Hey Bike Zen, you guys should try using Kickstarter to launch your new product . I know a guy who raised $80,000 for his steel hardtail product :skep:.
Seriously though, looks like another nice product.
Hey Bike Zen, you guys should try using Kickstarter to launch your new product . I know a guy who raised $80,000 for his steel hardtail product :skep:.
Seriously though, looks like another nice product.
Thanks!
The dropouts will be our new modular insert. So they can be 135 x 10 Smax, Maxle, Syntace etc..(The same design we used on the Moots Divide CS)
Zen = middle ground. We wanted to sit between the ROS9 and XC style frames. (You'll see what we mean when we post the GEO chart later)
The curved DT allows for fork crown clearance and makes the tube land straight at the headtube avoiding a sharp angle and possible gusset. BB 30 to allow BEER components EBB for Single Speed set-up. This allows us to make dropouts that are strong and fixed.
True Temper, Columbus, Reynolds, etc make great tubes, so we select the best tube for the location on the frame rather than sticking with a brand for the whole frame and compromising the design.
We know there are several ways to accomplish an awesome 29 Steel hardtail, but this is our take on it.
Thanks for playing!
David
So what's the deal, will we see some fancy OX downtubes? or 853 stays? are straight 4130 that shoots lazers out its bum and "totally stokes, bro" retired BMXers from the 80s?
It rides great. I ride mine in 29+ mode year round.
There have been some cool developments in the + market this year so we are revising the current ZFB design to capture the latest. More to come..
Agree. That length is what I consider "normal", not "short". It's not "short for 29ers", because a bike that's already more stable due to the wheels in it doesn't need to be "more more" stable by being longer than you'd have with a 26er, that makes no sense.
Also, agree about the BB30. I lucked out with my new carbon frame and got one of the few using english threads. BB30 is primarily a result of carbon frame manufacturers that are unwilling to invest and solve some of the problems concerning carbon and small structures on a frame, that said, most of the initial BB30 problems have been ironed out and switching a bearing every once and a while isn't all that hard, actually miles better than the old throw-away BBs we used to run with square taper cranks.
Lastly, I think the new frontier is going to be fatbike-to-29er convertible bikes, which creates some issues again with chainstay length (going to need some more for the fatbike, so maybe sliding or replaceable). I think this might take hold and constitute a huge market soon.
Agree. That length is what I consider "normal", not "short". It's not "short for 29ers", because a bike that's already more stable due to the wheels in it doesn't need to be "more more" stable by being longer than you'd have with a 26er, that makes no sense.
I consider sub 17" stays short for any off road bike. Wheel size does not prevent the rear end from trying to pass the front when the trail turns fast, rough and twisty, when the tail is too short.
RE: Chainstay length. Who can say without actually riding the bike?
I 100% preferred the geometry of the Titus Fireline Evo and Yelli screamy over the Kona Honzo which had shorter stays. Going sub 17" usually means a curved seat tube, ride quality and weight suffer as a result. Plus designers of sub-17" stay frames typically go to super long top tubes and super short head tubes to help keep the front end down- ironic since being easy to wheelie is the allure of short chainstays, and the wheelbase ends up being the same as a bike with longer stays and a normal top tube length.
I haven't ridden a chromag surface, but the geometry looks spot on. Straight seat tube, 17" stays which is pretty much as short as you can go with a straight seat tube with normal angle. Head tube and top tube lengths that make for a correct wheelbase and a bike that can corner and manual without feeling squirrelly on high speed rocky trails. The titus is similar but I do wish there were more size options.
This zen fab thing looks nice.
It does depend on your trails. I definitely prefer stability at speed/on steeps over low speed agility.
I consider sub 17" stays short for any off road bike. Wheel size does not prevent the rear end from trying to pass the front when the trail turns fast, rough and twisty, when the tail is too short.
The shorter head tubes are usually for reduced bar height, which is a huge problem as travel grows and axle to crown heights get out of control. I would much rather have a 100mm headtube and be able to stack spacers and get riser bars than a 125mm headtube and have to run flat bars with a slammed stem, like my enduro.
The stays are a matter of personal taste. I Think I could get along with super shorties, but I'd rather BUY a more balanced setup that can corner well as well as be flicked around, and still climb well and all that. Too short and the rear end gets unsettled, as shiggy said. Too long and the bike is sluggish. 16.9" is a good length regardless of wheel size.
Finally, the longer reach/top tube is great as speeds get faster and body English gets...englisher. The short tt with a long stem days are done. Give me an aggressive front end that can be put where I want it even at high speed any day. The only exception is on xc bikes where you're doing a lot of ups and downs. The longer stems are great for weight balance when you need to climb constantly. The only problem is going down, where things get sketchy. I think you'll see the long reach geometry hit lots of bikes in the future, as it just makes sense. Maybe not a 25" top tube some people are pushing, but I can't imagine myself on a bike with a reach of less than 17", and I'm 5'11"
On the head tube comment, my point is that people often blame chainstays when 29'ers feel hard to manual/wheelie, but raising the handlebars 20mm, or shortening the top tube, can feel like taking 20mm off the chainstays.
Same with top tube length. Lots of people have been happily running 50mm stems with "normal" top tube lengths since forever. Since when do top tubes need to be 1-2" longer so people can run 35-50mm stems? At some point it's just too long.
Something I find very curious, is that so many people blamed long chainstays and wheelbases for 29'ers having slow or dead feeling handling.... yet the bike industry is doing a lot of things to 27.5" bikes to slow down the handling, like longer top tubes, 17"+ chainstays, longer wheelbases.
In the end it's personal preference based on riding style and terrain...I think this ZenFab thing looks great.
Good luck to you. I have a Vassago VerHauen made by Zen and it is a great riding bike.
If this one is like the VerHauen in ride feel and build quality, you will have a winner on your hands.
I would definitely ditch the BB30 shell and go for a threaded BB setup. I have had a few bikes with BB30 and PF30 and the system sucked. One thing I look for in new frames is threaded BB.
Also I would suggest "saddle" guides all around for full housing runs. My one complaint with the VerHauen is the shift cable routing under the down tube.
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