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Wanting to turn a DJ bike into a more trail friendly ride

aaronrocker

Monkey
Aug 7, 2008
477
0
Washington State
So what i have is a Black Market riot with an argyle fork, rear brake only (avid Juicy 5) single speed. Looking to add a front brake, rear derailer, probably something like 36 front 10 sd rear. the trials around me seem to be singletrack with some uphill sections then some quick downhill with some technical parts involved. getting to old to be dirt jumping and breaking bones. opinions welcome please!
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,573
24,190
media blackout
the geometry and sizing of that frame (and modern dj frames in general) isn't very well suited for trail riding unfortunately. even with a super long seat post to get the saddle to a reasonable height, its gonna push the seat way far back and will increase the reach (TT) distance. not to mention the front end will stay pretty low so you'll wind up hunched over (which is pretty uncomfortable).
 

eaterofdog

ass grabber
Sep 8, 2006
8,189
1,431
Central Florida
How are you going to add a rear derailleur to a bike with horizontal dropouts and no derailleur hanger?

For the money it would cost, you could just buy a nice used bike off craigslist and not end up with a frankenbike that you can't get rid of.
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
Last time I checked, BlackMarket had a der hanger suited for their DJ frames for sale on their webstore. Now, as JonKranked stated, the geo would be terrible, especially if you are a tall guy. I'm 6 ft tall and I've pedaled a BM Malice a friend had as a trail bike (single-speed setup) with a Macneil pivotal 400mm post, a 70mm 10° rise stem and wide bars, and the bike was damn too nervous, due to its steep head angle. It gained speed fast tho, due to its short chainstays...