Lol u r dumb
Some of the rarer DH companies...
- Thread starter Electric_City
- Start date
No one mentioned Nicolai. Not made in North Amurica but still high quality and rare.
I like that Cortina. I've always wanted one of those Cortina Avalanche team bikes.
I like that Cortina. I've always wanted one of those Cortina Avalanche team bikes.
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Foes
Chumba (although I'm not sure if they're still making DH bikes)
Ventana (not producing DH bikes right now, but you may be able to get one built using their full custom program)
Chumba (although I'm not sure if they're still making DH bikes)
Ventana (not producing DH bikes right now, but you may be able to get one built using their full custom program)
Says the buddy that is constantly hemmoraging money into CL piles with no resale... Do you actually ride bikes, or just talk about them on the internet?
Please explain to me how the FTW or GG is a better designed or manufactured bike than the Iron Horse. Other than some guy who lives in the United States welded it.
Yakuza was the budget option, to the Sunday. Manufactured in same factory (except WC models) and designed by same designer that gives you all e-boners. Taiwanese Sundays are pretty much most durable DH bike evar. I've never seen a broken Yakuza, and know of several that get ridden hard. Most, however, have lived in the garage, collecting dust.
I am very familiar with FTW, Yeti, Homegrowns, Spooky, T1, etc. That was a different time: pre-heat treat days. Heat treating is a lot more complicated than most people know, and you don't pull it off in a garage.
I think Santa Cruz is totally missing the ball, not offering an updated Super 8, simple single pivot with good geo, for $1500 or so. I guess the industry has decided, DH frames start at $2000+.
Please explain to me how the FTW or GG is a better designed or manufactured bike than the Iron Horse. Other than some guy who lives in the United States welded it.
Yakuza was the budget option, to the Sunday. Manufactured in same factory (except WC models) and designed by same designer that gives you all e-boners. Taiwanese Sundays are pretty much most durable DH bike evar. I've never seen a broken Yakuza, and know of several that get ridden hard. Most, however, have lived in the garage, collecting dust.
I am very familiar with FTW, Yeti, Homegrowns, Spooky, T1, etc. That was a different time: pre-heat treat days. Heat treating is a lot more complicated than most people know, and you don't pull it off in a garage.
I think Santa Cruz is totally missing the ball, not offering an updated Super 8, simple single pivot with good geo, for $1500 or so. I guess the industry has decided, DH frames start at $2000+.
All i can say, is knolly is ****ing awesome.
Used to be made by Sapa, when that closed they were unfortunately in the middle of trying to produce their new line, and moved to over seas production.
However, there has never been a company that i have had better customer service and company-client relations with. You can call, and talk to noel. The last bike i ordered from them i talked with the owner from start to finish over countless emails and over the phone. Bike came perfect and in a timely manner. never a single issue. EVER.
Pro: Small Canadian company, Canadian employees, Close relationships with clients
Con: Made in Asia
Devinci is a larger brand, but their high end aluminium is 100% sourced and built in canada.
Pro: 100% Canadian made start to finish, Canadian Emplyees.
Cons: Larger company with dealer networks, reps, ect
GG fills the total small function company you're looking for.
Pro: USA all the way, Merica
Cons: New company
I would look at one of those 3, and decide what factor you can't live without.
Used to be made by Sapa, when that closed they were unfortunately in the middle of trying to produce their new line, and moved to over seas production.
However, there has never been a company that i have had better customer service and company-client relations with. You can call, and talk to noel. The last bike i ordered from them i talked with the owner from start to finish over countless emails and over the phone. Bike came perfect and in a timely manner. never a single issue. EVER.
Pro: Small Canadian company, Canadian employees, Close relationships with clients
Con: Made in Asia
Devinci is a larger brand, but their high end aluminium is 100% sourced and built in canada.
Pro: 100% Canadian made start to finish, Canadian Emplyees.
Cons: Larger company with dealer networks, reps, ect
GG fills the total small function company you're looking for.
