Say hello to my little Monkey.
 

I found myself in need of a new commuter, so I test rode some bikes and found the Karate Monkey to my liking. As we speak, tons of bits are on the way to my LBS, but for now a little Monkey porn:

http://home.comcast.net/~bradkelley/monkey1.jpg
http://home.comcast.net/~bradkelley/monkey2.jpg

That's a beautiful rockgarden ornament! :) Hello, Monkey!

LOL, thank you, never thought of it that way. It does improve the view!

If that Monkey is half the bike my cross-check is you are in for a really good time. Enjoy the ride., and post pics when it's done.

Mini-monkey is pretty awesome but hard to pedal without wheels. Whatcha got for wheels :)

Frame Saver(tm) the hell out of it right now while it's easy.

Dude, let's get the low down on that awesome frame! Does the wavey design of the chain stay server as a passive shock absorber? How much does it weight? Price range you paid! When you'll have it ready etc! More details please (drool)

Hey Dead Extra #2, I just saw on another thread that you are going for an internal hub. Is it for this Karate Monkey?

That is a good idea. I forgot all about that, it is my first build. Thank you! :)

I'm building some Velocity aeroheads, Nexus 8 speed in rear.

As for the details....here is a link: http://www.surlybikes.com/karatemonkey.html

I should have most of the parts this week. I'll post a write-up and pics when it finished.

I forgot when I recently did my build up with a Nexus 8 and a CrossCheck. It was a little tough squirting that stuff into every little drainage holes I could find. I looked at you pictures and thought to myself, "Why didn't I do that at that stage?"

Extra tip: Carry two stubby 15mm wrenches (I got mine at Sears) and tire fixes won't be too much trouble. Practice removing the rear wheel at home in good light a few times so it won't be a pain when out on the road.

I hope you enjoy it. I'm liking mine so far.

You have no wheels on that thing... nor a saddle..

Is it wrong that I was thinking to myself "Let it be a Karate Monkey, Let it be a Karate Monkey" as I was clicking the thread title?

Remember these? Same idea.........

http://www.handhwc.com/Merchant2/gra...001/705156.jpg

I don't know about the wavey chain stay, but from what I gather the wavey seat tube serves like the indentation on a TT bike; it enables the rear wheel to be "closer". My question is; for a commuter bike, wouldn't that cause heel clearance issues for carrying panniers?

For a majority of commuters, front panniers suffices...

I've been using a commuter pannier on one of these racks on my monkey, which makes chainstay length unimportant to heel strike:

http://www.outdoorsportz.com/BGPAKAG...ml?051602-6628

That is very sweet. Now I want one. Can you put drop bars and brifters on that thing?

Yup.

Oh cool. :D

I've got a Nexus-8 equipped Monkey I built up a couple months ago. I like it a lot. I've been using it to do a little commuting this week while waiting for some replacement spokes on my other commuter.

I've got Salsa Delgado rims on it with 47 tires - fat and round.

Aaaand... a basket on the front.

What kind of bars did you go with?

Yessir, but make sure to use a short stem. The tt is pretty long since it's designed for a flat bar.

PS

Barcons FTW