GCinDC's Scott Nitrous 20

[GCinDC]

i've been having a nice time w/ my Giant DH comp. but it's a medium frame and i've been keeping my eye out for large frames. while i've found a couple, it gets so expensive buying all the other individual components, that i decided it's a better value to get a complete bike with good components.

this just popped up on craigslist for $650:

it's more freeride than downhill, which i think mainly means lighter, but still far beefier than an XC bike, sporting features good for an ebike:
- beefy 20mm front axle (instead of flimsy quick release axle)

- 8" rotors & hydro brakes all around (though i'm not sure the rear caliper will fit w/ hub motor)

- rockshox domain 318 forks w/ 110-180mm travel with a 1.5" steerer tube, very easy to adjust while on the bike and amazingly effective
- lots of rear suspension - not sure exactly how much but a newish fox dhx 5.0 (7.75" eye to eye?) w/ a 600lb coil

- single pivot, which for pedaling may be drawback but for ebike probably not. and it's got a crazy amount of space in the triangle in front of the tire, for like an RC motor if i ever finally go to the dark side (that tube aparently is just where a front derailleur was attached so isn't structural. :wink: :

- removable dropouts, and in this case ones that are slotted 10mm instead of round 12mm thru

obviously the front triangle isn't huge, but should accomodate some lipos sidewaze:

the bike isn't perfect. no damage was cited in the initial discussions. i went over it VERY closely at pickup and found:
- a couple of bruises:

staring at them almost caused flashbacks of crazy confused crashes, pain... :lol: but i decided the damage wasn't structural. and the single pivot mount looked fine, but is also something that rules this out of stupid drops, at the risk of something like this.

- also the wheels were trashed. the front looks to have been trued w/ vice grips or something, so the rim is gouged at nearly every spoke, and while that doesn't bother me so much, the true ain't good. we'll see if they can be fixed, cause dh wheels/hubs/etc ain't cheap. the rear is ugly too, but will prolly do hubbie anyway

so if those issues are what brought the price down, that's fine by me. the seller was really looking to trade for an XC bike, which makes sense. and he was interested in my GT! but asked if i could remove the electric... i told him it didn't make sense.... but...

now, what to do?

i've got a heavy DH bike, so a lighter one makes sense...

my thoughts:

1. my first idea was to finally get a MAC and run it at 2kw for a nice dirt bike.

2. or get a GNG and ditto: lightweight (low speed) dirt bike

3. but my first concern is the wife coming back from her business trip on Saturday and noticing another big bike in the garage! :lol: i'm just kidding. sort of. to be honest, one of the reasons i've been looking is cause some dude wanted me to build him a bike, so i've sorta been looking for that reason. i'm still not sure i want to do that tho. anyway, in the shorterm, i could, yank the electrics off the GT idrive and make the scott my backup bike... i could make the GT back into a pedal bike and probably sell it for the price i paid!

i think it's time for the GT idrive 2.0 to go because i feel less safe on it:
- the front QR front axle has been warped from hard braking or dumb drops.
- and the 6" front rotor and rear vbrakes aren't enough.
- and it always has and probably always will creak around the BB

i do love the marzocchi forks however. i just did some research and found some titanium axles, and maybe those would make it safer. and if so, maybe i could switch them to the scott -- but i think the 1 1/8 steerer tube won't fit in the 1.5" headset...

anyway, winter is coming, and i don't want to ride the vented motor in the salt. so maybe the scott can be a lower power 9C snowbike, until i save up for a MAC...

those are some ideas. as usual, i'd love comments and suggestions.

 

[sardini]

Hi Grigori

If i was you i would sell all the bikes( keeping the electrical components for spares) and i would bought a Greyborg.

Stefanos

 

[grindz145]

Or a Zero FX!

The pinch-bolt drop outs should be interesting with the hubbie. At least you won't break the drop-out if the motor slips a little bit.

 

[dbaker]

bolt on rear dropouts A candidate for longer wheelbase and cromotor

 

[grindz145]

Greg definitately needs a Cromotor....

 

[litespeed]

Looks like a great start to another great build.

Tom

 

[etard]

Dude, I didn't even know Scott made that bike! You're gonna love that DHX shock, it's the perfect ebike rear shock, I prefer coil shocks though...

You must go darkside on this beast, go ahead and put a Baked Bean can in there, see now doesn't that feel good?

What's that? It doesn't fit right? No no, inductance is vaporware man, that's what the Frockboyz use to scare weak minded folk into being nice calm citizens. :lol:

This is the high grade shit man, stuff leaves sanity at the door, people jumping over houses out there man!

 

[GCinDC]

..put a Baked Bean can in there..

we talking turnigy 80-100 baked beans? or some other can?

please send me a link with the can and the esc and we'll see how truly impulsive i've become.

you do make the dark side sound rather interesting.

though there will be no more sneaking up behind pedestrians... and dog walkers will wonder who's got a vacuum cleaner/hair dryer in the woods.... :lol:

the noise is my ONLY problem with this!

 

[etard]

Yes indeed 80-100! Hall sensors and all. If we get a lexan coolant bath setup going ( I have heard murmurs and rumors) completely enclosing the motor, it should be much quieter. Also, how about some sort of modular battery pack that attaches to the top tube, clipping in and out as a range extender, keep it light you know?

If you need any parts for your future non-hub build, hit me up, I have surplus, actually I have the complete setup here on the shelf. I like that bike soo much, I may be looking for another out here. Maybe you could get some dimensions and I'll see what we can do. I got tons of lexan too, green, blue, orange, tinted, clear, etc...

By the way, my REAL bike is a Scott Ransom Carbon.