Pro: USA all the way, Merica
Cons: New company
I would look at one of those 3, and decide what factor you can't live without.
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sweet grafix > heat treatment
keep up
keep up
I've checked out the brand new Made in Taiwan Podium and the GG/DH and they're both very well built.
Remember that any new company can and will make refinements and show some continuous improvements as they get their sh!t together. To use the Knolly as an example, look at the first Podium and compare it to the current frame. Same, but so different.
I ride a round-tube DHR and have been tossing around the idea of "what next". In as much as I'd love to have a frame and support a company who manufactures in this country, it isn't a deal breaker if the best choice happens to be made overseas.
Remember that any new company can and will make refinements and show some continuous improvements as they get their sh!t together. To use the Knolly as an example, look at the first Podium and compare it to the current frame. Same, but so different.
I ride a round-tube DHR and have been tossing around the idea of "what next". In as much as I'd love to have a frame and support a company who manufactures in this country, it isn't a deal breaker if the best choice happens to be made overseas.
can't speak to the GG, but frank's frames are most certainly heat treated.
Do you have any evidence of that? I see none on his site?
As far as I can tell, he has mostly switched to cro-mo, because it doesn't require heat treat.
All his old Yeti/Homegrown/Spooky stuff was 7005, where it was acceptable in those days to have no post weld. 15 years makes a difference.
Can you build a non-heat treated aluminum bike that works? Yes. Is a modern heat treated bike going to be more durable, lighter, stronger? Yes.
There is no way I would buy a heavier, weaker product, for more money, just cause it's made in the states. That's just me.
As far as I can tell, he has mostly switched to cro-mo, because it doesn't require heat treat.
All his old Yeti/Homegrown/Spooky stuff was 7005, where it was acceptable in those days to have no post weld. 15 years makes a difference.
Can you build a non-heat treated aluminum bike that works? Yes. Is a modern heat treated bike going to be more durable, lighter, stronger? Yes.
There is no way I would buy a heavier, weaker product, for more money, just cause it's made in the states. That's just me.
he doesn't have any evidence on his website that he uses a ruler either, are you going to accuse him of eyeballing tube lengths?
he works mostly in steel these days because the majority of the frames he's building are customs.
Listen, you kashima coated internet troll, there's a big difference between frames aside from suspension design and factory. I know that's hard to believe, but alloy, structural design, shock size, shock hardware, headtube design, bearing size, geometry...and more, actually play a part in how a frame rides and wears. If you don't believe me, I'll send you my yakuza that's sitting on my basement floor. It has no less than five cracks in it. On on each side of the swing arm shock mount, one on each side of the seatpost tower, and another one behind the headtube. If you have seen any of those bikes recently, you would have seen a crack at the rear shock mount, and there's a good chance you'd see at least one at the seat tower. Almost every yakuza I've seen in a parking lot shows at least one of those cracks. You know why? They were designed poorly. I wish that I had spent the money I wasted on the yakuza on a real frame.
So yeah, maybe there's actually something to a frame design besides cramming an acceptable suspension design into the cheapest manufacturing process possible.
I heard he heat treats his frames by sticking them up your tight ass.
Material and weld quality. He uses better aluminum, no question about that. I don't think I need to defend his welding skills.
Also there are lots of little things that these guys do better. Example: the giant glory (and trek session since they make it) has it cable stops torch brazed on instead of welded. These companies also use cheaper paints/powdercoats. Tolerances are probably tighter too. Making a frame isn't just slapping a few tubes together.
I hear FTW is in house-ing his heat treatments. He has a special process with his wife's oven!!
Totally agree. One of those big brands just needs to come up with a GG/FTW/whatever single pivot design copy and make it cheap. There's no reason they can't make a quality frame for way cheaper than a boutique brand.
L....O.....L.... I don't see specialized heat treat process or aluminum alloys listed on their site either. They must be secretly switching to steel!
But yes, I can assure you 100% he heat treats his aluminum. I can tell you because I had to wait for my damn frame to get back from them once!
