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Yakuza Bakuto

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
One of my friends wants to get into mountain biking. I suggested this iron horse; its $600 at supergo and everything about it is good. Except the fork. He is going to replace that with a marzocchi dirt jumper or z1 from ebay w/ 5". What is the headtube length of this frame?

Is this the only weak point of this bike?
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
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Transylvania 90210
yup, the fork is the only weak spot. i don't even think it is that weak. i have been doing some looking around, and structural strength only appears to be a problem if you are a big DJ/Huck kinda guy. the fork feels pretty damn good. if he is just getting into biking, tell him to get the frame. i just got one and i love it. as for the fork, the splice feels nicer than the Marzo DJ I had.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,126
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sorry, i rushed through that last post faster than i wanted to. what i meant to say was "tell him to just get the bike" not "the frame."

the build kit is great. i dig the mech brakes. the sidewalls on the tires are a bit thin (i already sliced mine), but the grip well. not sure about the hub quality on the wheelset, but it feels fine for now. time will show the durability. bullit21 rode it once and loved it. he ended up getting the waka gashira (sp?).

hold off on replacing the fork. let him give it a few rides. if he is just getting started, the splice should be good enough. it looks thin and little because of the 1.5 HT. if he "must" upgrade the fork, pass on the Marz DJ forks, unless he is only gonna DJ it. i hate the way those forks feel on the trail. i ran one for a few years. it was ok. however, i would take the splice over it for almost any application other than DJ/Huck.

the bike does not come with a chain guide, but that has not been a problem for me. i have yet to drop a chain with it (ok, i did once).

i have had the bike for a few weeks now and it is one of my favorite bikes i have ever owned. IH did a great job on it.

by the way, depending on what size your bud needs, check go-ride.com. they have them too, but only in the small size. the prices are about the same. if it is going to be a mail order purchase, consider the "no sales tax" for purchasing outta state (if your bud lives in CA). comparing shipping to sales tax, it might be worth ordering from go-ride.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
I'm 5'3 and he is about that too. Should he get a 13" or 15"? He bmx's a little and does a lot more mx. A 15" might be better. He is going to do everything on it. DJ, light FR, urban... I'm going to take him up tunnel...hahah.
 

Bullit21

Monkey
May 14, 2003
198
0
Socal
Mandown and I have been rocking these bikes for a little while and I think they are the hidden gems of the hardtail world. The Yakuza even tracks better in the rough stuff than my Bullit. I agree that your buddy should stick with the splice at first and see how he likes it. At his size, it should be more than enough fork. As far as the 13 vs 15 sizing, that is a tough call. Can you guys get down to the Ventura Supergo to check out the sizing? Call ahead to make sure they have both sizes and get your folks to take you down.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,126
7,674
Transylvania 90210
my suggestion for size depends on his age. if he is young enough that he may hit a growth spurt soon think about going bigger on the bike so it will be around for a few years (i am assuming that he is young based on his height, no offense meant if you two are both fully grown). the best bet is to try it in person if you can. i am 6'1" and most would probably say that i should ride the 19" bakuto. i went with the 17" because i like smaller bikes. Bullit is a bit shorter than me, but he likes bigger bikes so he went for the 17" as well.

the 13" is going to be a good size for DJ and urban at any height. the problem will be on the FR/Trail side of things. the smaller size will not feel as stable at speed, and it also limits how high you can raise the seatpost for pedaling. of course, as cheap as the bikes are, i might say get the one that feels right now. if he outgrows it, then he can sell the frame and buy a bigger one. the parts on the bike should last a while.

at 5'3" i guess he does not weigh much, so i would think the splice should hold up to most abuse he can put the bike through. again, if he is hitting big DJs an hucks, mabye reconsider the fork. but it should work just fine for him for all other applications.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
He's about 15/16. He will hit jumps on it. Not sure about drops, but after a while he will probably be dropping. I ride a 16" hardtail fine (people say its big for me, but its nice on freeride trails). So maybe a 15 would be good. Im going to take him to tunnel and stuff
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
I was gonna talk my brother into getting one after going to Supergo and checking them out. For the $$$, I don't think anything out there comes close to it part wise and build wise. Some of the parts may not be the "top" of the bunch, but they will allow a novice to not be too worried about trying something new. Plus it gives lots of room to upgrade parts as needed.

I say go for it. For the price you can't really go wrong, and depending on what sales/coupons floating around you can get pretty decent deals on them as well!
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
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yeah, i wish i would have waited for the "no sales tax" sale they had. at $619 sale price, that is $50 in taxes i could have saved. bummer.
 

Bullit21

Monkey
May 14, 2003
198
0
Socal
mandown said:
yeah, i wish i would have waited for the "no sales tax" sale they had. at $619 sale price, that is $50 in taxes i could have saved. bummer.

Look on the bright side. If you hadn't gotten me hooked on this frame, I wouldn't have saved the money on the sales tax when I bought mine.:D
 

Spunger

Git yer dumb questions here
Feb 19, 2003
2,257
0
805
I've seen no sales tax or no shipping. I think the one I was thinking of was sales tax. But it was a internet only thing, so you either pay tax or shipping. Either way it was a good deal, was low $600's I think?

Pay attention when the 2006 stuff hits superho because after that, their prices usually tank on the 2005 stuff to get rid of it. I've seen deals that I wish I had the extra $$$ around because they could not be beat anywhere.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
It might be a good idea to just sell the splice and get a $100 zocchi DJ or z1 used. He is not new to biking, so once he gets the feel of a different bike, I seem him going somewhat big. How durable is the splice? How long is the Head Tube?

I think he should go with a 15". He dirtbikes, so it shouldn't feel big. I am going to take him to the trails alot. He is saving up, so maybe by the time the '06 stuff cmes out, he will be able to get it cheap.
 

mandown

Poopdeck Repost
Jun 1, 2004
20,126
7,674
Transylvania 90210
i don't think the 05 stuff is going to get much cheaper. SuperNo has already dropped their prices pretty far. i am guessing this is their clearance price. but i could be wrong.

if you are worried about the durability of the splice, then don't even think about it. sell it. get a stronger fork. however, think about how much the used fork will cost. it might be worth it to look at the next level up (the waka that bullit21 got). for an extra $300 you get a burly fork. bullit loves his. you also get some extra bling on the components.

sorry man, i forgot to measure the HT. email or call iron horse. email or call SuperNo. mabye they can check the numbers for ya.

good luck.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
Whatever. $600 is still cheap!

I think a z1 would be good. I have seen some steals on used ones? WOuld a 9" steerer be long enough. I think it most likely would.