Help evaluating "cheaper" donor ideas

[mklebert]

Good Morning,

I am seriously considering the conversion kit and want to use an aluminum frame. I am 6 3 and 258 so I am concerned about getting enough room and not being too top heavy. I found this frame online and it seems promising. It is described as a SG 26" X 19" SUSPENSION FRAME T6 ALUMINUM POLISHED TUBING IS VERTICAL FORGED END , TIG WELDED WITH PIVOT.... SPD SHIMANO COMPATIBLE ....THE TRAVEL ON THIS SUSPENSION FRAME IS ABOUT 3"...seat post stem is aprox 30mm steer tube is aprox 32 mm The frame weighes about 9 lbs including the shock. I am wondering what the experts think.

I commute daily on a LWB CG Falcon but really am excited about a FWD SWB which would fit so much better on the train when I commute and maybe make my killer hill climb home easier.

Thanks

Mike

 

[defjack]

Its not a bad frame im kind of looking for something like that for build #8.Im looking for a small frame but my inseam is only 29 .Xseam 41 +I want to keep the bike fairly low at least for this build. Getting back to your frame it would be nice if the seller had a picture of a built up bike so you could see what angle the the seat would be on. Jack

 

[enjoybiking]

Another twisted idea, mod THIS:

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10983235&findingMethod=rr

removing the stock seat and applying the Cruz seat further forward, weight would be more forward, seat height somewhat low... I read the rear wheel is 20" the stock front actually 18". I suspect a 20-24" might fit up front with some mods and a fork with less rake.

 

[enjoybiking]

Today I surfed Walmart in person, but forgot my measuring-tape, sigh.
The 24" Jolia single-speed cruisier was quite light and would have a low seat height *if* you can tolerate the angle of the existing seat-tube. Also it looks rrright on the edge of being able to handle 26" rims with 26x1" tyres or so. Brakes you'd have to look at the thing to see if you can make them work, probably road caliper brakes, back anyway, front you could use a 26" fork or the 24" and a road caliper "I THINK". Yah, a light hard-tail slung LOW! With the exiting 24" front wheel you can bar-spin, I can't say whether a 26" with racing tire will, it would be "close".

Next I got to wondering about the 24" GMC Denali girl's bike, alas I could not find one in town but specs say it has a 21" stand-over height. I HEAR folks chatter about wanting the bent seat LOW...21-22-23" would be "pretty low"

http://www.amazon.com/GMC-Denali-Girls-24-Inch-Road/dp/B000GU2UAC

I also surfed some Diamondback Hybrids at Dick's Sporting Goods, the 700C model had a standard rounded crown fork, the 26" version had a suspension fork that your legs might hit. Nothing stopping ya from putting a 26" front [well, back] wheel on that and using a BMX or Tektro long-reach caliper brake.

Here's a spot with some pix:

http://www.thebikestand.com/diamondback-women.html

 

[enjoybiking]

buyagain wrote: The before photos of the Avalon.
I really Like this bike so far. She's got the lines dont you think? Oh and I think I read alloy rims and stainless steel spokes. Magnets don't work on stainless steel, you know. LOL I still can't believe they scanned this bike for $99. Sweeeeeet!!!

Regards

bob

Um, I got into selling 316L stainless on eBay last year and got an education about "stainless". My metals guy simplified it for me, the more the stainless is hardened the more you WILL see trace magnetic properties, at least with 316L. Customers were having magnets stick and thinking I was ripping them off...NOT SO. 316L will also rust or corrode under certain circumstances. The metal forms a sort of "skin" on O2 rich environs, but if you say scratch it/sand it and submerse it in acid...or lye...you have disrupted the metal's ability to protect it's self. Guys making hydrogen generators [Brown's gas], do just that and wonder why they are left with rotted out metal.

I SAW the Avalon at Wally Mart, did ya get a 24" wheelset then? That Jolla 1-speed is something geometry wise... I also have a steel Trek 220 like another poster depicted, I am TEMPTED to try a direct splice of it's rear-end onto another 24" 1-speed women's I picked up...and save my Cruz kit for something that will be more likely to hurt some diamond-frame roadies. I checked out the Tiara briefly and have been playing with a photo-editor to try and superimpose the Jolla on the Tiara. I think the main Tiara frame is ALU, the rear triangle MIGHT be steel...cute as a bug, but like the other guys have done, the heavy shock might have to go. MIght hit knees too. Kent International's ALU GMC Denali is available in 24" wheels, WAS being sold with 26" but no more, and a 700C women's version exists. The 24" has 21" stand-over, a Cruz seat might sit at 22-24". The Diamondback Vital 1 or any of the step-through women's by Diamondback, seem to have great promise. Not cheap, however.

Again, see bottom areas of this link:

http://www.thebikestand.com/diamondback-women.html

I have no idea if this is a good price, well, Dick's Sporting Goods in town had them on sale cheaper., $245 or so.

 

[enjoybiking]

I have been going round and round on which donor to buy. 24" Girl's GMC Denali w/ 21" standover,
the Next Jolla ALU 1-speed at WallyMart [the step-through "stand-over" is minimal], they come in 26" or 24" wheel flavors. With a Jolla you would leave the 1-speed back wheel on, and transplant something to front.
700C GMC Denali women's 22.5" "standover".... And THEN I spotted the 15" ALU 700C Forge Athena

http://www.target.com/Forge-Athena-V-Comfort-Bike-Pink/dp/B0025ZANHI/sr=1-1/qid=1249059462/ref=sr_1_1/192-2367754-9572941?ie=UTF8&search-alias=tgt-index&frombrowse=0&index=target&rh=k%3Aforge%20athena&page=1

I suspect that bottom tube is VERY VERY low, you could transplant on a 26" or 650C fork, or even a 24"... I dunno what diameter the stock steerer is. I also see Trek 7100 and 7200 WSD bikes on Craig'sList from time to time... Even a 700C fork w/ no travel would be down lower a few inches I bet. Carbon 1" 650C forks I see just under $40 at Icycles. 26" wheel again has that appeal of so many choices of rubber. This combo starts to LQQK like "The Poor Man's Silvio", yah I know it would be a un-suspended bike unless it can take a smaller and leaner front shock-fork. In rigid front forks, if this takes a 1" steerer [I dunno], Icycles has 650c carbon 1" at under $40.

