Milk Money

I bought a new/used project bike frame, placed the winning bid for an XL Lenz Milk Money on ebay before I got hurt, and paid for it the morning after my surgery, in my hospital bed. I've always wanted one of these. It's a single-speed, full-suspension mountain bike frame. I'll use it for night rides, especially in winter when it's wet and muddy. It'll also make me strong again. A single speed needs a chain that's constantly in perfect tension. The front and rear sprocket are ideally always in the same relationship to each other, so that the chain can never slip. And of course they must be in the same plane. This is basically impossible on any normal full-suspension frame, where the rear wheel moves in a variable path through its travel, at variable distances from the bottom bracket. Hardtail single speeds are fun, but a FS single speed would make a lot of the riding I do even funner. The Milk Money frame uses a unique suspension where the front pivot is concentric on the bottom bracket shell. It is not the most optimal suspension design, but it is the most optimal suspension design for a single speed. This version doesn't offer a lot of travel, just 3", and it ramps up pretty hard at the end of that travel, which is fine. Even a little rear suspension, paired with a similar amount up front (100mm fork, or almost 4") would work pretty well. 

I certainly don't need another bike! But this will give me something to do, and to look forward to, and help get me strong again, while I recover from a broken hip. My friend Chris Bondus just built one of these, and his build will inspire mine. I can't wait!