It all started with this sexy rigid White Brothers fork thats been laying around my house for months now. I started to just sell it but I knew it would look great on a custom frame. What kinda frame though? Well, obviously its gonna have to be a mountain bike and with all that space between those long carbon legs I guess it needs to be a 29er. But I don't even like mountain bikes that much any more, especially 29ers. I have never owned one or even ridden one for that matter, they have never interested me in the least because I'm a roadie and a backseat driver cyclocross racer. Well if you've never tried a 29er Dimitri how would you know if you like it or not? Thats what they told me about things like broccoli and liver and i hate both of those. So anyway I have this fork and I had some beautiful steel Paragon dropouts w/disc tabs so I drew it up according to a popular geometry because I have no idea how this thing is supposed to ride, I've just always heard that they plow over everything that gets in their way, maybe thats why I don't like'em. I didn't even have a mountain bike wheel for mock-up purposes but luckily 29er tires fit nice and snug on a 700c wheel, the hub spacing is off by a shade but not enough to hinder things. So I went and bought my first ever 29er tire, didn't care what kind, just the cheapest one they had. When I unrolled this thing it was like a flemsy motocross tire, I think I used to run this same exact tire on the front of my RM 125. So I mounted it, looked at it, measured it, and thought,"Fitting this between those chain stays is gonna be a pain in the arse.", and I hadn't a clue about what kind of seat stay I was gonna use. The goal was to use stuff that I already had lying around and not go buy any special stays. So I tacked the chain stays in place and there is sufficient space for your average mountain bike tire but there isn't just gobs of clearance and I really don't care because I prefer bikes that are a bit tighter and as far as maximum mud clearance goes, well, I'm not really worried about what pigs have to say about my frame. I think clearance is overrated just like stiffness, to a certain degree they both are beneficial but I think there is alot of overkill. I don't like mudd or anything else that slows me down. I like riding on dry, fast, hardpack terrain, like Carlsbad MX Raceway used to be, and if you crash enjoy the rash. I have designed a handful of different seatstays but I wanted to keep this one simple and funcional, nothing fancy but custom, and after various ideas I came across these wishbone stays that I have had forever and I think they are gonna fit the bill perfectly. I shaved off the miters they came with, fluxed 'em up, and the vise was my jig. It all came together just too easy, worries for nothing. I'm liking this 29er thing better already. Today I'm gonna tack it all up and throw that fat mambo jambo tire in it to see how it all looks. When this frame is finished I think I'm gonna paint it pink and name it Fat Lilly. Big-Legged Emma and Whole Lotta Rosie have already been taken. Ever heard Axl Rose cover Whole Lotta Rosie? I'll try to find a version of it for you. Check out that fresh batch of flux that just showed up. It was over 100 degrees out in the shop yesterday. When I opened that flux up all I could think about was a big, icey Slushy, however, this flux doesn't taste as good as it looks. Catch ya later.
It all started with this sexy rigid White Brothers fork thats been laying around my house for months now. I started to just sell it but I knew it would look great on a custom frame. What kinda frame though? Well, obviously its gonna have to be a mountain bike and with all that space between those long carbon legs I guess it needs to be a 29er. But I don't even like mountain bikes that much any more, especially 29ers. I have never owned one or even ridden one for that matter, they have never interested me in the least because I'm a roadie and a backseat driver cyclocross racer. Well if you've never tried a 29er Dimitri how would you know if you like it or not? Thats what they told me about things like broccoli and liver and i hate both of those. So anyway I have this fork and I had some beautiful steel Paragon dropouts w/disc tabs so I drew it up according to a popular geometry because I have no idea how this thing is supposed to ride, I've just always heard that they plow over everything that gets in their way, maybe thats why I don't like'em. I didn't even have a mountain bike wheel for mock-up purposes but luckily 29er tires fit nice and snug on a 700c wheel, the hub spacing is off by a shade but not enough to hinder things. So I went and bought my first ever 29er tire, didn't care what kind, just the cheapest one they had. When I unrolled this thing it was like a flemsy motocross tire, I think I used to run this same exact tire on the front of my RM 125. So I mounted it, looked at it, measured it, and thought,"Fitting this between those chain stays is gonna be a pain in the arse.", and I hadn't a clue about what kind of seat stay I was gonna use. The goal was to use stuff that I already had lying around and not go buy any special stays. So I tacked the chain stays in place and there is sufficient space for your average mountain bike tire but there isn't just gobs of clearance and I really don't care because I prefer bikes that are a bit tighter and as far as maximum mud clearance goes, well, I'm not really worried about what pigs have to say about my frame. I think clearance is overrated just like stiffness, to a certain degree they both are beneficial but I think there is alot of overkill. I don't like mudd or anything else that slows me down. I like riding on dry, fast, hardpack terrain, like Carlsbad MX Raceway used to be, and if you crash enjoy the rash. I have designed a handful of different seatstays but I wanted to keep this one simple and funcional, nothing fancy but custom, and after various ideas I came across these wishbone stays that I have had forever and I think they are gonna fit the bill perfectly. I shaved off the miters they came with, fluxed 'em up, and the vise was my jig. It all came together just too easy, worries for nothing. I'm liking this 29er thing better already. Today I'm gonna tack it all up and throw that fat mambo jambo tire in it to see how it all looks. When this frame is finished I think I'm gonna paint it pink and name it Fat Lilly. Big-Legged Emma and Whole Lotta Rosie have already been taken. Ever heard Axl Rose cover Whole Lotta Rosie? I'll try to find a version of it for you. Check out that fresh batch of flux that just showed up. It was over 100 degrees out in the shop yesterday. When I opened that flux up all I could think about was a big, icey Slushy, however, this flux doesn't taste as good as it looks. Catch ya later.
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