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The bike that started it all just got even better...

265K views 2K replies 114 participants last post by  mikesee 
#1 · (Edited)
Bicycle wheel Bicycle tire Bicycle frame Tire Wheel


The new and improved Lenz Lunchbox.

Short chainstays? Check. 16.75 inches measured the honest way, from the center of the rear axle to the center of the BB.

Travel? Check. 150mm.

Stealth Dropper post routing? Check.

Clean-ass cable routing? Check. Rear derailleur cable runs down the downtube, inside the rear chainstay and pops out right at the derailleur. Nice.

Piggyback shocks? Check. Pick your favorite, it fits.

150mm rear hub spacing? Check. Props to Banshee for doing this as well. It matters much more than the 15mm vs 20mm fork argument.

Stiff as shizzzzzzz? Check. With the rear wheel removed, you can't budge the rear triangle. I've never had a bike that even comes close to this one in this regard.

More pics to come. I've been too busy grinning and riding to take pics.

Props to Devin Lenz on making a masterpiece, literally. He made it, with his hands, in his shop, in Colorado and it's a functional work of art.

Forgot to add, BB height is 13.5 inches with the 150mm Pike. This improvement was huge for me as I always felt the previous model's BB height was a tad tall for east coast carving. Now it slays corners. I don't have the chunk and chunder like out west, so the additional height was a hinderance to getting that "in the bike" feel. Problem solved.
 
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#661 ·
It's exactly what is sounds like. The shock bolts are fully threaded. Could this cause stiction or make the bolts weaker? I dunno. Traditionally it would be a partially threaded bolt with a smooth shaft as it goes through the shock hardware. Mine's the same way.
 
#662 ·
I wasn't considering the stiction factor, I was thinking wear as after a month it appears to be thread marks. The shock reducers, rocker arms and bearing surfaces are only riding on the apex of the threads because the bolts are threaded from head to end rather then a 8mm shoulder with just enough thread for a lock nut. With exchange taxes and shipping I'm into this frame close to three grand and screwing around at Home Depot make-shifting bolts. Maybe it doesn't matter as really the only movement should be between the shock bushings and the reducers.
 
#668 ·
So... to breathe a bit of life in this thread while peeps are waiting for their frames to show up and others are waiting for mother nature to cooperate, warm the earth, and dry out the trails.....

I'd like to have a conversation about crankset/chainring options.

Current Setup:

-RaceFace SIXC crank
-RaceFace 30t narrow/wide ring
-Chris King BB

After putting all the pieces of the puzzle together, I was able to get the ring to clear the chain stays however, this would cause the NDS crank arm to contact the chain stay--not ideal with a carbon crank arm.

I tried all different types of spacer configs between the BB cups, RaceFace spindle spacers, and the ultra thin spindle spacers that come with the CK BBs--there simply isn't a combination that clears both stays and doesn't completely bind the BB bearings.

I've simply decided the occasional crank arm knock on the stay was easier to deal with than the ring rubbing, so that's how I currently am running it.

SRAM direct mount or the new RF Next direct mount seems like the optimal setup. I'm assuming the DM widens the chainline, allowing the ring to clear the stay with the correct config of BB/spindle spacers, as well as the NDS crank arm clearing the stay. If said assumption is true, hooray for me as I just ordered the XO1 crank arms.

Revised Setup:

-SRAM XO1 crank
-Wolftooth 30t N/W ring or MRP 28t bling ring
-Chris King BB

So, what are you guys doing?

If I remember correctly, Devin has revised the CS design to clear a larger chainring so maybe the issue I'm having is limited to my frame and the first few production frames.
 
#683 ·
Nothing mysterious going in regards of me selling the 'Box. Combination of lack of time to ride and desire to get a shorter travel bike for my local trails.

Over the past 4 or so years, every bike I've owned has had at least a 140mm fork. I've come to the conclusion that I don't need a ton of travel since we don't have chunk/drops/jumps on a majority of trails I ride. Instead I want to focus on a shorter travel bike for a change. I had thought about a Turner Czar, but more than likely will get a Banshee Phantom once it becomes available.

The Punkass is still the best bike I've ridden in that category, so don't fret. It's a phenomenal bike.

Also playing into the lack of riding time has been the addition of a custom Eriksen Road bike to the stable.

I felt that the Lenz deserved to be ridden more and ridden harder.

In regards to cranks/ring clearance, I run XO/X9 cranks and a 28T Wolftooth ring without issue. I have no idea however about other crank/ring combos.
 
#686 ·
Nothing mysterious going in regards of me selling the 'Box. Combination of lack of time to ride and desire to get a shorter travel bike for my local trails.

Over the past 4 or so years, every bike I've owned has had at least a 140mm fork. I've come to the conclusion that I don't need a ton of travel since we don't have chunk/drops/jumps on a majority of trails I ride. Instead I want to focus on a shorter travel bike for a change. I had thought about a Turner Czar, but more than likely will get a Banshee Phantom once it becomes available.

The Punkass is still the best bike I've ridden in that category, so don't fret. It's a phenomenal bike.

Also playing into the lack of riding time has been the addition of a custom Eriksen Road bike to the stable.

I felt that the Lenz deserved to be ridden more and ridden harder.

In regards to cranks/ring clearance, I run XO/X9 cranks and a 28T Wolftooth ring without issue. I have no idea however about other crank/ring combos.
Thanks for keeping us clued in. Looking forward to hearing about the next acquisition.
 
#703 ·
I am running a full XX1 drive train on this bike. With that Wolftooth ring, the chain line is perfect for the XX1 cassette. From what it looks like on my bike, I think the GXP spider with a smaller chainring would move the chainline to far inboard. It lands dead center on the cassette right now. I'll try to get some photos tonight.
 
#705 ·
So this showed up about couple hours ago.
Bicycle frame Bicycle part Bicycle accessory Grey Bicycle


So if you've order a frame in a different color or are thinking about ordering one- just get rawthic. Pictures in no way can do this finish justice. It looks amazing in person.

For the hell of it I just weighed my TBc and the LB. TBc- 5.42 lbs LB- 7.46 Not a bad trade off IMHO.

I need opinions on what I had to do to get the cranks to fit and it's effect on chain line.
I originally had the chain ring on the inside of the spider and that wouldn't clear the chainstay, so I moved it to the outside, does this look like this set up will be ok or will the chain line be messed up?
Musical instrument Carmine Guitar accessory Musical instrument accessory Still life photography


Carmine Silver
 
#708 ·
So this showed up about couple hours ago.
View attachment 872816

So if you've order a frame in a different color or are thinking about ordering one- just get rawthic. Pictures in no way can do this finish justice. It looks amazing in person.

For the hell of it I just weighed my TBc and the LB. TBc- 5.42 lbs LB- 7.46 Not a bad trade off IMHO.

I need opinions on what I had to do to get the cranks to fit and it's effect on chain line.
I originally had the chain ring on the inside of the spider and that wouldn't clear the chainstay, so I moved it to the outside, does this look like this set up will be ok or will the chain line be messed up?
View attachment 872817

View attachment 872818
Yeah that looks like you would have almost a cm difference in chain line, which can't possibly be good. I'd bite the bullet and get some SRAM crank arms with direct mount capabilities.
 
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