Sick Bicycle Co. Gnarcissist Kickstarter Launch
So this is where it all gets real, The Gnarcissist is officially for sale.
Slack, stable, handmade, steel, super-steed. Goes up as well as it goes down. 27.5+ and 29 compatible. Straight up gnar!
All frames will be handmade in the UK out of Reynolds 853 Steel, at Downlands Cycles.
Playful, whippable, railable; still able to smash single track, enduro races or bike parks. Once you've had ten minutes with it; feels like a second home.
In its first enduro race, it took second place, would have been 1st but we insisted it didn't need a chain device (it did, lesson learned)
Looking at the geo on paper, logically speaking, it shouldn't climb well; but it's a hardtail, with a steep seat tube angle, the bike is long and planted so actually it does. The steering is slower on the uphills due to the slack head angle than you typically may ride, but really when was the last time you had to react fast on an uphill? "Watch out for that tree, bro!"
It's not made for Olympic XC races—it's really not—but to shuttle runs at a bike park or enduro events? It's got you. Ripping single track? It's got you. Boosting A-Line whips? It's got you. Coming offline in a rock garden, in the wet, in Wales on a Sunday? You guessed it, it's got you.
Prices on Kickstarter start at £750. For a handmade frame? A steal.
We are 20% funded in just 24 Hours.
Click the link below for more details and FAQ
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sickbikes/t-h-e-g-n-a-r-c-i-s-s-i-s-t-hardcore-hardtail
Any questions? Message us on Instagram! We love to chat! https://www.instagram.com/sickbicycles/
If you can't quite stretch to a bike but you want to support two riding buddies follow their dream, we have a number of rewards starting from £10, including these tees and hoodies.
Thanks heaps Tim and Jordan.
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I'm not crying, you're crying.
Having the seat at a decent height will result in a huge amount of leverage, I have seen a few frames crack because of riders using long seat-posts and I think many will use this as an aggro trail-bike (especially with the 29er wheels) so thats maybe a worry.
The other thing I just cant get past is the marketing here, I looked for the geometry on kickstarter and this is what they put:
"We weren't going to worry about posting too many details about geo as we're more of a firm believer of "if a bike rides well, does the pub-talk really matter?"
But here's the basics!
Head Angle: SLACK AF (or 62.5 degrees in real language)
Wheelbase: LONG AF (or 1257mm)
Seat-tube angle: STICKY UPPY SO YOU CAN CLIMB (ehem, 74.5 degrees)
Reach: NOICE (511mm)
Seriously?!! - I mean come on guys, drop the 'gnar' badboy marketing at least when it comes to communicating geometry to your customers, thats just embarrasing - You are asking people to trust a completely un-known group of people to provide geometry that the rider will like, even though we are all different sizes and have different preferences.
I wish the guys behind this all of the luck in the world but at least provide potential customers with info about the product that isnt littered with silly terms like 'noice' - Give us a geometry chart to work from so you dont have dissapointed people buying a bike that wont fit.
The image on instagram of the seat post extended also shows a worrying amount of exposed seat-tube.
There is no slick marketing genius. It's just two mates. And we are pretty silly.
Your feedback is useful and we'll make a revision to make actual geometry and sizing clearer
Nobody can know that the proto is a small unless you tell people and we cant know how larger sizes will look unless you put up a diagram or similar.
Sizing is also mega important, you say there are a few options but nobody has any idea what these are so its buying blind - 511 reach for me would be insane at my height (also 5"8 but brilliant for taller guys for example)
Nobody else is offering a really progressive geometry bike, made in the UK from quality tube for the price you are selling the frame for - let me people know what they are looking at buying though!
And also I've been thinking when designing my own frames... what defines a small? Is it the reach, the top tube length, the seatube length or the headtube length?
From my point of view there are sizes which i think should mainly be based on reach measurements, however for me to get a bike long enough for my preference i dont have much room verticly because of these silly 18" seatubes.
I think you can have sizes but at the end of the day you probably wont find a stock bike that fits you how you want because they're all average! I would prefer to just make the frames completely custom and add a bit of labour on because of jig setup and machine setup but apart from that i think everyone should be riding something specifically designed for them!
