Susie/Wolbis first rides

[Jason Fuller]

I picked up a dark gold Susie/Wolbis frameset locally in 50cm recently, as it was too good of a deal to not give it a try. I don't have the space (or inclination, tbh) to have another bike so I've borrowed kit from the Bombadil for now, and am delaying any decision making about whether this is a long term bike for later.  Well, two parts are new - the tires were also a Marketplace score, and the Ortho bar has been clanging around my parts pile for quite a while but I've never ridden it. 

I have thought for a long time though that the combination of the Ortho bar and the fillet Susie frame would be a heavenly match: both are large and roomy, and both have a lot more flex than usual. I never expected to test this theory, but here we are. 

I've only gotten two rides on it so far but I have to say, I was right about the bar and frameset making sense together. This bar needed a very long bike to work for my proportions, and the Susie is long. The long wheelbase and wide bar sure feel planted and great on all surfaces. I can't wait to ride this in the middle of winter when we get a few inches of snow on the ground. 

I know it's meant to be a trail bike but I'll use my Stooge for that as it makes more sense for my terrain and riding style. I'll be fitting fenders to this once I locate the necessary hardware and using it as an all-weather, all-surface exploration and toodle bike. 

[J J]

Congratulations, Jason. Beautiful Susie and a fantastic photo. I love that yellow/gold. 

[Ben R]

hell yeah!

welcome to the club.  you're going to absolutely love that thing!  loving the gold color!

I got ortho bars on there too.  I was worried about the flex.  when you're riding you don't really notice it too much and the hand positions are worth it!

im kind of kicking my self for not using them sooner!  once I got the ramps wrapped it was game over!  I do wish I had silver ones instead of black but who cares!

[Eric Marth]

I always appreciate Jason's builds, photos, explorations and the write-ups he shares about ride quality and feel. Great to have his notes on another Riv frame! 

[Jason Fuller]

Ben - I should have known someone else here would have the Ortho-Susie combo!  I didn't think I was breaking new ground, but I hadn't recalled seeing another.  Lovely!  And agree about the tape - I will be taping these as soon as I get myself some more Newbaums. 

Eric, you're too kind. 

I spent much of yesterday fitting fenders, swapping brakes (the Avid V's would not clear the fenders, but thankfully I could swap brakes with the Wombat as the Motolites clear nicely), and reconfiguring the drivetrain.  I made some aesthetic compromises by adding the 11 speed stuff, but this plays nicer with the bar's ergonomics and gives me essentially a 1X with a bailout gear. Even though the drivetrain is uglier now, the bike is looking real good to my eye!  Can't wait to spend more time with it. 

[Isaak Oliansky]

"Toodle bike" - a new genre is born! 

[Ed Fausto]

Hi Jason,
Could you please provide details on the tires and fenders?
I am still looking for a the biggest tires that could fit with fenders?

Any challenges installing the motolites? any learnings?

Thanks

Edgar Fausto

[brendonoid]

This Crust Vid was a huge inspiration for me to pull the trigger on getting a Susie in the second batch, the Ortho-Susie combo just seemed so right.

In the end I didn't enjoy the Ortho on my XL Susie because the stack is just so high I couldn't get the reach where I wanted without it all feeling just too upright. I ride my Susie on some pretty serious single track adventures so the flex with the quill stem  was more sketch, than pleasant, also.

Looks like it works pretty spot on in your size though Jason!

Bloody nice.

[Richard Rose]

A little bit of apples/oranges perhaps as my bike is a Gus. But I had a similar experience with Bosco on it. I made some calculations & took a chance on an Albacore bar. Coupled with a 35mm stem it has transformed the Gus into a singletrack joy if not a beast.:) The Bosco was pretty great however just cruising.

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 28, 2024, at 9:01 PM, brendonoid <bre...@areyoualert.com> wrote:



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[Jason Fuller]

Ed - the tires are Rene Herse Umtanum 650x55, wrapped in Simworks Flat 65 fenders. It's a good combination, the Susie has plenty of extra clearance but this maxes out what I can fit under V-brakes.  Without fenders I'd be comfortable with a 2.5 to 2.6 with V-brakes. The Motolites are nice to set up, you can just install the pads to be parallel the rim, and then use the 'collar' to adjust up-down as well as fine tune the toe-in rather than try to set all these at the same time using the cup and cone washers. I appreciated that the Susie's studs were spaced appropriately for the Cliffhanger rims as well 

Brendon - I'll probably bring the bars down a bit, but yes since I'm on the 50 despite being able to fit a 53 easily I've got a bit less stack which is good!  I can bring them down to basically level with the saddle if I want to.  

