Nice frame dirtdigger. Did you anodize those parts by your own?
Katipo Collection.
- Thread starter no skid marks
- Start date
Hey thanks,
the anodising is done by a local company
the anodising is done by a local company
OK so just got back from the Alps.
Amazing bike!!
First off was the hot, dusty and rocky, tree covered mountains of Finale Ligure with the natural flowing and technical singletracks. On with the Minion F’s (2.5 ST rear at 30psi, 2.7 SR front at 28psi). Mint. Bike handled amazingly and I was instantly at home. Perfect handling and geometry, low CoG, BB and standover helped to get the bike leaned over nice and easily. Could really throw it into turns. Felt equally stable in the corners as it did in the flat-out fast stuff.
The suspension did stiffen up slightly under braking but that was expected and really not a problem. It also sqatted nicely which helped with the stable handling and the confident ride feel. Fortunately, Finale is free from braking bumps… Off the brakes and this thing is scary fast! Just steams through anything. Holds a line perfectly and I could easily change line if and when I wanted.
On the first day I had this annoying knocking sound which sounded like something was loose. I checked everything and found nothing, most odd.
Took the whole day to figure out it was the chain on the top chainstay, even through the velcro. I fixed this with a nice slice of moto foam up the middle of an inner tube and zip tied it to the stay – problem fixed – now nice and quiet. 
I also changed the one firm spring in my forks back to the standard one and the bike felt better still. Much more supple front suspension was better for the small bumps and very well matched to the rear…
After a week of falling in love with riding steel and rubber over rocks and dirt all over again in Finale it was off to Pila…
Again, super dry but this time inches thick dust over continuous braking bumps (on the main Pila DH track) was a different experience. I think I was spoiled in Finale. Still, though, the bike sucked it all up and begged for more. Off the brakes and all was well and I was scaring myself silly!! Pila also offered the first opportunity to just bomb down some steep rocky fire roads off the brakes for high speed thrills and thrilling it certainly was. This bike is sick!!
For old time’s sake and to catch up with some other riding mates and to hit the old tracks and find some new stuff, next riding destination was Morzine and the rest of the PDS. Rain. So, off with the Minion F’s and on with the Michelin 16’s. With the rain there I fitted a mud guard of sorts cut from an inner tube to protect the shock and linkage a bit from the roost:
This just stayed on as it was a nice little addition, made no noise and didn’t effect anything badly in the slightest.
I Didn’t really bother with Les Gets due to the beaten state of the tracks but I did session the Pleny good and proper time after time one day to get a good feel for the bike on the really fast and bumpy stuff. Again, mint – bike felt awesome. Not single problem with the bike after a jolly good thrashing, well, except for a shagged, poor quality gear cable outer which screwed with my gear shifting, but other than that I was well happy with how she was riding. In fact the Pleny seemed a whole lot easier and shorter on this bike from what I remembered on previous bikes in previous years and I enjoyed it much more this time. Sweet.
Steep stuff was also nice on this long, low, slacker machine. Really the only thing holding it back was me and my riding ability, or lack of at times. This bike is faster than me that’s for sure! I’m not much of a jumper and feel more comfortable with my wheels on the dirt but when I did get airborne the bike was pretty confidence inspiring – again very stable and did’t feel her bottom out once, even though I was definitely getting full travel.
I wanted to check out Verbier and Crans in Switzerland but lack of DH riding mates and funds for this section of trip meant I didn’t. Next year…!! But I did finish off with a few days in Les Arcs. Wicked place! Would have liked to have seen and ridden more tracks there but what I did was superb.
All in all this bike is f’king sweet!! I love it. For me it’s perfect. It got truly thrashed and came out singing. I’m not the best rider by any means but I’m a big lad and can hammer pretty fast at times. I really get the feeling this bike will just go on and on. All bearings are still tight and smooth, not a single problem with anything other than the cable outer (a very minor point and very easily fixed). Didn’t even get any more dings in my rear wheel the whole time – something to do with the axle path maybe? I think so. Excellent stuff.
I put helicopter tape down the length of the downtube which stopped all but the very worst rock blasts. I’d recommend a small bit of tyre or similar for the really big rocky tracks…
I miss the Alps already and frankly just want to live out there riding this bike!
