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After progressing from the Moots to my first home made bike with made
for singlespeed geometry I wanted to go even further with the
geometry. I wanted something I could really stand up on and
crank. That meant higher bars for a straighter back when standing and
tucking the rear wheel in close so that more weight would be over it
when standing. That should reduce the tendency for the rear wheel to
spin out on the loose trails. I wasn't too worried about getting the
center of gravity too far back since I would always be standing for
anything except the casual cruising and then it wouldn't matter.
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It all came together. Here it is built up with some new parts
and some old ones. Notice the location of the bottom bracket
relative to the seat tube. The seat tube is not attached
directly to the bottom bracket. It has been moved forward to
give the rear wheel room to move forward further under the seat.
After riding the bike a dozen time I really like the feel. The
front end is light but I've gotten used to it and it does hook
up nicely on the loose or muddy climbs. It turns well and stays
underneath me on the technical stuff. All in all I like the
geometry.
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A view from the other side makes it more clear how the seat tube
is attached. The height of the head tube is extra long. That put
the bars up at the same height as the seat.
The powercoat has the same look as that found on many shop tools
and vises. I wanted something that was different.
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Here are some shots of the frame after powdercoating but before
it was built up. Click on the pictures to see a larger
version. Notice the way the chainstays join to the bottom
bracket. With the rear wheel tucked in so tight it was tough to
get enough clearance for a 2.3 inch tire.
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There isn't much room to spare when a 2.3 inch tire is slide all
the way forward in the dropouts but it does clear the
chainstays. The dropouts have extra long slots so for wider
tires an extra link in the chain will allow the wheel to sit
further back and give more tire
clearance. The dropout is the one
originally planned for the first bike I made.
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This is the drawing I started from. It took a lot of playing to
get everything to fit and line up correctly. The bike came out
pretty much as planned.
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