Sanderson Soloist

Sanderson Soloist

Cotic Simple

Rock Lobster TIG Team 853

Orange P8

Ooooh, thanks very much. Ideally would like a second-hand one or, even better, swop mine.

Do these tend to come up, in a 16", in the Classifieds?

You daft bint; you had a perfectly good SS'able 853 frame, and what did you do with it?

Pft.

Just get yerself a nice little shopping bike Love, and have done with it.

Mountain biking indeed.... 🙄

X

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gunnar ruffian (I think)

Elf, you know how useless I am with sizing. 🙄 The Lobster was too short in the top tube. Am now finding that my Inbred is a tad too small.

Women! Don't you just love us? 😀
xx

Wow - I can fit my picnic in that basket. 8)

I don't know how the RL can be too short. TT is 22.25". Your 14" Inbred is shorter than though, I'm sure. A 17" RL will be 22/75". Less standover though.

Use a layback seatpost. Push the saddle back a bit more. Get a 10mmm longer stem. Loads of fine-tuning options. Another thing; you use quite wide bars, no? I find that can make a frame feel 'shorter'.

Personally, I sometimes think my MTBs feel a bit short, when on flat roads and that, but offroad, that translates into better handling for me.

Unless you're suffering back problems or something, I'd say your bikes are fine.

What are the TT measurements of your other bikes?

Voodoo Wanga

This...

[img] [/img]

...but it doesn't really exist.

Sir niner

Pipedream Sirius 853 can be run singlespeed.

Elf - the Lobster was a 15" and the Inbred has a longer top tube. Am using a layback seat post and short stem but feel that my centre of gravity is all wrong. My neck and shoulders were aching today.

Everyone - thanks so much for suggestions. Certainly value for money points to the Genesis. Can't believe how expensive some of these steel frames are.

Ash - what is that?

voodoo wanga

S'not 853

Yes, you're right. 🙂 Have just been looking at their website.

genesis io isn't 853 either

Yep, just found that out also. 🙁

There's not really a huge choice, is there?

The Simple is not currently in production.

What size is your Inbred? What about your Mojo? Litespeed?

What happened to that Cotic you had?? What size stem are you using?

Inbred is a 14", used to have a 456 in a 16" and that was too big. Mojo is a small. Litespeed is small/medium with geometry extremely similar to the Soul which I no longer have.

I could ss the Litespeed but don't want to. I really do want 853 steel and nothing else.

Awkward customer aren't I? 🙄

Pipedream Sirius?

[img] [/img]

Ah, right. You see, a 14" Inbred actually has a 3/4" [i]shorter[/i] top tube than the Rock Lobster. Seriously. So you must have had a different set up.

Your Soul would have been perfect. Why did you get rid of it??

I think you should play around with set-up more. Don't be afraid to try a longer stem, even if others insist you shouldn't go longer than a 50mm or something silly. I use a 100mm on my Cannondale, which has a very slightly shorter TT than my RL, and it's fine. TBH, I can't tell much difference between the two, in terms of handling. They both balance out just right for me.

My nearly 10 year old Dialled Love/Hate...

...still love it,

The Wanga is not 853.

An IF Steel Deluxe

My 11 year old stipped down for a winter refresh [img] [/img]

Sounds like time for custom bike - get just what you want and be forever satisfied.

Ah, right. You see, a 14" Inbred actually has a 3/4" shorter top tube than the Rock Lobster. Seriously. So you must have had a different set up.

15" RL 853 = 22.75" ETTL
Small Inbred = 546 mm = 21.5" ETTL

He's not wrong apparently.

Thanks again for replies. 🙂

I suspect what has happened is that for the last year I have been riding hardtails only and have become very 'tuned in' to the geometry of them.

My Inbred has a silly long seatpost and am just not feeling 'with the bike'. Also have a very low rise bar and shortish stem.

If only I could find a second-hand Simple, same geometry as my old Soul.

Ash - what is that?

Dialled Bikes Alpine with EBB. Not yet in production, unfortunately.

My nearly 10 year old Dialled Love/Hate

Being that it first went into production in 2006, make that nearly 5 years old at the most 😉 (it's not 853 either !)

Edit: custom bike will definitely not happen. I've already got two others fighting it out for Top Dog title. 🙄

Curtis?

Curtis? I want cheap!!

How cheap?

Sorry, I only read the thread title and skim read 😛 To be fair someone else suggested an IF!

