I finished this a few hours ago. It needs powdercoat. But, it’s otherwise ready to go. I only have a 5 or 6 miles on it, and I’m a relative novice. So, a report of it’s performance, from me, doesn’t have much value at this point.
The frame is fillet brazed .049" cromoly tubing and a steerer from a wrecked Surly 1x1 fork. The bearing holders are lightened steel shaft collars.
I’m using the same heavy Surly Endomorph tire that George is riding. The production 60tpi tires will be up to 660 grams lighter. And, some creative machining removes 300+ grams from the Large Marge rim. I’m looking forward to riding it with less rotating mass, but I’m happy riding it as is. I’m biased, of course.
Large Marge is the trademarked name of our wide rim.
Andrew,
I just got back from a Jedi night ride near the Mississippi River. I wanted to check out some good dirt trails before they get overrun by fairweather hikers, today. It’s supposed to be a beautiful day in Minneapolis, and it will be hard to navigate around the gawkers on some of the narrower trails. Of course, I can almost run right over them, now. Just kidding, stupid gawking fair weather hikers.
I was more concerned about hitting my legs on the Magura brake than on the crown. This was my first ride using a brake, so I didn’t know what to expect. I didn’t hit the crown, and I didn’t hit the slave cylinders of the brake. As for using a brake, I like it. I use it seldomly, but I see the merits of having one. It only adds 273 grams to the vehicle, and I’ll probably use it more when I get more comfortable with the modulation.
I ran 12 psi in the tire. That seemed like a good pressure for the combination of road and trails I was on.
Thanks Dave. It’s funny, in the photo it looks almost like a 20" trials wheel with tiny pedals and saddle! The thickness of the tyre seems to confuse the brain into thinking it must be a smaller wheel (well mine anyway )
That is a monster. I am curious how it will be for bombing down rocky slopes. The shock absortion of the tire should be great, but I wonder if rebound will be a problem.
I wonder if the Endomorph will be faster than a 29er for fast XC racing on singletrack? The wheel diameter will be very similar. The big fat Endomorph will be able to plow over any rocks or roots at full speed. The fat tire will also act as a suspension so the rider will be able to stay in the saddle more which saves energy and allows you to keep a faster cadence. With the right trail conditions the Endomorph could possibly be faster.
Thanks for that. I like the look of that braided cross-over cable. I’m think I’m going to go all-braided for my muni upgrade. Do you know if the outer diameter of it will fit in those little clips you get on some bike frames (that you clip the brake cables into)? I’m thinking of either running some of them on my new frame or sending the brake cable through the frame itself for a portion of its journey up to the lever (my framebuilder’s idea). It’s nice to know that the brake setup is only 273g too…don’t drink that 273mL drink before a ride and they make no difference!
“Of course, I can almost run right over them, now.”
60% of the rims, from the original production run, were rejected. The factory is having a hard time rolling that fat extrusion into a 24" hoop. They had to extrude more rim stock to finish the 400 piece order of 24" rims. That’s why there has been such a delay. Late May/early June delivery is what were shooting for.
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