Anywhere I can find steel frame 29ers in OZ + Avanti Scratch 2.0

R

ripponh

Squid
G'day all,

I currently ride an Avanti scratch 2.0 which is a great bike. I am looking to get another beast and interested in the Surly Karate Monkey or the Salsa El Mariachi.

I want to run a 1x9 or possibly a SS.

Which do you reckon is better? Are the any other steel 29ers which are worth considering?

I'll use it for communting and XC.

I'm considering stripping the parts off the Scratch and chucking them on the new frame. What do you reckon an Avanti Scratch 2.0 frame would sell for?

Is there any bike shops that have a good range of steel 29er's. They seem to be rare bikes.

Ripper
 
mtb101

mtb101

Likes Bikes and Dirt
if you're in Melbourne I can tell you where there are 2 Avanti Kiss 29ers SS. Nice bike steel frame and I think the price is $899.00
 
Macr

Macr

Likes Dirt
El Mariachi

Wow, the El Mariachi, looks like a nice bike. Shame I am not in the market for a new frame, but maybe I need to look at future proofing my current set up.

bikes_mariachi_blue.jpg
 
DW-1

DW-1

Dirt Works
Macr said:
Wow, the El Mariachi, looks like a nice bike. Shame I am not in the market for a new frame, but maybe I need to look at future proofing my current set up.
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quite a few of them are being used with Alfine & Rohloff set-ups too.

Very versatile.

Elvis.
 
M

Mad Hatter

Likes Dirt
ripponh said:
G'day all,

I currently ride an Avanti scratch 2.0 which is a great bike. I am looking to get another beast and interested in the Surly Karate Monkey or the Salsa El Mariachi.

I want to run a 1x9 or possibly a SS.
Click to expand...
Recently picked up a Surly Karate Monkey with the intent of using it as a spare bike and commuting. I had lined up an Avanti KISS but after riding both bikes back to back the Monkey won out despite being over $400 dearer. It was just that much better in the fun factor. It is also easy to convert to a 1 X 9 setup as it has all the cable guides and comes with adaptors to put on a hanger. As for it being a spare bike and commuter, well no. It`s the ride of choice now, so much so I`m seriously considering the Jeep 24hr in a team of 4 SSers. My wife thinks I`ve gone a bit soft in the head.
Hope this helps.
Cheers
MH
 
R

ripponh

Squid
Where's the best place to buy either a karate monkey or a el mariachi in Australia?

Thanks for all your advice. After reading what you have to say and looking through online reviews it seems that either the Karate Monkey or tha El Mariachi are definately what I'm after.

What's the cheapest/best place to buy one?

Also I'm 188c, (6'1.5"), with a long torso, tall and skinny. Which frame size do you recommend?

Ripper
 
C

cooken

Likes Dirt
I bought a niner sir 9 frame not long ago and I absolutely love it. Been running it SS but going to put some gears on it and ride it in the Tour de Timor. You can get them in Australia through niner dealers, they're a fair bit more expensive than most of the other options listed above though. I think they retail for $1300ish but maybe you can find cheaper.

A cheap option is the kona unit, not sure if you can get them frame only but even as a complete bike they're very cheap.
 
M

Mad Hatter

Likes Dirt
ripponh said:
Thanks for all your advice. After reading what you have to say and looking through online reviews it seems that either the Karate Monkey or tha El Mariachi are definately what I'm after.

What's the cheapest/best place to buy one?

Also I'm 188c, (6'1.5"), with a long torso, tall and skinny. Which frame size do you recommend?

Ripper
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Your LBS. Sounds a bit simple saying it like that, but in the long term it`s true.
As for size, I`m 6' and my wife is 6'2" and a bit. We both fit the large nicely.
Cheers
MH
 
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R

ripponh

Squid
Interesting...

Larryscustomcycles said:
We can sell you a Singular Swift, frame and fork $875 delivered.
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Sounds intersesting. Looks exceptional and all the reviews say it's a great ride but a bit heavy (which isn't neccesarily a huge problem for me). How much does it actually weigh?

Can I set her up as SS, 1x9 or 3x9?

Does it have points for racks as I do occasional touring?

Are the rigid forks still Reynolds 520?

Are the frames actually made in the UK?

It's between the Swift and the El Mariachi.

Ripper
 
M

mcdoned

Likes Dirt
ripponh said:
Sounds intersesting. Looks exceptional and all the reviews say it's a great ride but a bit heavy (which isn't neccesarily a huge problem for me). How much does it actually weigh?

