When it came in the mail, I pulled it out of the box and stripped off the hideous decals first. The next thing I noticed was that that every moving part was assembly line tight and had a spit of grease. I disassembled the bottom bracket, fork, headset, rear and front hub and regreased generously. The bottom bracket is is an incredibly fine, tightly threaded tricky minx. It is very easy to cross thread. The other annoyance is that the bearings in the front hub are uncaged. Have you ever opened a bag of M&Ms and split the bag all the way down? That's what happened when I opened the front hub minus the chocolate.
The final step was paint. I repainted it flat black with matte clear coat on top, slapped a decal on the head tube and called her done... the ZomBeast was born!
The test ride breakdown:
The Bad -
18T rear cog is a bitch - Solution: swapped for a 22T (may need to back off to 20T)
Cramped cockpit - Solution: don't be tall. I'm 5'8" and have the bars rolled forward and the seat back. A layback seat post and upgraded stem may be in order if ya be lanky.
Twitchy Handling - No sudden movements with the Beast, but you can easily ride no handed!
47lbs - Solution: Lighten the load. My philosophy here is to make modifications while spending as little money as possible. Otherwise I might as well bought a Surly for $1800. I saved 6 (ish) lbs with Origin 8 tires andSurly tubes for roughly $45 a wheel. Others have drilled the rims and saved maybe a pound. I'm way to lazy for that.
The Good -
4.25 inch tires with a cheap bike attached to them for 200 bucks.
Simplicity - No shifters, no handbrakes, single speed (could use a front brake)
Coaster brake - Not real reliable, but kicking sideways on gravel and skid marks on pavement is ridiculous adolescent good times.
Training - After a few 7-10 mile rides on the Beast your first string MTB will feel like it's pedaling itself!
In summary, this is a fun novelty of a a bicycle that can navigate fairly flat to mild hills with a couple cheap modifications. It's not a Fat Bike. It's an oversized adult dirt bike and a lot of fun for the money. You won't find anyone with the Beast tearing up serious MTB trails with you, but if you do, pray for him.
