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New Whip? New toys for the dependable steed?

troy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 3, 2008
1,006
739
You so need the purple ano crowns.





What is the length of that shock? Looks bigly yuge.

Otherwise

LOOKIN' GOOD!!
That's a standard 9.5"x3" or 241x76mm shock. Resi faces the rear, so the exposed spring makes the shock look bigger.
20545388_908745089264787_2041183905773461453_o.jpg
 

Kurt_80

Monkey
Jan 25, 2016
488
418
Perth, WA.
Forgive the potato phone, but I only have it so I can afford various bike parts such as this, below:

Float X2.jpg


9.5 x 3 on the 26 inch DH. Feels good in the critical "ride on the driveway test", and has dropped a pound straight off the weight.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
Forgive the potato phone, but I only have it so I can afford various bike parts such as this, below:

View attachment 127644

9.5 x 3 on the 26 inch DH. Feels good in the critical "ride on the driveway test", and has dropped a pound straight off the weight.
Mainly I approve of this procurement because it will be a little easier to portage your shitty, unridabru nano-wheeled dh bike over bumpy stuff since it can't roll over teh roxz (walking is probably faster anyway).
 

scrublover

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
2,886
6,191
Wozo with a -1* headset and fork @ 120mm. 26fatty wheelset and 27+ wheelset = two hardtails in one.




2016 Commencal Meta AM. shock and fork tweaking means I have the stock geo with 160mm up front and ~135mm in back. Beautiful for my local trails/daily driver ride. It blends the SC 5010 and the SC Nomad3 I had into one bike. So far...I prefer it (overall) to both.



 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
Comparison? My OG limeade Scout is still the most fun bike I've owned. Was tempted by the new hooligan model before i went full endurbra.
Haven't been able to put the SBG through a good trail thrashing yet. It's got some borrowed oem giant wheels and no dropper plus no coil. Working on finishing off the build and going to part out the Limeade bike to fund it. What I can tell you is SBG feels like I am inside the bike where Limeade was on top of the bike. Carving turns is more dynamic and effective. Also riding hands free the cockpit is way floppier than any bike I have ridden. The only reason I bought the SBG is because I couldnt believe they made a bike that was funner than the Limeade. I dropped the SBG fork to 140mm also.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,480
4,720
Australia
The only reason I bought the SBG is because I couldnt believe they made a bike that was funner than the Limeade. I dropped the SBG fork to 140mm also.
I'm running a 150mm fork on my old version Scout now! I was worried the extra length meant it would be hard to throw around and feel a bit less BMX like. Might have to steal one for a test ride.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,839
6,145
Yakistan
When I called TBC to talk about the new bike the dude mentioned the only thing people are saying about the new Scouts is they have lost some of their playfulness. :think: So I dropped the fork to try and get some ninja handling back. I need to spend more time and get my cockpit dialed. Took it out tonight for some night laps and it was pedal striking everywhere. A stiff coil is on order.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,627
12,918
Cackalacka du Nord
92DECB5E-41A4-4FEF-9FF4-C7E2DCC7B616.jpeg
well shit i guess i haven’t posted it here yet...
i present for your disapproval and kill list adds: the 2650bromad. first “new” bike in 8 years. all i needed to update from the uzzi was a new rear hub...i do have a new set of ex471 rims @27.5 sitting in the garage for when i do eventually make the switch. rebuilding my reverb, so using the ‘ol thomson for now. good ol 1x10 for now...must have things spaced right, ‘cause it’s shifting beautifully.
one short mountain ride and one local ride in the books. not as many pedal strikes as expected. def feels planted, solid, quiet and capable. handles well, even on lower speed twisty trails. i like it a lot.
need a new rear spring; the 500# it came with is too firm; 450# is in the mail. might even drop to 425# in the end...
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,289
5,029
Ottawa, Canada
Wozo with a -1* headset and fork @ 120mm. 26fatty wheelset and 27+ wheelset = two hardtails in one.




2016 Commencal Meta AM. shock and fork tweaking means I have the stock geo with 160mm up front and ~135mm in back. Beautiful for my local trails/daily driver ride. It blends the SC 5010 and the SC Nomad3 I had into one bike. So far...I prefer it (overall) to both.



What are your thoughts of the fat frame run as a B+? I'm contemplating a hardtail. I could go two ways: get a frame and swap all the parts from my old 26" Mojo HD, or get a fork, wheels and tires to put on my fatbike. The latter would be much more expensive I suppose, but if big fun ensues, then it could be worth it.

