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2012 Zerode Build

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey






Medium zerode G1 with a CCDB-DSP Ti spring
888 Evo ti 2
E13 Cranks and chainring with a zerode spacer
Formula RO brakes on Avid rotors
Canfield Crampon pedals-a Must!
SDG seat and post
Answer Bars n Stem-with cool graphics of course
Industry 9 wheels laced to mavic 823s-trusty DHF's mounted tubeless
KMC 9 speed chains
NO Derailur, NO chainguide, NO hassles!
 

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
Tidy. I had no luck getting shifter in good possision with Formula The Ones. I run shifter rotated and hit lower gear button with back of thumb nail but. Also didn't have much running those cranks centered between stays. Great if you got it all to work though looks cool, accept black lowers would be dope, but who cares. Enjoy.
Glad to see the DSP spring fits on the DB.
 
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ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
Looks pretty killer. The E13 cranks need some grinding to clear the frame. Just keep that in mind, I am guessing 40.75 LBS as built. Check the drive chain in a week or two and tighten the hub to take out the slack!
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
You guys are too high on the weight, 43.10 (no Ti spring in the fork) That said, its centralized in the frame, so its probably still going to ride "light"
 

- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
My guess (before I got this far in the thread) was 42lb. The weight is what put me off of buying one - even when you take into account ditching your mech, chain device, etc, switching to the Zerode adds a lot of weight to your bike.

I worked out that switching from my 2009 Devinci Wilson to a Zerode would add 4-5lb to my bike. But with an lg1+, dura ace mech and an 11-19 six speed cassette, I'm an extreme example. People with heavier mechs/cassettes/chaindevices/frames might "only" gain a pound or two of heft...

4-5lb was too much for me, whatever the benefits of a Zerode might be. I'll reconsider when they bring out the next revision of it, whenever that will be.
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
The team riders had their at 38LBS with Boxxers, Stans, Air rear. Stuff that wont survive at least here in SLO. Our 2-11 weighed 41.5 LBS without pedals. The TR450 we tested was 40 the Legend was 40 the SC V-10 was 39 with a Boxxer. It is a few pounds heavier for sure. But rides very well. So trade off for me durability and no maintenance outweigh the weight penalty and they will only get lighter.
 

xy9ine

Turbo Monkey
Mar 22, 2004
2,940
353
vancouver eastside
Doing big bone for first production run may not be too bad of an idea.
for sure. i think i read somewhere the current run shed a pound or so from the 1st iteration. refinement is going on, and from what i've heard so far, they've been bomber. building in carbon is of course, the next logical step.
 
Aug 4, 2008
328
4
With such a high pivot and so much CS growth do you feel it when manualling or other situations? I'm sure it eats fast hits but is there a downside to such a rearward axle path?
The downside is abysmal pedaling performance, however that is offset by running the chain through the gearbox.

Thus the only downside is additional weight due to the design constraints.
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
With such a high pivot and so much CS growth do you feel it when manualling or other situations? I'm sure it eats fast hits but is there a downside to such a rearward axle path?
The CS follows the fork almost perfect, meaning the CS stays the same the whole way through travel. Yes it is harder to manual BTW.......
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
The CS follows the fork almost perfect, meaning the CS stays the same the whole way through travel. Yes it is harder to manual BTW.......
The CS can't stay the same if it follows the fork, I think you mean WB.

Bike looks awesome in any case. 43lbs is a bit hefty for a light-ish build though.
 

ianjenn

Turbo Monkey
Sep 12, 2006
2,998
702
SLO
Yeah that's right, net growth is in neighborhood of 1.5" so not much under full compression.

Yeah the Carbon XO clear, Saint, but the E13 need grinding to clear rear stays next version will fit fine!
 

nowlan

Monkey
Jul 30, 2008
496
2
That thing is beautiful.

Whats the maintenance like on the internal gearing? Something that can be done at home? Details?
 

no skid marks

Monkey
Jan 15, 2006
2,511
29
ACT Australia
That thing is beautiful.

Whats the maintenance like on the internal gearing? Something that can be done at home? Details?
You probably should remove Alfine, take casing off, clean in solvent, regrease, and put back together annually. Shouldn't take more than half hour. Apparently you can put 40wt gear oil or equivalent in them to make them shift a touch quicker and have less friction, but it's not an issue with a DH bike.
In nearly two years I've done the initial cable stretch adjustment, and one other, and lubbed the chains, otherwise no drivetrain maintenance. Still on original chains too.
The little tensioner is probably the weakest link. The springs seem to snap with some people, but well after a years use. and they're easy to replace, I think most single speed tensioners would work on the Zerode.
It would be nice to get them lighter, but nobody that has one would sell it for weight reasons. The rear end is lighter than most bikes, the weight is low and centered, so it's like you're heavier, not the bike, the rest of the bike rotates around the centered mass, the rear end is super responsive. The pros far outweigh the weight cons. Dead lift weight isn't riding weight. The weight has no leverage effect as it's in the middle, Not sure how much this would make a difference, but figured it'd make some.
A bit of centralized weight helps stabilize the bike, and give the suspension something to work against when bike's unweighted.
 
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demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
Im mobile so im going to keep ot short but his bike is unreal. Just finished practice at windham and im amazed. This bike eats up anything in its path. Dont notice the weight-and id go so far as to say that it rides like my sub 40 dh bikes ive owned. I can pedal over anything. I give it a 12/10. This is unreal! Proper review wheni get home