Amazing bike!!
First off was the hot, dusty and rocky, tree covered mountains of Finale Ligure with the natural flowing and technical singletracks. On with the Minion F’s (2.5 ST rear at 30psi, 2.7 SR front at 28psi). Mint. Bike handled amazingly and I was instantly at home. Perfect handling and geometry, low CoG, BB and standover helped to get the bike leaned over nice and easily. Could really throw it into turns. Felt equally stable in the corners as it did in the flat-out fast stuff.
The suspension did stiffen up slightly under braking but that was expected and really not a problem. It also sqatted nicely which helped with the stable handling and the confident ride feel. Fortunately, Finale is free from braking bumps… Off the brakes and this thing is scary fast! Just steams through anything. Holds a line perfectly and I could easily change line if and when I wanted.
On the first day I had this annoying knocking sound which sounded like something was loose. I checked everything and found nothing, most odd.
Took the whole day to figure out it was the chain on the top chainstay, even through the velcro. I fixed this with a nice slice of moto foam up the middle of an inner tube and zip tied it to the stay – problem fixed – now nice and quiet. I also changed the one firm spring in my forks back to the standard one and the bike felt better still. Much more supple front suspension was better for the small bumps and very well matched to the rear…
After a week of falling in love with riding steel and rubber over rocks and dirt all over again in Finale it was off to Pila…
Again, super dry but this time inches thick dust over continuous braking bumps (on the main Pila DH track) was a different experience. I think I was spoiled in Finale. Still, though, the bike sucked it all up and begged for more. Off the brakes and all was well and I was scaring myself silly!! Pila also offered the first opportunity to just bomb down some steep rocky fire roads off the brakes for high speed thrills and thrilling it certainly was. This bike is sick!!
For old time’s sake and to catch up with some other riding mates and to hit the old tracks and find some new stuff, next riding destination was Morzine and the rest of the PDS. Rain. So, off with the Minion F’s and on with the Michelin 16’s. With the rain there I fitted a mud guard of sorts cut from an inner tube to protect the shock and linkage a bit from the roost:
This just stayed on as it was a nice little addition, made no noise and didn’t effect anything badly in the slightest.
I Didn’t really bother with Les Gets due to the beaten state of the tracks but I did session the Pleny good and proper time after time one day to get a good feel for the bike on the really fast and bumpy stuff. Again, mint – bike felt awesome. Not single problem with the bike after a jolly good thrashing, well, except for a shagged, poor quality gear cable outer which screwed with my gear shifting, but other than that I was well happy with how she was riding. In fact the Pleny seemed a whole lot easier and shorter on this bike from what I remembered on previous bikes in previous years and I enjoyed it much more this time. Sweet.
Steep stuff was also nice on this long, low, slacker machine. Really the only thing holding it back was me and my riding ability, or lack of at times. This bike is faster than me that’s for sure! I’m not much of a jumper and feel more comfortable with my wheels on the dirt but when I did get airborne the bike was pretty confidence inspiring – again very stable and did’t feel her bottom out once, even though I was definitely getting full travel.
I wanted to check out Verbier and Crans in Switzerland but lack of DH riding mates and funds for this section of trip meant I didn’t. Next year…!! But I did finish off with a few days in Les Arcs. Wicked place! Would have liked to have seen and ridden more tracks there but what I did was superb.
All in all this bike is f’king sweet!! I love it. For me it’s perfect. It got truly thrashed and came out singing. I’m not the best rider by any means but I’m a big lad and can hammer pretty fast at times. I really get the feeling this bike will just go on and on. All bearings are still tight and smooth, not a single problem with anything other than the cable outer (a very minor point and very easily fixed). Didn’t even get any more dings in my rear wheel the whole time – something to do with the axle path maybe? I think so. Excellent stuff.
I put helicopter tape down the length of the downtube which stopped all but the very worst rock blasts. I’d recommend a small bit of tyre or similar for the really big rocky tracks…
I miss the Alps already and frankly just want to live out there riding this bike!
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Glad you like the bike mate. Feels better than your Dark? or just different/new? 
Jim, Lee & I are going out next Wednesday, you coming?I miss the Alps already and frankly just want to live out there riding this bike!
