Machine Politics vs Beaver Boys, May 2011. Photo by Bruce Carver
The scrambler is Eighth Inch's track frame and fork. Chris from DC told me about this thing this weekend. Its dirt cheap. Anybody have one of these for polo, or even just for riding around town?
I don't own one, but I have ridden one before. I know a few people who do own them, but were built because of the low low price point.
I actually just saw one break on the downtube at the Midwest Mayhem trick comp this past weekend.
weight=strength ratio isn't equal IMO.
I could see how if the frame was light and and not very strong(because of the low price), but frame/fork are quite heavy for lack of strength & integrity.
You get what you pay for.
I'm riding one for my polo bike.
Cheap and does the job. Geometry is alright, much better than the 90's road bike conversion i was on before this.
And the dropouts are of a pretty decent length. With the use of a half link to make the most out of them, i can run 35x21 for polo and flip to 35x15 to ride to and from the court.
Sure its heavy and maybe not so strong (its made from cheaper straight gauge tubing and id hazard a guess and say its NOT heat treated for extra strength). To judge it because someone snapped it riding in a trick comp is pretty unfair. It is in no way designed for that.
So yeah its not light. But whatever.
True it is not designed for FGFSers. But, it is no way designed for polo either.
I'm a fair guy! I promise.
Every market needs an economy version for whatever it is.
PS Keep your eyes peeled for an Eighth Inch Julian 48hole wheelset review/polo test coming out shortly.
My point was mostly that there are now quite a lot of frames specifically designed for FGFS. Its hard to complain that one frame wont do the job for that use, when there other options that ARE.
As for polo. There is one, soon to be two options. We have been, and for most people, still are making do with what we can get that will work as well as possible for polo.
mmmm. 48 hole.
Been riding one for about a year now. I dont know all the fancy techincal jargon but I have scored a goal or two on the frame. I am begining to worry how much longer she'll keep up with rust starting to show but I have no complaints to this point.
Basically echoing what everyone's already said, I've been playing/riding around town on mine for about 6 months and so far, it's held up really well.
Being $150, I'm not too worried about it getting banged up and the geometry works well for me.
My only issue is that, like BribriMKE, the rust is starting to show.
i want some of those Julian 48hole!
Prepare for many spoke replacements! The Julian's come with very low quality spokes and nipples. I have broken countless spokes and nips.
You'll be breakin' more spokes than bones for sure.
If you want an inexpensive high count wheel, than check these out
http://benscycle.blogspot.com/2010/01/weinmann-40h-rims-to-eai-fixfree-h...
they're made Wheelsmith 14g stainless spokes and brass nips.
Faaar superior to any generic build. Ask any good mechanic and they'll confirm.
Hope this helps! Much rather see happy polo players.
Matt plays without any wheel covers so spokes will be broken no matter what just to be fair.
also this issue caused me to research what others thought between wheelsmith and DT.
http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=79348
only one of the few reviews i found
it seems to be personal opinoin thing and i couldn't (in my minimal search) find anything for sure saying wheelsmith vs DT spokes are better.
a laser shot from bribri will fuck up any type of spoke
i think more importantly it has to do with the quality of the build and you may possibly put more faith behind a set that Kremin builds at Ben's than some Korean in a factory. or maybe not... its up to you
Jake-
"Matt plays without any wheel covers so spokes will be broken no matter what just to be fair.
also this issue caused me to research what others thought between wheelsmith and DT. "
Really? Come on... WE know plenty of people that play without wheel covers and their spokes don't break every other week.
There's no getting around the fact that low quality spokes will result in continual spoke failure period.
"i think more importantly it has to do with the quality of the build and you may possibly put more faith behind a set that Kremin builds at Ben's than some Korean in a factory."
Not true. It has far more to do with the quality of spokes than who built them.
Wheelsmith spokes blow. if you want a quality spoke use DT or Sapim. I work in a shop am a full time mechanic and I will tell you that more broken spokes that I fix are wheelsmith than not. Usually when I fix DT or Sapim spokes it's because someone broke the nipple head not the spoke. just my experience, wanted to share.
I usually lean towards DT as well for another reason being that wheelsmith has changed hands a few times, and DT has kept its base far longer. There is something said about a company that stays consistent with all aspects, but one key point is there will be higher concentration to quality control, and I think DT has that over wheelsmith.
if you want 26" and superior brakes get a single speed mountain frame.
there is a sweet deal on Soma's 4one5 SS 26" disc frame right now if you find one in your size. 289, regularly 419.
the soma site only has 15 and 21 inch frames
http://store.somafab.com/so4oonha.html
the unreal cycles site has everything but 17 inch
http://mtb.unrealcycles.com/catalog/item387.htm
I JUST got one in the mail yesterday (complete build actually), I haven't even put it all together yet... but I can vouch that it took being shipped very admirably.
I built mine up in December, and I've played about on it for about 15hrs at this point. I'm loving it a lot more than my old road bike converted single speed, the only bike I can compare it to.
The frame and fork both seem super sturdy and beefy, and from what I've seen on some of the FGFS forums I don't think durability is an issue, and if there is ever a problem EighthInch should be pretty good and help you out.
If you have some extra coin, check out the Butcher they just came out with. I had a hard time justifying the extra $300 for the frame over the Scrambler.
I built mine beginning of February and have played 3-4 times a week since. I LOVE this bike for polo. My old rig had been holding me back hard, and I didn't even think it was a bad setup.
The Scrambler's geometry with a 53cm (I'm 5'8"), shortie bmx stem, 1/8inch risers, 700x35c and 165mm cranks lets me just jam wherever I want. I don't eat it as much now from turning too tight, although that will always be an issue with me. But clipped into this bike, hopping is as easy as hopping on my feet so hop turns, 180-turn-starts etc. are now more in play than ever.