Richard (and also Brendon) - I can definitely see moving away from the Ortho bar for singletrack.  I have a Stooge for trail riding as well as the Crust Wombat, so my off-road needs are fully met between those two and I love them both. It begs the question, isn't the Susie more bike than I need if my purpose for it is commuting, cruising around town, and just a bit of gravel and trail riding?  So far I'm really enjoying it for these purposes, but it'll be interesting to go back and forth with the Bombadil and compare. Bombadil is obviously stiffer and more compact, both super capable. 

[Jason Fuller]

I got out on my favourite local loop this past weekend on the Susie, a 50km gravel & light singletrack loop in the Seymour valley.  I wrote it up on my website mostly to convey the photos in full resolution that were popular in the Fall Riding pics thread.  The photos still do little justice for how amazing it is to be in this forest during late November drizzle, easily my favourite time of year to be out there despite the cold and wet. 

This was the first bigger ride on the bike, as I've mostly been commuting and barely topped 20km per ride prior to this aboard it. 

https://www.jasonmytail.com/2024-11-17-susie-lscr-loop/

[Ryan]

Jason, I am not sure what you do for a living, but I gotta say, you should quit your day-job and just take pictures. And write. And your Susie is the perfect autumn color. 

[meti...@gmail.com]

I gotta say…now all I can think about is moving somewhere near the Seymour Valley bike trail and getting in line to beg Jason to build me up a gorgeous Susie to ride on it. In November. (Drooling).

Liz in Cincinnati (which is a nice town, but we don’t have ANY views like Jason’s views).

[Jason Fuller]

I just point my camera phone around, it's the beauty of the forest that makes the photos good! 

I am happy to take anyone visiting Vancouver on this loop!  I try to do it once a month.   

[Menos Joven]

I thoroughly enjoyed your write up complete with photos to get a sense of your ride through this magical forest. Thank you so much for sharing. Just for yucks, the peanut gallery part of me is thinking that your photos have given me permission to finally use a kickstand if I so choose. :)

[Danny]

Jason, wow, great write up and photos. That's one beautiful place to explore! Thanks for sharing the route, hope I can ride my Susie up there one day.

-Danny

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[Pete P]

Jason,
That is a beauty. I like the swooping to tube as it meets the seat tube. I prefer this design over the gallop with the straight top tube. You improved it too with the silver fenders. Glad to see the safety clips on the front fender stays too. Sticks are a real problem when off road. Love that gold color too.

Pete

[Joe Bashaw]

Beautiful ride! For a second I thought you might be in Oregon based on the forest views. But I see you’re in BC.

[Jason Fuller]

Appreciate all the positive feedback. It's spurred me to add a few other ride reports to my web page. This is the only one on the Susie, but I've a few on the Bombadil and Hillborne, as well as my Wombat which I enjoy immensely too

https://www.jasonmytail.com/ride-reports/

[Jason Fuller]

Pete - I learned this the hard way in 2021, when a stick in the spokes grabbed my fender stay and pulled the fender into the tire, throwing me over the bars at speed on a chunky gravel trail at the deep end of this very valley. I was extremely lucky to ride out with only scrapes and bruises, and I won't make that mistake again! 

Also, credit to how robust the Bombadil is that it didn't bend the frame nor fork. I've ridden it over 6000km since then and it's going strong. 

[Armand Kizirian]

Jason, can you link safety clips that are compatible with Honjo fender? I am very much interested in not flying over my handlebars. :)

[Armand Kizirian]

Oh, and why not utilize the fender braze-ons for the rear? I see you have it doubled up with the rack.

[Jason Fuller]

Armand - yes!  The PDW safety tabs will work with both VO and Honjo fender stays. I've used on both. Good eye on the unusual choice of eyelet for the rear stays - it's related to the fact I am not using safety tabs back there. These fenders are borrowed, so I didn't want to cut the stays if I could help it. If the fenders (and the bike) are going to stay with me for a longer period I'll trim them, add safety tabs (less critical in the rear, but still a good idea), and mount to the fender eyelet. 

I'm actually not planning to keep this frameset long term, but I am really enjoying it at the moment. Who knows. 

[der_amerikanische_freund]

Hi Jason, I'm rescuing this conversation as I was doing some searching on 2x11.

Just to confirm, you are indeed running a 2x11 with Silver cranks upfront? Are they the stock Silver cranks? Reason I'm asking is Riv says they're 10 speed max. Coming from Riv I would take that as seriously only for 10. Could you please share your experiences on how you made it work? I presume you are using both an 11 speed chain and rear derailer.

