... except for the colour of the rims / hubs.



Anyway, big tyre clearance, sensible off-road capable gearing and what looks to be both a simple and clever way of altering the geometry.

Interesting idea with the double drop-outs. I wonder how of a difference that effectively gives you.

Maybe this will reveal me as out of touch with some new bike trend, but why is there a wristband round the hub?

I am just about to pull the trigger on one of these stu , I have been liking the look of them for a while , just can't really decide between the steel and AL

Whatisit?

Rondo , from Poland I believe

Ta

i.e. this:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/rond ... 869d600b97

thenorthwind wrote: Maybe this will reveal me as out of touch with some new bike trend, but why is there a wristband round the hub?

Actually a very old fashioned idea, one which I introduced to by a very old fashioned member of this very forum.

Actually a very old fashioned idea, one which I introduced to by a very old fashioned member of this very forum.

Ah, that explains it then

Happy to help.

In Reverse wrote:

thenorthwind wrote: Maybe this will reveal me as out of touch with some new bike trend, but why is there a wristband round the hub?

Actually a very old fashioned idea, one which I introduced to by a very old fashioned member of this very forum.

Agree, been around for donkeys' years; I can remember having like a toe strap around the hubs back in the seventies but no idea why?!! Keep them clean possibly - not that road bikes (that's what we had them on) get particularly dirty.

In Reverse wrote:
Actually a very old fashioned idea,

I remember these in the '50s, but they were a cylindrical brush shaped into a ring. My father-in-laws bike had one

All kinds of correct there in that bike.

I heavily approve.

GregMay wrote:All kinds of correct there in that bike.

I heavily approve.

I'm not a fan. Make the head tube 1 1/8 with a steel fork that's in proportion to the rest of the frame. Straighten the chainstay, it's just a gimmick. Sack Stevie Wonder as the graphic designer and it's got potential.

PirahnaStraighten the chainstay, it's just a gimmick. .

It allows more tyre and chainring clearance without making the chainstay longer, looks a bit goofy but I could live with it

Lots to like on that

I really really need skinwalls on my CX. WTB are supposed to be doing the Nano in a skinwall but can't find them for sale when I look.

Interesting bike.

it's just a gimmick. .
/
It allows more tyre and chainring clearance without making the chainstay longer

It does, but it's a lot of faff for a bit of length there that is no real consequence on a bike that's not really for fast road miles - or if it is for road handling it's at the expense of off-road handling imo. Shorter isn't better once you're off-road. The Open UP did it for valid reasons but I'm not sold on the idea generally (UP is light, tight geometry bike, basically a road bike that can take big tyres more than a true mix-terrain bike - and it uses carbon in the right way, a way you can't really use a squashed tube in that area)

Also need to look at long-term durability of the design in a metal frame. It's not a terrible idea though and only time or testing would answer to what extent, or what has to be added to cope.

I say all this with a 425mm chainstay 29er drawing here from 2012 that had a dropped chainstay, it was an idea I got from an old Univega MTB. But it was sidelined as fairly pointless beyond grabbing attention (which is a fair enough reason to do it) when I questioned why I thought short CSs were valued and looked at how it would be made in Al or steel - a forged yoke ideally, a cost vs return Q.

It does seem a bit ott, especially as that doesn't even seem to have massive tyre clearance. Would people really change the fork setting more than once when they bought it? I know I'd stick it straight in the slacker setting and forget about it

Would people really change the fork setting more than once when they bought it?

Doesn't matter ... just as long as people think they would Seems to be a big(ish) swing towards one bike having many roles with 'versatility' being king, so perhaps people would view it in a similar way as they might view adjustable suspension travel / settings?

Fair point but looks like you have to fit/remove a brake adaptor when you change it...I can’t even be bothered to change tyres

My friend has a Orbea Rallon (2015) Enduro bike and that has adjustable height by turning round an insert at the shock bolt. It never gets changed, just left as it is. Rather comically the markings on it for the heights are 'low' and 'extra low'

"toe strap around the hubs back in the seventies" - I'm hoping, Peter, that you also installed some playing cards attached to the seatstays using clothes pegs and then pushed into the spokes so that they made an entertaining clattering noise as you rode around the estate(*).

We had to make our own entertainment in them there days.

I'm tempted to bring the feature back for WRT.

(*) Bash Street Estate, not Chatsworth, in my case.

Bearbonesnorm wrote:

Would people really change the fork setting more than once when they bought it?

Doesn't matter ... just as long as people think they would Seems to be a big(ish) swing towards one bike having many roles with 'versatility' being king, so perhaps people would view it in a similar way as they might view adjustable suspension trave / settings?

So true. A load of doubt in the market via conflicting info and multiple options = more demand for bikes that are adaptable and might insure against making a bad purchase decision. And some fiddle with bike settings, others don't. I don't believe a bike needs adjustability to be versatile as a bike is only truly versatile within a range that good fixed design can cover anyway, but adjustability to user preference covers a wider market, perhaps.

I know I had a 650B<>700C allroad bike made so I could vary what wheels I used. Should've known that I'd find one set does 90% of what I want really well, I get used to it and never bother swapping to-fro, better to appreciate and use the benefits of one set up imo. I did wonder about getting the fork done with a dropout like the GT ATBs had in 1990 so I could adjust the offset but again, I'd rather figure out what works best and leave it there. Would be a nice thing for bike development but it was easier to get 2 slightly different forks made, esp as it's rare that I'd only want to change one aspect of geometry (this fork changes the bike angles as well, that's a good thing if the balance is judged well).

I'm building a set of 650 wheels for the Amazon. I guess there small impact on the geometry and it's not perfect for all the uses I have for it, even at the moment, but I also doubt that any more than 0.5% of riders would be able to spot the "faults". I reckon that all that adjustment we are offered is simply marketing, aimed at pandering to the egos of those who like to pretend it makes a difference in the real world.

I reckon that all that adjustment we are offered is simply marketing, aimed at pandering to the egos of those who like to pretend it makes a difference in the real world.

Some truth in that. Some feel the differences, some don't, some ride better on a bike they agree with, others ride rings around us all on any old bike. There's clearly some value in being able to experiment, U-Turn forks were great in that respect. EBBs are another one I like for making a simple effective change to a bike.

RIP wrote:"toe strap around the hubs back in the seventies" - I'm hoping, Peter, that you also installed some playing cards attached to the seatstays using clothes pegs and then pushed into the spokes so that they made an entertaining clattering noise as you rode around the estate(*).

We had to make our own entertainment in them there days.

I'm tempted to bring the feature back for WRT.

(*) Bash Street Estate, not Chatsworth, in my case.

remember the plastic bread clips that you used to slide over your brake cable outer

Ice lolly stick through the brake pad hole in the caliber and on the the spokes to sound like a motor bike!