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Dirt Rag Articles
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Tester: Eric McKeegan
Age: 33
Height: 5' 11"
Weight: 150lbs.
Inseam: 32"
Vital Stats
Country of Origin: U.S.A.
Price: $1550 frame only
Weight: 24lbs.
Sizes Available: Custom
Contact: www.blackcatbicycles.com
One of the things that caught my eye at the Handmade Bicycle Show this year was a set of swinging dropouts on a Rick Hunter-built frame. The dropouts were the creation of one Todd Ingermanson, the man behind the torch (and everything else) at Black Cat Bicycles. This eventually led to the bike pictured here, a custom 29"-wheeled hardtail built just for me and my preferences.
The Build
The custom process started with my measurements and a list of likes and dislikes about bikes I've owned in the past. I knew from the get-go I wanted a 29er, and I wanted a bike that was more playful than what I've previously ridden in this wheel size. I also specified a 100mm travel fork. Quite a few emails were exchanged about the frame specifics such as cable routing, gears or none, and paint options. A few weeks later I had a bike.
The resulting frame has pretty interesting numbers (these are with 20mm of sag): a steep but not crazy-steep 71.5° head angle and a higher than standard 12.25" bottom bracket height. The seat angle and top tube length are a bit hard to measure due to the bent seat tube, but they are effectively 73° and 23.75" respectively. The real story here though is the chainstay length, adjustable between 17"-16.25". That is short, regardless of wheel size. The resulting wheelbase is 41.75"–42.5" with a Fox F29 fork. The steel frame is a mix of OX Platinum front end, Dedacciai seatstays and Columbus chainstays. Fillet brazing joins the tubes together, and gives the bike a very organic look, all smooth lines and transitions. The curved seat tube adds to the distinct look of the frame.
The bike is built up with a mix of builder-provided parts, personal items and a few test bits. After some swappage here and there, most of the riding was done on a singlespeed wheelset with Arch rims, American Classic hubs and Bontrager Jones XR tires, with Middleburn RS7 cranks mated to a square-taper SKF bottom bracket all the way from Germany. My preferred 32-20t gearing put the chainstays at 16.25" with a half link in the chain.
With Todd's unique swinging dropouts, there is enough adjustment to run this gearing with the dropouts further back using an additional link. The aluminum dropouts pivot around the upper bolt and the lower bolt slides through a slightly curved slot. Setscrews help to center the wheel and keep the dropouts from shifting under load. Over the course of the test the dropouts never slipped or made noise. Derailleur-compatible dropouts are available for those who desire gears.
The Ride
I wanted a bike for east coast trails and that's what I got. The ride of the bike is different than any other 29er I've ridden to date. The super-short chainstays combined with a higher bottom bracket brings some of the playfulness back into my riding, something I've been missing from my days on 26" hardtails. The tight wheelbase and steepish head angle worked well for me, and I needed little time to adapt to the quick steering, finding it spot-on for the tight twisties. The tallish bottom bracket and short chainstays help out on log piles and other trail obstacles without making the bike overly tippy.
I look forward to rocky downhills, playing connect the dots—using bigger rocks to launch over smaller ones. Combining faster speeds, rough terrain and cornering can make the bike a little nervous, the trade off for all the hop, skip and jump-ability of this bike, but I'm perfectly willing to compromise on this. The frame rode like a steel frame should, no harshness and stiff enough to not feel noodley under power. I ended up not really thinking much about the frame in the stiffness and compliance departments. It felt right from the first ride so I've put it out of mind.
I've managed to finally get real bunny hops down on this bike, not just cheater hops using clipless pedals. I'm not sure if it is just a matter of personal progression, geometry, riding position or some combination of the three, but I look for stuff to hop over now. I even chose this bike on some shorter rides around town because it is fun to pretend I'm a BMXican.
Leg strength was the only limiting factor on climbing, as there was traction in spades and no wandering front wheel. I plan to install some shifty bits soon to see how the short chainstays affect geared climbing. Check our website if you are interested to find out more.
