The Karpiel Disco itself is a long story. 204 questions are at the bottom of this post for those who don't want to read my ramblings. And no, this isn't another bash Jan thread, there's plenty of those anyway. I've gotten to the point where I could ghostride it off into the Grand Canyon and laugh at it, but I ain't tried so hard to just give up. But I think I've learnt my lesson on dealin with these types of companies, sometimes it just isn't worth it. I love this bike to death, when it works correctly that is. Saw it in 99 at Carlmont, and said one day I will have myself that bike. And here I am, but I'm pooped. Long story short, I have the wrong linkage plates on my Disco, which is over-leveraging the shock. I've blown out my Fox at least 3 times in less than one year.
I do have a hookup now for the right plates (you know who you are, thank you for your help so far.) I'm hoping to get them soon, and find out if I can put that beautiful Avalanche shock on my bike. Thought I might add, Avy has some awesome CS. Helped me grind down the metal bushings to make it fit with my frame, I think my frame got pushed in as the fox bushings wore in. Craig has been extremely helpful in trying to assist in getting everything to work correctly.
I'm at a point where I have no idea what to do. I'm determined to wait until I get the linkage plates and see if I can make my bike run the way it's supposed to, but I'm beginning to take a pessimistic attitude towards it. This bike seems perfect for me, at one point I had it to 42 pounds which isn't very heavy in my eyes. And that's with a Monster T and a DeeMax wheelset, doesn't strike me as that light of a build.
I guess what I want to ask is, what should I do? I've spent so much time and money on this project that it's almost stupid to just sell it the way it is right now. But I'm at a point where I haven't ridden the bike much, and it's been messed up for over a month. And in the past month, my friends have ridden the bike more than I have. I've gone through chainguide after chainguide to find out what's worked and what hasn't, (I should have just listened to dhtahoe in the first place) spent enough money on that Fox where I could nearly have paid off an Avy if I had just done it initially, and spent countless nights throwing wrenches and cussing out of frustration. Or should I bite the bullet, finish off the job, and keep it? From different posts here and there, I'm getting a bit skeptical about the future of Karpiel itself.. I don't want to break something some day and then have nobody to goto.
I've done alot of research on the 204, the other frame that I've always had my eyes on. Seems like everybody thinks it's burly, weight is low, pedals on average, and is heavy. Couldn't seem to find weight specs on the frame though. And yes, I'm a weight weenie in this aspect because I'm a weakling. What I didn't find on the 204 are big complaints. Has anybody had any bad complaints on that frame? How I ride: I've used my Karpiel for everything after not having the funds to build a hardtail. Some short XC rides, had some fun at a local DS course, urban, road, everything. I've also read that the Tomac won't take anything lower than a 40T chainring, which kind of strikes me as a problem - I usually ride up most of the up to get to the down. I've got a 38T on the Karpiel right now, and it's not too bad.
Thanks for readin. It's been a long day Would appreciate your opinions, so voice them!
I do have a hookup now for the right plates (you know who you are, thank you for your help so far.) I'm hoping to get them soon, and find out if I can put that beautiful Avalanche shock on my bike. Thought I might add, Avy has some awesome CS. Helped me grind down the metal bushings to make it fit with my frame, I think my frame got pushed in as the fox bushings wore in. Craig has been extremely helpful in trying to assist in getting everything to work correctly.
I'm at a point where I have no idea what to do. I'm determined to wait until I get the linkage plates and see if I can make my bike run the way it's supposed to, but I'm beginning to take a pessimistic attitude towards it. This bike seems perfect for me, at one point I had it to 42 pounds which isn't very heavy in my eyes. And that's with a Monster T and a DeeMax wheelset, doesn't strike me as that light of a build.
I guess what I want to ask is, what should I do? I've spent so much time and money on this project that it's almost stupid to just sell it the way it is right now. But I'm at a point where I haven't ridden the bike much, and it's been messed up for over a month. And in the past month, my friends have ridden the bike more than I have. I've gone through chainguide after chainguide to find out what's worked and what hasn't, (I should have just listened to dhtahoe in the first place) spent enough money on that Fox where I could nearly have paid off an Avy if I had just done it initially, and spent countless nights throwing wrenches and cussing out of frustration. Or should I bite the bullet, finish off the job, and keep it? From different posts here and there, I'm getting a bit skeptical about the future of Karpiel itself.. I don't want to break something some day and then have nobody to goto.
I've done alot of research on the 204, the other frame that I've always had my eyes on. Seems like everybody thinks it's burly, weight is low, pedals on average, and is heavy. Couldn't seem to find weight specs on the frame though. And yes, I'm a weight weenie in this aspect because I'm a weakling. What I didn't find on the 204 are big complaints. Has anybody had any bad complaints on that frame? How I ride: I've used my Karpiel for everything after not having the funds to build a hardtail. Some short XC rides, had some fun at a local DS course, urban, road, everything. I've also read that the Tomac won't take anything lower than a 40T chainring, which kind of strikes me as a problem - I usually ride up most of the up to get to the down. I've got a 38T on the Karpiel right now, and it's not too bad.
Thanks for readin. It's been a long day Would appreciate your opinions, so voice them!