 

[longbikez]

Hey Guys,
I have found a guy who has a bunch of aluminum Y frames at a decent price and will combine on the shipping. He had them on ebay but the listing ended and he has no intention of relisting this.
I'm sorry I do not seem to be able to get a picture to land here please copy and paste the link.

GROUP BUY???


MEGA SG 26" X 19" SUSPENSION FRAME T6 ALUMINUM AWESOME
BUY 2 Frames and second frame ships for $10.00
Item condition: New
Quantity:
7 available
Price: US $44.95
Shipping: $48.00Standard Flat Rate Shipping Service See more services | See all details
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270372634783&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT#ht_679wt_930
regards,Dave

 

[defjack]

There is a picture in this theread the Mega 26 19in. The frame is big for a conversion and the back of top tube has wrong angle or I would want one. Jack

 

[longbikez]

Man do I apologize. I was just going through this thread and saw the picture myself. Thanks for the input about the dimensions being Cruzbike conversion unfriendly. The person selling these did not relist them and as of yet has not sent me a requested detail picture. I think that I would take this as a sign to avoid this particular seller. I thought it very odd that every one of the buyers of this frame on ebay had their identities hidden. HMMM

 

[enjoybiking]

longbikez wrote: Man do I apologize. I was just going through this thread and saw the picture myself. Thanks for the input about the dimensions being Cruzbike conversion unfriendly. The person selling these did not relist them and as of yet has not sent me a requested detail picture. I think that I would take this as a sign to avoid this particular seller. I thought it very odd that every one of the buyers of this frame on ebay had their identities hidden. HMMM

My dealings with Kirk [is his name] have been just fine, $pent quite a bit with him. Ahh, but he has some other job and stuff...when you have 10-15-20 eBay auctions running, life is nuts. "Living room" nothing but boxes and peanuts and tape...a scale... Ebay customers expect shipping "yesterday" rapid communication to every query...and God help you if you make a honest mistake, or your eBay sales PC gets hit by lightning. His last communication to ME stated he needed a break from eBay. At my own "peek" I had 50 orders a week, I also had no life. Best Cruzbike in the world won't do ya much good in the garage. Lots of stress and then eBay and PayPal taking their legit share of around 10%... Once I had some kid with feedback of like 30 post negative feedback [my ONLY ever] without so much as an email to me, apparently there IS a difference between Specialized Mondo Pro tyres and S-works Mondo Pro? Well, I didn't know... I refunded his money forcefully, and GAVE him the $70 worth of tires, and asked that HE retract his feedback which he did... my point is there ARE lame customers, and if you have a family and a real job and a bike... that's important too. My buys from Kirk were big and early in his experience...my ONLY complaint is he could have had better shipping alternatives, $40 shipping on a case of pedals was painful.
I think you will note his later offerings were tttrying to be more appealing on the shipping, when possible.
Sometimes these dumb dimensional-weight rules kick in :cry:.

 

[enjoybiking]

I picked up a Trek 7000 WSD WOmen's ALU step-through 700C hybrid w/ standover about 18", it is very tight down that low, considering a hunk o' plywood with notches for the seat and down-tubes at the preferred seat-pan-height.  Dunno how I'd hold it up. Or, hi-grade PVC with worm-clamps each-end, like the CronoMetro "Knob". I got it for $125 so I could not go wrong. Issue #2 is the cruzbike kit I have probably can't take 700c wheels, which is just as well, I can go 700C rear and something smaller up front, but, also like to go FAST. Probably flip to 26" up front when I get time; I have 26" carbon forks just layin' around.

I Also picked up a '99 Vision R32 which can easily be converted to Cruz FWD technology [$275] "I think". Also have a Trek 220 [yah the blue kid's thing], and a newer 220 w/ front shock...[$50 was hard to pass up].
I can likely splice on a 20" front fork/wheel on the Vision 20/16 'bent, and get the seat-rails to remount further forwards [the rails system is riveted with what looks like stainless rivets]. I learned to ride it instantly! My first ever bent.

 

[enjoybiking]

...and on a whim I bought a Trek R200

http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?ItemID=35698&Type=bike

mine's not here yet but I've eyeballed one up close recently on a tour. LITTLe did the owner know I was dreaming of hack-sawing the front end off just beyond the cable-housing stops that are integrated into the top front of the boom in front of the steering. The cut off area I could mount a light in there or cap it if there are any PVC end-caps about that size, or spray in GreatStuff. Or a round hunk o' wood. Not very easy to turn back if I didn't like it, but I suspect with wide swept bars it would be alright. I am assuming I can get the seat to remount just right. So I have a FEW donor-bikes around and another coming, should be a fun Fall. The R200 seat might not even have to move. The Cruzbike assembly should fit...probably would need a bigger gear, I have a 58T laying around off a tandem. 58T can suck though; in the middle ring up front and high harder gears in rear you can get the ting ting ting sound of chain rubbing the inside of the 58T, or at least on my Santana it was so. Cruzbike kit would solve the heel-to-front-wheel interference problem the Trek R200 is known to have?

 

[John Tolhurst]

when one rear deraileur, one cluster and one chain is never enough. :shock: