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New Whip? New toys for the dependable steed?

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Oh yeah I get that Gary actually bought a moped. I'm just laughing at the reveal.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,443
I am getting close to being 100% happy with my build, Durolux still has no LSC and I am waiting for a reply from them. The steerer flexes quite a lot under power as it is 8" long so I bought an Intend Stiffmaster to try to sort that out.
I fit some narrow 165mm Protone cranks which have helped with my stupidly low BB and have had ordered some Boomslang pedals to get me a few more mm clearance.
Sram mech got replaced with a Saint, it no longer hangs out waiting for things to hit it and just works better.
Cushcore is fantastic, I am shit at noticing weight gain and didn't notice the extra 500g of rotating weight but then again I am pretty fat. It made using CX Ray spokes seem like a pretty stupid idea but hey, they seem to cut sticks really well when they go in to the wheels.

Sadly I have blown my budget by about 50% but I have ridden a shit bike for four years so I'm happy to spend money until I get as close to perfect as I can.
Brake lines are still untidy, to be honest I didn't expect the Magura brakes to last more than a week or two but I really like them. Rear one has gone spongy after leaving it in the car for a few days but that could just be a shit bleed by me.

Got a pancake lens so I can throw my DSLR in my Camelback to grab some random shots while out and about, hopefully of other people riding rather than wanky bike shots.
Bike bike2.JPG
 

Bike078

Monkey
Jan 11, 2018
561
405
I am getting close to being 100% happy with my build, Durolux still has no LSC and I am waiting for a reply from them. The steerer flexes quite a lot under power as it is 8" long so I bought an Intend Stiffmaster to try to sort that out.
I fit some narrow 165mm Protone cranks which have helped with my stupidly low BB and have had ordered some Boomslang pedals to get me a few more mm clearance.
Sram mech got replaced with a Saint, it no longer hangs out waiting for things to hit it and just works better.
Cushcore is fantastic, I am shit at noticing weight gain and didn't notice the extra 500g of rotating weight but then again I am pretty fat. It made using CX Ray spokes seem like a pretty stupid idea but hey, they seem to cut sticks really well when they go in to the wheels.

Sadly I have blown my budget by about 50% but I have ridden a shit bike for four years so I'm happy to spend money until I get as close to perfect as I can.
Brake lines are still untidy, to be honest I didn't expect the Magura brakes to last more than a week or two but I really like them. Rear one has gone spongy after leaving it in the car for a few days but that could just be a shit bleed by me.

Got a pancake lens so I can throw my DSLR in my Camelback to grab some random shots while out and about, hopefully of other people riding rather than wanky bike shots.
View attachment 128649
Is your durolux the RC2 or the RC? You think that the damper doesn't have enough oil for the compression to work properly?
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,443
Is your durolux the RC2 or the RC? You think that the damper doesn't have enough oil for the compression to work properly?
RC2, nah, I removed the damper and cycled it as advised and it feels the same from full extension to full compression, the adjustment just doesn't really seem to do anything. Rebound adjustment works fine and has a massive range of adjustment, the fork still feels pretty nice, very little friction straight out of the box.
 

Bike078

Monkey
Jan 11, 2018
561
405
RC2, nah, I removed the damper and cycled it as advised and it feels the same from full extension to full compression, the adjustment just doesn't really seem to do anything. Rebound adjustment works fine and has a massive range of adjustment, the fork still feels pretty nice, very little friction straight out of the box.
I have the 2013 model which I like. I had to cut the foam spacer to use more travel. I imagine the newer ones with the pcs damper are even better. If I have questions I pm sprockets (darren) on pinkbike and he usually replies the next day. He also goes to rampage with sorge, doerfling and the other suntour boys.
 
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HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,443
I have the 2013 model which I like. I had to cut the foam spacer to use more travel. I imagine the newer ones with the pcs damper are even better. If I have questions I pm sprockets (darren) on pinkbike and he usually replies the next day. He also goes to rampage with sorge, doerfling and the other suntour boys.
I got a "custom" tune but it was a pretty odd request by me as I wanted the strongest neg spring they had and only 120~130mm of travel so I didn't expect it to feel right for me out of the box and expected to have to tinker but the damper seems to be faulty.

Cheers for the contact details but I don't like to contact business people over social networking sorta sites. I like the official channels as people are less likely to look at work email outside of work hours and people need time out from riders/customers, we are a fickle bunch who want stuff for free and expect shit to be done yesterday, it's only a bike, I can wait.
 

Bike078

Monkey
Jan 11, 2018
561
405
I got a "custom" tune but it was a pretty odd request by me as I wanted the strongest neg spring they had and only 120~130mm of travel so I didn't expect it to feel right for me out of the box and expected to have to tinker but the damper seems to be faulty.

