Al's WebLog

Category: Crafty

  • The end. *sold*

    So cutting to the chase, I’ve sold the Crafty. It was fun, but it was time to move on. Largely the main reason for selling it was the lack of mud clearance with a 29er wheel in. I know, its not a 29er frame, so its not Mondraker’s fault, its just how it is. Round…

  • Pivot shimming FTW

    Since I first had the Crafty, the rear end has been, shall we say, lose. Its the most side to side flex of any bike I’ve ever owned, plus, if you pull its a bit more, it clunked. The shock mount bolts would also come lose after a ride or two, even when Loctite was…

  • Shaking that ass

    I’ve been off the Crafty for a couple of months, not ‘cos I didn’t want to ride it but because of had a small coming together with the ground whilst riding my hardtail on a local XC trail. Result, one broken humerus. Nothing funny about that, let me assure you.

  • The Italian Job

    4 days riding in the Italian Maritime Alps. Its a good way to get to know a bike. Its also a good way to remember just how long the Crafty is when it doesn’t fit in your bike box…

  • Aldi “So Crafty” down tube guard

    One thing I’m keen on is avoiding holes in my down tube caused by flyng rocks. On my Nukeproof I forgot to stick an old tyre on the down tube at Afan once and had to pull a rock out of the underside of the bike, after it had flicked up and embedded itself. Lesson…

  • 1st Impressions – riding

    Having spent some time in the shed, its only right and proper that I spend some time out on the trails. So far I’ve been out for 2 local rides and 5 rides up in the Lakes on the Crafty, which gives a good early impression of where things are going and what tweak things might…

  • Quick crank upgrade

    So on the R+ the cranks that come stock are RaceFace AEffect jobs

  • 1st Impressions – physical

    With the bike arrived the first thing to do was strip it down, after hanging it on the scales of course (15.26kg).

  • 1st post… and so it begins

    I’ll not bore you with the details, but having been pondering a new full sus to replace my ‘old’ Nukeproof Mega AM (26″, since you ask) I finally settled on a Mondrakrer Crafty R+. It was everything I was looking for, aside from having the wrong wheel size and being on the steeper side in…