Not sure what to do ... (frame size dilemma)

Raging_Bulls

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I took delivery of a nice frame today, and am not sure what to do with it.

schmolke_frame.jpg


It's a scandium full suspension affair, and limited edition as well. I haven't found another blue one on the net.
Less than 5.5lbs with the damper installed, so it's properly light . The regular version of this frame retails at around £1K

At first I was thinking about building it with 20" wheels, but IMO this frame deserves to be a proper build and regular rider.
So I'm thinking about getting a shock that has a remote lockout and turning it into the ultimate UAV. Or perhaps building a sub-20 lbs fully.

However ... it's 17" CC (or 19" C-T), which is about half an inch taller than my Copperhead. As you can see in this pic, that's on the tall side already.

What would you do? 20" MTB, weight weenie or UAV ? Or perhaps just sell it and get something a bit smaller?
 
I think it would look silly with 20inch wheels.

I'd mock it up with some forks, wheels and bars to see how the size feels. It's a bit of a pain, but at least you'll know before spending any money. I can't help feeling that you may need to sell it as its likely to be too big.
 
Just saw your other 20" wheel thread, love the Merc bike and those Jap bikes lok awesome.

I think you should go for it, Looks like a nice fame to try it on!
 
Hmm either weenie xc bike or the 20inch wheeled one. We know it will be fine for the weenie style but what about 20''? Can you do a mock up of that?
May be too big for it though.
 
Just threw some old junk on the frame and used toilet paper and packaging foam as spacers to make it fit. This thing really is a work of art !
Still not sure if it's the right size though. The seat is set at my usual position (67cm from BB center to top of saddle).
I have enough room left to raise it 5mm without any special tricks, and another 5mm if I use 170mm cranks. It really is borderline.

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Top tube C-C is a few mm shorter than my Bulls though. I'm liking that. I'm leaning towards keeping it, but not entirely convinced yet.

Regarding the 20" idea : with a 100mm fork, the BB axle is currently 12.5" from the ground.
That becomes 9.5" if I put 20" wheels on it, or nearly 10" with very thick tyres (Schwalbe Big Apple 20x2.15 for instance).
Add an extra 5mm by means of a 170mm crankset, and the pedals' BDC (*) is still 1.5" lower than on my Sbike, which is already extremely low for being a sporty model.

With some clever measuring and drawing, I'm pretty sure I can come up with a new triangle for the linkage. That could raise the bike an extra inch at the back.


* : Bottom Dead Center, for those who aren't familiar with the acronym.
 
that doesn't look too far out - personally I would like to see more seat post showing but the seat tube goes a fair bit past the top tube. (I have around 26 cm from end of seat tube to saddle rails)

I notice the seat is well back implying the top tube is shorter than you are used to - that is the more important dimension; unless you just slpped it on any old way.
 
02gf74":20cr22gt said:
I notice the seat is well back implying the top tube is shorter than you are used to - that is the more important dimension; unless you just slpped it on any old way.

I took the seat and seatpost from my 503, put the taillight's collar 2cm higher (I know that the Sbike's seat tube is 2cm shorter) and dropped the post in the frame until the collar hit the top of the seat tube. I haven't tried sitting on the bike yet.
If I were to sell it and there's a single scratch in the headtube or seattube, it looks like it has been used already. That does affect the resale value. So I'm not sitting on it until I know for sure that I'll keep it.

As for the seat being well back : Can't say I ever noticed that. It's mounted like that on the Sbike, and after around 1K miles with the Flite I never really noticed that it may have been wrong.
I do notice that my pants are hitting the bit of the post that holds the seat rails, because the anodizing in the front corners has worn off. So perhaps I should look into it.

Actually ... a quick stroll in the garage shows that all my seats are mounted so that when viewed from the side, the seatpost intersects the seat in the middle of its length. hmm ...
Perhaps that's why I can't stand the sight of a Flite on a seatpost without setback. They always have so much nose sticking out in front. So it's purely aesthetics that dictate my seating position.
 
The seller claimed that the weight was 2480g, which is close to 5.5lbs if memory serves me right. ( 2.5kg -> 2.2 lbs = 1kg -> 5.5 lbs)
Schmolke themselves claim it's 2174g with shock and headset, which actually is closer to the 2.2kg my own scale indicates (without headset though).
Then again my scale is designed to measure people, so I have my doubts about its accuracy when dealing with such low weights.

Both Schmolke's claim and my quick measurement aren't bad if I look at the list of full suspension frame weights. It's right up there with the good Scandium ones.

All I know for sure is that it feels lighter than my Bulls' (alu hardtail) frame did the last time I had the bike apart. Then again it's as expensive as that entire bike was to begin with.

I think I'll keep it. Now it's just a matter of deciding what to do with it. Mini Velo or Urban Assault. Both options allow me to get away with a frame that is slightly too large.
I'm certainly not going to weenie it.
 
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