Found.

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
Bit of a long shot here, but if you don't ask, you'll never know...

Item: Zerode Taniwha XL or Zerode Katipo 505 (XL). 160mm travel. Full bike or frame. Not fussed on colour.
Location: Anywhere.
Item Condition: Cosmetically, not too fussed. No cracks.
Price and price conditions: Anywhere from $2500 - $6000 depending on frame or full bike / spec.
Extra info: Extra points for belt drive.

Something like this...
366366
 
Last edited:

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Bit of a long shot here, but if you don't ask, you'll never know...

Item: Zerode Taniwha XL or Zerode Katipo 505 (XL). 160mm travel. Full bike or frame. Not fussed on colour.
Location: Anywhere.
Item Condition: Cosmetically, not too fussed. No cracks.
Price and price conditions: Anywhere from $2500 - $6000 depending on frame or full bike / spec.
Extra info: Extra points for belt drive.

Something like this...
View attachment 366366
Please get a Katipo, I want a test-ride on one as I am also tempted!
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
If I do get a Katipo I'll be running it bigish (2.8 or 2.6) 27.5. most likely if it's frame only.

Theses gearbox things are expensive and I've already got the fork and wheels, and I'm not that keen on 29 anyway to be honest...
 

Jpez

Down on the left!
I kinda wish the Katipo had a different name though. I can see see it now on the shuttle bus.
“That’s a cool looking bike bro what is it?”
“Zerode Katipo”
Slightly puzzled expression. “Cat poo?”
“No man. KA-TI-PO”
“Catpoo?”
“Ah never mind”.
 

cokeonspecialtwodollars

Fartes of Portingale
I was very keen for my next bike purchase to be of a gearbox variety however an unrefusable deal on yet another mediocre Trek frame came up recently so looks like I'll be derailleuring for some time yet.
 

Arran

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I have a Taniwha (445/160 travel w/Factory 36 & Float X2) & spent a few days on one of Rob's Katipos (475/160 travel w/Factory 36 & DPX2) over Xmas last year.

I can honestly say that the Taniwha is the most fun bike i've ever ridden or owned (i've had a metric shit-ton of bikes) & the Katipo is pretty close behind... unless you're climbing, then they're both just 'ok'... The Katipo is not quite as nimble as the Taniwha, which I guess is pretty obvious. The 29" wheels on the Katipo aren't as much of a rolling advantage as they usually are because the Taniwha eats bumps like a boss & the bigger hoops add weight etc.

Don't sweat the twist shifter. I held off buying the Zerode for a year because of it & when I finally bit the bullet & bought the bike I was used to the shifting in a couple of rides. The thing that took more work to overcome was the fact that you can't shift under load, but even that wasn't a big deal in the end.

My bike has a 12s box & the Katipo had a 9s. I'm definitely glad I opted for the 12s. Most of the time there was no issue but the steps between gears on the 9 are sometimes annoyingly large, especially when climbing.

@wkkie, If you end up getting a Taniwha or a Katipo you'll love it. I'm 100% on that!

My Taniwha:
366393


The Katipo I rode:
366392
 
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wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
Thanks for the info @Arran. I'll be going the 12 speed for sure.

The climbing won't bother me too much either, that's definately not what I'm about on the bike. It's just a necessary evil... :p

How low did you find the bottom bracket on the Katipo? Any info to give on my idea of running it 27.5?

The bottom bracket on the Taniwha doesn't seem to be in the low bracket, but the Katipo seems to have gone more modern in that area.
 

Arran

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Thanks for the info @Arran. I'll be going the 12 speed for sure.

The climbing won't bother me too much either, that's definately not what I'm about on the bike. It's just a necessary evil... :p

How low did you find the bottom bracket on the Katipo? Any info to give on my idea of running it 27.5?

The bottom bracket on the Taniwha doesn't seem to be in the low bracket, but the Katipo seems to have gone more modern in that area.
I wouldn't consider putting a 27.5 wheel in a Katipo. The B/B on the Katipo (25mm drop) was bang-on, as is the B/B on my bike (1mm drop). If you put a smaller wheel on a Katipo it'd have drop of around 50mm which would be a real issue, even with 165 cranks. Have you thought about a Taniwha Mullet'?

366399
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
I wouldn't consider putting a 27.5 wheel in a Katipo. The B/B on the Katipo (25mm drop) was bang-on, as is the B/B on my bike (1mm drop). If you put a smaller wheel on a Katipo it'd have drop of around 50mm which would be a real issue, even with 165 cranks. Have you thought about a Taniwha Mullet'?

View attachment 366399
No, ideally I'm after the front end length of the Katipo with the rear end length of the Taniwha. Not possible, I already asked... :D

I think in my super scientific calculations (best guesstimation) the extra drop with 27.5, 2.8 was about 12mm compared to a 29, 2.3. Don't ask me how I managed to come up with that though, I totally forgot.

I think part of it was the 2.8 tyre and the other part was putting the fork up to 180mm travel, which would give the same axle to crown as the 160mm 29er.
 
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