beeb
Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Well, technically it was wkkie's - it has a miniscule electric motor, and will have a battery too. eBike! 
Frame - Zerode Katipo 505 (XL), Sharknado Grey
Fork - Marzocchi 29" Z1, 170mm travel, 44mm offset, Grip damper, Slik matte silver decals, deanodised air cap and compression adjuster.
Rear shock - RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Coil 230x65mm
Handlebars - Title AH1 31.8 800mm, finished in 'raw' alloy
Stem - Deity Copperhead 50mm 31.8
Headset - Chris King
Grips - ODI Elite Pro
Saddle - Fabric Scoop Elite Flat
Seatpost - BikeYoke Revive 213mm 31.6
Front brakes - Custom "ZRAM"s - Z-RACE silver master cylinder/lever and SRAM DB8 calipers, TRP 203mm dia 2.3mm rotor, UberBike eMatrix Pads
Rear brakes - Custom "ZRAM"s - Z-RACE silver master cylinder/lever and SRAM DB8 calipers, TRP 203mm dia 2.3mm rotor, UberBike eMatrix Pads
Gearbox - Pinion C1.12i Smart.Shift
Cranks - Pinion 170mm (just the cast stock ones for now).
Tensioner - Pinion BT1
Belt- Gates Carbon drive, 122t
Pedals - Chromag Dagga
Rear derailleur - Nope, just a belt retainer thingo.
Front hub - Hope Pro 4 15x110, 32h, Silver
Rear hub - Hope Pro 4 Trials/SS hub - 142x12, 32h, Silver
Front rim - 29" Nextie Premium AM Assymetric 38mm (32mm internal width)
Rear rim - 27.5" Nextie Premium Enduro 36mm (30mm internal width)
Spokes - Silver DT Swiss Comp, Silver Brass spoke nipples.
Front Tyre - WTB Judge 29x2.4 Tough Casing/High Grip
Rear Tyre - WTB Trail Boss 27.5x2.6 Light Casing/Fast Rolling
Tubeless Sealant - Stans Tubeless
Total weight - Very reasonable
Extras - WolfTooth Dropper Remote, random Waltly titanium seat post clamp, front mudguard t.b.a...
It's still not quite complete as I've still got to mount up the battery and wiring to - probably in a small electrical housing mounted to the bottle mount. But this is far and away the longest I've taken to complete a build by far, so it's close enough for "the reaveal", lol... And if this morning's quick pedal around the block is anything to go by I might not survive the first climb after about a year not riding any MTB!
I've wanted a Pinion bike ever since someone briefly loaned me one for a spin up and down the fireroad at You Yangs quite a few years ago. I'd always loved the idea of the central mass and belt drive, but had read so many rumours about "drag" and I could never be convinced by the rotary grip shifter. I'm not too much of a death-gripper (especially given my woeful lack of riding skills), but one thing I hate is moving my hands around on the grips while riding. So the thought of having to half let-go of the right hand grip was never going to fly for me.
I tried to get hold of the Cinq Shift:R mechanical trigger shifters, but the "Tour" (trigger shifter version) either never came to market, or had a tiny production run and then were discontinued. Cinq would also not sell direct to Australia, and as is sadly typical - the Australian distributor didn't ever respond to any enquiries. So several years roll by, the Pinion Smart.Shift boxes are announced. I'm intrigued but bike-battery averse. Couldn't afford one anyway, as I had not long moved to regional Victoria, was trying to kill off my mortgage. New complete MTBs with Pinion Smart.Shift boxes were either a shitty hardtail with 10-year outdated geometry, or heinously expensive dual-suspension bikes from niche brands. Months (years?) roll by. Mortgage gets sorted. Then along comes @wkkie, listing his Katipo frameset for a good price. A very good price. "Stuff it" I say to myself, "this is what all the hard work has been for..." and shot him a message.
That was the easy bit. The Smart.Shift gearboxes went pretty much unobtanium as soon as the frame arrived. After a couple of months a German seller got stock. Ordered everything up, a few messages back and forth confirming bike details, etc... Then after a few days, I get an e-mail. Oh, because this has a LiPo battery - we'll have to ship the battery separately. Now bear in mind, the battery is roughly the size of two AA batteries shrink-wrapped together with a little electrical lead. They say it'll cost - wait for it - 250 to 300 Euro!!!
That was a no from me, so cancelled that order pronto.
In the end I e-mailed Zerode, and asked when they were getting stock in. It took a few months, a couple of we might only get 9sp boxes this batch, but they were super helpful and in the end I lucked out in getting supplied a 12sp box. While there were a couple of minor hiccups with some missed small parts (that was quickly rectified), and some slightly skewiff Smart.Shift calibration instructions. All got sorted calmly and professionally, and everything works as anticipated. And if I'm honest - with the blazing hot summer we've had in regional Vic this year has meant I've been in no hurry to turn pedals up a hill anyhow - so it's allowed me to gradually eek away at bits of the build in my spare time in the cooler parts of the day.
Ironically - before I bought it, I wasn't that enamoured of the colour, and had long been feeling the grey/black/silver monocolour builds have been getting a bit "played out" - but the price was right so I thought I'd buy it and build it up cheap just to try the Pinion gearbox out for myself. But as these things go it ended up with mostly new parts on a highly custom build, and (luckily) I actually love how the monochrome colour-scheme has come up.
So yeah - there's the battery and wiring to install, gotta bleed the brakes properly, probably go up a spring rate on the shock, juggle some spacers around on the rear cog to true up the belt alignment, and it should be ready to roll. Bitchin'.
