I have a way of entering a room.
thanks. I'm having a blast. in between (while?) trying to pull off the impossible
whatever happened to...
- Thread starter jonKranked
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thanks. I'm having a blast. in between (while?) trying to pull off the impossible
Wow. Thanks so much for posting that. !0 year old bike. Still giving 'er hell. Tell the owner I said "hi" and I'm honored that they're still rockin it.
I cannot lie, that bike is so ugly, I can't really love it. it really is the bastard love child of my suspension and the existing coiler. I was really happy when they agreed to let me change the rocker from the traditional Kona beam.
And the geo....I surveyed all the existing bikes and it was so all over the place. Everyone was "afraid" of something. BB height, TT length (we got slammed in one mag for too long)
In reality, that time was one of the best of my life. We were sort of re-inventing suspension. Or at least trying. Not only was I licensing my design, but I was getting to design the bikes. Coming out of race car designing, this is a whole other universe. And playground.
I do consider Kona as one of the grandfathers of the modern enduro/trail bike. The original coiler (which I still have one of), a burly, 6" travel "slacker" geo bike. A little heavier who cares. But the desire to make that sponge climb better was part of the imputes of the Magic Link.
If I hadn't done the time with Kona, there's no way I could've pulled off getting the Tantrums made on my own. And I'm still looking down a double barrel shotgun to pull off the next batch. But i'll do it.
Ya, thanks for posting that pic. Mind if I re-post it? Photo credit?
If they are done, this will actually be their downfall. They were working on a carbon full suspension bike, the first mini test batch came back out of tolerance. They probably ran out of time or resources to correct it in 2018. Hopefully they'll come out ok and not tank.
Perhaps, although its useful to point out that Guerrilla Gravity is offering an all-alloy line up (and always has) and it seems like they've been steadily growing ever since their inception. And this is the case despite @mtg being a Broncos fan *and* a proud fanny pack supporter.
Of course its possible that they're working on a secret crab0n prototype as I type this to save them from inevitable financial calamity, but somehow I think they'll do just fine one way or the other. In my admittedly uninformed opinion, I think GG also benefits greatly from not only making fantastic bikes and creating a legit grassroots following, but also being a well run, deft business operation. I wonder if Canfield's apparent demise is more related to the challenges of being a small company (with limited capital) getting everything made overseas and not being nimble enough to make quick changes to production as the market changes. Again, just lay speculation on my part, and for the record, I do hope they aren't gone for good, as they seemed to have offered a lot of good bikes which were nice alternatives to the typical big brands.
I just spoke to Juan, he'd feel honored if you re-post his picture with his Coilair. Photo credit to Juan, from Argentina, on top of the Cerro Negro divide.
Fun fact: in that picture you can see Salta City, almost 60 miles away from where we were at the time.
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Morewood? They came out of nowhere and everyone was on them when white was the cool color. What year was that, 2007?
Havent seen or heard of them since 2010'ish?
Havent seen or heard of them since 2010'ish?
I think one thing GG is doing right is direct engagement with customers and a big social media presence.
I agree, GG has the right thing going on. The bikes they make are lighter than Canfield. I personally think Aluminum can still be an option if careful planning of tubing is use. And the company doesn't have to spend so much on molds and lay up. You can even out sorce and change things when welding is the way it manufactured. It may be a Nitch now but I fall in the category of people who like metal bikes. If the Brothers fail, or no longer make what i want, GG is on my list. The bikes are a tad long for me but I'll pay extra for a little custom work and still be under a carbon frame price.
The lizzurds got him boys!
The difference in weight is minimal and I've had aluminum and steel frames last 7 years (aluminum) and 15 years (steel). I have a carbon Spartan built with strength in mind, but it's still 32lbs. The aluminum one isn't even a pound heavier (iirc).
Haha! Keep reading. I like metal bikes, and know they can be made light enough. But if you think the lizards got me. Then the plan is working. Im just try to live on the DL.
Canfield doesn't need to make a huge square downtube on their trail bike, but still limit it to a 140 fork. The GG Smash is almost a lb lighter. And can take a 160mm.
The curse and gift of carbon - more and more frames are carbon only, however the prices on aluminum frames has come down.
I love me some aluminum.
