I was able to escape the cold of the east coast to enjoy a few days of unseasonable pouring rain in Phoenix, AZ. I was able to ride twice on my four day trip and on one of those days, I was blessed with an unattractive, but non-precipitous haze hanging over Mesa, AZ, enabling me to enjoy the Hawes Mountain loop and my first real ride on my new Enduro (and the 36)
unless you count a four hour push-a-bike in 6 of snow slush a few weeks ago.
The frame:
One of the unexpected traits that I noticed, was the ability to more easily get over trail obstacles when going uphill. It should be noted that Ive been riding for about 12 years and until this year, Ive been a staunch hold out on FS bikes. I didnt have a single incident where I spun the rear tire while climbing. At first I didnt want to believe that the rear suspension was actually allowing me to get over the rock steps that would occasionally pop up in the trail. I started picking the worst line I could see while I was climbing and to my amazement, no matter how sloppily I hit an obstacle, traction was maintained Im in the worst shape of my life right now, and believe me, I rode plenty sloppily.
I also noticed how much distance I was putting in between me and my riding partner, and how quickly I was doing it, on the downhills. To be perfectly honest, I havent been riding much over the past six months and I was taking it VERY easy while trying to avoid the various pointy objects, waiting just off trail, for me to make mistakes. Still, I found that it was easy to stay off the brakes and flow on the descents. The bike tracked well, more a testament to the fork I think, but overall it was very predictable.
Some negatives:
Im sure this is just a matter of growing accustomed to the bike, but I feel that the BB is unreasonably low considering the travel on this bike. Ive been riding a Specialist with a 14.5 BB since 1998 and have grown fond of its ability to clear most everything. While I dont expect a FS bike to clear everything in its path, I did find that I was bottoming the pedals occasionally when coming over a crest as I was digging to maintain traction. Also, the bike is short and the SA is steeper than advertised. The effective TT is nearly an inch shorter than listed in the geometry chart on their site. I prefer a 24.5 TT and settled on the medium with a 23.5 TT on this bike given the nature of the bike. It measures 22.75, which is substantially shorter than I would ever prefer. Im certain this is a result of the SA, which is listed at 69.5 (in the steep setting) but measured 72 with my lie finder. Ive made adjustments and Im sure Ill learn to deal with the different geometry, but its a bit annoying that its off.
The Fork:
I dont have a lot to say about the fork. In a lot of ways, it feels just like my TALAS RLC.
Bumps: For bump absorption, I only used about 5 of the travel on my ride which seems just about right since there werent any huge square edged bumps or drops more than a few feet. I didnt touch the compression settings or travel adjust during the ride and the fork behaved as expected. It tracked the ground just right and was neither under or over-damped in any situation.
Braking: This is where Im going to need to make some compromises. I prefer a very plush ride. I tend to use the lowest pressure setting for my approximate weight to achieve this and as a result, I got some crazy brake dive. I know I could ramp up the low speed compression and I may end up doing just that for select trails (like this one with some relatively steep switchbacks and omnipresent cacti) but most of the time, Id prefer small bump absorption to a fork with less dive.
Tracking: This is where this fork truly shined. Over and over again, I found myself riding in a rut when coming out of a corner. Over and over again, I expected my usual results of tracking ever so slightly up the shoulder of the rut only to slide back into the center. Without consciously trying, I found myself tracking up the side of the rut and back onto actual trail the fork just pushed right out without warbling. It was truly surprising.
Overall: I love both the frame and fork. Already I feel that they have allowed me to progress out of a long time funk. Its a much heavier bike than I have every owned, but riding it has increased my level of enjoyment in almost all situations.
The frame:
One of the unexpected traits that I noticed, was the ability to more easily get over trail obstacles when going uphill. It should be noted that Ive been riding for about 12 years and until this year, Ive been a staunch hold out on FS bikes. I didnt have a single incident where I spun the rear tire while climbing. At first I didnt want to believe that the rear suspension was actually allowing me to get over the rock steps that would occasionally pop up in the trail. I started picking the worst line I could see while I was climbing and to my amazement, no matter how sloppily I hit an obstacle, traction was maintained Im in the worst shape of my life right now, and believe me, I rode plenty sloppily.
I also noticed how much distance I was putting in between me and my riding partner, and how quickly I was doing it, on the downhills. To be perfectly honest, I havent been riding much over the past six months and I was taking it VERY easy while trying to avoid the various pointy objects, waiting just off trail, for me to make mistakes. Still, I found that it was easy to stay off the brakes and flow on the descents. The bike tracked well, more a testament to the fork I think, but overall it was very predictable.
Some negatives:
Im sure this is just a matter of growing accustomed to the bike, but I feel that the BB is unreasonably low considering the travel on this bike. Ive been riding a Specialist with a 14.5 BB since 1998 and have grown fond of its ability to clear most everything. While I dont expect a FS bike to clear everything in its path, I did find that I was bottoming the pedals occasionally when coming over a crest as I was digging to maintain traction. Also, the bike is short and the SA is steeper than advertised. The effective TT is nearly an inch shorter than listed in the geometry chart on their site. I prefer a 24.5 TT and settled on the medium with a 23.5 TT on this bike given the nature of the bike. It measures 22.75, which is substantially shorter than I would ever prefer. Im certain this is a result of the SA, which is listed at 69.5 (in the steep setting) but measured 72 with my lie finder. Ive made adjustments and Im sure Ill learn to deal with the different geometry, but its a bit annoying that its off.
The Fork:
I dont have a lot to say about the fork. In a lot of ways, it feels just like my TALAS RLC.
Bumps: For bump absorption, I only used about 5 of the travel on my ride which seems just about right since there werent any huge square edged bumps or drops more than a few feet. I didnt touch the compression settings or travel adjust during the ride and the fork behaved as expected. It tracked the ground just right and was neither under or over-damped in any situation.
Braking: This is where Im going to need to make some compromises. I prefer a very plush ride. I tend to use the lowest pressure setting for my approximate weight to achieve this and as a result, I got some crazy brake dive. I know I could ramp up the low speed compression and I may end up doing just that for select trails (like this one with some relatively steep switchbacks and omnipresent cacti) but most of the time, Id prefer small bump absorption to a fork with less dive.
Tracking: This is where this fork truly shined. Over and over again, I found myself riding in a rut when coming out of a corner. Over and over again, I expected my usual results of tracking ever so slightly up the shoulder of the rut only to slide back into the center. Without consciously trying, I found myself tracking up the side of the rut and back onto actual trail the fork just pushed right out without warbling. It was truly surprising.
Overall: I love both the frame and fork. Already I feel that they have allowed me to progress out of a long time funk. Its a much heavier bike than I have every owned, but riding it has increased my level of enjoyment in almost all situations.
diappointing to say the least.
