Nick had me make a HUGE number of modifications (the email is like 2 pages long listing them!) to his monstercross frame (not a Waltworks) and build a new fork that can accommodate a 2.1" tire without messing up the original geometry. Here she is - I think we were both worried about whether spending this kind of time/effort/money on a relatively cheap frame would be worth it, but I think it was.
For what it's worth, I get this question a lot, so:
-The shortest axle to crown fork I can build that will clear a 29x2.1" tire is about 405mm axle-crown (as you can see from the photo, there's not much room under there!)
-If that's longer than the fork the frame was designed for, we can compensate to *some extent* by increasing fork rake.
-If the original fork is more than 10-15mm shorter, I do not recommend doing this.
I get a lot of requests for monstercross stuff, and I like doing them, but it's worth keeping a couple of things in mind:
-Almost everyone will have toe overlap with drop bars and big 700c tires, because the toptube on a drop-bar bike is usually 4-5cm shorter than on a conventional mountain bike. This isn't the end of the world, but it's worth being aware of.
-If you want to run road cranks, the large rings and narrow chainline mean that the chainstays have to be very long for tire clearance. Mountain bike cranks are a common choice to get around this problem.
-There is no such thing as a bike that is the "best of both worlds". The bottom line is that while a monstercross bike is a fun mountain bike AND fun road bike, it is far less capable than either of them in their home terrain. Don't expect to keep up with the local club century ride without working pretty hard, and likewise expect to get dropped by your fast friends on a real mountain bike trail. Of course, if you're on a ride that combines both - you're in the catbird seat!
5 comments:
You last comment on performance is dead on the money. I built myself a fancy MX and ended up disappointed by the trail performance. The bike shines on gravel road, but that's about it.
Sure would like to get a closer look at the rear disc tabs. I've got a cross check that I would love to add disc brakes to. Cool bike.
Josh, I did just that this summer. Here is a link to my crosscheck post. It's been a great bike.
http://www.hammerheadbikes.com/forum/index.php?topic=1948.0
I'm running disc on the front of mine right now. Just using a cheap dimension cross fork. How's the stock fork ride with disc brakes? It sure looks a lot better looking than my solution.
Josh, it rides fine. Its definitely an experiment and I've ridden some seriously chunky trail with it too. The disc conversion was done without a jig and I get some harmonic squealing from it at times. CJB
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