Matt Chester UtiliTIman REPAIR advice

[nighthawk]

I've got a Matt Chester UtiliTiman frame incoming. Curious if anyone out there has owned one and can offer any advice on getting it set up. I'll likely set it up single speed, though it has routing for an internal geared rear hub. For now I'll be treating it like a mountain bike (dirt roads and trail riding), but may eventually set it up for bikecamping. Having never owned a proper mountain bike, I guess I'm looking for advice on real basic stuff, like saddle height (as compared to road position), stem length, handlebar options (straight v. rise v. dirtdrop v ??), fork options (currently has a rigid steel IF fork, which I may leave on it).

Thanks!

[cachagua]

Are you close to a shop that sells used stuff? If so, experiment with $5 stems and $2 handlebars to zero in on the position you like, and then you'll know the sizes and shapes of the fancier stuff you want to buy.

Position -- my $.02 is that I like my mountain bikes to put me in almost the same position as my road bikes, so you could take your road position as a starting point and work from there. Of course not everybody likes that, but again, experiment and see what you like. Ride other people's bikes, or go to a shop and test ride a couple dozen. Ride in varying terrain to get the full range of how things feel to you.

And if you wind up going internal-gear hub, tell us how it comes out! I'm planning to do that too. You going to use a rim brake, or disc? Or there's always coaster brake. . .

[C. Matthews]

I take it you're buying this frame used? How did the previous owner have it set up? I ask because a lot of M. Chester's bikes were built with drop bars (they have really tall head tubes) in mind and your typical mtb setup might not be applicable to this frame.

[nighthawk]

Are you close to a shop that sells used stuff? If so, experiment with $5 stems and $2 handlebars to zero in on the position you like, and then you'll know the sizes and shapes of the fancier stuff you want to buy.

Position -- my $.02 is that I like my mountain bikes to put me in almost the same position as my road bikes, so you could take your road position as a starting point and work from there. Of course not everybody likes that, but again, experiment and see what you like. Ride other people's bikes, or go to a shop and test ride a couple dozen. Ride in varying terrain to get the full range of how things feel to you.

And if you wind up going internal-gear hub, tell us how it comes out! I'm planning to do that too. You going to use a rim brake, or disc? Or there's always coaster brake. . .

I'll probably take that first bit of advice (Thanks!) because I do have a decent used parts shop near me. Realistically, I knew it was going to take some fiddling and trying out different positions... but I was hoping there was some magic conversion equation from road bike to mountain.

For now I will probably just build it up single speed (as it was designed/constructed for)... mostly because I have some CK hubs ready to build. I'll have to do some further research to figure out the internal-gear hub options. Leaning toward Shimano for now.. (because I'm allergic to SRAM, and Rohloff hubs cost a million dollars). What are your thoughts on rear hub options? (I admittedly haven't looked much into it).

Also... The incoming MC has canti posts (frame and fork). I don't have any real passion or aversion to disc brakes... and since it's built for rim brakes, I'll probably stick with that. If I decide to replace the fork, I guess I could always do a disc brake up front.. but that doesn't really appeal to me.

[nighthawk]

I take it you're buying this frame used? How did the previous owner have it set up? I ask because a lot of M. Chester's bikes were built with drop bars (they have really tall head tubes) in mind and your typical mtb setup might not be applicable to this frame.

Yes, buying used. I'm picking it up tomorrow morning, so I'll definitely inquire with the current owner about how they set it up. The photos he sent me are frame/fork/hs/stem/post/cranks only... so not sure about his bar choice.
I've seen a lot of Matt's bikes built up with drop bars of various sorts, too... that's partially why I started this thread.

I guess I should decide on whether I'll go single or internal geared, build up the wheels, and once they are mounted start messing around with different cockpit set-ups. It's going to be a fun project for sure.

I'll post some pics after I pick it up tomorrow... and follow up with whatever info I can glean from the current owner.

[nighthawk]

So, I ended up picking this frame up last Saturday... and unfortunately there's a crack in the top tube at the junction with the seat tube. Normally I wouldn't even consider this.. but it is such a unique frame and I got a pretty good deal on it (with a bunch of extras included).. so I paid for it, and have it in my possession, with the option of returning it to the seller for a full refund.

I'm currently trying to sort out repair options. Looking at either just replacing the top tube or having S&S couplers installed with the rear portion of the top tube being replaced at the same time.

I'm curious for any advice or thoughts on this. So far I've only found one builder (Bilenky) who will even do the repair and I'm looking at $400 just for the top tube replacement.

Is it worth repairing? Should I just go ahead with the couplers if I'm getting the top tube replaced?

I'll try to get pictures posted soon.. If I do keep it, it's going to be a really fun project.

[markie]

It is not the first one that I have heard of breaking around that area. Have you got a pic?

It is probably worth getting it repaired. (If it has anything like a 56cm top tube I'll give you a dollar for it and get it repaired myself! :p)

[rice rocket]

If the crack is only at the one junction, why not just weld it up?

[nighthawk]

It is not the first one that I have heard of breaking around that area. Have you got a pic?

It is probably worth getting it repaired. (If it has anything like a 56cm top tube I'll give you a dollar for it and get it repaired myself! :p)

I was planning on taking some pics and I'll upload this coming weekend. Apparently the previous owner had a seatpost seize in the seattube, and the bike shop that removed it may not have been very careful with it.

[nighthawk]

If the crack is only at the one junction, why not just weld it up?

The crack looks to be partly in the weld, and partly in the top tube itself.
I'll post some pics soon, so it makes more sense.

[markie]

Yeah, I had a buddy who I think had the same issue. From what I remember Matt welded it up for him.

[Marburg]

Ironically one of MC's original points of difference was that he _would_ touch Ti repair. Normally (correct me if I'm wrong) the difficulties with maintaining cleanliness and purging around the welding, not to mention not knowing how well it was welded in the first place (and if it's going to just fail somewhere nearby) means Ti repair is ... not typically economical.

Not to discourage, of course.