# 11.5" travel downhiller



## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

i built a downhill bike that has a whopping 11.5" rear wheel travel. i tested it two weekend at diablo and i need a few opinions on wether i should build more or not. the bike was awesome and i'm already working on rerouting the chain along the swingarm. so bottom line is, do u guys think this would sell???
here's a link with the photo:
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1458372/


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## sodak (Oct 10, 2006)

*That's pretty cool!*

Wow dude, 
Building your own bike is like growing your own........ anyway, fricken awesome...

Are you planning on marketing this one? If so, what would the price be? Just a curious question. I am green with envy.....


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## downhiller12345 (Jun 4, 2007)

Nice Job Man! Way better than I could ever do! I'd like to see less of a boxy type frame...maybe more rounded, but the geometry seems ok!


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## monkeyfist23 (Dec 7, 2005)

I was wondering when you were gonna post that on here! I talked to you the on the first day you test rode at diablo after your first run then I saw you there last weekend. Glad to hear that its holding together well! I personally love the square tubing, not sure what engineers would say about the structural benefits or drawbacks of it though... Good luck with it!!


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## NoManerz (Feb 10, 2006)

how high is the bb?


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## milhouse (Jun 22, 2004)

mongoose2231 said:


> i built a downhill bike that has a whopping 11.5" rear wheel travel. i tested it two weekend at diablo and i need a few opinions on wether i should build more or not. the bike was awesome and i'm already working on rerouting the chain along the swingarm. so bottom line is, do u guys think this would sell???
> here's a link with the photo:
> http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1458372/


First off, nice job making your own. I ride Diablo all the time and would love to take it for a quick spin. The problem is nobody really needs 11.5 inches of travel or at least the negitives that come along with that much travel like extra weight and weird geo. Is there some sort of linkage or is the shock hooked directly to the swing arm?


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## unclegreaser (Jul 21, 2006)

hey what are the specs on that beast:

weight
bb height
chainstay length
head tube angle
total legnth(axle to axle)

what kind of metal are you using? dom? cold rolled?

buy a jd bender and get some better angles on the prototypes.


btw good job:thumbsup: 

salute to all that make your own stuff.


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## Gravity Assist (Aug 18, 2007)

mongoose2231 said:


> i built a downhill bike that has a whopping 11.5" rear wheel travel. i tested it two weekend at diablo and i need a few opinions on wether i should build more or not. the bike was awesome and i'm already working on rerouting the chain along the swingarm. so bottom line is, do u guys think this would sell???
> here's a link with the photo:
> http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1458372/


 As soon as you get it though your testing and fabrication phases, I would buy one from you directly! How much would you charge? 11.5 inches is rediculous!

are you going to experiment with round tubing?


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## tacubaya (Jan 27, 2006)

Mad mad mad props


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## #1ORBUST (Sep 13, 2005)

mongoose2231 said:


> so bottom line is, do u guys think this would sell???


Hummmm.....You would def. have to provide some things for it to sell.

No order
1. Good price!! 
2. An awesome warrenty/crash replacement (Like Life Time) 
3. Mega R&D, need to give that bike to a Ballzy hucker and have him try and break it.. (Like I want to see pics of that bike taking 20ft-30ft drops no problem.)

How's the chain pull on that thing? Prob. the highest single pivot I've seen in a long time.

Keep building and keep refining, good stuff...:thumbsup:


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## MonkeyBidnezz (Jan 31, 2005)

Props to you, nice and clean looking.

Here are a few of my observations.

-TT looks pretty high, what's the stand over like? More room for the boyz = good.
-Swing arm pivot point is higher than most of the SP bikes out there, how does the bike pedal?
-Like others have mentioned, that's a lot of travel. With many builders going back to the 12" range is huge travel needed?


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## KennyO (Apr 21, 2004)

Real props to you for your own build! Looks clean.

I'll give a little feedback: Square/ rectangle tubes are stiffer, but round tubes are stronger, weight to weight. On a frame, square tubes are better in places with stiffness issues, where round tubes are better in places with strength issues (like down tubes.)

11.5" of travel is 2" more than most riders will need or want. 11.5" of travel will blow up that 70mm stroke Fox RC Vanilla on there before too long. If you really want to run that much travel, then you need to put a 3.5" stroke Avy or Revox on there to get the stroke/travel ration down to something that won't blow up the shock. It will be a hard thing do do without a linkage, because you will quickly run out of places to put that shock to do it, without even adding more travel. That's the good thing about a linkage, if properly designed, you will have more shock placement options without adding tons of travel to the design.

All that said, I have tons of respect for someone who fabs their own frame. It is not an easy thing to do at all; to get something rideable out of a bunch of tubes is just short of a mirale sometimes. Many props.


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## 006_007 (Jan 12, 2004)

That is one MEAN looking bike. Thanks for sharing.


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## todd_freeride (Aug 9, 2005)

Very cool bike! Amazing and huge props to you for building it yourself. 

