# Brief 'review' of my custom 36 inch wheel mountain bike.



## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

Hope folks here will appreciate this:

Here's a short review and a few pictures of my custom built 36 inch wheel mountain bike, XL 22" frame. Filet brazed chromoly frame and fork. Charlie O'leary (O'leary Built Bikes) made the fork and frame in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Drivetrain is 13/19/29x11-13-16-20-24-28-34-40-46. The 13x46 is low enough for walls, sheer exhaustion and/or high elevation.

I made it up a hill recently with the 13x46 that I have never cleared on any other bike, mostly because of the traction from the 36 inch wheels. If I need higher gears for more technical climbing, I have them. The 13t granny ring is a cassette cog, attached to a vintage White Industries crank with an adapter I made. The custom 19t (5 bolt, 58mm) 'middle ring' is about right. Also have a set of 180mm Grafton cranks (18/29t) that I am going to test. The 18x46 is equals 14 gear inches, which is a lower ratio than most people's lowest climbing gear. It's probably the only 36er out there with Shimano Xt thumbshifters and an old school Xt M737 rear derailleur, on a dropout extender.

Some of the parts choices I made had to do with the fact that I already had them laying around, which reduced my costs. I was already at the limit of my budget so upgrades will have to wait.

The traction on climbs and in corners is insane. To my surprise the bike turned more tightly than I expected. I can take some of the same lines I take on smaller wheeled bikes but on some trails I've had to adapt to new lines. It does take some effort to accelerate quickly in order to clear obstacles on climbs, but not so much that the effort is untenable. On descents the bike is super stable and doesn't hang up on things the way that smaller wheels do. I don't discriminate though and it might be relevant to mention that I regularly switch back and forth between 24, 26, 27.5, 29 and 36" wheels. The 24" wheel mountain bike is sure a different experience! I have to admit I am curious about 32 inch wheels, although I don't think there's a knobby tire in that size, yet.

Geometry numbers: 68 degree head angle, 90mm offset, 74 degree seat angle, 26 inch top tube. Bike weight is at least 40 pounds. It's not light but the weight does not make as much of a difference as I thought it would. I can still scale steep climbs despite the fact that the bike is pretty heavy. Still, it makes me think that a 35 pound carbon full suspension 36er would be sweet. There is a Spanish company producing such a thing but they are not cheap! If I am not mistaken, each frame is custom built.

Other build details include:

30 inch titanium handlebar - 11 degree rear sweep
60mm stem
Forte Clutch dropper post
Titec Ithy's Amore seat
Nimbus Unicyle Rims
Vee Rubber Monster-T Knobby Tires - 36x2.25
Onyx front hub 150mm
White Brothers rear hub 157mm
Avid BB7 Mechanical Disc Brakes + Compressionless Brake Housing 203mm rotors (Need a 220 up front)
Tektro Brake Levers
White Industries 175mm cranks - modified for 13/19/29 rings w/ chainguard or Grafton 180mm cranks with 20/29t rings
Ritchey Foam Grips
Profile Bar Ends
Ritchey Clipless Pedals

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.


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## Crayefish (Apr 4, 2021)

Awesome! Great on you for doing something different. Love the fact you made your own triple chainring.

Looks are definitely 'different', but not as mad as I expected. Love the attention to detail (e.g. engraving chainrings) but I'd probably loose the bar end grip things 

Well played!


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## Funoutside (Jul 17, 2019)

What's tire selection like for a 36er bike?


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## wayold (Nov 25, 2017)

13x46? Wow, that is impressively low gearing even on a 36er (the equivalent of a 17 or 18 tooth chainring on a 50t Eagle equipped 29er). I have a 28t CR on my 29er with 10-50 in back and I thought that was as low as anyone would ever want.


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## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

Yeah I love the '19t' on the custom granny ring. The grips on the bar ends are there for comfort. I spend most of my riding time climbing, so I like the extra torque that comes from using bar-ends on modern wide bars. Most people don't ride with bar ends anymore because riser bars are wide and comfortable, but bar ends add torque and are an extra hand position. If more people tried them on wide bars it might actually become a thing, again. They are useful for out of the saddle efforts as well.


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## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

Tire options are limited to one real off road knobby at the moment. I think that will change in years to come. Thinking about custom sewn 36er tires made from two smaller tires. In the meantime the Vee Rubber T-Monster 36x2.25 tires work pretty well.


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## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

wayold, the 13x46 is at the physical limit of low gearing at 10.1 gear inches. The guy who still sells Mtn Tamer Triples and Mtn Tamer Quads told me that 10 gear inches is as low as you can go without falling over sideways from lack of momentum. On my way to lower gearing (on my 26ers, years ago), I started with 13.3 gear inches, then went to 11.6 gear inches and then 10 gear inches. It helps to have good trackstanding skills and low speed balance. I get a kick out of cleaning climbs that I can't do, or can barely do.