Way way better than the Dark. In every way.Glad you like the bike mate. Feels better than your Dark? or just different/new?
Jim, Lee & I are going out next Wednesday, you coming?
Thought you were going to Sweden? How long you going for? Why didn't you come out last week or the one before???
Hi Gridds,
I'm well pleased to hear that evey thing went sweet, I did add some loctite in key areas to make sure there was minimal issues on your trip.
I can also relate to the bike wanting to go faster than I'm willing to go at times, scary fast!
Thanks for the great ride report!
I'm well pleased to hear that evey thing went sweet, I did add some loctite in key areas to make sure there was minimal issues on your trip.
I can also relate to the bike wanting to go faster than I'm willing to go at times, scary fast!
Thanks for the great ride report!
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I didn't decide that I wanted to go until about a week ago, and couldn't get anyone interested in an IMMEDIATE trip, or I would have been there. Sorry mate, certainly didn't pan out this way intentionally
Gridds - Thanks for the great ride/test report.
dirtdigger - I am going to be moving to Wellington for January/February and I am considering having one of your rockets waiting for me on Kiwi soil. What kind of lead time would you need to get one done? The latest one you posted up looked great.
dirtdigger - I am going to be moving to Wellington for January/February and I am considering having one of your rockets waiting for me on Kiwi soil. What kind of lead time would you need to get one done? The latest one you posted up looked great.
Hey Gridds,
Nice write up. The bike looks great and I would love to get a ride in on one of those some day. Did you ride Morgins when you were in the PDS?
Nice write up. The bike looks great and I would love to get a ride in on one of those some day. Did you ride Morgins when you were in the PDS?
Sadly not. The guys I was camping with went one day but I needed to spend the day with my missus that day so I missed out
. I heard it was good.Hi Leroy,
good to hear you liked the last one, next one is pretty much done and made a good start on the next one,
working on doing one a month, maybe more.
I'm more than happy to have a frame here for you, I'm super busy right now building these but I'll keep you in mind, just give us a heads up a month or so before you come down.
Scott
Um, WTF has this got to do with anything?
Kakapo ≠ Katipo.
A Kakapo is a parrot.
A Katipo is a deadly spider.
What is your point?
My Katipo is now for sale(no time for DH).
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300372153815#ht_500wt_1182
Comes with deferent Geo links.
).http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300372153815#ht_500wt_1182
Comes with deferent Geo links.
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2 Questions:
1. What is the total growth in chainstay length from static to fully compressed?
2. Is 16.75" the shortest the chainstays can be? If no, how short?
Thank you
.
1. What is the total growth in chainstay length from static to fully compressed?
2. Is 16.75" the shortest the chainstays can be? If no, how short?
Thank you
.
Bump because these are still rad.
Could anybody take a shot of the bike from the back, showing the chainline to the front ring? Basically I'm wondering if these can be run without the idler.
#2, are there ISCG tabs?
Could anybody take a shot of the bike from the back, showing the chainline to the front ring? Basically I'm wondering if these can be run without the idler.
#2, are there ISCG tabs?
ISCG Tabs - yes
Here, four pages of detailed photos, enjoy
http://katipobikes.pinkbike.com/album/Katipo-bikes/
It needs the idler, why would you not want one?
There are ISCG tabs, old type, they're rotated so the chain guide lines up with the chain line from the idler.
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Here are a few more for the collection, these ones are in the UK.
I want one!!!!!
Whats the chain growth and rearward...
(No it wont replace the jedi)
Whats the chain growth and rearward...
(No it wont replace the jedi)
Um well with the idler chain growth is negligible. Yeah it's rearward axle path, but exactly how much in mm/inches, I don't know for sure. Enough.
Yeah I figured it was rearward with the idler and the design of the lower link with the front pivot but to what extent.. Idlers height and tooth count will dictate what they work best at they can be dialed to be most effective with a front chainring size. Banshee is dialed around a 44 tooth if I remember correct and the jedi is dialed around a 36 or 38 tooth if memory serves.
Still dig the bike and the manufacturing (steel)...
I've seen both of those...just need something a little more...in between the two. Basically the first one plus about 6" vertically, just to see if the chain can line up between the ring and cog.
