anyone know about this well priced 853 steel frame that JensonUSA is selling ?
http://www.interlocracing.com/steelmtb.html
http://www.interlocracing.com/steelmtb.html
Interloc Tempest frame ?
- Thread starter rockracing
- Start date
yo. i don't know anything about that frame, but i have a sycip hardtila that i've been thinking about selling. it's a large and in fantastic condition, might you be interested?
rockracing said:
I got one as an anniversary present and am in the process building it now. Things I noticed right off the bat:
1) Slightly shorter top tube than what's popular now for a typical XC frame. So you may have to run a slightly longer stem (10-20mm) and offset seatpost to compensate depending on how roomy you like your cockpit.
2) Brake bosses are not removable. I tried with a set of vice grips (there are no flats to put a wrench to) and ended ovalizing the post so I've hacksawed both off and put some touch up paint on the mounts. In a year or two when the frame starts to look ratty I'm going to have them ground off and repaint the frame.
3) Hydro guides are brazed on loops with a longitudinal (is this even a word?) slit, so you'll have to pull the line and bleed it to mount the brake cable on the frame. I emailed Interloc and learned there are supposed to be some brass guides/shims for the cables but they do not come with the frames from Jenson.
4) Cable guides. The guides direct your shifter cables to run underneath the BB shell. The derailleur cable is exposed from the head tube to about 3 inches before the drop out. This makes is "lighter" as there is less housing but I see lots of cable contamination and lots of cable replacementsfor me
since I ride in wet areas (stream crossing) alot.
5) Paint finish is very nice. No dirt/contamination and no drips or runs. As nice as some of the stock paint jobs I've seen on Independent Fab frames.
6) Decals are clear coated. There is a 853 sticker on the top of the bottom tube just above the BB junction. This is a sticker that can be removed.
7) 28.6 bottem pull front derailleur is required. 28.6 seatpost clamp. 27.2 seatpost. The seatpost clamp and derailleur is probably something your local shop won't have in stock due to the size. Unless they sell alot of steal road/mtn frames.
8) I have not received my BB or rear derailleur yet so I can't tell if they will thread in without having to be chased but there is no overspray inside my BB so I assume it was taped/blocked off when painting. The hanger though does look like it may need to be chased.
9) My old king hs installed without issue. Headtube wasn't unusally snug or anything but I used a park hs press with the king hs adapters.
also the head tube seems a little long. My 19" frame has a 5 1/2" head tube and it's butted on each end.
If you're looking for a steel hardtail and don't care about a name brand take a look at these
http://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/product_details.php?id=1952&category=452
they are 1/3 the price and are made from True Temper OX Ultra II butted tubes. There has been a few but good reports on the MTBR message boards.
HTH
IRD is a house brand of San Francisco based distributor Merry Sales. These days IRD's specialty is ripping off expensive european things, like Nokon cables and good, lighweight chainrings. They are also doing a few framesets, some in steel and some in alloy. IRD is placed as the high end brand, and Soma as the lowend, like Salsa and SUrly at qbp basically. The Soma stuff i've had pass through has looked ok, equivalent to Surly quality. I like the goemetry numbers on the IRD frames, Classic, they aren't falling into the longers is better TT bs...
thanks stanky_dlx fo all that info, really appreciate it.