Also, I don’t think I miss any of the products from the brands in this thread. There has been so much duplication, bad ideas and unnecessary cluttering of the market in the past.
Bikes are so fuckin sorted, fast and capable nowadays! I like the future we are living in.
Also, I don’t think I miss any of the products from the brands in this thread. There has been so much duplication, bad ideas and unnecessary cluttering of the market in the past.
Bikes are so fuckin sorted, fast and capable nowadays! I like the future we are living in.
And to that I ask "why"? Did aluminum all of a sudden go on sale? Trumps tarrifs didn't affect frames? Or were the lizards seeing how much we'd pay--charging well more than they were worth?
That wasn't meant to be a dig at him, simply an observation. Always been a fan of his bikes, ever since the days the missile was on one.
Not so much me. Some of the earlier stuff had some incredibly bad engineering. Sure, some was stiff, but also used a tiny diameter 5" long bolt that went through the scissor link and shock. The end result was constant bolt-bending because he designed a huge lever-arm with that long bolt. Then the Curnut shocks that were a catastrophe for several reasons (magnify all the sources of drag, yay!). Later stuff got back on track when he started using linkages to provide progression/adjust the rate and recent stuff looks good, with decent kinematics and designed around "normal" shocks. Maybe some of the bikes were good in that same time-period, but I'm not convinced they all got the love they needed in the design phase. Was really one of the worst-riding bikes I've owned unfortunately.
You had to ride the curnut to really appreciate how crappy it was compared to normal stuff.
Nah even mid-to-late 2000s. When was the 2:1 ratio Foes a thing? That was horrible, mainly due to that Curnett shock.
I still wanted either a Weasel or a Mono Fab back when they were the biggest travel bikes on the block.
The 99 DHS Mono was my first DH bike, bought used in 01. After numerous bent 6 mm shock bolts I simply took out the 8 mm drill, some 8 mm shock hardware and all was fine.
The weld between HT and DT needed some refreshment after a 20 m Schladming finish jump stupidity.
Otherwise it is still fine, all bearings turning relatively smoothly and no further troubles. Parked at my parents house for nostalgic reasons.
The weld between HT and DT needed some refreshment after a 20 m Schladming finish jump stupidity.
Otherwise it is still fine, all bearings turning relatively smoothly and no further troubles. Parked at my parents house for nostalgic reasons.
I saw a Hanebrink LT-8 in a bike shop yesterday, a previous owner had also manufactured their own hubs similar to Hope Big Uns but nicer looking.
I know Hanebrink are still going but when they stopped making MTB forks Maverick took over making flexy noodle forks, did anyone ever ride one of their strut type frames?
Risse are still going and like Hanebrink they do e-Bike nastiness and these sweet iPod mounts.
I know Hanebrink are still going but when they stopped making MTB forks Maverick took over making flexy noodle forks, did anyone ever ride one of their strut type frames?
Risse are still going and like Hanebrink they do e-Bike nastiness and these sweet iPod mounts.
I keep reading "bent shock bolts" and thought of Karpiel! Weren't they supposed to come back in like 2005 or something I never saw or heard of their return.
That would be sweet, but no. District of Columbia.
I hope Transition paid a license fee for that prior art of Tubes Inside Tubes!
2 of my best buds have super co frames sitting in their garage, love those things, so clean.
That was a crazy situation. The owner and designer of Morewood bikes got shit out of his own company by a business partner who shadily stole his company from him, last name and all. We originally rode Morewood because we really liked the Beytaugh family that ran Morewood USA. But to this day, my Izimu was one of the best DH bikes I ever owned and was a blast to ride.
Titec is long gone. What happened to Syncros ?
I was going to touch on the aluminum/carbon debate. Suffice it to say GG and others prove that it is still viable, as is my intention.
If anything, carbon is what led to troubles for Canfield, Niner and others. It's just not quite the make and EZ bake oven everyone wants.
Prices on aluminum frames went down and willingness of factories to work with small guys like me went up with the shift to carbon. Especially as a larger percentage of carbon is made in china where it can be used to create fake islands.....oops.
I'm slightly concerned that the tariffs, while good for the tawain bicycle industry, as a lot of biz is shifting back, might make my bikes drop down the priority list a bit. We'll see in a few weeks.