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Custom Frames?


streetjibs

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hey guys... im outta action at the mo witha broken knee, so been spendin lots of time thinkin bout riding and bikes iv had and how much fun i had whilst riding my ET 24. And im thinking id lke to get another 24" bike asap. Would just get a complete geo copy of the ashton et frame, as i felt this was one of the nicest riding bikes and the geo felt spot on for fun street and lots of bmx influenced riding.

So I wud be looking at a frame only with exact geo copy of the et... But which company wud be the best option??

Leeson - Im aware there are lots of 24" leesons about so they must be nice, Do most people get their leesons in the ET geo?

Whats the deal with the bb? Do u get an ISIS bb to fit that wide shell?? (website looks bit outdated showing square taper 1) Whats the general impression of build quality, longevity?

Iolo - they look well priced. ANy info as to quality and finish?

Fresh - have spoken to Todge and unfortunately (he was my 1st choice) hes in Italy and wont be back to do any frames for some time :(

Curtis - I keep coming back to curtis when i look at options.. Just really like the overall finish and look of them bikes. Berridges is the shit!! They are however the most expensive and id want to know for sure its worth it.

Any info on these or other options i may have missed would be great? I was holding out for the charge ti 26" (da shit!) but akkers says its proto only :(

*I live in oz, so theres the extra cost of post etc, But It means that any warrantys etc are pretty useless 2 me as id get it welded locally instead of sending all the way bk to uk.

**wud have to have v mounts as well and be suited a 400mm fork like a pashley

oh and please dont mention the 24uk... imo they just look wrong.

THANKS

danny..

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I don't know about the Leeson geometry, but I was reading a topic recently about the BBs... If I got the right end of the stick then you can have an ISIS BB, but it might not be a good idea because apparently square taper bearings last for longer, and to get the BB changed you basically have to send it back to Clive.

I think you can probably have ET geo if you ask. I know one or two people whose Leesons have cracked or whatever, and they've just sent them back to Clive and he mended them for free. But that's not much help for you in Oz I guess.

Someone who actually knows about Leeson might confirm all that stuff in a bit :unsure:

I've got an Iolo so talk to me! And the guy called Dont You Just Hate It When on here.

I chose Iolo over Leeson mainly because a- it was cheaper b- I didn't have to worry about wierd BB or wierd dropouts so I could keep all my parts c) err maybe cos his website was more useful? I know everyone says its way better to phone Clive though.

As for quality and finish I've been well happy with mine. He did everything I asked (as well as helping me with geo advice) like having V mounts above and 4-bolt mounts below, quite a high frame height as requested and you get to choose pretty much every aspect of the frame construction you can imagine! You could definitely have the ET geo.

One little thing that I had trouble with on mine was getting a seat post to fit. It was an uncommon size being a steel frame, and the inside of the seat tube had some un-smooth bits that had to be filed away/used a reamer on. Not the end of the world though. Plus I had to find a longer BB cos my 22t chainring touched the frame.

Very happy overall though. I haven't heard of one breaking, but then there aren't very many of them. And more to the point, I don't know if Iolo is actually making them at the moment due to being busy with his other company. Ask him!

I don't know a lot about Curtises except that I think they look cool and I've heard they're built quite tankline i.e. heavy and well strong.

Hope that helps

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hey mate

you had a curtis ordered didn't you?! but cancelled it cos you needed the cash for something else?

http://www.curtisbikes.co.uk/trials24.html

this has all the info you need. the geo is the same as an ET (perfect!) but you can choose your toptube length. and all the frame detail, hub spacing etc. you can talk to gary about frame weights and making it lighter/heavier in places if you want to.

it may seem like a lotta money but i will say two things..

1.) anyone who's ridden my bike has said that it's SUPER sweet and looks the nuts

2.) i've had my frame for over 2 years (2 years and 5 months now) and given it a hammering. it's been resprayed but never touched or repaired once. and that's a promise.

i heard leeson don't ship to overseas but that might have changed? plus the whole BB thing is a pain. sending it back from aus if you snap a bb?! hardly ideal.

the curtis will be an investment.

cheers

boon.

Edited by the boon
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thanks guys - going for the curtis :)

boon, ye mate i did have one ordered. Will place a new order though, emailed gary. sure sounds like the way to go. thx for you help!

they're more solid looking imo 2. going to get clear coat, vee mounts etc shud b mint! (what length tt u got? - id like to get bout 1025wb)

leedstrials - ye for sure, sounds a real pain for people outside of uk with that bb setup.

cheers

danny

Edited by streetjibs
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Let me just say from the start I'm NOT playing salesman for Leeson here, just answering questions.

I don't know about the Leeson geometry, but I was reading a topic recently about the BBs... If I got the right end of the stick then you can have an ISIS BB, but it might not be a good idea because apparently square taper bearings last for longer, and to get the BB changed you basically have to send it back to Clive.

I think you can probably have ET geo if you ask. I know one or two people whose Leesons have cracked or whatever, and they've just sent them back to Clive and he mended them for free. But that's not much help for you in Oz I guess.

Someone who actually knows about Leeson might confirm all that stuff in a bit :unsure:

You did get the right end of the stick and yes you can have ISIS BB's, not sure about the bearing thing as I'm 99% sure that an SKF bb or something similar has bearings that last for ages, longer than a square taper would.

You CAN get the BB out yourself, it is just a f**kING b*****d to do. Took me and Andy Pooley the best part of two hours using a blowtorch, a vice, a three foot lever and a slegde hammer to get mine out. Stiff as hell though.

i heard leeson don't ship to overseas but that might have changed? plus the whole BB thing is a pain. sending it back from aus if you snap a bb?! hardly ideal.
Leeson can ship overseas, Clive just doesn't like doing it as he likes to be able to keep an eye on his bikes, so if anything breaks he can mend it. Also, like with the BB, if you have a problem, all you need to find is someone who knows which end of a hammer to use and then have Clive on speaker phone talking them through it to get it fixed.

So in essence I wouldn't rule out Leeson entirely, although Matt is entirely correct, the Curtis is awesome and would be an equally valued investment.

Rich

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thx for you post rich. really appreciate that information so i can make an informed decision.

im pretty sold on the curtis now and will be confirming order this week :)

that does sound pretty awesome customer service for uk people how clive likes to keep an eye on his frames, i think if i lived over id probably go with it.

There's something about the look of the curtis imo, dunno wat exactly that inspires confidence in the frame. I think it resembles more of a bmx influence and just looks solid.

thanks everyone!

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id go for the curtis had mine for like 4 years now, havent ridden it for the past 2 years but loved it to bits awesome ride.never had any proper problems with frame failure apart from a minor crack ,snapped drop out and the seat tube almost fell out about 2 years ago but i ride like a tank.

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