mdesanc13

i would like to see drop bars on a 29er with super fat tires, that would be insane.
granted, i havent looked through all 83 pages of this thread, that will take me a while

screaminDOHC

UPDATE!!

Well it's been a while since I've updated this post...


I gave up messing with the SRAM/Shimano interchangability issue, and just got a cheap XT RD.


Parts list:


mid 90's Raleigh M30 Steel Frame/Fork
Tiagra 9 speed shifters
105 Octalink Hollowtech Crankset (with 48T big ring)
9 Speed XT RD
WTB Dual Duty Front Wheel
Sun Ringle Rear Wheel
9 speed Cassette


This should prove to work well for baby hauling duties, and gravel grinder.


Total investment including the frame, about $200.

anixi

They're not vintage, but, you can get a brand new Salsa Fargo 29er set up that way from the manufacturer. It's a very light all-arounder with 2.4 inch tires, like having suspension built in without the inherent issues.

cyclotoine

The Fargo is a jack of all trades though.

Singular cycles basically specializes in this category. And makes a real competition oriented frame. I think the Gryphon is there drop bar XC racing 29er.

https://www.singularcycles.com/

Gryphon


The Peregrine is more of a monster crosser and goes up to a 2.0 tire


THe swift is a MTB bar 29er

LesterOfPuppets

Quite a few people go for relatively high and close bars but it's definitely not a requirement.

This was how Tomac was rollin' in 1990, fair amount of reach and drop.

LesterOfPuppets

That got me looking at some olde pro setups and I totally tripped out on this crankset.

Ultegra with 53/56T, the 53T on the outside!

anixi

The Gryphon at 7.5 lbs frame/fork is a little heavy for racing though. BTW, it's nearly identical in weight to the Fargo, which more people own as well as reviews out there. There is a Fargo2 coming out, the frame weight is TBD. The Fargo Ti is the hot set-up any way you look at it. Pricey though...

JJPistols

Here's my old one.

hairnet

But I'm no pro. It was an issue on my last ride that featured a steep descent with fairly loose dirt. I felt too low and forward which made it difficult to control while I set my weight back and tried not to die I'm going to also lower my hoods so I don't have to have hands really in the hooks to reach the levers. That may help a bit.

gomango

[QUOTE=cyclotoine;15777610]The Fargo is a jack of all trades though.

...and a very good one at that.

Love mine.

Maybe my favorite bicycle this summer.

Fwiw Six riders completed the Almanzo 100 on Fargos.

I did 81 of the 100 on mine before succumbing to "fly fishing itis."

Singular makes neat bicycles as well.

I would love a Peregrine, but my next 29er will come from Firefly.

neo_pop_71

Hey Hairnet, I too did my reading up on drop bar set up, but when it came time to setting up my first dirt drop bike I looked at how Grant Petersen set up the 1987 MB-1 and I built mine around the same principles. I did do some experimenting with different bars, levers, and stem... a wide bar with shallow drops... non-aero levers as I couldn't stand the feeling of the housing digging into my hands when climbing... and an ultra tall stem with a short reach. I should mention that I keep the brake levers low on the curve since I descend in the drops (two finger braking in the drops) and climb with my hands on the top of the curves (and rarely on the bar top flats) for maximum torque. That's what has worked well for me. My road bike is set up completely opposite, on my MB-1 my hands are behind the front axle but my old Schwinn 974 race bike my hands are in front of the axle. The Dura Ace 8 speed shifters are positioned fairly high on the ergo bar too, any lower and it gets uncomfortable quickly. Oh yeah, I'm also running a 140 stem with a mild drop as compared to many classic road stem.



Regarding the dirt drop set up, specifically stem height and stem length, that's my motivation for doing the build with my '90 Nishiki Ariel... I wanted to see if the dirt drop set up could be duplicated with a 1 1/8th threadless set up, a long steer tube, and a short stem. Once I mocked up the front on the Nishiki, I measured and the front ends on the MB-1 and Ariel are very similar. I had to consider the chainstay lengths too, the virtual chainstays on the Ariel are close to those on the MB-1, so we'll see how double butted Tange 4130 does against the Ritchey Logic tubing.

Those short chainstays versus the "slack" geometry you described will make a huge difference in handling and performance. It sounds like the frame geometry on your beautiful Panasonic might be an issue for how far you want to push the bike. If you are in the LaBrea/Pico area, there is a 1986 MB-1 frame for $25.00, the paint is wasted but for that price you could fully customize the bike. Here is the link, it's older but the last time I email the guy he still had the frame, I just didn't want to drive up and get it since I have four frames hanging in the garage waiting for builds. I have nothing to do with the seller, just figure I'll pass along a great deal, here is thew link:

https://losangeles.bidbut.com/a,28,28...s-Angeles-.htm



Let me know if there is anything specific about any of the set ups, I'll be glad to help.