My 'main' ride is a 2016 Patrol. It's still in many pieces being flown around the country at the moment, but when it gets put back together it will have:
- new rims laced to my old King hubs that were on my old bike up till this winter (Arch Mk3 front and Flow EX rear)
- Tractive Tuned Monarch by Vorsprung
- Luftkappe in the Pike
- XT derailleur and XTR shifter
 
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FlipSide

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,376
804
View attachment 128097 well shit i guess i haven’t posted it here yet...
i present for your disapproval and kill list adds: the 2650bromad. first “new” bike in 8 years. all i needed to update from the uzzi was a new rear hub...i do have a new set of ex471 rims @27.5 sitting in the garage for when i do eventually make the switch. rebuilding my reverb, so using the ‘ol thomson for now. good ol 1x10 for now...must have things spaced right, ‘cause it’s shifting beautifully.
one short mountain ride and one local ride in the books. not as many pedal strikes as expected. def feels planted, solid, quiet and capable. handles well, even on lower speed twisty trails. i like it a lot.
need a new rear spring; the 500# it came with is too firm; 450# is in the mail. might even drop to 425# in the end...
Inspiring... What crank arm length are you using?

The more I think about it, the more I want to just transfer all my nice 26 stuff on a new 27.5 frame. I am too old to enter dentist school and I can't accept buying a new bike with downgraded components compared to my current bike. I am thinking about either a 2019 Devinci Troy or a current RM Altitude. I would probably run the frame in a high BB position and use 170mm cranks.
 

scrublover

Turbo Monkey
Sep 1, 2004
2,886
6,191
What are your thoughts of the fat frame run as a B+? I'm contemplating a hardtail. I could go two ways: get a frame and swap all the parts from my old 26" Mojo HD, or get a fork, wheels and tires to put on my fatbike. The latter would be much more expensive I suppose, but if big fun ensues, then it could be worth it.
So far it's good. Drops the BBH a touch, but not enough to where I find it troublesome. Works well on the Wozo, since it actually has decent trail geometry not "poke about the woods with loaded panniers in huge amounts of snow" geometry. Not the best pure snow fatbike, but for my purposes and the snow where I am, it works well enough, and is way more fun on dirt than something more snow specific.

Really quick to swap - cassette and rotors already on the spare set, and the same hubs - everything lines up nice and easy. Goes against the grain by being N-1 though. Down to the fatty with winter and summer wheels, the DH bike, and the Commy trail bike with skinny and plus wheel setups.

The DH bike is 27.5, and the trail bike is running all my 26" stuff at the moment. Stuck with 27.5 for the spare fatty wheels knowing that eventually the trail bike would end up there as well. Eventually have all the bikes with the same wheel size, even if the hubs are different.

If it weren't for that, I'd have gone 29" for them.
 
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Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
handles well, even on lower speed twisty trails. i like it a lot.
That's one pimpin rig, congrats on the upgrade! Coil shock ftw too.
How do you find the head angle, any problems with front traction / wandering? Reason I ask is I'm going the slack-cupped-trailbike route soon, mostly because I want the WB a bit closer to the DH bike, but to my surprise for a taper steerer and headtube, works components make not just -1, -1.5, but even -2.

I was going to play it safe and go with -1.5 (from 65 stock) but part of me is screaming "wind it to 11" because even with the -2 it'd still be steeper than my DH bike. Everyone I've asked says no, but I figure that just means I need to ask more people.
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,828
13,066
Re the Wozo, I'm running it with the stock 26" fat wheels and it's a blast for the trails near me in the snow. A couple of different ~1700ft descents out my front door or a few more close by meant I was after something fun on the downs in the snowy weather rather than attempting Iditarod.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
That's one pimpin rig, congrats on the upgrade! Coil shock ftw too.
How do you find the head angle, any problems with front traction / wandering? Reason I ask is I'm going the slack-cupped-trailbike route soon, mostly because I want the WB a bit closer to the DH bike, but to my surprise for a taper steerer and headtube, works components make not just -1, -1.5, but even -2.

