2011 April « Paleo Vélo

Or is it Man’s playground?

Update: As of April 17, the bike has been sold.

Up for sale is my titanium Blacksheep monstercross/MTB/touring do-it-all adventure bike with S&S couplers. Geometry (posted below) is not far off from a Rivendell Atlantis. This bike was made to serve as a sort of Swiss Army knife, and works well in a number of different configurations. Since I had it built back in 2007, I’ve had it set up as a Rohloff-equipped drop bar monster cross type bike, a single speed cross bike, a road touring and commuting bike, and an H-bar equipped, 29er tired mountain bike.

I am looking to sell the frame/fork/ and Chris King headset. If you are interested in a complete bike, I could possibly sell the parts to create an H-bar setup like you see below, or a drop bar setup with Nitto Noodle bars, v-brake drop bar levers, and bar cons.

If you bought the frame and fork new from Blacksheep today, it would cost an eyewatering $4500. The bike has been ridden, has the usual cable rub, and has some quirks (see below). I’m asking $1800 for the frame/fork/headset, which its just over 1/3 of what it would cost new. I could throw in a used S&S hard case ($400 new), for an even $2000. Feel free to make an offer on this or some other combo of parts.

Geometry:

Effective TT: 59.5 (C-C)
Seattube: 56 (c-c) (toptube upslope is around 6 degrees)
STA & HTA: 72
BB Drop: 75
Fork rake: 5.2
Axle-crown: 42.5
Headtube: 18
Chainstays: 44.5 (about middle of the sliders, so some room in either
direction)
Standover at mid toptube with 700x38s: 86.5
135mm rear spacing
27.2 seatpost.
1&1/8 headset
Frame, Fork, Headset, and headset spacers: 6lbs 3oz.
Couplers themselves are stainless steel

Things to note (important!)

–The bike will accept a Nanoraptor 29er tire, though the clearance in front is not very big when set up this way, and would not be ideal if you want to ride it in a muddy area with these tires. I’ve done lots of mixed surface miles on Nanos here in southern california, and they work great.
–There is a small dimple in the Toptube from where the TSA goons opened the S&S case and shut it again improperly. It’s purely cosmetic and I’ve ridden the bike for 3 years since this incident with nary a problem. Still, it’s there, as you can see in the pics below.
–Two years ago, I sent the bike back to James at Blacksheep and had him remove and reattach the rear sliders. He beefed up the welds and moved the rackmounts back to make more pannier heel clearance. I did this because there was a 2mm hairline crack on one of the welds. The new sliders have been reattached with extra beefy welds and James assures me its stronger than it ever was. I’ve ridden it over hill and dale with nary a problem since.
–With some sets of brakes, you need to use the top position of the canti studs up front to get strong spring tension. Brakes work great—just something to note if you buy it and are trying to set up your brakes.
–You’ll want to replace the seatclamp as this one is getting a bit used up.
–There is provisions for mounting fenders in the rear via bosses directly into both chain and seat stay. You’ll need to use a cork or spacers to get proper fenderline. In the front, there are rackmount bosses above the fork tips. I used a Nitto Campee rack with detachable lowriders. The bike does not have a second set of mounts behind the fork tips for front fenders. This would be a cheap, easy job for any one who can weld Ti.
–Since this is Ti, you can return the finish to new with a little scotch brite and a lot of elbow grease, but it looks just fine as it is. Just the usual cable rub marks and various signs of wear. There is some chainsuck scratches (see pic below).

Here is the frame and fork broken down and ready for shipment:

Here are a few pics of different ways the bike has been built up. The saddle height in these pictures is approx. 78.5-79cm, just to give you an idea of the proportions: