How to build a MonsterCross Bike 101

[TyronLab]

25 minutes ago, Vaultboy said:

Sweet setup. I've got the 8spd, and was considering the same bag (R659 on Takealot) and the 44mm rapide bar. What tires are you running? I reckon the WTBs are gonna fail on me come winter, but finding 650b's is turning out to be a mission.

Yeah, they were a mission to find before this whole shipping debacle, now they're hen's teeth unfortunately. I was running Gravelking SK's, 43mm at the back and 48mm at the front (only ones I could find in stock). I've heard mixed reviews on the WTBs (assuming Resolutes?).

Bag is OK, but in Munga conditions the one zipper got stuck. Look, it was subjected to 15 hours of grit and rain and mud and my grimy tired fingers prying it open, but ja, not exactly the toughest system out there. Actual material its made of seems pretty tough and it was watertight (when the zip was still working).

I'd go for the full 46cm. It is supremely comfortable, for my proportions at least. The most natural hand position I've ever had on a bike. Considering that same bar for my STR's drop bar conversion.

 

OFF TOPIC: Not gonna lie, the fact that I've now been tagged in that image 5 times in the last day and have had multiple people ask me about the Scout is making me miss mine like crazy.... STOP TRYING TO GET ME TO SPEND MONEY I DON'T HAVE ON ANOTHER SCOUT BIKEHUB!

Edited April 19, 2022 by TyronLab

[Vaultboy]

2 hours ago, TyronLab said:

Yeah, they were a mission to find before this whole shipping debacle, now they're hen's teeth unfortunately. I was running Gravelking SK's, 43mm at the back and 48mm at the front (only ones I could find in stock). I've heard mixed reviews on the WTBs (assuming Resolutes?).

Bag is OK, but in Munga conditions the one zipper got stuck.  Actual material its made of seems pretty tough and it was watertight (when the zip was still working).

I'd go for the full 46cm. It is supremely comfortable, for my proportions at least. The most natural hand position I've ever had on a bike. Considering that same bar for my STR's drop bar conversion.

OFF TOPIC: Not gonna lie, the fact that I've now been tagged in that image 5 times in the last day and have had multiple people ask me about the Scout is making me miss mine like crazy.... STOP TRYING TO GET ME TO SPEND MONEY I DON'T HAVE ON ANOTHER SCOUT BIKEHUB!

Tires: WTBs are the stock Byways that the Scout ships with - I assume then you bought frame only? It has a slick centreline, and very light knobs on the side. Its slid a bit for me already. Hate to think what it will do when clay soils get properly wet. 

Bag: Thanks for the extra info. I have a rockbros top tube bag, and it is good quality, so I had no doubts about the frame bag, but its nice to get an actual visual fit from your pic. 

Bars: I am a bit hesitant to go the full 46. I'm 179mm, but even so I've reduced my XC bar down to 740, for neck comfort. I've heard similar things re: hand comfort on the rapides, and I'm not a fan of quick transitions on the stock Scout bars.  

Re: your off topic comment, its a funny thing. I've had my share of issues with my Scout, but it quickly became my go-to bike. Its got a romance that I can't quite put words to. I'm probably gonna end up spending more money upgrading it over the years than what its worth (literally and figuratively). 

 

 

 

 

[TyronLab]

45 minutes ago, Vaultboy said:

Tires: WTBs are the stock Byways that the Scout ships with - I assume then you bought frame only? It has a slick centreline, and very light knobs on the side. Its slid a bit for me already. Hate to think what it will do when clay soils get properly wet. 

Bag: Thanks for the extra info. I have a rockbros top tube bag, and it is good quality, so I had no doubts about the frame bag, but its nice to get an actual visual fit from your pic. 

Bars: I am a bit hesitant to go the full 46. I'm 179mm, but even so I've reduced my XC bar down to 740, for neck comfort. I've heard similar things re: hand comfort on the rapides, and I'm not a fan of quick transitions on the stock Scout bars.  

Re: your off topic comment, its a funny thing. I've had my share of issues with my Scout, but it quickly became my go-to bike. Its got a romance that I can't quite put words to. I'm probably gonna end up spending more money upgrading it over the years than what its worth (literally and figuratively). 

 

 

 

 

Tyres: Gotcha. I bought complete, but I binned the Byways even though they felt amazing on tar as I can't deal with tubes and a buddy of mine had a bad prang riding non-tubeless things tubeless.

Bars: I'm 178cm, rode a L Scout. When I changed to the Rapides I also went down to a 70mm stem from the stock 100mm. It felt WAY comfier and less stretched out than the stock setup. Then again, I'm not very susceptible to fit issues generally. That nervousness to change positions is greatly reduced with the flared bar, that I can guarantee you. It feels more like your hands are just shifting over, versus letting go and reattaching with the normal bar.