In early June, Karen and I raced in the duo class at the 24 hours of Big Bear in West Virginia. While I never mentioned racing when the bike was being designed, I've found racing to be a good way to evaluate bikes, particularly in the multi-lap format. The course was typical West Virginia, rocks, mud, roots and steep ups and downs. In addition to the Black Cat I was able to ride two other 29" bikes over the course of the 24 hours, including a custom geared hardtail made for a co-worker with a very similar build. Riding the same course with other bikes made me appreciate the Black Cat's unique handling even more. I certainly had no problem getting around the course on the other two bikes, but if I had to judge the bikes on fun-factor, the Black Cat wins hands down.
Just like most things in life, there are some compromises to be made with geometry like this, the first being a lack of front derailleur compatibility. An E-type derailleur might work without a small chainring and some modification of the actuation arm, but getting a triple on here ain't happening, something I accepted early on. A bit more tire clearance would be nice around the bottom bracket, although I don't know if there is any more to be had. There is only so much room in the bottom bracket area for chainstays, tire and chainring, and as is the case with more and more bikes, the chainstay bridge has been eliminated for more room. The seatstay bridge is lower than I would have liked; seems like it could be 10mm or so higher with no ill effect.
Lots of people asked me about the bike, even when it was sitting next to some pretty blingy rides. I think it has a purposeful look to it, minimalist with a touch of class from the two-color paint. The paint adds $150 to the $1200 base price for a frame, the swinging dropouts are another $150 and the bent seat tube tacks on $50 for a total of $1550. I was surprised by the lack of head tube badge, not even a sticker.
A custom bike should first and foremost ride like you want, why else would you pay for custom, right? I wanted a bike suited for my riding area that would still be at home or at least in the neighborhood on most terrain. I got what I wanted, and in fact more than I expected. I've been riding 29" bikes for quite a few years now, and honestly didn't expect this bike to turn out to be so playful while still working well for just riding around in the woods.
| Exclusive Dirt Rag Web-Only Extras For Black Cat Custom Hardtail | Make: Black Cat
Model: Custom frame
Type: Mountain
Country of origin: USA
Wheel size: 29"
Frame material: Steel
Fork: Fox F29 RLC 100mm
Handlebar: Easton Monkey Lite 25.4
Stem: Easton EA 70 25.4
Headset: Cane Creek
Bottom bracket: SKF
Crank: Middleburn RS7 32t
Pedals: Shimano XTR
Chain: KMC 1/8"
Saddle: WTB Rocket Ti
Seatpost : Aluminum
Front hub: American Classic 32
Rear hub: American Classic single speed 32
Cassette: Surly cog 20 t
Brakes: Avid Juicy Ultimate 160/140
Rims: NoTubes Arch
Tires: Bontrager Jones XR 2.25/2.2 tubes
Sizes: Custom
Colors: Custom
Weight: 24 lbs.
MSRP: $1550 frame
Company website: www.blackcatbicycles.com
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| Comment from droptop on 2010-03-18 |
| I love my short chainstay 29er. mine is set at 16.75 inches right now (origin8 scout) slammed forward. I think i might know the playful feeling you describe- all other 29ers i have ridden feel ok, but not throwable into turns. I wanted a nicer frame, but as of now i can't afford anything better (nor have i found anything off the shelf that feels right) |
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| Comment from John on 2008-09-22 |
| I've been drooling on the Black Cat for days now. I love my Gunnar, but now I'm thinking single speed, except maybe HammerSchmidt. Single speed with options. I gotta get control of myself. I just bought the custom Gunnar 29er. Help me... |
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| Comment from Eric on 2008-08-19 |
| ghostbiker, I'd be happy to answer your questions, but I'm not really sure what you are asking or what haerdies are.
Thanks for commenting! |
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| Comment from ghostbiker on 2008-08-15 |
| Hi guys! Hey, I was wondering if you've been ridin haerdies for years, which ones and how do there performances compare? geared or otherwise?
I am currently dying to ride a dialed 29 full squish Fisher and quite poss. purchase if it tickles me as nice as a friends did, albeit a little out of tweak for my size...6', 32 inseam. long cockpit.
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