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## Funoutside (Jul 17, 2019)

phoenixbikes said:


> Tire options are limited to one real off road knobby at the moment. I think that will change in years to come. Thinking about custom sewn 36er tires made from two smaller tires. In the meantime the Vee Rubber T-Monster 36x2.25 tires work pretty well.


Are they tubeless?


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## Funoutside (Jul 17, 2019)

Do you have the geo numbers for the bike?


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## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

Yes, I posted them. I don't know all of the geo numbers but here's what I remember.

Head Angle - 68 degrees, 90mm offset
Seat Angle - 74 degrees
Top tube - 26 inches

It has the feel of being really 'in' the bike, a bit like a 29er but more pronounced.


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## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

Funoutside said:


> Are they tubeless?


No, they have tubes. They can be set up tubeless however so I may make the change at some point.


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## Funoutside (Jul 17, 2019)

Curious to know the a-c on the fork. How tall are you? Cause I know Shaq had a custom 36er also.


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## sgltrak (Feb 19, 2005)

Nice! I've played around a bit on a Black Sheep 36er and I was surprised that it didn't feel as weird as expected.


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## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

Funoutside said:


> Curious to know the a-c on the fork. How tall are you? Cause I know Shaq had a custom 36er also.


I think the A-C on the fork is 510mm. I am 6'4", so I didn't really 'need' a 36er for fit but I was obsessed with the idea. Glad I saw the project through to completion!


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## p1nhead (Sep 3, 2013)

Cool bike. Between that gear ratio and the traction from that giant tire, you must be able to climb walls. I guess that chain stay must be about 480mm long, too, which should help keep the front wheel down like a champ.


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## JackOfDiamonds (Apr 17, 2020)

Fantastic and now I want one. 

Did they tell you what diameter and wall thickness the main tubes are? I think it would be hard to find butted tubes long enough for such a frame. You could use straight tubing too, but just curious what the main tube specs are. Also, do you have a better shot of that chainstay yoke? It must be super tight with those tiny chainrings.


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## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

JackOfDiamonds said:


> Fantastic and now I want one.
> 
> Did they tell you what diameter and wall thickness the main tubes are? I think it would be hard to find butted tubes long enough for such a frame. You could use straight tubing too, but just curious what the main tube specs are. Also, do you have a better shot of that chainstay yoke? It must be super tight with those tiny chainrings.


The more people who get 36ers built and demand a bigger selection of 36" knobbies, the more likely some company will take on the project.

The bottom tube is straight gauge and rest are butted. I don't remember what the specs were for the butted tubes. Need to take more pictures.


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## Weinerts (Feb 3, 2011)

Awesome - I am looking for a triple front like that fro my fat bike did you make a custom spider? I would be happy with the 19 - 32 in the front!


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## MattiThundrrr (Jul 6, 2019)

Bold creation! The Campy QR on the dropper is a nice juxtaposition.


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## Sanchofula (Dec 30, 2007)

phoenixbikes said:


> Tire options are limited to one real off road knobby at the moment. I think that will change in years to come. Thinking about custom sewn 36er tires made from two smaller tires. In the meantime the Vee Rubber T-Monster 36x2.25 tires work pretty well.


they stitched tires won't stay together for long, I did a few of these for 32" and 36", it's a pita and time consuming.

the two tires that are available, esp the knobby are pretty good. I was able to get the knobby to run tubeless, but I had to use a tire machine at an auto shop.

don't expect any more tires, the knobby was a late addition, pushed through by a couple guys on mtbr, it only continues to be molded due to unicycle demand.

have fun with your new bike!


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## phoenixbikes (Sep 24, 2010)

Nurse Ben said:


> they stitched tires won't stay together for long, I did a few of these for 32" and 36", it's a pita and time consuming.
> 
> the two tires that are available, esp the knobby are pretty good. I was able to get the knobby to run tubeless, but I had to use a tire machine at an auto shop.
> 
> ...


I am definitely not on the edge of my seat about new 36er knobbies but I hope it will happen one of these days. Aside from Vee Rubber, I wonder who else might consider producing a 36er tire if the initial investment could be recouped.
I suspect that it could and that it may be worthwhile for an adventurous tire company to invest in the equipment to make a 36x2.4 or even 36x2.6 knobbie. If the tires didn't sell out in the mtn bike market they'd probably be sold out with the addition of unicycle tire buyers. Also, do you know offhand if there is a new batch of Vee Rubber Monster-T 36x2.25's any time soon?

How many miles can be put into a set of hand sewn tires before they fall apart? I am sure it probably depends on rider weight, terrain, riding style, joining method, etc but in general, what's the mileage been? I thought about looking for a tubular tire manufacturer to make a set of 36er knobbies. I think Dugast might be able to make a set but their tread width is limited to 52mm.

There is a shoe repair shop that might have some tools which are useful for joining two tires but this is not my area of expertise to say the least.


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