Would it sell? I dont think so. Maybe to a few people, but I think you would be better off building it as an 8" or less travel bike. no one really has a use for anything over 8" unless your name is josh bender.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

NoManerz said:


> how high is the bb?


15.5"


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

milhouse said:


> First off, nice job making your own. I ride Diablo all the time and would love to take it for a quick spin. The problem is nobody really needs 11.5 inches of travel or at least the negitives that come along with that much travel like extra weight and weird geo. Is there some sort of linkage or is the shock hooked directly to the swing arm?


actually the geometry is exactly the same as the santa cruz v10. 
head angle 65, bb height 15.5, chainstay 17.4, seat angle 70 etc. i'm just working on the linkage now and on the chain rerouting.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

unclegreaser said:


> hey what are the specs on that beast:
> 
> weight
> bb height
> ...


weight i have not yet weighed the bike. 
bb height 15.5
chainstai 17.4
headtube angle 65 
wheelbase 46.5
used regular steel for the prototype, will use cromoly for the next one, however the bb shell and headtube are cromo now.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

Gravity Assist said:


> As soon as you get it though your testing and fabrication phases, I would buy one from you directly! How much would you charge? 11.5 inches is rediculous!
> 
> are you going to experiment with round tubing?


round tubing is next on my list


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

#1ORBUST said:


> Hummmm.....You would def. have to provide some things for it to sell.
> 
> No order
> 1. Good price!!
> ...


i've taken it on dominion and jumped it as hard as i could. i have to give the bike to someone who could do dom's denial or any of the big jumps at mountain creek and take some pics. i will be having a website up soon. i have to determine the price and name for it though


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

MonkeyBidnezz said:


> Props to you, nice and clean looking.
> 
> Here are a few of my observations.
> 
> ...


travel is not limited to 11.5". you can have less or more
no beef to it.
standover height is 31"


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## CHUNKY NUGGET (Jan 23, 2005)

Thats a great frame and i some what envious, ive been drawing up different frame designs for years but never tried to make my own, although you've got me thinking? 
Any chance you can show the shock linkage? and other side of bike?
It'd also be great to hear your reason you made the frame the way it is.


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## man w/ one hand (Dec 29, 2003)

If you changed the angle of the lower seat post support where the shock is mounted AND then weld a bracket that allows a range of adjustment, (sorta like the shock mount on the Transition Gran Mal), then you could run various size shocks and get various lengths of travel too. Major plus in my book. Jus' my two pennies. Killer bike and awesome effort. Don't listen to anybody that tells you something can't be done. Take it from me, don't make excuses, make solutioins, life is easier that way.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

CHUNKY NUGGET said:


> Thats a great frame and i some what envious, ive been drawing up different frame designs for years but never tried to make my own, although you've got me thinking?
> Any chance you can show the shock linkage? and other side of bike?
> It'd also be great to hear your reason you made the frame the way it is.


i've been drawing up frame designs for a while now too. i just wanted to see how a longer travel bike felt. i like it better than my mountain cycle shockwave. and i'm going faster on this bike anyway. it stays glued to the groung, i love it.


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## M1_joel (Mar 9, 2004)

anytime you weld, the heat causes the metal to bend and warp. I'm familiar with some methods of welding sequence, clamping in jigs ETC. How are you getting your headtube, BB, seat tube and rear axle all square and centered?

you all can read more about this here, very cool site:
http://www.strongframes.com/design_&_fabrication/fab/

I weld sh*t but i would never be qualified to build a bicycle frame.
http://web.mac.com/joel.hester/iWeb/Site/Caddy Coffee Table.html


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## DHn00bi3 (Aug 22, 2007)

wow bike looks great. Could you build me a custom bike that looks like a sunday but with a lower standover height? And if so how much?


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## thatdownhillkid (Mar 11, 2007)

dude thats crazy
must ride like your on a cloud
but pedal like sh!t


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## [email protected] (May 9, 2007)

i'm wondering how that single pivot design compares to a lotta the stuff on the market(thats not single pivot)...might feel a little strange with all the travel??...probably needs a low cg to feel right....

but who am i to say anything....i just came up with that idea in 2 seconds...you've probably been designing that thing for a while now:thumbsup:


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## chooofoojoo (Feb 22, 2007)

damn. that's impressive. mad props. must have some crazy chain suck with that high of a pivot.


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## mxnmtber (Jan 5, 2007)

Good work man...looks similar to an MX style swingarm set up...let me know if you need some structural analysis done on it...


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## prophet413 (May 17, 2007)

anymore pics?


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## Mega T (Aug 15, 2005)

I'll be at Diablo this Sunday and I'd be honored to slay Dom's on it for you...


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

Holy Crap, I've not been here in a while. So the bike this discussion is all about has been ridden for about 4 years now. After a crazy slap in the face by life itself, Brad Hodges at Nemesis project cycles ripped me off of a good chunk of cash and custom parts for my next project, I have to say that I am happily working on a few designs. My current bike employs some linkages and some tweaked geometry as well. I have had a website for a while and now i am redoing it. There are some pics of various designs I have been working with under my pink bike profile. I will be keeping everyone posted on the updates.