Can I set her up as SS, 1x9 or 3x9?

Does it have points for racks as I do occasional touring?

Are the rigid forks still Reynolds 520?

Are the frames actually made in the UK?

It's between the Swift and the El Mariachi.

Ripper
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Where's Tomacropod when you need him, he owns both.... although I don't think he's built the Singular and the Mariachi has done maybe 10km, so who knows? Singular is singlespeedable via the Phil Wood EBB. Bloody tight but pretty. You can run 1x9 or 3x9 fine, front derailleur needs to be done carefully though.

Neither really have rack points. You could do a bodge job with the Salsa via the swinger mounts I think. I think weights are pretty similar between them.

My experience with my Mariachi is good. Swinging drops seem to work well. It'd carry load pretty well - not a noodly frame. The standout for me is the matching steel Salsa rigid fork. Great bike to ride as a rigid.

I'd like to try a Singular at some point... nice bikes.
 
Larryscustomcycles

Larryscustomcycles

Likes Dirt
ripponh said:
Sounds intersesting. Looks exceptional and all the reviews say it's a great ride but a bit heavy (which isn't neccesarily a huge problem for me). How much does it actually weigh?

Can I set her up as SS, 1x9 or 3x9?

Does it have points for racks as I do occasional touring?

Are the rigid forks still Reynolds 520?

Are the frames actually made in the UK?

It's between the Swift and the El Mariachi.

Ripper
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What size are you after? I'll weigh it if you like.

Yes, any sort of gearing configuration is easily done, not sure what mcdoned thinks needs to be done more carefully on the front mech compared to other frames??? We have done, SS, geared 3x9, geared 1x10, Alfine. No more difficult than any other bike.

No rack mounts. Same solution Elvis posted for the Salsa

Yep Reynolds 520 forks

No, frames are made in Taiwan
 
Stevob

Stevob

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I'd consider a Swift if it had the same EBB as it's Ti brother, the Pegasus. Split shell ftmfw.
 
Larryscustomcycles

Larryscustomcycles

Likes Dirt
Stevob said:
I'd consider a Swift if it had the same EBB as it's Ti brother, the Pegasus. Split shell ftmfw.
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I ride a Pegasus most of the time, the split shell doesn't actually work any better than the Swift one. Which is to say it works perfectly. We haven't had any dramas with the swifts, hummingbirds, Gryphons or Peregrines that all run the same system.

Actually, the Pegasus has a very limited range of adjustment and some gear combos just arent possible without a half link...thats a bit of a PITA. The rest work perfectly as long as you don't do anything silly, like really lean on the bolts and deform the housing or EBB itself. I haven't seen it done. I can imagine though if someone was extremely mechanically unsympathetic they might be able to properly root it up.
 
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Stevob

Stevob

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I acknowledge that the half link throw of the Pegasus ebb isn't the greatest (probably to save weight over full link throw ebb inserts), but I'd still rather a split shell. I am aware of set screw ebb frames like that on the Swift that have deformed, but like you say, it's only stupidity that causes that to happen. Singular could make a great frame even better by adopting this system across their range, at minimal cost in design or manufacture.

OS Bikes Blackbuck is one of the only production frames in the world that uses a full link throw split shell ebb. Practically fool (or Stevob) proof.
 
Larryscustomcycles

Larryscustomcycles

Likes Dirt
I've seen people cross thread and strip all sorts of things...if you are going to lean on the set screws, you are likely to bugger up the split shell too. I suspect the reason you haven't seen any problems with them is because they are used so seldom.

Oh, reason for different systems between the Ti and steel isnt weight, its availability of Ti tubing from Nevi in Italy who make the Pegasus. The Phill EBBs weigh precisely bugger all:)
 
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Ugh

Ugh

Likes Bikes
My old kiss had a deformed EBB shell and would only stay quiet with smatterings of thick marine grease applied every couple of months.

I had sworn off EBB's, then I bought a swift. The EBB on the swift doesn't seem to need much torque at all to stay noise free.

The swift is a super fun ride.
 
M

mcdoned

Likes Dirt
Larryscustomcycles said:
Yes, any sort of gearing configuration is easily done, not sure what mcdoned thinks needs to be done more carefully on the front mech compared to other frames??? We have done, SS, geared 3x9, geared 1x10, Alfine. No more difficult than any other bike.
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Only in terms of having to adjust the derailleur / some chainguides if you decide for biometric or geometry reasons to change the EBB position. Same for any bike with an EBB.
 
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