26" bmx or klunker?

[Bicycle808]

FWIW, I've been palping Worksman INBs offroad for some time now. The center of the crank on my INBS is almost exactly the same height as on my turn-of-the-century Kona Hahanna hardtail (size 18" frame, turned full-rigid); the effective top tube length is less than 1" shorter. The main geometry differences are the slacker head- and seat-tube angles and the longer chainstays on the INB vs the Kona. I run 175mm and 180mm cranks; pedal strike has not been a problem for me, i guess b/c I've been riding trails for a long time, so I avoid obstacles, conserve momentum, and otherwise do my best to sustain "flow". I do not crash too often....

I shoot for around a 50" gear for offroad on a singlespeed; this is just slightly under a 2:1 ratio front to back sprocket, on a bike with 26" wheels. Everyone I know who has run an IGH offroad has blown it up, exceptions being Rohloff and Shimano Alfine 8s. Apparently, the NuVinci hub is entirely trailworthy, and i'd like to try one. Unfortunately, all of those hubs are too wide to run in most cruiser frames without modification. The 2-, 3-, and 5-speed IGHs that will fit in the cruisers' dropouts tend to blow up under high-torque situations common in offroad riding, especially with gear ratios <2:1. I am about to try a kickback on a bike that i intend to ride offroad a bit, but i have a SS back up plan for when/if I fry the kickback....

HTH,
Rob

 

[twister]

I have another tire thing I tried and really didn't like. I tried Maxxis and Kenda 2.5 inch downhill tires on another clunker I use for winter riding. I tried it on twisty trails in the summer and had a hard time steering the bike with these big heavy tires. It seemed like the front wheel was a gyroscope and wanted to go straight. Probably had something to do with the geometry of the cruiser? My 2.1 inch tires are OK.

I was planning on getting one of the two tires you mentioned. Thanks for the info.

 

[coreybruyere]

By "new" do you mean a MY2014 bike, or an older bike that's new-to-you?

FWIW, a lot of these bikes sort of blur the line, and they have had much in common for as long as I've been alive. WBITD, a klunker was a heavyweight cruiser adapted to offroad use using moto, tandem, and some bmx bits. As the 26" cruiser class of BMX took off, and new-production 26" bikes were made to do more in the ways of riding trails rather than bmx tracks, you got things like the GLJ Fireroad Cruiser:

--- like I said, the lines get blurry. I think of a "klunker" as a pre-1970 frame with all pre-1980 parts on it, mostly cruiser/moto/tandem stuff on it.... but i like neo-klunks or "krunx" bikes with a lot of modern BMX on just about whatever frame you want.... I personally like to adapt late-model industrial bikes to offroad riding/abuse, and a lot of the parts I use for that are from the BMX and MTB world.... but moto bars are cool, too. My point (if I have one): The nomenclature is more about personal preference than cut-n-dry definitions.

Food for thought:


You can get frames like the ones in the video for between $60 and $80 from RRB member Ind-Chuckz; get the rest from your parts bin, porkchop, dans, or the FS forum here, or wherever you usually go for battle-ready bike parts....

Old thread here but what bars and stem you got there?

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Hey bud, the user you are talking to hasn't been in the site since 2018...

 

[coreybruyere]

Anyone aware of what bars he's rockin then?

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Well, my friend, you are in luck. Went back and re-read bicycle808's post, he was posting someone else's bike. It's a Gary Littlejohn posted by bmxmuseum guru Ryan Partridge a strandie hero if ever there was one. The bars are '74 Honda CZ 250 handlebars with Mach grips. Here's that beautiful bike and all its stats.

https://bmxmuseum.com/bikes/gary_littlejohn/71307

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Just clicked the other bikes link.
How the frig does one guy own (or owned, I guess) 2 Gary Littlejohns, a Bassett Star from the 70s, and FOUR COOK BROS? Legend indeed

 

[coreybruyere]

Just clicked the other bikes link.
How the frig does one guy own (or owned, I guess) 2 Gary Littlejohns, a Bassett Star from the 70s, and FOUR COOK BROS? Legend indeed

Thanks for the link.

Wonder how much that thing went for.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

If I had to guess, lots. And lots. The California BMX collectors are NUTS for what they'll pay, especially the handbuilt in USA stuff from the golden years