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## bullcrew (Jan 2, 2005)

Good luck sorry to hear about the mis fortune but look forward to seeing the future designs. Post some pics or action. Pics of the original.


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## 006_007 (Jan 12, 2004)

bullcrew said:


> Good luck sorry to hear about the mis fortune but look forward to seeing the future designs. Post some pics or action. Pics of the original.


I dont think condolences are needed - sounds like he has been cut a chunk of cash and custom parts for his next project which he is in the process of designing :thumbsup:


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## drastic. (Nov 22, 2010)

006_007 said:


> I dont think condolences are needed - sounds like he has been cut a chunk of cash and custom parts for his next project which he is in the process of designing :thumbsup:


i dont think "being ripped off" a "good chunk of cash and custom parts" is a good thing.


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## name_dropper (Nov 27, 2010)

really weird wording, but i think he meant that Brad @ Nemesis paid him $ and gave him parts for his design work...


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## Internal14 (Jan 21, 2004)

name_dropper said:


> really weird wording, but i think he meant that Brad @ Nemesis paid him $ and gave him parts for his design work...


ha. I doubt that one.

But hopefully the OP will chime in here before the next four years passes by and tells us what he was trying to say.:skep:


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## dankist4x4 (Jun 26, 2006)

Scammed by Nemesis Project Cycles a.k.a Brad Hodges

Its all in there...I think.


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## cardesigner84 (Sep 4, 2011)

Thats crazy


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## trail bait (Oct 31, 2006)

Good ideas mature into great things, dont sweat it and keep your head down. This will happen unless you quit.

The same thing happened to me last year. Made four protos did the testing and paid a guy (50% down), who was a big compent maker in the 90's to make me 400 units who took the money and made 1/3 of one. One month his shop was closed and every thing and everybody is gone. 

Making something from nothing is never easy, but I'm hoping it will work better in 2012. Last year I tried making a part with limited aps. Now I've taken the design and concept to fit on every kind of bike from road to bmx, high end to Walmart. This could've been on production bikes 60 years ago with the technology and materials they had available (made properly with the correct materials could last longer than that).


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

*bike 73*

Alright, so Brad didn't only steel my money but a bunch of other people's as well. In any instance, I moved on, bought a house, set up shop in my basement and I am 90% able to make bikes. I only need to fabricate a jig. I know that long time has passed since but when you have no time, you have no time, period. I hope to put something out there in the next few months. I am not selling anything but I have a passion 4 building these bikes. 4 years ago I might have thought it would be a good idea to do that but i've since changed my mind. Keep on the look out for my next bike. this is one of my latest designs.


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## b-kul (Sep 20, 2009)

pretty crazy looking linkage you got going there! looks good!


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

the only one i ever built.


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## sonic reducer (Apr 12, 2010)

what did you use for the pivot?
dropouts?


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

sonic reducer said:


> what did you use for the pivot?
> dropouts?


Just fabricated steel for drop outs. For the pivot I used pipe with certain o.d. close enough to bearings, then machined it to proper tolerance.


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## jakester29959 (Aug 30, 2011)

man i cant wait to see your new design come to life! looking good man keep it up


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

thanks, i am 90 percent done on another one i don't show pics of in here. it sits on the table waiting to be welded.


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## Pedal Shop (Dec 14, 2006)

you should chat with Mark @ Purgatory Bikes ---- he'll give ya some pointers as far as getting something like that out into the public hands.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

also been working on a 29er dh and a 20" for kids.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

ok i posted the wrong crappy pics. Here are better concepts of the frame.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

ok, so here is my current project in its current state. I've kind of put it off a little due to some time constraints but it only needs to be welded up and paint and it should be good to go.
Have a look see at what it's supposed to be looking like.


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## jakester29959 (Aug 30, 2011)

wow man keep up the good work cant wait to see the finished product!


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

jakester29959 said:


> wow man keep up the good work cant wait to see the finished product!


Yeah, thanks a bunch. I hope it'll ride nice. Can't wait, plus, it' gonna be a lot lighter than my previous bike, lol.


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## carlitosz (Jan 19, 2010)

All it is missing is an engine.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

carlitosz said:


> All it is missing is an engine.


yes, yes indeed!


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## Apache249 (Jul 30, 2009)

What components are you planning on running?


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## jakester29959 (Aug 30, 2011)

i was just about to ask the same question


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## NWS (Jun 30, 2010)

Y YU NO HIGH FORWARD PIVOT?

I rather liked that about the old design.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

Apache249 said:


> What components are you planning on running?


I'll just be swapping whatever old outdated parts I have on my other bike to see how this thing rides. Then maybe i'll get some new stuff.


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## mongoose2231 (May 1, 2007)

NWS said:


> Y YU NO HIGH FORWARD PIVOT?
> 
> I rather liked that about the old design.


I have a few high froward pivot designs in my plans. Now if I didn't have to go to work everyday to pay the bills, i'd probably be able to finish a few of these every once in a while.


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