[- seb]

A friend is selling his katipo (quitting DH to make funds for other things - it's not that he doesn't like the bike).

He's had it 18 months - in pretty decent condition, never been massively abused, he's no hucker etc, and not been ridden that much.

My 09 devinci is very baggy at the back. I love how it rides, but feel it's time to buy/try something new.

I'm in a fairly good position with my contacts due to the site I run - I could probably get pretty much anything I want at trade through someone or other...

So, time to buy a 2nd hand katipo, whose geometry should be pretty spot on for me, or should I buy something new and shiny at trade. Trade on a Scalp (for example) would be in the same ballpark - an extra £200 or so.

Is the katipo a decent race frame do you think? Bear in mind UK courses aren't super steep/gnar generally, and are more pedally than we'd like to admit sometimes.

50/50 at the moment - said I'd give him a firm answer asap as he's kinda holding it for me at the moment....

I don't like the colour he has it in so a respray would be the first job on the cards, so it would appear as new after that, bar a dent in the downtube which I'm not bothered by.

Certainly nice to have somehting unusual - the scalp will be common as muck at the end of the year... but then again, common as muck for a reason I suppose...

Decisions decisions!

 

[sethimus]

can't you test ride it?

 

[no skid marks]

You sort of need to own a high pivot bike and get used to it. Test riding it might give a wrong impression.
I'm totally stoked on my Katipo, and won't be selling it. It pedals quite well, but it's main benefits are eating anything in it's path, so if you're riding on smooth tracks, and not using much of the rear suspension then perhaps consider something with a more vertical axle path.
I'm sure you could resell it if it didn't work out for you. It seems they're very hard to get new now.

 

[- seb]

can't you test ride it?

Not very conveniently, he lives a 2hr drive away and I wont be heading over that way any time soon unless I decide to buy it. Time is money, etc

 

[- seb]

You sort of need to own a high pivot bike and get used to it. Test riding it might give a wrong impression.
I'm totally stoked on my Katipo, and won't be selling it. It pedals quite well, but it's main benefits are eating anything in it's path, so if you're riding on smooth tracks, and not using much of the rear suspension then perhaps consider something with a more vertical axle path.
I'm sure you could resell it if it didn't work out for you. It seems they're very hard to get new now.

Well obviously I do go to some rough tracks, so eating everything in it's path isnt a bad thing, so long as it pedals as well as anything else out there?

 

[no skid marks]

Well obviously I do go to some rough tracks, so eating everything in it's path isnt a bad thing, so long as it pedals as well as anything else out there?

Nothiing is obvious. I'm in Australia, I have no idea what your tracks are like.
I think it pedals fine for an 8" travel DH bike. It doesn't have pedal induced anti squat(jack)but still pedals fine, and doesn't bob and wallow in it's travel when pedalling. I'm runing an Avalanche shock. I'm sure other shocks could make it an even better pedaler. You could run the shorter shck option to lessen the travel a fraction.

 

[- seb]

Really? Have you never seen the ft bill world cup track?

Just joking mate - all advice/feedback is appreciated. Pedal jacking sucks anyway so not having that's a good thing in my book - I'd rather my suspension stayed active so long as it doesn't bob like a bitch, but that's all down to shock tech these days I guess.

 

[Udi]

Haha, anti-squat isn't pedal jack, stop calling it that NSM.

Pretty sure this has been covered once already.

 

[al-irl]

not ridden one but dont think it would be the best bike to have at a muddy race shock and linkage position looks like it will hold alot of mud. So may not be the best bike to have in a country that gets alot of rain.

 

[no skid marks]

Haha, anti-squat isn't pedal jack, stop calling it that NSM.

Pretty sure this has been covered once already.

LOL. It was just a descritpive term again. If the Katipo didn't have the idler, it'd jack up at the back when pedaling, due to it's chain induced anti squat, Yes?

 

[Gridds]

not ridden one but dont think it would be the best bike to have at a muddy race shock and linkage position looks like it will hold alot of mud. So may not be the best bike to have in a country that gets alot of rain.