Ideally second hand, having bought a carbon frame off Classifieds recently when I shouldn't have. 😳

The Sirius looks good value at £349, everything else will get swapped from the Inbred.

C_G, only difference between 853 and normal cromoly steel is weight. Two identical frames, one made of 853 and the other made of cromo, the 853's extra strength would allow approximately 1/3 to 1/2 lb to be saved.

In other words, not very much! You can save that sort of weight elsewhere very easily... Wheels, tyres for example, where they make more difference.

Fwiw, if a 14" inbred is too short, and a 16" too long, you could do a lot worse than try a 16" genesis io. They may be "normal" cromo not 853, but they're very good frames and probably lighter than the pipedream Sirius (which is massively overweight for an 853 frame at 5.5lb!). 16" genesis is 22.4" TT I think, about spot on for you...

What about dekerf? http://www.dekerf.com/Details.asp?id=2

And ebay america for cheep secondhand worth a scout around...

Bats.

mboy - yes, I appreciate the points you are making but I do like 853 steel. I'm a woman - I do difficult!!

So ... narrowed down to Sirius and that has only recently been made in 853 so therefore new only, or a second-hand Simple.

Humphhhhh. 🙁

CG; you're going on about the TT on something like the RL being too short, yet your Ibis is actually a tiny bit shorter. 😕

???

I don't understand what you really want here. As Mboy points out, the Sirius is quite heavy for 853, whereas the Lobster frame in 15" is 4.25lb. Which is pretty bloody light for an 853 frame. It's also fantastic value for money. Far less hyped than stuff like Cotic. You say the 14" Inbred is too short, and the 16" too long, so the Lobster would be perfect, as it sits in the middle.

The only downside to the Lobster is that it's not an SS frame, but a tensioner works perfectly well, and you've still got the option of putting gears on. An Excentricker BB would do away with the need for a tensioner, as would something like a Phil Wood Eno eccentric hub.

You can adapt the fit of a bike far more by changing stems, using a layback seatpost, different width bars etc, than 1/2" or so in the TT. Different width grips make a difference in the 'feel', even.

So, two frames you've had, which would've been perfect, you've sold.

I give up with you Love. You're impossible. 🙄

X

To further complicate things....

the Sirius was beefed up to pass the CEN regulations. Regulations part of which are stiffness based so just as much (if not more steel) was used in the tubeset. So I can't say the Sirius is as sprightly, nor as light as the Rock Lobster 853.

Still is a great frame though, don't get me wrong. 'tis heavy though.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... I'm having a hot flush and my thoughts are muddled yet again.

Shoot me someone. 🙄

It's for the best....

Can I have yer bikes then? 🙂

What's the real reason for wanting 853 steel? if you want something that is steel/real, very singlespeedable and seriously strong, get a Sirius and put a carbon seatpost in.

If you just want something that contains all the steel buzzwords then maybe keep looking.

sorry 😳

HTH 😀

cinnamon girl - email on it's way shortly

Hi C-G,

I saw this thread last night and just seen a 16" Cotic Simple for sale on the classifieds. Don't know the seller or if it is what you want but thought you may be interested. Ask Elfie what he thinks;-)

If you don't mind Tange Prestige tubing there is the Soma 4ONE5. Though you'll have to buy it direct from the US.

What you need, my dear, is an old Kona, something like a 91-95 Explosif or Cindercone.

Becasue I'm telling you now, it'll be more fun to ride than all the modern tackle listed here, about 1/4 of the price and totally deppreciation-proof.

Wanna borrow one? Seriously..... 8)

Or get a 2nd-hand ti frame and get it singlespeeded?

Why not try the custom build approach? 18 bikes are now able to get custom built frames.

I've got a geared 853 Sirius and love it, but it's a large built up with solid kit so weights not a massive issue (it's not the lightest but to be fair it's tough and not massively overweight); I'd say it's worth considering. It you can live without 853 though the [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=38362 ]Kinesis Decade Virsa Prestige[/url] great. It looks lovelly in apple green and CRC have 42Cm (16") frames in stock for £314, would that be too large?. The frame material is ‘Tange Prestige JPN’ and they use DMR's Swopout droupout system.

That Decade frame actually looks ideal for CG.

In fact, if I were in't market for a versatile steel frame, I'd go for that. Swappable dropouts; great idea.

I think what CG 'needs' is something a bit more 'niche' though, actually.... 😉

Singular Swift?

I have a Simple and it is brilliant, love it!

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