It needs the idler, why would you not want one?
There are ISCG tabs, old type, they're rotated so the chain guide lines up with the chain line from the idler.
I've always wanted to experiment with a bike that has long chain growth to see if there are certain advantages to pedal feedback. It sounds counter intuitive, but I can explain my theory if you care.
Pulley size and location play a role as well as the front chainring in the feedback and effectiveness to keep it from interfering with the suspension and pedaling...
D If memory serves)
absolutely....but mfr's have been trying so hard to elimnate it forever, and I can't help but wonder if you can use it to your advantage in certain instances. It's the kind of thing where 90% of the time I'd be on the idler, but 10% I'd want to try it out.Pulley size and location play a role as well as the front chainring in the feedback and effectiveness to keep it from interfering with the suspension and pedaling...
Sandwich - I don't have a camera right now but I'll try to get a better pic of the chainline from cassette to chainring when I do. Still don't think you'd benefit from not having the idler though, would feel ****e.
bullcrew, are you looking for how much the distance between the BB and the rear axle changes form beginning to end of travel? - I'll go and have a play and measure it, if you like?
bullcrew, are you looking for how much the distance between the BB and the rear axle changes form beginning to end of travel? - I'll go and have a play and measure it, if you like?
Several bikes with old Fox RC on???
Some fun pimped out bikes.
Some fun pimped out bikes.
Ok I just took the shock out of my frame and the BB-Axle measurement goes from 16.75" static to 19.5" at full (8.5") travel.
I believe those ones have been Pushed and understand they work very well.
Oh yeah and I also had a look at the chainline from the chainring to the cassette. Basically there is no line of sight from the top of the chainring to the top of the sprockets so it will not be possible to run it without the idler. The stay gets in the way. So that puts an end to your idea Sandwich I'm afraid. It needs the idler.
Try an Orange 222, relatively high pvot, no idler.
i like pedal feedback. it keeps your chain tighter and its like getting speed boosted when you feel the suspension "pulling" your pedals forward.
i'm surprised no one as mentioned the sunn radical in this thread, the packaging of everything reminds me a lot of one of those.
very cool to see it in cromoly. i like steel much better for longevitys sake.
Or the GT RTS, etc
Frame - Katipo
Rear shock - Avalanche Woodie
Front shock/fork - 2010 Boxxer team with Avalanche cartridge.
Handlebars - Undecided Reverse flat bar or Dirty 30s depending on height.
Stem - PO1NT dirrect mount or CHUNKED stem/crown combo, still undecided(height dependant).
Headset - Not sure yet.
Grips - EZI foamies.
Saddle - SDG Belair I-Beam.
Seatpost - SDG I-Beam.
Front brake - Either my old Avid Elixers with Code fron caliper, or new Formulas.
Rear brake - Elixer or Formula.
Cranks - XT 170mm
Chainguide - Mozart
Chain - 8Speed sumfin.
Pedals - PO1NT
Rear derailleur - Old XO shorty.
Rear shifter - X7 8speed.
Cassette - Custom gear mixed 8 speed.
Front hub - TUNE
Rear hub - I9 120+clickity clicks.
Front rim - Old silver 823
Rear rim - Black 823
Spokes - Rear old school TI DTs, Front, can't recall brand, but I think they're the lightest, will see how they go.
Nipples - DT ally.
Tyres - 2.5 Maxxis UST
Total weight - we'll see.
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Nice! First one I've seen with a floater. What geo did you go for? How will the floater effect braking, did you specify how you wanted it to feel?
Yeah floater may well come off. It should have a bit of squat I'd say. I'll try with and without, see how much difference there is. I had the Ti floater from an old Brooklyn, so figured I'd give it anoher shot.
64 head I think, and 14bb, 22" top tube, short stays.
64 head I think, and 14bb, 22" top tube, short stays.
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Is that 150mm without the floater and 135 with the floater?
Sick bike... Cant wait to see it built and RR... PICS
Yeah, 150, 135mm hub 15mm BMW floater.
Will be a couple of weeks yet, I still don't have the frame, and I'm off on a road trip for 2 weeks with just my 6"trail bike.
love the raw. are these built to custom numbers? what's the current sell price?