By blackmountaincycles,
Filed under: Black Mountain Cycles frames
I don’t know about you, but I like Summer. I like the heat. I like to feel warm. I have a hard time motivating when it’s cold. Yeah, I know cold is a relative term. Just a few weeks ago, we had the mother of all heat waves here. It got up near 110 degrees. And I love it. Soaked up the warmth. And just today, it was 37 degrees outside my front door when I woke up. And because I left the windows open overnight, it wasn’t much warmer inside. The temperature swings here are wide and difficult for me to cope with initially. I’ll get used to it, but I ain’t gonna like it. And then the wind. yeah, that’s starting up too.
Oh well. You don’t want to hear me complain about the weather. Because complaining just ain’t going to accomplish anything – especially with the weather. Grin and bear it. You came here to find out what the heck is going on. Why are the Monster Cross frames sold out in every size except 60cm and 62cm and when are the disc brake frames going to be available. Where are all those 6’1″ to 6’4″ riders?
I did order more Monster Cross frames in early September. The lead time is typically 5 months, so look for a February arrival. Or somewhere thereabout. There are no changes to the frames. Let’s call this V5.3 – same as V5.2 and V5. The color will change. I haven’t actually figured out the color yet, but I’ve got some tube samples to help me decide. I fine-tuned the size mix so I have more 54cm, 56cm and fewer of the bigger sizes. Early on, the biggest sizes sold out first and now the average sizes are selling much faster. Someday, I’ll dial in the crystal ball forecasting methods. Probably not.
Disc frames. Yes, disc frames. Running a retail shop and frame business solo doesn’t leave me with much time to sit down at my desk and devote a working day or days toward dialing in the disc frame specifications and geometry. That’s a hint that they won’t just be the same as the rim brake frames, but with disc brakes. More on that later.
In the mean time, I have been spending more time on my 650b Road Plus prototype and it is still as fun as it ever was. Since I wrote this, I have received an updated prototype that more reflects the geometry of what the actual frame design will be. I’ve also been spending time on the Monster Cross Disc (MCD?). I built it up with WTB Nano 29″ x 2.1″ tires and will be tackling this weekend’s Grinduro! with this bike. There’s not huge clearance witht he 2.1 tires, but it’s enough in the dry. Once it gets wet, I’ll fit it up with something narrower – maybe the WTB Resolute 42, which is supposedly more of a wet weather tire. When I designed the Monster Cross frames, there was really only one properly sized tire available. Now, there are a lot. Really. A lot of great tires. Too many? Probably not. But too many to properly try out. And by try out, I mean use until they’re worn out. I don’t like throwing on new tires when the current ones aren’t worn out. I can’t ride enough to wear out that many tires.
Tangent. Back on track. Where was I? Probably best to start wrapping things up and save more for later. Several weeks ago John Watson from The Radavist and crew stopped by the shop while on a bike tour through Marin. John took a bunch of great photos and posted them on his site. Turned out pretty nice and I appreciate the attention. Thanks John!
I’ll leave it with these two images.
Color tube samples under consideration for the Monster Cross framesets currently on order.
Same frame sizes, but different sizes.The pink frame is the current 64cm size. The blue frame in the background is the prototype Monster Cross Disc frame. It’s a 59cm, but it has virtually the same stack/reach as this pink 64cm frame, just a shorter seat tube. This is the direction I’m going for the new disc brake frames.
And I got out for a couple of really nice rides on each of the prototypes over the weekend. Clear skies, cold nights, warm days.
Above Inverness
One of the few ‘gravel’ roads in Marin.
(What’s playing: Tom Petty Wake Up Time)
8 responses to “So Long Summer And Thanks For The Warmth”
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Love that pink 64cm Monster Cross!
Looking forward to what is going to finally be the MCD frame/fork. I’m hoping it will be Black Mountain Cycles frame #2 in my stable!
Two bottle cages on the *top* of the downtube? Interesting detail…
Hoping for a MCD with more stack than my 62cm MC but keeping the lighter gauge tubing…
Frames will have more slope to the t/t, but the same relative size to the current 62 will have roughly the same stack.
I hope the grinduro treated you well.
Any chance of getting a monster cross frame with the same orange and blue as your road v3?
Colors for the new order of monster cross frames will be a medium blue and a green – far left and far right in the photo.
Currently have my Lynskey R330 up for sale. Hope it’s gone by the time I can order a MCD or Disc Road Plus frameset. Very excited to own a Black Mountain Cycles bike, and really looking forward to tires bigger than 28c