# Belt Drive Karate Monkey Ops



## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

my frame was delivered today. thought it would be cool if it was belt drive. so in the spirit of jean-luc picard, i made it so.


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## AlexCuse (Nov 27, 2011)

So cool. Those dropouts are lovely too.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## stremf (Dec 7, 2012)

Is this bike #2 this year, mono? Major props to cut up a brand new frame! Belt drive is going to be awesome.


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## J.BullFrog (Jun 29, 2013)

I had no idea KMO were available already.


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## Clobber (Jan 13, 2010)

Awesome! I've been waiting on this frame. Tell us about your belt setup. I was think same thing & carbon fork. What do you expect build cost to be?


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

stremf said:


> Is this bike #2 this year, mono? Major props to cut up a brand new frame! Belt drive is going to be awesome.


#4, actually. with 4 more on the short list.

agree with your assessment of belt drives! :thumbsup: the new gates carbon drive setup is awesome. have it on two other bikes.


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

J.BullFrog said:


> I had no idea KMO were available already.


it's not at the moment, but general release will occur in a couple of weeks or so.


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## sasquatch rides a SS (Dec 27, 2010)

monogod said:


> it's not at the moment, but general release will occur in a couple of weeks or so.


Both frames and completes are available now from QBP, I considered picking one up myself just because. I'd love to try out the new MDS system.


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

Clobber said:


> Awesome! I've been waiting on this frame. Tell us about your belt setup. I was think same thing & carbon fork. What do you expect build cost to be?


what do you want to know about the belt setup? it's the new gates cdx system. have it on a couple other bikes and really like it.

also going with a carbon fork. the spot brand fork, to be specific.


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

sasquatch rides a SS said:


> Both frames and completes are available now from QBP, I considered picking one up myself just because. I'd love to try out the new MDS system.


i stand corrected. as of middle of last week they weren't and QBP showed 6/15 as availability date.

you should pull the trigger. the MDS is the shiz!

can't wait to do the same thing to a krampus ops. :thumbsup:


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## sasquatch rides a SS (Dec 27, 2010)

I really love the original Krampus colorway, or else I'd replace the frame with the new MDS model!


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## occamsrazor (Mar 9, 2014)

They've been shipping internationally for a while now, here's my build:

http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?p=11199221#post11199221

The MDS seems very well thought out to me, am using the 142x12 option, and the spraytan which I wasn't convinced about in pictures is really rather sweet.

That belt drive looks great... Good luck with the build.


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## JUNGLEKID5 (May 1, 2006)

Looks awesome keep us updated


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## DanD (Jan 15, 2004)

monogod said:


> my frame was delivered today. thought it would be cool if it was belt drive. so in the spirit of jean-luc picard, i made it so.


For Christ Sake Monogod (and this goes out to you as well, 'Squatch) could you quit building bikes that I'm jealous of?


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## flatulentfox (Aug 27, 2004)

What is the MSRP and/or street price for the frame/fork? I have had no luck with google. I am strongly considering building one soon. 

Thanks!


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

$725


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## flatulentfox (Aug 27, 2004)

Wow, that's a big jump from the regular version... 

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## SS Hack (Jan 20, 2012)

flatulentfox said:


> Wow, that's a big jump from the regular version...
> 
> Sent from my LG-D800 using Tapatalk


Getting dangerously close to a "fancy" frame with sliders.


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

JUNGLEKID5 said:


> Looks awesome keep us updated


wish granted!

headset arrived yesterday (QBP was delayed due to memorial day) and i just finished it up today using spare stuff i had laying around rather than blinging it all out. will be converting the rear wheel from QR to bolt on tonight.

used the gates carbon drive cdx system with a 46/26 and a 115t belt, yielding a 1.77 ratio and cs length of 436mm.

gave it a quick test ride on the road and it's rock solid, smooth, and typical km big fun. will be getting it dirty tomorrow afternoon and will update, but i expect it to be stout with zero flex at the belt cut.


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

RIDE UPDATE:

after a series of delays was finally able to get it dirty a couple of days ago and as expected there was absolutely ZERO flex subsequent to the mod. chain stays and dropout remained rock solid whether mashing up a climb, carving the turns, or hitting large or small bumps/roots/washboard in the trail at speed.

granted, this is not necessarily a "surly approved" mod (officially, anyway) - but the new MDS system now allows those who wish to run an MDS equipped surly as a belt drive SS or IGH to do so without the expense of adding a lap joint or s&s coupler to the seatstay.


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## willtsmith_nwi (Jan 1, 1970)

monogod said:


> RIDE UPDATE:
> 
> granted, this is not necessarily a "surly approved" mod (officially, anyway) -


Which is another way of saying you're voiding your warranty. ;-) I would not grind off the completely useless brake bosses for this reason.

Hopefully Surly will take the cue and test out this mod to put into their stock bikes. Something tells me that this is weaker somehow and would require some additional reinforcement for it to stand up to clydes like me.


