Sierra Scrambler

(It’s 2018 now, spent 4 years on another website)

Well I’m back! I never did really use the blog on the other web page so we’ll see if I can actually motivate to write here again. Since moving to California it’s been 6 years with a lot of ups and downs. We moved to Foresthill, then 2 years ago to the flatlands of the valley.  I’m hoping for more ups than downs in the future years.

This bike below i had in my mind for about a year, the color scheme and parts and the geometry but the tire size kept changing and what tubes were bent and where always was moving around as well.  I think i went through 10 iterations of this frame before saying “F-it” and just built the damn frame when I had a gap in the queue.  I really wanted it to be able to use my two favorite wheel sizes and have an adjustable wheelbase for added tire clearance as well as having a more stable ride when I wanted it. My previous frame used a PF30 EBB and that works fine but I really wanted to use adjustable dropouts instead this time. As for the type of bike, I guess they call it “Forward Geometry” these days – kinda like the new version of Fisher’s Genesis/G2 geometry that i liked so much way back when I was a racer in the late 90’s. But now it’s even more extreme especially when you factor in all the new wheel and tire sizes.

To make this bike accommodate 29×2.6 and 27.5 x 2.8 without changing the BB height drastically i used Paragon sliders and tilted them at about 15 deg so when they’re back all the way the BB is 5mm lower than it was when they’re all the way forward.  I hope to machine some inserts that will make that drop even bigger so that i could use 29×2.8’s without having a really high BB.  Bottom bracket height is one of the main things that makes a bike ride VERY different from another. Sure, there are stock frames that can fit multiple wheel and tire sizes — if the wheel and tire fits you can swap between them, but 29×3’s are so much taller than 27.5×3’s that the diameter difference has got to be mediated somehow whether it’s with an EBB and/or adjustable dropouts that do something like what i’ve done here.

I’m happy to say the first ride was awesome, better than expected…just damn laugh otu loud fun with a few times of pure fear with what I was able to do.  Climbs way better than i thought it would for having a 652mm top tube and 780mm front center (!). Feels just right to me even with the 70mm Boxcar stem on it somewhat due to having the Oddity Razorbars with a 20 degree sweep. It’s a confidence inspiring bike on the downhills and with the rear wheel tucked in there with the 415mm chainstays and 12″ high BB it is glued to the ground on the uphills…stable, playful, fun.  I can’t wait to ride more and take it up high to Tahoe and Lakes Basin this fall!