On the contrary - not at all. I've never had a problem with mine in the muddiest of conditions. A mud guard / bit of old tube can easily be fitted to protect the shock and linkage area if this becoms a problem. There is also plenty of tyre/mud clearance.


Seb - you might call me biased but I think it would be the perfect race machine for you. Super stiff rear end, pedals well. Pretty damn light frame, I'm sure someone like you could build this up into a very svelt racing snake of a bike.
They ride awesome. Guaranteed to put a racer like you to the top of the podium, even more so now you're in Masters

Buy it!

 

[Udi]

LOL. It was just a descritpive term again. If the Katipo didn't have the idler, it'd jack up at the back when pedaling, due to it's chain induced anti squat, Yes?

Jack is when the suspension extends.

Anti-squat when implemented properly on a bicycle would only counteract the force making the bike squat and no more, thus not jack at all. So you labelling anti-squat as "jack" is incorrect, at least in reference to a proper implementation of it.

 

[bizutch]

I sent a link to this forum to the owner for you. He'll be along shortly to fill you in on the One Ghost. Hope that helps seb.

 

[Pslide]

Jack is when the suspension extends.

Anti-squat when implemented properly on a bicycle would only counteract the force making the bike squat and no more, thus not jack at all. So you labelling anti-squat as "jack" is incorrect, at least in reference to a proper implementation of it.

I'm lost.

Suspensions extending doesn't really make sense to me...which way is extend?

Jack pulls the suspension back towards zero travel.

This is in the same direction as chain induced anti-squat. Therefore you could consider chain induced anti-squat as jack, right?

In fact, by definition, squat is the opposite of jack, therefore anti-squat = jack. As it is applied to chain tension at least.

(It's a slow day at work, I'm bored.)

 

[One-Ghost]

I sent a link to this forum to the owner for you. He'll be along shortly to fill you in on the One Ghost. Hope that helps seb.

I think Bizutch has the Kitapu confused as it isn't one of my bikes. it is a pretty nice one and it uses a rearward then up axle path similar to what I do on the One Ghost Industries Katana and Musashi and similar to what the Canfield Bros use as well you just don't have the parallel rotating links. as long as you run the idler with it you'll be fine for pedal feedback though.

thanks for the call in

 

[no skid marks]

I'm lost.

Suspensions extending doesn't really make sense to me...which way is extend?

Jack pulls the suspension back towards zero travel.

This is in the same direction as chain induced anti-squat. Therefore you could consider chain induced anti-squat as jack, right?

In fact, by definition, squat is the opposite of jack, therefore anti-squat = jack. As it is applied to chain tension at least.

(It's a slow day at work, I'm bored.)

Yes and no. I was making waves. But to be correct with the definitions, anti squat is what it says, it's anti squating, as in holding the bike up when it wants to squat.
Jack is when the suspension extends from eother braking forces, or as I was using the term, from chain forces. Romanticly speaking, Jack has no limits to it's extension, and inti squat by definition, shuld just stop squatting, and keep the bike at the desired height, say the sag point.
In my mind, any chain induced suspension extension(chain pulling rear wheel down)is both Jack and Squat, but perhaps it's a bastardization of the term jack.
A Sunday for example, has chain induced anti squat early in the travel, but it could be seen as wrong to say it has pedal inducced Jack, as this would lead the reader to believe the back stiffened and stood up through it's entire travel.
Sorry for the derail.

 

[Udi]

I'm lost.

I think the above explanation by NSM is correct.

"Jack" has negative connotations (see post #7 for an example) and I think it's misleading to call it that.

If all you are doing is preventing squatting, then the suspension isn't actually extending (rather it will be staying in one spot, and more realistically, probably still squatting a little bit - let's face it, not even a sunday pedals like a hardtail), thus not jacking.

The only time anti-squat would cause jack is if you had too much of it, and there are bikes that do this (slight extension under pedal forces at some point in the travel), but that's probably to do with small miscalculations (or even running an unintended front chain ring size).

 

[Inclag]

To sum it up they are the same.... just differences in order of magnitude.

Anyway, I think those Katipos look the bit for a small garage brand. I'd love to swing a leg over one.