Peace,

-D-

p.s. Didn't my 8 year old angel do a great job painting the Ariel frame, we agreed on classic Yeti colors (I wanted more turquoise than yellow, just like John Parker's road bike), she like frantik's black webbing paint on his tandem... I think she nailed!!! I'm quite stoked that I'll be riding one of her creations as she picked out all the parts on the Ariel dirt drop, one proud dad for sure!

LesterOfPuppets

Yes, the paint looks great!

hairnet

Thanks, Neo_Pop. I emailed that guy and them my friend, who has been around dirt drop MTBs for a long time, discouraged me from picking it up.

taJai

Sick bikes, I love this thread!

I'm really trying to get my build going but I think the frame I was intending to use might be too big. Seat tube is 20" (Center to Top: "Top" is where top tube meets the seat tube, not the actual top of the seat tube), and the top tube is close to 22.5". I'm 5'11" with a ~32" inseam but I have longish arms and a long torso. I mocked it up and the fit seems close the the set up on my modern road bike (56cm) with a "race" fit. I'm just using some ergo drops I had lying around and I'm not taking this on any smooth single track or gravel roads (we don't really have them around here). I may have mentioned this earlier in the thread, but my intentions are to create a commuter/path bomber/all around bike and to learn the ins and outs of building up a bike from random parts. As such, I was hoping for a more upright seating position than my road bike. I have a threadless adapter on there that won't allow me to raise it much of all, and I have a pretty tall (I forget the raise) stem but even if I could get the bars higher, I'd still be dealing with the long reach.

Should I try to get a smaller frame to work with? There's an 18" Karakoram for sale locally I was thinking about scooping up but I wonder if that would be too small. Clearly I don't know much about fit or even what makes me comfortable. I'm not sure what my ideal mountain bike size is either. I have what I think is a 17" that was given to me that I think might be a bit small.

Sorry I'm babbling. I'm just having some problems and don't know what I'm doing!

wintermute

I wonder if you can have the best of both worlds by purchasing Tektro/Origin 8 short reach levers...of course, if the housings on aero levers are bothering you, then this isn't an option.

simpleton.

For me It was all a matter of trial and error. Follow through with your original plan you might be surprised. I just set up my Niner MCR9 with Drop bars and thought there is no way it's going to fit me. But was pleasntly surprised that it not only fit but felt great! Coming from an MTB background setting up dropbars was sort of like black magic but now that I've done it a few times I'm really able to decide what I like and what I don't. One thing I've realized is that the hoods are not my defult position it's the ramps. but the hoods are great for when I'm climbing out of the saddle or if I want to strech out. Just little things like that. And now I'm babbling.

gomango

Your Niner sounds very cool.

Any chance you could post a pic?

taJai

Babble Tuesday. Yeah maybe I'll just continue on and finish it up. I have most of the parts that I need save for some cables and other small bits. If it doesn't work with the drops I could maybe set it up with some porteur style bars. I just got some VO Porteurs for a conversion on my main squeeze's bike and I dig the look of them. Maybe some swept back bars could shorten the reach and I could find another frame for the drops and hoods. I'll post it up when I'm finished.

Yes, post pics of said Niner!

simpleton.

Pictures of my Niner? I'd love to but, this is the C&V forum... I don't want to catch any flack First things first. I still need to take a few pictures.. I'll post em up tonight.

neo_pop_71

Hairnet, did your buddy give a reason for passing on the MB-1 frame?

https://sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/...tone-mb-1.html



I suppose I could see why if we lived where mud might clog the chainstay brake. Could it be the lack of a fork? Otherwise, I fail to see what's not to like about a lugged double butted oversized CrMo frame with short chainstays and a cool roller cam brake... seems tasty to me!

If the seller gets back to you, go get it, it's cheaper than a meal out at House Of Pies! It'll make a fine dirt drop bike, go with a modern style build and get a new 1" threadless set up. Want another reason? You could always build a road bike, follow the link and check the "NOTES" portion of the catalog, Grant Petersen designed the frame to take a 700c wheel and a road brake caliper can be mounted on the seatstay bridge support. I'll say it again... seems tasty to me!!!

-D-

hairnet

Well it looks a little small and he is confident he can find me something more modern/sporty. He is one of those C&V collectors with a knack for finding amazing bikes for very little, he has been around cycling for 30+ years and doing it on the cheap. I'm in no hurry and he might let me borrow his Ti Merlin for a little while.

neo_pop_71

Wow, cool... he sounds like me! I rode in my first BMX race over in Long Beach back in '77, 35 years later my love of riding and building hasn't dipped. Heck, it's only gotten stronger since pee-wee has jumped in the boat and she is probably better than me already!!! Good luck hunting as it's half the fun!

Cheers!

-D-

p.s. ...he might let me borrow his Ti Merlin for a little while. Man, I need a friend like that!!!

simpleton.

Welp... Here you go



Aesthetically I don't care for it, but it rides so nice.

Sixty Fiver

There should be no surprise that I think this is badass.

shoota 

Explain to me what's going on with that seatpost.