I'm interested in the topic as I'm looking to build my Atlantis as 2x with very low gears. Thinking about pairing a 34/24 with something like a 11-45, or 11-48, or 11-50 if feasible. The only derailer I've found that would handle  that kind of capacity is the Cues 11 speed (RD-U6020-11, https://bike.shimano.com/en-NA/products/components/pdp.P-RD-U6020-11.html) but that would require an 11 speed chain which, according to what I said before about Riv's cranks being 10 speed max, would be a no no.

Thank you,

Alfonso

[Jason Fuller]

Hi Alfonso, 

Indeed this setup is 11 speed (Shimano everything) with the stock 38/24 Silver crankset, stock chainrings - I too saw that it was not 'rated' for 11 speed, but I had the parts already so I placed the chain over the chainrings and it seemed to fit fine - so I installed it all and have ridden about 3000 km on this setup, works perfectly!  Note most of those miles were on the Bombadil which is currently running this setup, I borrowed for the Susie.  

I know that Riv might swap out the chainring vendor based on availability so there is a chance other Silver cranks won't perform the same as mine, but I am pretty confident you'll have no problem.  Perhaps the prudent option is to get the 11s chain and place it on the chainrings - if they full engage and don't appear to cling to the chainring, you should be fine.  I guess the other part of it is the risk of the chain falling between the rings?  Never once had this happen though. Shifts great!  

[der_amerikanische_freund]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for replying. Would you mind sharing a few more details about your setup as it's something it may consider for a future build? Especially your cassette range (max cog at the back) and rear derailer. I'm never too sure how far I can go above any derailer max cog or capacity so it's good to have a reference that has been tested by another user.

it seems a few others are 'mixing' 11s chains with 10s chainrings with no use so I guess I should be fine but I will nevertheless follow you advice and place chain on chainring first to ensure they engage properly.

Kind regards,

Alfonso

[Jason Fuller]

Hi Alfonso, 

Unfortunately I don't have exact model numbers but my drivetrain setup is: 
- Silver cranks with 38/24 stock rings 

- Shimano XT 11-42 11 speed cassette

- Shimano 11 speed chain

- Shimano XTR 11 speed trigger shifter

- Shimano XT 11 speed rear derailleur (pretty ugly, has a clutch but i keep it turned off) 

- Shimano bar con front shifter mounted to Silver pod on stem 

- 1990's LX front derailleur 

So I didn't do any shenanigans when it comes to the shifting and derailleur, it's all 11-speed era Shimano meant to go together. Probably about 2015 vintage stuff.  I really enjoy this drivetrain, though 10-speed with 11-36 cassette and appropriate derailleur would be fine too, that's equivalent to my second lowest gear which is almost always low enough. 

[Alfonso Saco Díaz]

Hi Jason,

Thank you for the parts list, that is really useful. I thought you may be running one of those massive pizza size 11-50T cassettes - I couldn't judge well from the pictures. I'm in some sort of quest trying to find out what is the lowest granny gear people are getting from their Silver double cranksets. It seems that even though most rear derailers are rated at maximum lowest sprocket of 36T or 40T, it is feasible to stretch it up to a 42T. I'm yet to find out whether there's anyone running a 24T chainring with a 45T in the back. I live in a very mountainous area and would like my next build to provide me with a lower granny gear than my current 1x at 30T chainring / 50T cog.

Also, how are you finding the aluminum fenders when riding off-road? Are they noisy? I currently run plastic SKS fenders for my off-road riding but would like to improve on the looks - however I am worried about noise from rocks/gravel hitting the aluminum.

Kind regards,

Alfonso

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[Jason Fuller]

You can certainly push the limits a little bit with a friction shifter, since it gives you a little more freedom to coax the derailer; lots of people have had good luck with the Roadlink adapter but no personal experience here - I tend to think it's a bit of an imperfect solution because wide range cassettes are best served by derailers that have a parallelogram linkage that matches their angle. Lots of inexpensive and well functioning options, but sadly no beautiful options. 

The metal fenders do make occasional 'BZZT' sounds with small stones passing through, not going to lie. It's mildly annoying, perhaps less because it doesn't happen a ton. I would not recommend them without the PDW safety tabs which keep things safe. The function of metal fenders is night and day versus plastic fenders: the rolled edge on metal fenders is hugely important, they act as gutters to channel water out the ends. I use a poncho in heavy rains and I would not stay nearly as dry with SKS as I do with VO or Honjo fenders. 

[der_amerikanische_freund]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the tip on fenders, I shall bear that in mind for my upcoming build.

On the high capacity rear mech ... yeah, no pretty options sadly.

[Jon Van Lew]

Kinda late to the party but count me in on Gus + ortho bars. Makes a great camping bike and maybe an even better toddler-transporter