Frame - Zerode Katipo 505 (XL), Sharknado Grey
Fork - Marzocchi 29" Z1, 170mm travel, 44mm offset, Grip damper, Slik matte silver decals, deanodised air cap and compression adjuster.
Rear shock - RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate Coil 230x65mm
Handlebars - Title AH1 31.8 800mm, finished in 'raw' alloy
Stem - Deity Copperhead 50mm 31.8
Headset - Chris King
Grips - ODI Elite Pro
Saddle - Fabric Scoop Elite Flat
Seatpost - BikeYoke Revive 213mm 31.6
Front brakes - Custom "ZRAM"s - Z-RACE silver master cylinder/lever and SRAM DB8 calipers, TRP 203mm dia 2.3mm rotor, UberBike eMatrix Pads
Rear brakes - Custom "ZRAM"s - Z-RACE silver master cylinder/lever and SRAM DB8 calipers, TRP 203mm dia 2.3mm rotor, UberBike eMatrix Pads
Gearbox - Pinion C1.12i Smart.Shift
Cranks - Pinion 170mm (just the cast stock ones for now).
Tensioner - Pinion BT1
Belt- Gates Carbon drive, 122t
Pedals - Chromag Dagga
Rear derailleur - Nope, just a belt retainer thingo.
Front hub - Hope Pro 4 15x110, 32h, Silver
Rear hub - Hope Pro 4 Trials/SS hub - 142x12, 32h, Silver
Front rim - 29" Nextie Premium AM Assymetric 38mm (32mm internal width)
Rear rim - 27.5" Nextie Premium Enduro 36mm (30mm internal width)
Spokes - Silver DT Swiss Comp, Silver Brass spoke nipples.
Front Tyre - WTB Judge 29x2.4 Tough Casing/High Grip
Rear Tyre - WTB Trail Boss 27.5x2.6 Light Casing/Fast Rolling
Tubeless Sealant - Stans Tubeless
Total weight - Very reasonable
Extras - WolfTooth Dropper Remote, random Waltly titanium seat post clamp, front mudguard t.b.a...
It's still not quite complete as I've still got to mount up the battery and wiring to - probably in a small electrical housing mounted to the bottle mount. But this is far and away the longest I've taken to complete a build by far, so it's close enough for "the reaveal", lol... And if this morning's quick pedal around the block is anything to go by I might not survive the first climb after about a year not riding any MTB!
I've wanted a Pinion bike ever since someone briefly loaned me one for a spin up and down the fireroad at You Yangs quite a few years ago. I'd always loved the idea of the central mass and belt drive, but had read so many rumours about "drag" and I could never be convinced by the rotary grip shifter. I'm not too much of a death-gripper (especially given my woeful lack of riding skills), but one thing I hate is moving my hands around on the grips while riding. So the thought of having to half let-go of the right hand grip was never going to fly for me.
I tried to get hold of the Cinq Shift:R mechanical trigger shifters, but the "Tour" (trigger shifter version) either never came to market, or had a tiny production run and then were discontinued. Cinq would also not sell direct to Australia, and as is sadly typical - the Australian distributor didn't ever respond to any enquiries. So several years roll by, the Pinion Smart.Shift boxes are announced. I'm intrigued but bike-battery averse. Couldn't afford one anyway, as I had not long moved to regional Victoria, was trying to kill off my mortgage. New complete MTBs with Pinion Smart.Shift boxes were either a shitty hardtail with 10-year outdated geometry, or heinously expensive dual-suspension bikes from niche brands. Months (years?) roll by. Mortgage gets sorted. Then along comes @wkkie, listing his Katipo frameset for a good price. A very good price. "Stuff it" I say to myself, "this is what all the hard work has been for..." and shot him a message.
That was the easy bit. The Smart.Shift gearboxes went pretty much unobtanium as soon as the frame arrived. After a couple of months a German seller got stock. Ordered everything up, a few messages back and forth confirming bike details, etc... Then after a few days, I get an e-mail. Oh, because this has a LiPo battery - we'll have to ship the battery separately. Now bear in mind, the battery is roughly the size of two AA batteries shrink-wrapped together with a little electrical lead. They say it'll cost - wait for it - 250 to 300 Euro!!!
That was a no from me, so cancelled that order pronto.In the end I e-mailed Zerode, and asked when they were getting stock in. It took a few months, a couple of we might only get 9sp boxes this batch, but they were super helpful and in the end I lucked out in getting supplied a 12sp box. While there were a couple of minor hiccups with some missed small parts (that was quickly rectified), and some slightly skewiff Smart.Shift calibration instructions. All got sorted calmly and professionally, and everything works as anticipated. And if I'm honest - with the blazing hot summer we've had in regional Vic this year has meant I've been in no hurry to turn pedals up a hill anyhow - so it's allowed me to gradually eek away at bits of the build in my spare time in the cooler parts of the day.
Ironically - before I bought it, I wasn't that enamoured of the colour, and had long been feeling the grey/black/silver monocolour builds have been getting a bit "played out" - but the price was right so I thought I'd buy it and build it up cheap just to try the Pinion gearbox out for myself. But as these things go it ended up with mostly new parts on a highly custom build, and (luckily) I actually love how the monochrome colour-scheme has come up.
So yeah - there's the battery and wiring to install, gotta bleed the brakes properly, probably go up a spring rate on the shock, juggle some spacers around on the rear cog to true up the belt alignment, and it should be ready to roll. Bitchin'.
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I do like the grey / silver combo though!
I'll have to have a roll down the track and see how the smart shift compares.