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Man, this thread makes my head hurt. But for what it's worth, my round-tube, non-dw, Turner DHR is still the only DH frame I've not managed to break within a two year window. I'd have no qualms about durability on those.
Speaking of rare and US made... if you throw enough money at him, I'm sure doc would make you a silencer
Last I checked (and on this particular manufacturer my checking is better than your checking) the ones they've been making for the last 2 years or so haven't seen a single one fail. That first run with the headtubes was it.
And just a reminder, a run of the 05 square tubers all cracked at the shock mounts. Not the ones before and not the ones after but not all of those were the same.
Those new bikes are bomber as shlt.
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I have no insider knowledge, but was going to say that after that first batch, I have not heard of one failing. Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but there aren't too many bikes in widespread use that that can be said for.
I've seen a bunch of them failing in the front triangles. Which surprised me actually. I would have pegged the rear triangle to get ripped apart on that thing.
The square tubed ones would break, but it would take a LOT of abuse to do it. I'm aware of one that got re-welded back into service at least twice. Got many many years of life out of that bike.
Reminds you of your old boxxer threads eh?
Wraith and rompah stompah are 2 small frame makers here in the northeast that are really cool. The rompah is pretty much a steel version of the bullet.
A couple headtubes (top and bottom, separately), BB/cage area, and seattube/toptube joint. Pretty new ones, as far as I know.
Note to all dhr owners: don't hang out with hacktastic
dhr poison!
I didn't even think there were that many out there.
anyway: if you really want off the radar, those GG frames look pretty damn cool
I still want to ride one.
dhr poison!
I didn't even think there were that many out there.
anyway: if you really want off the radar, those GG frames look pretty damn cool
I still want to ride one.
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Tons in SoCal, brah.Note to all dhr owners: don't hang out with hacktastic
dhr poison!
I didn't even think there were that many out there.
anyway: if you really want off the radar, those GG frames look pretty damn cool
I still want to ride one.
The GG frames look nice. Simple, effective.
I really want to like those Knolly frames, but I just can't get over the two redundant links thing. Just seems like such an afterthought.
You are wrong with regards to GG frames.
Seriously, though, that's only one of a thousand details that matter when designing and manufacturing a DH frame that can survive the pounding that they go through. You'd be better off gluing strain gauges on the frame in high stress areas and comparing the results to an S-N curve for the the material used. Other than that, you can't really tell by just looking at a frame, or asking about the heat treat.
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Well, ****, apologies. I checked out your website, and you tout all the local vendors you work with..."To make our fabrication processes happen, we work with several local machine shops, a tube bending shop, our local welder, and several testing facilities. "
Nothing in there about heat treat. May want to add that info to the site.
What kind of fixtures do you use for the HT? I imagine that must really limit production.
Nothing in there about heat treat. May want to add that info to the site.
What kind of fixtures do you use for the HT? I imagine that must really limit production.
agree with sentimental values of local brand (just like my R2Q5), but IMO frame is approx only 20% of total bike cost, so the big chunk of money goes to shocks, forks and components, and its made in EARTH so don't worry to much.. you'll end up with major (global) brands anyways, componentzwise...
I thought aluminum was virtually un-rideable without being heat treated?
Anyway, my vote is the GG DH, especially with that lengthy large around the corner- sounds like it meets your requirements quite well, assuming its long enough.
Anyway, my vote is the GG DH, especially with that lengthy large around the corner- sounds like it meets your requirements quite well, assuming its long enough.
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Does BMW (Brooklyn Machine Works) still make A DH frame? If I remember correctly, everything was made/welded in Brooklyn.
You're thinking of Karpiel
Epic archived thread BTW: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/f19/karpiel-update-iast-100433/
Canfield makes high quality, durable frames and the guys running it can't be more passionate about riding and racing.
no he won't, i tried :/
Well, I had to wait for my FTW frame to be heat treated and (semi) painted: Frank left the rear triangle raw accidentally on purpose...
You must not have offered enough money. Everything has a price. But i figure the amount it would take is somewhere in the absurd range.