Cheers for the contact details but I don't like to contact business people over social networking sorta sites. I like the official channels as people are less likely to look at work email outside of work hours and people need time out from riders/customers, we are a fickle bunch who want stuff for free and expect shit to be done yesterday, it's only a bike, I can wait.
I hear you re official channels. The reason I ask darren on pinkbike is because he was quite helpful when I asked him a question a few years ago regarding tuning even though I am not from North America. I haven't tried asking Suntour Asia yet about tech matters and my country distributor wasn't very helpful when I inquired about volume spacers.
 

HardtailHack

used an iron once
Jan 20, 2009
6,628
5,443
Yeah that's it, I have an email address that gets filtered out by spam filters somewhat often so I get some pretty weird late replies at times and have had to resort to using FB to contact people. Years ago I got directed to Magura USA as we had no Distro and they just sent me replacement parts free of charge, I couldn't believe it.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,920
borcester rhymes
Obviously 5" are not enough. Need help? I work for good booze these days.
sure! need to gather parts first. Not sure how long it will take to get the various doo-dads that the frame needs, like cable ports and shit. hopefully not too long, but there are some other parts I need to order too.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,288
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
Put knobbies on my old commuter. new-to-me Bontrager SE4. Not the worst tire I've ever ridden. Though it is the first time I've ridden 29 on dirt.

This thing was a lot of fun on my season opener ride a couple of days ago.


I realized two things about it though: commuter gearing is not great for hilly mountain terrain. and fully rigid, even if cromo, is still rough as fuck on your wrists! It doesn't matter too much though, as it's primarily going to be used for trail riding with the kids.

This baby is almost ready to go. All that's left to do is put sealant in the tires (waiting on my first inaugural ride to do that).

Over the winter it received:
- a new 42t wolftooth ring for the cassette (the old one was sort of worn)
- tractive tune from Vorsprung in the Monarch
- Luftkappe in the Pike
- XT derailleur and XTR shifter (the SRAM was fine, but I just like the 'feel' of Shimano)
- it received the King hubs from my previous bike, laced to new Arch MK3 front and Flow EX rear.
- new BB
- new frame bearings
 

Metamorphic

Monkey
May 12, 2015
274
177
Cackalack
Here I can finally contribute to this thread. Black Betty is built and first ride last night. I'll say - does not suck. In fact, I'm blown away at the cornering of this thing. Still dialing in settings/pressures/etc and just one loop at my local trail so far. Will be able to provide a mo' betta' review after some more saddle time.

So stoked to leave the skinny wheels sit in the garage for a bit after not having an MTB for about a month.

#longlivebanshee

IMG_20180502_182610.jpg



IMG_20180502_153658.jpg
 

Dogboy

Turbo Monkey
Apr 12, 2004
3,208
581
Durham, NC
Here I can finally contribute to this thread. Black Betty is built and first ride last night. I'll say - does not suck. In fact, I'm blown away at the cornering of this thing. Still dialing in settings/pressures/etc and just one loop at my local trail so far. Will be able to provide a mo' betta' review after some more saddle time.

So stoked to leave the skinny wheels sit in the garage for a bit after not having an MTB for about a month.

#longlivebanshee

View attachment 128707


View attachment 128708
Wagon wheels, eh? That's a big departure. Looks rad though!
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,288
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
This baby is almost ready to go. All that's left to do is put sealant in the tires (waiting on my first inaugural ride to do that).

Over the winter it received:
- a new 42t wolftooth ring for the cassette (the old one was sort of worn)
- tractive tune from Vorsprung in the Monarch
- Luftkappe in the Pike
- XT derailleur and XTR shifter (the SRAM was fine, but I just like the 'feel' of Shimano)
- it received the King hubs from my previous bike, laced to new Arch MK3 front and Flow EX rear.
- new BB
- new frame bearings
Got a better "glamour shot" today... she rides niiiice. Will wait for a few more rides to push the Tractive Tune and Luftkappe a bit more, but for now... it was great!

 

supercow

Monkey
Feb 18, 2009
969
128
My whip - been out of action for a while, can't wait to get it built up. Pic from advert, still en route;



This aint mine, wish it was though ... it's a mate's custom, frothing over this thing so hard, all coiled up steel and only 31lbs.

BTR pinner (Slack AF H/A, Long WB, steep S/A / super short ST etc.) Storia Lok on its way too.





 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
My whip - been out of action for a while, can't wait to get it built up. Pic from advert, still en route;



This aint mine, wish it was though ... it's a mate's custom, frothing over this thing so hard, all coiled up steel and only 31lbs.

BTR pinner (Slack AF H/A, Long WB, steep S/A / super short ST etc.) Storia Lok on its way too.





I'm on my second Ranger. BTR builds awesome stuff. I'd love a Pinner.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,504
In hell. Welcome!
Did you grab that fork off Jenson for cheap money? I grabbed one. Only have one day on it hitting a few jumps and drops, no real sustained choppy DH runs yet. Felt pretty damn nice so far though.
I got one for cheap at Jenson, too. I haven't put it through significant chop just yet (just some easier blue trails at Highland), but it felt pretty responsive without excessive diving.