27.5 Klunker Kat : Komplete!

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Cool bike! How is that disc brake adapter holding up? I bought a few on eBay but i found them pretty thin. Do you think it will hold with hydraulic brakes?
Frankie, got mine on Amazon. They are so cheap you could afford to buy one a year if need be.
 
Wow what a sweet ride! Has a great stance but a long goose neck will really set it off. Great combo with the 27.5 wheels. Can't keep track of all these new fangled wheel sizes. Cool build buddy.
 
Wow what a sweet ride! Has a great stance but a long goose neck will really set it off. Great combo with the 27.5 wheels. Can't keep track of all these new fangled wheel sizes. Cool build buddy.
Thanks Chad! Yep, a new stem, and maybe some more retro - ish bars and I will be good to go!
 
27.5 Klunker Kat got a couple updates in the past couple days.

I wasn't happy with the position or the look of the stock Schwinn Jaguar stem. Didn't get me far enough forward and down just a bit. I got a cool vintage Control Tech mtb stem from @Dr. Tankenstein , but that was a little too 'long and low' for this ol' man. Back in the day, it would have fit to a Dr 'T'.

I had this KORE ahead set style stem in my stash of old mtb stuff. I've always liked the look of it, and the polished chrome looks great with the front end of the bike. Ordered up a 1" quill to 1 1/8" threadless conversion by Profile Design, another fav mtb parts company, and it fits like a glove!

Also switched out my Fisher mtb saddle for a Brooks I had saved for a special build. Adds a bit of retro flavor, and rides great. Took a spin through Applewood Park and then back to the ranch to shoot a few photos before the rain came.
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That just looks like some really good looking fun.
Swampy, it takes me back to my first years of mtb racing, 1987-1993, before we had any suspension whatsoever. Bent elbows and flexed knees were the only way to relieve the punishment the trail dished out. You end up riding these kind of like a big bmx bike, out of the saddle and trying to maintain momemtum at all times!
 
That is a neat bike @OddJob this thing screams utility and ride me.

Do you deflate your tires a bit when riding hard stumps?
BRE, yes, I'm running tubes in this as the rims aren't tubeless ready, so I can't go as low psi as I would like. But I do run them around 30 psi to give a little natural suspension from the tires. Hopefully today I will have time to ride it over to the more challenging trail system and give it a go! Good to hear from you, we missed you in this year's Build Off.
 
@BartRidesEternal I always run tubed, pressure about 30, sometimes up to 45 if I'm taking the road to get to the trail. The lower you can go, the better the tire casing can flex around stuff like rocks and roots for traction. For kicks this weekend I pumped them up to 70 and hit some smooth singletrack. It was faster, but a lot bumpier. Didn't get to the rough stuff though. I'm thinking about adding a pressure gauge to my kit so I can pressure up after the trail to ride home, my trails are full of slippery roots
 
I'm running tubes in this as the rims aren't tubeless ready, so I can't go as low psi as I would like.
Is that the advantage of getting rid of the tubes? Never really understood the whole tubeless gimmick on the bikes other than the weight savings.

Really like this bike! The brooks looks tasty with the gumwalls and gives it a klunker vibe.
 
Is that the advantage of getting rid of the tubes? Never really understood the whole tubeless gimmick on the bikes other than the weight savings.

Really like this bike! The brooks looks tasty with the gumwalls and gives it a klunker vibe.
Less flats, more comfort via ability to run lower pressure, less rolling resistance
 
Is that the advantage of getting rid of the tubes? Never really understood the whole tubeless gimmick on the bikes other than the weight savings.
It depends on the bike/setup and terrain frequented, IMO.

I'll never do tubeless with rim brakes again, as the Big Orange Machine is currently set up. When those Ardents are burned up, I'm switching to tubes. The heat generated by rim brakes tends to make the stans seep into the spoke nipples and I've had to tune that wheelset up several times whereas normally I don't have to tune my whelbuilds often, if at all.

The traction factor for tubeless is great and not hype in my experience. That part makes it worthwhile to me unless frequenting the US Desert Southwest's trails or sharp rock infested trails. I have a couple of MTBs on order that will arrive tubeless and I'll probably keep them that way unless it becomes more of a hassle than adding some stans every six months or so because of the dry climate here.
 
If that article (which I won't read purely based on it's title) is written for roadies, then it is moot to our discussion here. Traction, high frequency bump absorption, suspension, rotating wheel weight savings (the bigger the tire, the more the savings; my fat bike when I went tubeless lost 5 lbs of rotating weight!) and ultimate pressure control are all benefits. If these rims were capable for running tubeless I would have done it. They were wide, cheap, and disc ready, that's why I bought them.

I have a tubeless set up on my gravel / road bike. I really like the ride they produce on pavement as well as trail. Are they faster than tubed tires? I don't care. I'm not fast, so my bike doesn't have to be. :grin:
 

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