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Dirt Rag Articles
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Surly Karate Monkey
Rider: Maurice Tierney
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 225lbs.
Inseam: 34"
What It Is
With 29" wheels, disc tabs, horizontal dropouts and a derailleur hanger, the Karate Monkey just might be the most versatile mountain bike ever devised. Not just a 29" mountain bike, but potentially a road bike, city bike or singlespeed as well. Only the sick minds at Surly could have created such a practical monster.
When it came to strong, light or cheap, Surly chose two. Strong and cheap. Not to say the frame is heavy. I gave up weighing stuff a long time ago, and in this case heavy means long-lasting and strong—the formidable qualities of 4130 tubing (the three main tubes are butted). Rather than simply discussing the merits (or lack thereof) of 29" wheels, I think it might be better to look at this bike in terms of creativity and versatility. Twenty nine inch wheels allow the use of a wide range of tires from the skinniest 700x23 to the fattest mountain bike tires available in this size. Horizontal dropouts enable singlespeed riding without a chain tension device, while there's still a derailleur hanger if you choose to go with gears. The frame comes with a rigid unicrown fork, suspension corrected for an 85mm travel fork. Eyelets for racks and fenders make the Monkey a potential commuting or touring bike. The possibilities are endless.
For Starters
My plan is simple: using as few parts as possible, I want to configure the Monkey so that I can turn it into a mountain, road or singlespeed bike depending on my whim. First stop: Dirty Harry's bike shop. While the camp stove green is a simple and pleasing color, it's piled on pretty good, and the bottom bracket and head tube will have to be chased and faced. While we're there, let's throw on an XT drivetrain to get started. I've got some Titec handlebars to try out along with a set of XT disc hubs laced to Salsa Delgado X rims.
An average mix of mountain parts it is, but the killer spec is the Avid road disc brakes, which let me run the same brake with both mountain and road levers. Right now I have mountain bars with Tektro brake levers (that work with the Avid road stuff, as well as cantilevers and V-brakes) and Deore Rapidfire shifters (until I find some 9-speed thumbies). I've also collected enough freehub spacers to make a quick singlespeed using the same wheel.
First Ride
So to get the party started, the Monkey is first set up as a pretty standard, but rigidly forked mountain bike. And what better way to see and feel what's going on than a ride down a standard trail, Heebie Jeebie. It's actually my first real ride on my own 29er on my own trails, and I'm really digging the way it rolls over stuff. Although fully rigid, it handles the rocks pretty well. But wait…I'm sweeping left and getting ready to duck under that overhanging tree when I clip my rear derailleur on a protruding stump. Bent the hanger—damn! I've ridden past that stump a million times, so I guess this big dog doesn't handle exactly like a 26" wheeled bike, now does it?
I'm also noting a clearance problem with my tire of choice, the 2.1" WTB Nanoraptor. When the rear axle is all the way forward in the drops like it's supposed to be (when running a front derailleur), the tire just barely touches the front derailleur cable clamp.
The Monkey, you see, is first and foremost a mountain bike. And to design a 29er to ride like a mountain bike and not like a tank, the Monkey has a bent seat tube to accommodate its 16.8" chainstays. But you can only bend a tube so much, so there are clearance issues with larger tires when running front derailleurs. The folks at Surly have solved this problem with their introduction of Monkey Nuts, which are spacers that keep the axle back far enough so the tire doesn't rub. A small compromise, but worth it, for this Monkey climbs like a scalded cat. Those who run it without a front derailleur will simply enjoy the full benefit of the super short chainstays.
The Road Bike
While in Salt Lake City, UT, I switch out the mountain handlebars for a set of mustache bars and some skinny road tires. It took a while to get the Avid disc brakes to spring back well with the unsprung Dura Ace levers, but I eventually got it dialed. Did a series of road rides around SLC and the East Bay of San Francisco. With 44c tires I'm still able to hop up or down the occasional curb, but I'm shying away from any stair riding or other such nonsense. Disc brakes rock even (or should I say, especially?) for road bikes. As for the Monkey, it rides great.
Mustache Bars, Mountain Tires
Palo Duro Canyon, TX. Driving across the Texas panhandle with nothing but flatness as far as the eye can see: but just south of Amarillo, you drop into a miniature Grand Canyon, teeming with life. Nice trails, some even mountain bike specific. The Monkey is back with fat tires again, and it's fun as all get-go. Shifting the friction bar-end shifters doesn't allow the brainless speed that I'm used to, but I am used to riding mustache bars off-road, and it's not a problem. Sure, it might be nice to have a suspension fork for some of the rougher sections, but I figure I'm roughing it, toughing it. Flat! I've got to loosen the disc brake to remove the rear wheel. This is the problem when you combine horizontal dropouts and disc brakes.
The Mountain Bike
I installed mountain bars and a 100mm White Brothers BW 1.0 fork the other day, and the Monkey's transformed into an even finer mountain bike. With the combination of the big wheels and the suspension fork, I'm happy on some pretty rough terrain. The big wheels roll oh so nice; I'm thinking this is almost like full suspension without the moving parts. My only wish would be for an even fatter tire, say 2.5". Anyone listening?
Dirtier Dozen
Twelve bars and fifty miles of riding can be a pretty good test of a bike (or rider, for that matter). On a singletrack section of the ride, I turned the steering wheel a little too far to the left and what was a perfectly good Salsa Delgado X rim is now close to a useless potato chip. Fortunately, I have disc brakes and the rim's not so bent that it hits the fork, so the ride continues. Moral of the story? I think it might be that 700c wheels are not quite as strong as 26" wheels. Next time I'll try 36 spokes.
The Singlespeed
As a fully geared front suspension mountain bike, my 20" Monkey weighed in at just about 30lbs. To experience the singlespeedness of this bike as quickly and cheaply as possible, I gathered a bunch of freehub spacers and cogs from the recycling bin and threw a 20 tooth cog on the same wheel I've been riding all along. I also removed the big ring and granny from the crankset, leaving the 32. Weight is now down to 27lbs, 10oz. This should work for the purposes of this test, but for dedicated one speed use, you might want to get yourself a bolt-on axle to eliminate any slippage.
Does it work? First, let me say that singlespeeding is all about rolling, and roll you will with big wheels. It's a match made in heaven. I did get some axle slippage, and I would like an easier gear, but the ride was sweet.
Spec
Numerology for the 20" (center to top) Monkey includes a 24.3" effective top tube, 72? head angle, 73? seat angle and a 42.2" wheelbase. Although bottom bracket drop is listed as 2.7", bottom bracket height will change depending on fork and tire choices. I measured it at 12.25" while running 2.1" Nanoraptors and the White Brothers fork.
The 2003 Karate Monkey comes in any color you like as long as it's camp stove green. Good thing I like green. At $450 and all its possibilities, the Karate Monkey frame is sure to be high on many lists, especially for people who want to do it all with just one bike.
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| Comment from vacation on 2008-01-28 |
| Hi! I'm John Strass and i like your site!
Thank you! |
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