wphamilton

I am in awe of this. Did you build it?

Sixty Fiver

I built it up myself without an after market kit using the rear triangle from a low end FS bike to form the extension and added the centre brace which is essentially what an Extracycle conversion does.

Has been in fairly constant use since the middle of 2008 and has been a rock solid utility and great winter bike as the long wheelbase also adds some great stability and it will even handle icy roads sans studded tyres... buy shifting the rear wheel bank it un-weights the rear wheel so it spins up quickly and climbs and descends remarkably well.

There is a long running thread in the utility forum on how to build your own.

wphamilton

Somehow just by looking at it I expect it to handle great as a utility or even unloaded. That's awesome.

Sixty Fiver

The only issue when it is unloaded is that if you stand up and hammer things on wet or icy roads you can get the rear wheel to break loose much more easily than you could with a bike with a conventional wheelbase and have done this from the middle of the gear range on wet roads.

It does have the turning circle of a bus as the wheelbase is 62 inches from axle to axle.

We design and build longtail touring bicycles here and their design principle is the same in that a longer wheelbase increases stability and helps distribute loads far more efficiently while being much lighter than a full on utility bike like mine.

KendallF

Rev. 2 of The Tank, now with lower rack eyelets brazed on the rear. I took the steel fork that came with the frame, cut off the canti bosses, brazed on some low-rider rack bosses, and put it on. Then mounted Velo Orange stainless fenders. The stainless is kind of a jarring note with the flat black and grey, but I think I like it. I have a B&M dyno light on the way, that should be the last addition for now.



More Flickr pics

kiloRH

Looks good man! What kind of wheels do you have on there?

KendallF

They are Origin8 "Trak Attack" 40mm deep rims (made by Weinmann). Custom built with a Shimano Alfine dyno hub in the front, Origin 8 disk rear cassette hub.

eippo1

I like the latest iteration of the tank. Now you just need some "winter."

roadiejorge 

all of these ugly and absurdly heavy bikes...make it stop!! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD MAKE IT STOP!!

gnome

give in. you know you want one.

KendallF

This IS winter. Heck, it was something like 50 degrees this morning!

Hehehe..even worse, I took it on the local "fast ride" Sunday with a rack trunk on the back. Lots of comments, requests for beer, and one guy wondering if my hair dryer and makeup case fit in that purse.

AEO

It's not a tank unless you can take it off road.

Sixty Fiver

You just bring your skinny carbon road bike up here and come for a ride and you will be wishing for plusher riding tyres and a crapload of studs.

Sixty Fiver

And for some relief... this one (steel frame btw) only curbs out at 23 pounds and likes playing in the dirt.

Jeepnut22 

OP, sweet ride!!

kissTheApex

Sorry to awaken this thread and pardon my ignorance. I want to build a commuter based on this frame (the price is very very tempting) and I wanted to make sure what BB and crank options I'd have. I would like to have a road triple because I would be using the build both to pull my son's trailer and as a bad weather road bike. Any recommendations?

KendallF

You should be fine with any old school square taper triple crank..you'll just have to run a longer spindle bottom bracket, as I mentioned above. I have a 118mm spindle in mine now, and that seems to be about ideal (and would probably work for a triple also).

I've been riding mine to and from work a lot, and this weekend I'm riding it 320 miles down through FL to end up near Palm Beach..should be a fun weekend!

AEO

https://www.origin-8.com/?page_id=91&...26+ACCESSORIES
It's this one, right?

It says 38/48T MTB max. and I would assume that means a standard MTB triple chainline of 50mm. A standard road triple has 45mm chainline and bigger rings, so you'll have to use a wider square taper BB to fit the road crankset.

It's hard to see from the pictures, but I'm assuming it has MTB style bowed chainstays, so it's highly unlikely a modern external BB type road triple will fit, because it has a fixed chainline.

I would assume you could fit a compact triple 110/74BCD with a 113mm BB, which gives around 47.5mm chainline, but the ring size will still be limited to 38/48T.

fishymamba

Now this is awesome! What size tires are you using? 32s?

ussprinceton

some of those bikes weigh twice as much as my CAAD 10.....I do however have a 2009 GF Tassajara that weighs 30 lbs.

kissTheApex

Thanks Kendall. Looks like you really have a fun weekend up ahead.

Thanks. the 48 max part was the thing confused me. Thanks for the explanation.

Barrettscv 

I’ve wanted a rugged Cyclocross bike for off-road and winter use for a couple years. I already have a Soma Double Cross as a Century bike, but with a Carbon Fiber fork and road bike wheels and gearing, the Soma was might not last much longer if exposed frequent use on dusty trails and salty winter roads. What can a Monster-cross bike offer that a Cyclocross bike doesn’t already provide? I expect that a Monster-cross bike will deliver improved tank-like durability and a more forgiving ride on rough trails & roads.

I finally took the plunge and purchased an Origin 8 CX700 frameset after noticing this review.

The frame was ideal for my budget Monster-cross build. With room for 700x50 tires, disc or cantilever brakes, Road or MTB rear drop-out spacing. The rear-entry horizontal rear drop-outs will permit single-speed, IGH and derailleur drivetrains. The frame-set is a bit heavier than a Surly Cross Check, the rear drop-outs and the fork are extra strong & heavy and a little overbuilt.

It took a few weeks of searching, finding a frameset wasn’t easy. These sell out quickly and are prices at about $200 for both the frame & fork. I finally found one on eBay in December. The geometry in the largest size is a good fit for me. The frame arrived and I was surprised at the quality. The tube-set is 4130 aerospace standard. The welds are skillfully done, but less smooth than my Soma. The paint was very good, with good color and as tough as most automotive finishes.

I wanted to keep costs low, so I decided on cantilever brakes. The Tektro 720 brakes are good performers at a great price. Rim-brake wheels are also budget friendly, I found a new set of 40 spoke Velocity Dyad on Formula high flange hubs for about $130 delivered. Disc brakes would have been nice, but they limit racking options, add weight and would require a pricier wheelset.

I was hoping to use a Shimano 105 triple crank-set and build a 3x10 drivetrain, but the arms on road crank with external bearings won’t clear the chain-stays. So I installed a Shimano Deore “Trekking” crank-set with 48, 36 and I installed a 22t small chainring. This was matched to a 12-27 nine speed cassette. Tiagra STI “brifters” and a front derailleur for triple were installed. A Deore SGS rear derailleur completes the drivetrain.

The handlebars needed to fit the off-road personality of the build, Salsa Moto-Ace Woodchipper handle bars improve rough surface stability and work well with STI levers. A Thomson Elite seat-post is held by Surly seat-post clamp.

To save some weight and to add mid-blade fork rack mounts, I replaced the Origin 8 fork with a new Surly Cross Check fork. The fork is much lighter, looks great and should provide a more compliant ride. The practical tire clearance is a good match for the frame, with room for 700x40 or larger tires & fenders both front & rear.

ColinL

Nice tank!

Holy crap on the bars. I would be afraid of hitting a tree if you do some XC trail riding.

FunkyStickman

"She ain't heavy, she's my bike!"

35#'er here, thankyouverymuch!

OP: great looking steed!

AEO

dirt drop bars are just as wide as regular flat bars, so unless they are chopped, I don't think it is too bad.

the ends on dirt drops are more prone to slamming into and denting the top tube, however.