Think about leverage, a seatpost that is almost on its minimum insertion is going to stress the seat-tube area much more than a shorter post, I am not saying there will be an issue, but I have seen a few frames crack at the seat-tube due to people running ultra long posts.
Think about top-tube clearance, is it really such an important factor in 'normal' mtb use? - Dh bikes dont have ultra low TT's and they require the rider to move around a lot, perhaps the only place we do see them is dirt jumping but the saddle is never raised.
Custom frames for everbody is only realistic in a dream world, its an MTB where we ride in a dynamic manner, we dont sit and pedal in the same position for hours so as long as you are close in terms of sizing you can change your stem, saddle height, saddle position, bar height etc to get to where you need to be. - The cost of a custom frame huge compared to mass production and far more involved than a 'bit of labour and jig setup' ever calculated mitre angles, fancy doing it for every frame?
Anyway, It will be interesting to see the updates on this - I wont rule one out in the future if a few aspects are changed as my last 29er hardtail frame is sold and I would love a UK made replacement that I can afford.
yes i know that as well, but I'm asking how can you be sure have you done tests of anything, also bear in mind because its a hard tail when you are sitting down and the fork is sagged the seat angle only gets steeper therefore the weeight of your body tends to go down the seatpost not flexing it.
Yeah but why are they high, there is no point to make one higher than about 19" for a super tall guy and about 16" max up to 5' 10"
Why would you have high standover, there is no benifit!
Again, i know i made my jig i made the frame i made some tools i know how involved it is!
IT really isn't that hard to calculate the mitres, i have drawn a frame in solidworks that you put in your geometry and it pumps out all you mitre angles, sizes, length, everything you need. You just have to be smart about the way you go about the custom aspect.
Look at robot bikes, yes i know they're not cheap but the technology will come down in price and custom frames will be available to the masses. IT IS THE FUTURE!!!!
And nobody shouted at Gary Turner asking about frame angles because be probably told them, its like selling shoes without giving people the size!
I have done no testing on seat-tube / post length but do know basic physics and my years in the cycling industry have led me to see first hand cracked seat-tubes due to long posts.
If you have Solidworks, model two frames, one with a low standover, one with a taller standover (top tube position), keep reach the same - take a look at the results and your question will be answered, think about it, physics again.
You may be able to calculate mitres with soldworks, but could your manufacturing staff in the factory do that, then adjust their already setup and proven fixture on the machine and do this every time, again well done for making a jig, but think about production, not making one frame for yourself.
Robot bikes is an entirely different prospect and not comparable to any steel welded frames.
You would rather potentially lose kickstarter funding than put a chart up / update the page with basic ifno that would take you no time to put together?
I only come to this assertion as you think it possible for my mum to piss all the way to Canada! I'll ask her to try for you, but I can't promise anything.
(I'm really not angry and am very hard to offend & I doff my cap to anyone who uses a your mum joke at any point!) :-)
But no, I'm 18 so it's me, I need to grow up, I'm wrong, i can't possibly be right!
I only say that because I feel partially responsible for this spat. We just wanted to make a bike that we love, not split mummy and daddy up too.
Plus point: two Christmases.
At least @jaha222 didn't call you a Cannuck.
Although i think its a little long to be an XS
Come on! Stop publicly taking the piss out of everybody who questions anything you are doing on any channel you have available (silly videos, 'internet experts etc etc' and at least let people know what it is you want them to buy - your Kickstarter page hasn't had a single update other than adding some forks and saying you would update with geometry info at the weekend (a few days ago now)
I'm sure some people see this stuff and think its cool, but many people with the money to actually spend on a £700+ hardtail frame may not overlook this kind of crap. You are constantly marketing yourselves on Instagram etc but so far wont provide any details about the product you want people to buy other than "its good, trust us"
I am not an internet expert, not having a 'Britney moment' before you start - I am well up for a joke and if I was having a jibe at you guys or suggesting your stuff was crap then its fair game, but answering the simple request for information about your frame with insults is an odd way to go about things.
Being different and having an identity is awesome, not if that's all you bring to the table, which is how it is beginning to look - do you actually have an idea of what you want your geometry to be in different sizes or is that why there is no chart for anybody to see?
Are you saying you support the lack of information and the fact they are publicly taking the piss out of anybody questioning their bike or even asking for information online?