Yeah, there's something about the Scout that's just.... ******* Rock & Roll. It's like an Alfa Romeo. It has a personality. Eugh, now I'm missing Thunderhorse (my Scout's name) even more...

[NotSoBigBen]

Not sure many have seen a 10sp 11-50 cassette but I happened upon one as one does when you're scratching around 😜

Decided to change my gravel bike from 2x 32/42 × 11-36 to 1x 42 x 11-50 which meant I ended with pretty much the exact same gearing 😃

2 challenges I was pretty sure of was whether the 9sp derailleur would be able to reach even with a longer B screw and would the chain stay on the front blade.  The derailleur wouldn't work, the cage stopped against the second gear,  got an extender which sorted that problem. The shifting isn't perfect but definitely usable

I decided to 3D print a chain guide and modify it for this purpose. Took quite a few goes but settled on one. Busy printing the final one in black now.

Did a short test ride on all sorts of terrain this morning and it was all good ... the weather is turning crappy again so knows when I'll get to do a proper long ride

Thanks to @TheoGand @Jewbacca for the assistance!

[NotSoBigBen]

On 2/21/2021 at 10:05 PM, NotSoBigBen said:

Not really a MonsterCross anymore I guess, I'll use it on the road only....

 

Still 'Big Bertha' but a lot prettier?

Well that didn't last long ...

[The Ouzo]

22 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

Well that didn't last long ...

I like the gold

[NotSoBigBen]

A bit of fiddling still but it's done ....

[MORNE]

https://bikehub.co.za/classifieds/item/road-bike-brakes/551258/trp-spyre-calipers-for-sale

 

get them while they are HOT!

good price that.

[NotSoBigBen]

On 4/25/2022 at 11:42 AM, NotSoBigBen said:

A bit of fiddling still but it's done ....

And this lasted even less ... the previous owner either had a good sense of humor or was that fast?

[NotSoBigBen]

My usual 29" frame,  26" fork setup ... @Pikey the style guru suggests black cages rather than white 😎

Yes @Jewbacca despite your hysterical tirade looks DO matter 🤪

Have no idea what frame that is/was as it came like that ... to avoid hub wrath would hate to put something on and find it's fake so I'll leave it 'vanilla' just like that 😶

Haven't finished the cables yet, always tough to make external cables look neat ... just taped it up, this way the drive side looks super neat at least. Slept on it and decided to go with this routing (for now)

Edited May 8, 2022 by NotSoBigBen

[Zebra]

I too think BLACK cages will make it ‘pop’.

very nice job, indeed, a joy many happy (s)miles!
 

chris

[DJuice]

5 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

My usual 29" frame,  26" fork setup ... @Pikey the style guru suggests black cages rather than white 😎

Yes @Jewbacca despite your hysterical tirade looks DO matter 🤪

Have no idea what frame that is/was as it came like that ... to avoid hub wrath would hate to put something on and find it's fake so I'll leave it 'vanilla' just like that 😶

Haven't finished the cables yet, always tough to make external cables look neat ... just taped it up, this way the drive side looks super neat at least. Slept on it and decided to go with this routing (for now)

Congrats! Bike number….zillion.

 

[NotSoBigBen]

1 hour ago, DJuice said:

Congrats! Bike number….zillion.

 

Thanks man, no more plus ones mate 😳

I just replaced the Giant's frame with this one.

[DJuice]

6 hours ago, NotSoBigBen said:

Thanks man, no more plus ones mate 😳

I just replaced the Giant's frame with this one.

Was going to offer some storage space.

The extra space is bugging me, looking for a garage find to restore. 
 

Enjoy your new bike!

[NotSoBigBen]

On 5/8/2022 at 5:46 AM, NotSoBigBen said:

My usual 29" frame,  26" fork setup ... @Pikey the style guru suggests black cages rather than white 😎

Yes @Jewbacca despite your hysterical tirade looks DO matter 🤪

Have no idea what frame that is/was as it came like that ... to avoid hub wrath would hate to put something on and find it's fake so I'll leave it 'vanilla' just like that 😶

Haven't finished the cables yet, always tough to make external cables look neat ... just taped it up, this way the drive side looks super neat at least. Slept on it and decided to go with this routing (for now)

Have had loads of fun riding this build, currently has a 1x 38x11-36 10sp but with that ugly external cable STI shifter

Have the option by swapping some things around to change it to 42x11-46 9sp with internal cabling STI's that'll look better so I guess it's 'heeltyd speeltyd' again 😎

[ACE Cycles]

On 2/8/2022 at 2:54 PM, Stretched@Birth said:

I'm just curious, as I have the problem on my flared drop bars, can you reach the brakes whilst riding in the drops?  I'm considering changing out my flared bars for more conventional road style bars.

Try these from Ritchey