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

willtsmith_nwi said:


> Which is another way of saying you're voiding your warranty. ;-) I would not grind off the completely useless brake bosses for this reason.
> 
> Hopefully Surly will take the cue and test out this mod to put into their stock bikes. Something tells me that this is weaker somehow and would require some additional reinforcement for it to stand up to clydes like me.


correct. warranty voided before it was even unwrapped! but doesn't innovation often require risk? perhaps they will offer split drops at some point, i've talked with bob at surly about it and they were intrigued by the project.

regarding the robustness of the mod, if you take a look at the mounting plate it is very thick and fits into the relieved dropout with two large bolts. it is very, very solid. also, this type of split drop with plate system is used by many manufactures including trek, speedhound, civia, and others to accommodate a belt drive. imho it's even more robust than frames that split at the seatstay/drop junction that are held together with a single bolt (paragon and others). with this system the forces are spread over a wide area and i suspect it would hold up fine under most clydes.

while not a clyde myself, i'm 6'3" and 190+ lbs in gear and i don't baby it nor does it see duty only on smooth, groomed trails.  i jump it, huck it, zing the gnar at warp speed, land tail whips, and have been trying my best to get it to flex and fail. no luck so far.

but it's an objective test project, so i'll report what happens - be it failure or success.


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## Saul Lumikko (Oct 23, 2012)

Very nice hack!

How delicate does the CDX feel about belt tension? I have their old system on my street fixie and it requires a lot of precision (quarter turns on the adjustment screws) to get right. It would be a nightmare (or impossible) to adjust correctly on a frame that has any compliance in the rear. If the CDX is better in this regard, I might look into it myself.


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

Saul Lumikko said:


> Very nice hack!
> 
> How delicate does the CDX feel about belt tension? I have their old system on my street fixie and it requires a lot of precision (quarter turns on the adjustment screws) to get right. It would be a nightmare (or impossible) to adjust correctly on a frame that has any compliance in the rear. If the CDX is better in this regard, I might look into it myself.


thanks, i'm loving it. rides like a dream!

the cdx runs at lower belt tension so it's not as finicky. the old system ran at very high tension and was kind of a pain to get right. i'm running the cdx system on 4 bikes and it's a snap.

also, get the cricket rather than using the app to tension by sound. much easier, accurate, and reliable.


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## JUNGLEKID5 (May 1, 2006)

Love the build and will be looking for more updates to come


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## iowamtb (May 17, 2014)

Nice!!


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

18 months and several thousand miles later and it remains as rock solid and trouble free as mile one - nor are there any indications anywhere on the frame of unwanted/unforeseen flex.

aside from being solid, smooth, clean, quiet, and reliable this thing has been just plain fun!


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## A1an (Jun 3, 2007)

Digging this up for a current status report.


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## Velobike (Jun 23, 2007)

willtsmith_nwi said:


> Which is another way of saying you're voiding your warranty. ;-) I would not grind off the completely useless brake bosses for this reason.
> 
> Hopefully Surly will take the cue and test out this mod to put into their stock bikes. Something tells me that this is weaker somehow and would require some additional reinforcement for it to stand up to clydes like me.


I don't think it will be weaker apart from the dropout only using 2 bolts.

I did a similar modification to a bike I built about 5 years ago and it is still rock solid. (I used a 3 bolt system to give better stability, but there's not enough room to do this with a KM)

Drilled and cut


Securing plate.



Finished bike. (It's also a Magic Ratio job. Chainstay length is spot on)



Edit: it was a new frame too


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

willtsmith_nwi said:


> Something tells me that this is weaker somehow and would require some additional reinforcement for it to stand up to clydes like me.


after thrashing it profusely i can definitely say it's not weaker than my other KM frames. it'll stand up to clydes just fine.



A1an said:


> Digging this up for a current status report.


many thousands of very hard miles (including hucks/drops/jumps) and it is just as rock solid as day one. still loving it!


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## A1an (Jun 3, 2007)

Velobike said:


> I don't think it will be weaker apart from the dropout only using 2 bolts.
> 
> I did a similar modification to a bike I built about 5 years ago and it is still rock solid. (I used a 3 bolt system to give better stability, but there's not enough room to do this with a KM)
> 
> ...


Nice! I'm somewhat tempted to try this on my Monocog. Refuse to get rid of my frame for sentimental reasons but would love to run it with a belt drive.


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## monogod (Feb 10, 2006)

UPDATE: a little over 3 years in and it's just as solid as day one. 

also removed the MDS chip to inspect the dropout and there's no evidence of movement or flex whatsoever at the split.


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## LyNx (Oct 26, 2004)

Just for interests sake, could you throw up a few pics of it now? Frankly, I didn't think it would implode, but also didn't quite think it would stand up to 3 years use without further bracing/support.



monogod said:


> UPDATE: a little over 3 years in and it's just as solid as day one.
> also removed the MDS chip to inspect the dropout and there's no evidence of movement or flex whatsoever at the split.


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