If I had come on here and slagged the product off like some others have with silly 'halfords' / 'girls bike' comments fair enough, but all I have tried to do is be constructive - I want to see the project succeed, I am involved in manufacturing (all be it not bike involved right now) and we need more product made in the UK but how is that going to happen if the basics are not getting covered.
I am not saying your ripping them, just saying you need to consider how much work they have to do!!
They are taking a project to the public, asking them to invest via Kickstarter without providing basic information and spending time on their social media channels slagging off anyone on here who questioned any aspect of the bike or the way business is being conducted.
What did you do before making your frame? - I bet you finalised geometry?
Here is what happens when you take your product, provide a professional level of info and hammer home the details your customer wants to see - www.kickstarter.com/projects/1413835557/fastforward-enduro-mountain-bike-hard-tail-by-last
They funded nearly 60k EURO's - These guys could also do well if they just gave the basic info people need before they get involved - So yea, its bad to see that because of a lack of giving a crap about a few hours work they may not get funded.
You guys are the best, you put a new geometry diagram up that is completely different to your original design, horribly slack seat angle at 71 degrees (wtf?!) and you dimension reach completely wrong! It's measured to the top centre of the headtube not bottom centre, your actual reach is probably well below 500mm.
Back to basics I think, the revised geo bike would ride like an abomination, why didn't you just increase seat-tube size on the original and stay on message or do you not know what that is?
It confirms what I thought after making my initial constructive comment - they are a couple of guys that are good at marketing cobbling an attempt at a bike and ridiculing anyone who asks questions or makes sensible suggestions. Shame.
The new bike frame they are pre selling (without any form of sample testing at all I might add, so a risky purchase) has exhibited all of the changes everybody suggested like sensible top tube height - oh, there is also a correctly dimensioned geometry chart this time so people can see what they are buying.
That was all I asked for - can people have a geometry chart, can people have some more info, they seem to have sorted stuff out there. As far as actually being a 'bike company' 2018 will be the judge of that one, I didn't wish failure on them, just to provide customers with decent info not crap talk them / put them down when they ask for it or make criticism on a public space. Do you think they are now a established bike company though? I think it takes a bit mor than that, no?
But no, of course the top tube doesn't need to be that low, in the same way that Commencal doesn't need to use highlighter yellow on their frames.
We dig it and we know it's not for everyone - but that's the beauty of this industry, right? Everyone rides a different bike because that's the type of bike they love.
The hate comments on here I find super weird, because if I don't like a bike I don't buy it - then go ride rather than waste my time on the internet ????????????????
Anyway to opinions. I am pro what these guys are doing. If they can bring something different to the market then that's great. I have been following developments on Reddit posts and they are decent guys who are happy to communicate with you and spit balls ideas and requirements for people.
I like the ratty look of the frames (raw finish rather than ratty per se) and the clean lines. I am excited to see some frames in a larger size and how they stack up and look forward to see future developments.
While these guys are small and adaptable we should be engaging with them to get the sort of products we want. If you're sat around bitching about the 29er revolution in DH you need to be engaging with guys like these to get yourself some 26" DH bikes for you to hit up the World Cup Circuit on
Banter is great; but not all the x=shit y=girls bike z=worse than famine.
My previous bikes haven't been to some people's taste, but that's cool. I rode them because they are to my taste. We'll never get offended if someone doesn't want to buy one of our bikes, we'll even suggest another bike from another company, because we have tonnes of riding experience and just want people to enjoy riding bikes.
That's the bottom line, enjoy riding the bike you like. If you don't like another one, don't be another internet warrior, just ask us questions, give us constructive criticism (which some have) or wish us luck!
First bikes, can be sent out within weeks ☺️
The larger of the two frame sizes has an extended seat tower as for anyone a lot taller, it just wouldn't work.
Plus, we really love how it looks.
Hit me!
I do have a basket though if you think that would help the aesthetic?
Speaking of comeback...
People are more than welcome to spec it with anything they want. But if you're building a bike, you may as well build it for yourself! ☺️
The purple and white walls were always going to split opinion, but I love them.
As for the fork decals - agreed! But I left them in the workshop in Kent, and I'm now back home in Worthing. They'll be on there in time!
Cheers,
G
How much did PB charge for this advert?