Sully151

So, I received some cash for Christmas that is earmarked for either a fixed gear bike or an open back banjo. Since I'm not sure how well you know banjos (maybe you do, I shouldn't assume) I'm going ask about bikes.

I'm looking to buy a frame and build out the bike with parts of my choosing. It will be used as a training bike when I'm not on my mountain bike and to ride around with my kid on weekends.

I have looked at the Steamroller and the Wabi, but wanted to know if I was missing a good frame due to my lack of knowledge. I don't want to buy a junk bike, waste my money and be disappointed I'm my decision.

I live in the suburbs, have some MUP trails to ride on and live in a pretty hilly area (I live at the top of a 2 mile climb) so I'm not a total weight weenie, but don't want a brick either. I rode road bikes for years and am trying to find the fun in it again.

So aside from Surly and Wabi, is there another frame I should look at?

seau grateau

All-City Big Block and Soma Rush maybe? I don't think they really offer anything the Surly and Wabi don't, but they're other options in the same class.

skidder

Aren't all banjos 'open-backed'? I've never seen one with a 'closed' back.

What the heck, how about some banjo music?

JeremyLC

Maybe a Deering banjo? Decent quality, U.S. made and I got one for Christmas this year.

What kind of frame are you looking for? What's your budget? You've only listed basic steel frames here, so on that assumption...


Perhaps Colossi, EAI, any of the rebranded Maxways (e.g. Bikes Direct, e.g. #KiloTT), Cinelli Gazzetta, probably several other steel SSFG frames, too. These are all at different points on the price-quality scale.

Sully151

Both of the banjos in the videos have resonators on the back that make them louder and give them that Bluegrass sound. An open back banjo doesn't have the resonator and is a little more mellow sounding.

https://www.elderly.com/media/catalog...tor_back_1.jpg

Sully151

I'm not set on steel, I am open to aluminum too. I really want a bike that is fun to ride anywhere from 10-45 miles. By the end of the month, I will have about $1400 to spend at will.

I have looked at Deering Banjos. They are certainly on my short list along with Pisgah and Vega (made by Deering)

franswa

Cinelli Mash Work





And of course there is the Soma Rush. I've enjoyed mine immensely.

prooftheory

Do you frail/play Old Time? The two go-to recent OT banjos are Bart Reiter and Enoch Tradesman. I like the sound of Enochs better but there is a rumor that Bart Reiter is going to retire, so they may become more valuable in a few years? How much money are you wanting to spend? Vintage open-backs are usually a good deal compared to the bluegrass world. It is worth poking around on Banjohangout.com to see if anything strikes your fancy. Somebody already posted Elderly. You should also look at Bernunzio's and Bob Smakula's websites.

Scottybigs 

The Wabi classic has decent tire clearance (up to 35c without fenders I think). They've even recently started marketing it to singlespeed cross racers.

If you're doing any riding on crusher dust/gravel trails with your kid, keep tire clearance in mind when choosing your frame.

Sully151

Yeah, clawhammer is where it's at! I'm a guitar player and want to start playing clawhammer banjo. The wise thing to do would be to buy a Deering Artisian and make sure I like it, but I have looked at the Enoch, Reiter, and Pisgah Possum.

Sully151

That's one of the reasons I was looking at the Steamroller.

veganbikes

I know more about guitars but enjoy Banjos and do have a cheap-o tenor banjo because I really love Barney McKenna but never really played it enough to get any good. Ah well.

However on bikes I would put another good word for the Cinelli Mash Work. I built mine up as a fixed gear rando/cross bike with a Shutter Precision Dynamo/Supernova light set up and a nice Nitto M12 rack and I love it. It is a fun bike with a lot of possibilities. Mine is currently running 31mm tires (rounding up) but I could go wider and might at some point.

prooftheory

It is probably worth it to get a cheap one, especially if you fingerpick right now. it is really hard to go from guitar or Scruggs style fingerpicking to clawhammer and the couple people I know who've tried it got frustrated and gave up. It's almost like learning a new instrument but one you feel like you should already know how to play.

Scottybigs 

Yep--but note the differences between the frames. The Steamroller only has rear eyelets while the Wabi has front+rear. More importantly, the Wabi frame and fork are lighter--Reynolds 725 is a great heat treated chromoly tube set. Surly uses a standard cold drawn chromoly, so the wall thickness is a tad thicker.

50voltphantom

I'll jump in and say that if you run centerpull brakes and put the rear wheel at the back of the dropout, you can ride mud with no issues on 33mm tires on a Steamroller.

50voltphantom

Also, only having one bottle cage mount sucks on longer rides, but not a dealbreaker.

MattoftheRocks

What centerpulls can you put on a steamroller?

Gold Tone makes some pretty sweet instruments. I used to sell their banjos, mandos, parlors, and weissenborns alongside Fender, Ibanez, Loar, and Gibson and most GT pieces play above their pricepoint.

50voltphantom

Dia Compe/Gran Compe 610's and I've seen people run both Paul Racers and Racer M's, depending on the rear wheel situation.

Sully151

I have a Gold Tone by Paul Beard round neck resonator that is a really nice guitar.

Wspsux

I ride a big block and i like it quite a bit. I'm going to try to squeeze my 38 mm 650b wheelset on it later this week. lol

If we're talking about a frame with serious clearance I think we need to throw the all city nature boy in there as well.

dansjustchillin

I'm looking for a frame myself and i've been out of the loop for a while so i'm sure there are some options I am missing. I'm looking for basically a Soma Van Ness. Only they no longer make those and they seem fairly scarce. Who else makes a frame like that in that price range? Lugged, 1 1/8, 27.2 post.

prooftheory

Recording King RK-OT25 - Banjo Hangout

JeremyLC

So is this now officially BFSS/FG/B - Bikeforums SinglSpeed / Fixed Gear / Banjos?

Sully151

It's like you guys are trying to talk me out of a bike and into a banjo.

sumgy

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