 

[deecanio]

Hi Greg,

Have a look and see what size steerer tube the forks on the scott already have (nice bike) - could be 1 18/th with an adapter? if your in luck you can take the bombers to the scott and sell the gt, if the zokes don't fit return the gt to stock and sell it anyway, the forks should sell on ebay by themselves (i have a set i need to list myself).
i reckon you have 2 really nice bikes in the team and the scott, bless the gt, but it has given you your test platfrom, thank you and goodbye
battery mount is going to be your main issue with the new frame (love the shock mount and swingarm) - for that reason i reckon gng might be your best option, carry just enough ah to get by, of course your mainly going to benefit from no interferance on that lovely rear travel with no hub weighing it down in the back.
maybe longer format packs and mount them in paralell with the downtube? enough space to squeeze the gng in the triangle? whatever you go for looking forward to seeing it come together. i would defo think twice about an rc setup, you already know it will be too noisy, dont ya? :lol:

D

 

[Thud]

Greg,
Send that bike to me for a full treatment.
(i'll get it back you in time for the new year)

You want formula 1 performance?....its going to be louder than a window fan.

but you'll never be happy doing drops on your hubbies again, I promise.
I am serious.

 

[GCinDC]

Send that bike to me for a full treatment. You want formula 1 performance?....its going to be louder than a window fan.

should i ship it with the wheels?

suddenly the dark side ain't so dark, at least when you've got an escort like this!

i'm serious, btw. my only question is - should i send you the dh comp instead! or do you like the nitro for the frame/pivot?

also, there's a 50-50 chance i'll get shoulder surgery after xmas, which is gonna mean zero biking for 8 weeks and no horseplay for 6mo. you might like the extra time.

plus this plan gets it out of the garage before the wife gets home!

let's pm for details.

 

[outbackhack]

Nice looking bike, too bad it slipped through my DC Craigslist filter and you got it instead of me

 

[etard]

I'm seeing a chainstay mounted sliding (adjustable) chain slider with stacked freewheels, rear triangle mounted enclosed motor, 18 FET downtube mounted with batteries in and above top tube.

 

[GCinDC]

rear triangle mounted enclosed motor

in here? this big enough or will we drop to 24" wheels?

i'm chatting w/ your evil twin. he's got big plans. and i'm so excited i just want to make sure this is the right donor. some of those cracked nitro frames i saw online scared the piss out of me, and if we're gonna make a bike for drops, is this it, or should we find another dh comp...

fwiw:

 

[whereswally606]

hey GCinDC,

my IDS dropouts very similar to what you have there had to be filed abit to get my gen1 magic pie into the slot. not bothered with torque arms yet with this build on my scott ransom but when i intend to up the power to this i will remake a set of clamping dropouts at the water cutters for sure. Really intrigued with what you are gonna do here. Today i rode my ransom round a field in Dorset with a horse with no shoes (cause it couldn't go fast on the roads) was like riding slow motocross applying power just to keep the bike upright in the mud. Also found out i need a front chain tensioner at the main chainring.

regards Andy

 

[bzhwindtalker]

Have you considered a GNG? Even if it only peaks at 30-35mph, it makes a really good urban assault set-up and keeps the chassis performance as we need it to do stupid things.

 

[nicobie]

For god's sake, let Thud do his thing! Offers like that don't come around too often.

 

[GCinDC]

Agree 100%, just need to decide if she is right donor for his magic... Or another DH comp..

 

[crusoe]

You're going to hate those Hayes Nine's soon...shoot me a message when you're about to pull your hair out - I've been through every possible fix that needs to happen with the older models

 

[GCinDC]

You're going to hate those Hayes Nine's soon...shoot me a message when you're about to pull your hair out - I've been through every possible fix that needs to happen with the older models

i was afraid of that. i figured the rear will just need to be replaced if a hub is used. the front feels good now. don't know about 40mph tho...

anyway, it's official. i'm taking advantage of thud's offer. but not for this bike!

i just bought a large giant dh comp and am having it shipped direct to Michigan! if you were eyeing that large white one in syracuse, it's gone! :lol:

now that's what i call a nice week. :wink:

the scott feels a bit like it's made of styrofoam. i'm sure it's tough, but i don't want to blow thud's offer on a bike that i'm not totally in love with. like the dh comp. and thud's magic isn't going to be free, either. it's gonna be an expensive bike, but well below stealth territory! and it will have sick performance. yes, i could have gone GNG, and it was tempting, but if i'm going RC, why limit it to 2kw... this is about the dark side.... and also, it's about showcasing thud's abilities! i'll just provide free advertising with my shenanigans, assuming i have shoulders...

so that's the rationale...

now, as for this bike...

 

[litespeed]

That white one looks excellent. Good buy too!

Will be watching this build close!

Tom

 

[crusoe]

Oh GC, the performance on the Nine's are amazing, it's just sorting out the weird nuances that take time. For example, when you bleed the rear, make sure the caliper is at 45 degrees, not 90. So I had to remove the caliper from the mount and bleed it. Just stupid shit like that.

Also, Hayes have A++++ customer support. I called them up and explained my problem and they sent me brand new internals for the lever, free of charge! The master cylinder o-rings and the main bladder on mine were ripped so I had to replace those. But after that they've been holding up amazing at speeds up to 50mph - my brakes are from 2004

 

[GCinDC]

i'm gonna put this up for sale. i didn't know i was going to have surgery when i bought it and my year is going to be very different. (shoulder surgery is in two days)

plus i'll have a new 'backup' bike to look forward to when i can ride again in 3-4 months...

so, PM me if you want it for $650.

i'd prefer local pickup. but if you want it shipped, i'll see what i can do to box it up by tomorrow afternoon... if you're on the east coast it might be $75 for shipping, further more..

damn, now i'm sad.

 

[whereswally606]

Ah Damn, i really like these Scott models was hoping that it was gonna get the thud treatment. Hope your surgery goes well.