmmm… I need to have a good think about this now! 😛

Who actually has a good level of mmmbop stock atm?

I couldn’t see much the other day. 20″ seemed out of stock everywhere IIRC

Conqueror – Member
Who actually has a good level of mmmbop stock atm?

I couldn’t see much the other day. 20″ seemed out of stock everywhere IIRC

No one. We could have sold another dozen quite easily if we could have got a hold of them.

On the up side, though of us who already have one should be able to sell it on without much of a loss……………….

I searched everywhere, but mmmbops are now discontinued, and I think I got the last green frame left in the UK!
Rutland Cycling has one 16″ blue mmmbop left, but apart from that, I think there was one other blue frame that I came across, cant remember where.

I believe Ragley are replacing the mmmbop with two new models (due in stock in feb I think (?)), but that’s all I know about it.

Check out the shedfire website, loads of details on the new troof and bagger there.

They’re not really straight replacements though… Think the Mmmbop not being a success is proof that Joe Bike Buying Public is a cretin personally, they are fantastic frames. Ah well, some you win.

Ditch the Big Fat Pig headset. It’s a bit crap, poor seals and weighs hell of a lot. Mine seems to be coming loose all the time as well. Spend a bit more on the hope reducer headset. Maybe try this

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=10125

From CRC link above, I’ve got the FSA Orbit on my mmmbop seems Ok so far.

strangertothelight – Saint rear derailleur is RD-M810 GS Shadow, with SLX M661 Top Pull Front Mech, and HG80 9spd 11-32 Cassette, and SLX Chainset FC-M665 double with bash guard 36/22, which I got when it used to be £89.99 but now seems to be about £130-140!

Thanks for the info Hanky.

Re: the Big pig – I am not going to ditch it, it took me a couple of hours to get the B*STARD cups in! Also, I don’t want a reducer headset because I have 1.5″ steerer on my forks. This narrowed my choice of headsets down to pretty much either one of these or a Chris King, and I don’t have ~£100 to spend on a headset at the moment. I know they are good, but it is far too much for me to spend on a headset when there are cheaper ones. Thanks for the heads-up on these though. I will have to keep a close eye on it and give it some TLC and plenty of grease 😀

Ah sorry missed the 1.5 fork steerer. I agree the cups are a bugger to get in. I fail at reading the OP. Be prepared to tighten it up lots when your riding and I mean lots.

Thanks Benji. I really hope you were just unlucky though and mine will be fine… :-s
Ah well, time will tell!
Next job is to get the crown race on… What a git.

I need to post a couple of photos once things have come along a bit more.

Ditch the Big Fat Pig headset. It’s a bit crap, poor seals and weighs hell of a lot. Mine seems to be coming loose all the time as well.

+1

Have to tighten before every ride. Going in the bin ASAP.

well as annoying as it is to hear that a component I have just bought and fitted isn’t that popular, I just hope I am one of the lucky ones. If not then I will probably just bite the bullet and Chris King it.
When you say tighten, I assume you mean the headset cap, which will push down and keep it all together? Or do you mean that shim bit that wedges the forks in place?

A custom built bike deserves a better name than Ragley stamped on it.
Why not get some custom graphics too, And put whatever you want on the downtube or wherever?
After all, you did all the hard work, why shouldn’t you get the glory.

I don’t like the idea of paying a company to advertise their brand without royaly payments exchanging hands.
Which is why my next design will be built by ****** ********.

Show me da money father f******s!

I did think about designing something of my own to put on the frame, but I couldn’t think of what I want, and couldn’t think of where I would get the stickers printed etc. I wouldn’t want it to end up looking sh*tty because of naff stickers.
I know what you mean though, Skyline. I was thinking of cutting up the stickers and rearranging the letters to something different, but haven’t got round to thinking about it properly yet. Might be a crap idea.

Aye you have to tighten the top cap up as riding appears to be the only way you can get the race into place. after 4 months of riding mine it’s still not all the way down. A half inch thick piece of alloy wasn’t the best idea for a crown race I think. My only fear is being able to get it off so I can get a decent headset for it.

A custom built bike deserves a better name than Ragley stamped on it.

…..

We have a winner of “Elitist Pillock of the Week” award 🙄

I have no beef with Ragley, but one of the points of me getting an mmmBop is that it was a blank canvas for me to add my own graphics. You might hate it, but I love it. Steerer has since been cut down and picking up my new Thomson seatpost later today (the saddle slips in this one which is technically an old road post). Fab ride

(might even get matching wheels one day!)

Nice build 😉

Where did you get your custom graphics done? Looks pretty pforessional to me. My friend is a Salsa team rider, and she has her own custom graphics, including her name all designed by Salsa and it looks great and was hoping to be able to acheive something similar to that.

I just went to the local signs and graphics shop and explained what I wanted. £10 for 2, but I reckon it would have not cost proportionally a lot more to get more done. They are individual vinyls(?) with a backing that just peels off i.e. you stick it on as if it is one sticker

Close up

Thanks for the pics StillTortoise! I think Custom graphics is a good way to complete a custom bike – thinking about it, it is a bit strange to have a custom bike with standard/default graphics. Even if you are given the freedom to put the stickers where you want.
I think getting some custom stickers will be something that I will do, but I just don’t know what I would want!
This is the reason I have never got round to getting any tattoos, I just can’t make up my sodding mind!

stilltortoise

That pic reminds me of the old Jaguar advert, where the kid is looking up at a billboard with the caption “one day, one day…….”. 😀

Like the build BTW – I’m doing mine today!