I’d go for a Buzzard at £200. I love mine. It’s not subtle but it is big fun.

That ^ is what the word abomination was invented for.

I like the idea, but it definitely looks like an experiment/prototype (which I believe it is). It’s got a long way to go before it rivals the looks of the Stooge and I’ll be interested to hear how the flex pans out.

Ketamine on your cornflakes and a puppy in a basket on your bars.

GT85 on your rotors

I have to admit to being strangely drawn to those giant monster truck tyres. Must be the same thing that made me want Tonka toys as a kid 😀

Go wide. Go crazy ape. 😀

My first ‘modern’ rigid bike had stiff carbon 640mm bars. I rode it like that for a while before getting something wider and flexier. The difference in comfort and control was massive. A higher front end also makes a lot of sense if you’re tackling rocky or techy stuff on a rigid bike IME.

Nice bike BTW.

I thought it was your Hogwarts house, Matt 😉

@ takisawa – nope, not split tube just a couple of layers of gorilla tape. It sealed straight away without sealant, using a track pump with the valve core in.

I use a Lamina 20 down to a few degrees below freezing. Very good but a bit more bulk and weight than quality down. I’m looking at getting a three-season down quilt for warmer nights.

Nirvana shouldn’t take the blame for people getting dropped on a night ride. The shop doesn’t organise the night rides, it’s just a meeting place.

I ride regularly from there and we welcome new people who want to come along (and we do make an effort not to leave them lost in the woods, honest) but it’s not a shop ride, a club ride or anything very organised. It’s dark, it’s sometimes chaotic and stuff happens. That’s why I enjoy it. 😀

I also found tubeless super-easy. I used two layers of Gorilla tape and it went up straight away with a track pump.

I seriously doubt it

I’m about three rides in to using a Chronicle/Dually combo on the front of my Stooge and I’m still experimenting with pressures. It seems less cushy than the Knard but I was running that on a Crest so it had less rim width to support it, which may explain some of that.

So far, I’ve taken the Chronicle down to about 11-12psi which seems pretty good. It’s taken some biggish impacts (eg the drop/compression on Evian, for Surrey Hills locals) without any trouble.

Sorry I missed this; looks like it was fun. We went to Rogate for some extremely tasty gnar and then on to QECP for a dreary tuna baguette and a grim grind round claggy trails wholly unsuited to a bike that only really likes going downhill.

Today I rode a purple and a blue Stooge back to back down the same notoriously slippery chalky, off-camber, rooty trail. I can confirm that purple Stooges are faster*.

* If fitted with a Chronicle.

Looks like you had fun, OP.

I did the Bear Bones 200. Easily the toughest and most memorable thing this year.

Very, very nice. More detail on sizing, geo, cost, etc please 😀

And what’s the clearance like for 29+ in a Bluto?

Very nice. Added to my list of must-dos.

I’ve run a Knard on a Crest, which worked but was a bit nerve-racking. I’ve just switched to a Maxxis Chronicle on a Dually. The Chronicle is hugely better as a wet conditions tyre. I love 29+ up front but not that interested in a big fat rear.

Had my first ride with a Chronicle/Dually combo at the weekend. I was impressed. It coped with very wet Surrey hills slop with no problems at all – loads of grip and quite a bit more cush than a 2.4. I’d tried a Knard on a Crest before which was OK in the dry but lethal in the damp and I was always a bit nervous of pushing it hard due to the narrow rim.

Love the idea. If you succeed in getting a rideable bike with vertical movement you’re going to get fairly rapid wear. So you’ll need a replaceable bush. I’m hearing horrible creaky grindy noises just thinking about it.

Ooooo. Did you get the fork new from Sam? Is the A-C the same as the old blue one?

Tried a Knard on a Crest in the blue fork and it’s a no-no.

I’m more interested in trying new stuff than just upgrading for the sake of it.

Come to think of it, the shifters, crank and front mech on my most used geared bike date back to 2004!

A new frame is always more exciting than new bits (new frame = new bike; new components = new components).

Good luck to him! That is an amazing commitment.

Personally, I thought his info for hosts was fine. I’d rather know what I’m letting myself in for than be soft-soaped and I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who get what he’s doing and will be only too pleased to sign up to what he’s asking.

Never realised STWers were such sensitive types 😉

The Evo has very different geo – much shorter chainstays as well as slacker angles. Should be a fun bike.

carbon does not seem as instantly responsive as a TI frame

Eh?

FWIW my Original C456 is very stiff but surprisingly comfy. Although, personally, I think the sound a carbon frame makes (or doesn’t) over the juddery-clattery stuff influences perceptions to some extent.

If he’s after a cheap option then you can’t go wrong with an Inbred.

This thread is all wrong. Can we delete it and start again? 😀

Different bikes = options. Keep them both.

Excellent! This should be fun. So, Surrey hills but where and when?

British racing green would make a nice pairing with the candy apple red. Both with chrome forks. 0r black metal flake.

Medium Buzzard frames were £200 last time I looked. The ROS9 is very nice (a mate has one) but four/five times as good? I don’t think so.

Stoogefest south is a good idea. Can we make it a Sunday ride starting in Dorking/Westcott? In fact, what about next Sunday?

Thinking about selling my 16in C456. Ping me an email if it’s of interest.

Mattjg, you can’t keep posting on this thread without buying one. It’s not cricket : )

I’m running a Smorgasbord on a Crest. Lots of room and works well.

Mattjg, you know you’re going to do it so just get it done. 😉

If I had the wherewithal to put a frame together, I’d love to build one of these.

I’ve got five MTBs and I thought they were all different. Now I feel like they’re all the same.