Even the problem of caliper brakes can be solved http://www.billys.co.uk/english/group.php?prod=bsdnvps (and other products like it that I've seen on the forums) but I don't yet have a complaint about the calipers in polo. I'm sure enough crashes with the bars winging the caliper arm into the downtube will change my story eventually.
But with the Scrambler, no complaints. Only joy. And Murder.
Do you have the V2? 35's fit in the forks?
I believe 28's (maybe 30's in some brands) in the front and 35's in the rear are the max sizes that will fit on it.
Edit: Yup, from their facebook page:
"EighthInch.com 28c in the front but the rear can take up to 38c and I've heard the new dropouts can fit 40c's if its pushed pretty far back."
I have the V3. 35c is the absolute limit, at least on the front. I really don't notice or miss 40c much. I am running 35c on the front and it's tight, and there's a tiny smidge of toe overlap, but no issues otherwise. I could see a larger tire in the back if you ran it toward the entrance of the dropouts, but I have it set all the way forward and really like the feel of the wheelbase there. 35, front and back.
The bike in my profile pic is the Scrambler in question.
Interesting!
May I ask what tire/rim/brakes you are using to make a 35 fit in the front? Did you have to grind anything down?
I stopped at the Walmart of bike shops -- Performance Bike -- for a spoke wrench, and spied a set of track wheels -- Weinmann DP18 deep v rims, straight gauge spokes to 32h Origin 8 hubs -- on clearance for $100. I couldn't resist. Went with Performance's higher-tier brand name tires (on sale too- nothing to write home about), and actually in this photo I've got short reach Campy Mirage calipers from my road bike, but have replaced them with Campy Chorus calipers. Also in this photo I have a longer stem and narrower bars than my setup now.
I haven't had to grind or modify anything. The headset cups were tight and made for a snug fit after some cursing, but other than that setup was swift and easy.
I'll take some respectable photos and post in the bikes section with full info.
My only complaint about my eighthinch frameset that i've owned for a year now (v2) is that the headset they supply is crap. Pure and simple. Replaced it with a headset by cane creek and the thing is much nicer now. Ran it up for a while with 35c tires in the rear but now have backed down to a 25 or 28.
actually, I'll agree with you there. the V3 headset must be no different. Brand new it feels like it's got pitting, and really difficult to dial in perfectly.
I might replace it as well, although in polo mode I don't really notice so maybe not. And we are talking about part of the reason the frameset was so cheap.
Edit: I got some 32's to fit, didn't notice I hadn't seated the tire in all the way.
Just curious. Did they steal any part of the design from anyone?
x2 if you agree
My opinion on the scrambler is that you should have probably bought the butcher...
http://www.eighthinch.com/butcher.html
My opinion on the butcher is that they probably stole the MKE bruiser design.
holy toptube length batman!
My opinion on the butcher is that they probably stole the MKE bruiser design.
Gotta disagree, looking at the geo sheets the MKE design has avoided toe overlap whilst giving a shorter toptube length on the small frames by steepening the Seat-tube angle. It's the traditional way to do it.
Whereas the Butcher hasn't bothered and has just left the toptube hideously long on the shorter frames - 5mm difference in TT length between sizes? Daft design.
In the smallest size of both the toptube length is a half-inch longer on the butcher (doesn't sound l ike much but does make quite a difference to fit)
Between the two the MKE is a better designed bike
so, they "borrowed" the easier parts of the design, but didn't bother when it came to the more difficult, effort requiring sections? hmmmm....
Not really, no. Nothing to do with anyone stealing anything. It's all just numbers and different design decisions, it certainly doesn't take any effort to put different seat-angles into your specs.
My point was more due to my pedantry in pointing out that the MKE design decisions work better for helping more people fit better on their bikes.
However they both - the same as in ALL bike-design - are just trade-offs of different factors. The problem is that neither a long top-tube or steep seat angle is ideal, but while working with large wheels like 700c in mediumtosmall sizes having either one or the other is unavoidable.
Any issues with toe overlap?
how about pedal strikes?
Davey Carfax in Tempe (AZHC) used one for quite a while & liked it, but then again he also models for Hot Topic.
My v2 has toe overlap on a 53cm with shadow conspiracy bmx platforms and 165 cranks. Pedal strike isn't a problem unless i'm really leaning it. Just switched to clipless and still have some toe overlap, but better than before.
Woadie,
I have been waiting for my KHS to snap and was looking at the Butcher & the Bruiser as possible replacements. You should go on Robbies show & do an in-depth review for those of us who are trying to decide...I've rode around on a Scrambler & thought it seemed like a $150.00 bike...but that Butcher looks tasty.
Do it ok?
DaveO
yeah the guys at eighthinch really helped me out. about 20 emails back and forth trying to get the right bike for me.
i used to ride a raliegh road bike, that had a huge wheel base, also had a raked fork and threaded headset.
i didn't want to break it so i wanted something with a little more reinforcement.
with the straight fork, smaller wheel base and tighter geometry, i feel like i am more upright, so my swing is even better. plus the turns that would send me into a jack knife on my raliegh aren't a problem anymore.
i had V brakes welded on, and i am really liking it, although i do recommend the "horse shoe" because there is a bit of flex in the seat stays.
i really dig it.
there is a bit of toe overlap, but if you play freewheel you can avoid it, although sometimes wiggling around in goal my toe gets caught, but that's rare now that i am used to it. the only thing i thought was weird was the brake mounts are really low, so if you are using road brakes, the pads might not line up solid on the rim. thus the reason why i went with v brakes.
so yeah. there's my review.
A kid in our club rides one. Clearance for mtb tires, straight fork for tight turns, and dirt cheap price. Pretty decent choice for polo (imo).