I was going to play it safe and go with -1.5 (from 65 stock) but part of me is screaming "wind it to 11" because even with the -2 it'd still be steeper than my DH bike. Everyone I've asked says no, but I figure that just means I need to ask more people.
What's your concern with wandering? When climbing? I put a -2 degree headset in a first gen Megatrail, and it took a little more work to keep the front end planted climbing, but it wasn't too bad. This was a 26" bike, with pretty short chainstays (425ish mm IIRC). I think a slightly longer stay would be ideal for a front center that long, but it wasn't bad. Now I've got a Nicolai G16, which is 0.5 degree slacker yet, and with chainstays that are almost 20mm longer, keeping the front end planted climbing is a total non event. Now, those stays are a little longer than I'd consider ideal for handling, but they're not too far off on a bike that's otherwise so long too.

That bike has made me a big believer in keeping things proportional. I thought the numbers looked nuts on paper too, until I rode one. You can't just mess with one variable in isolation (e.g. going hugely slack on the head angle) without tweaking other things to suit too, but with everything scaled up to match it feels vastly more normal than I ever would have guessed by looking at a geo chart.
 
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jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,627
12,918
Cackalacka du Nord
Inspiring... What crank arm length are you using?

The more I think about it, the more I want to just transfer all my nice 26 stuff on a new 27.5 frame. I am too old to enter dentist school and I can't accept buying a new bike with downgraded components compared to my current bike. I am thinking about either a 2019 Devinci Troy or a current RM Altitude. I would probably run the frame in a high BB position and use 170mm cranks.
yup - run in the "high" setting, with 170mm cranks. bb sits a hair above 13".
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,480
4,720
Australia
I was going to play it safe and go with -1.5 (from 65 stock) but part of me is screaming "wind it to 11" because even with the -2 it'd still be steeper than my DH bike. Everyone I've asked says no, but I figure that just means I need to ask more people.
Given you're never gonna ride it up anything you could probably get away with it. I reckon as soon you start getting slacker and slacker HAs, you need a better SA or its just going to flounder everywhere.
 

jstuhlman

bagpipe wanker
Dec 3, 2009
16,627
12,918
Cackalacka du Nord
That's one pimpin rig, congrats on the upgrade! Coil shock ftw too.
How do you find the head angle, any problems with front traction / wandering? Reason I ask is I'm going the slack-cupped-trailbike route soon, mostly because I want the WB a bit closer to the DH bike, but to my surprise for a taper steerer and headtube, works components make not just -1, -1.5, but even -2.

I was going to play it safe and go with -1.5 (from 65 stock) but part of me is screaming "wind it to 11" because even with the -2 it'd still be steeper than my DH bike. Everyone I've asked says no, but I figure that just means I need to ask more people.
I was surprised I didn't notice more of a difference in steering/wandering, but I made it up climbs/around switchbacks that one might have thought would be a problem. i'm even on something like a 65mm stem . . . may try to drop to 45mm to see if I can tighten it up even more.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
Given you're never gonna ride it up anything you could probably get away with it. I reckon as soon you start getting slacker and slacker HAs, you need a better SA or its just going to flounder everywhere.
This is also a good point, and I'm sure contributes to the Nicolai working fine.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
That's one pimpin rig, congrats on the upgrade! Coil shock ftw too.
How do you find the head angle, any problems with front traction / wandering? Reason I ask is I'm going the slack-cupped-trailbike route soon, mostly because I want the WB a bit closer to the DH bike, but to my surprise for a taper steerer and headtube, works components make not just -1, -1.5, but even -2.

I was going to play it safe and go with -1.5 (from 65 stock) but part of me is screaming "wind it to 11" because even with the -2 it'd still be steeper than my DH bike. Everyone I've asked says no, but I figure that just means I need to ask more people.

It's possible it's the rider......but something just seems so so so wrong and awkward watching that.

I made a massive jump in terms of geometry deviation from a 26" Large Stumpy Evo to 2018 XL Mega 290. I'm 6'3" with a +5 ape index.

I've come to the conclusion that...... it's all about the rider (within reason). You ride with fast people so you probably know how to weight the front tire so why not crank it to 11 and go -2? So long as a rider has enough dynamic room to loop out the rear or to weight out the front when their isn't a saddle under your ass a good bike handler should be ok. I suppose I see seated riding as a different animal, but I'm assuming that is a compromise you're ok with?

If a bike becomes too long in either direction for a rider of a certain size then you end up looking like and have a bike that handles like that Pole person in the vid....
 
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Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,541
5,472
UK
How do you find the head angle, any problems with front traction / wandering? Reason I ask is I'm going the slack-cupped-trailbike route soon, mostly because I want the WB a bit closer to the DH bike, but to my surprise for a taper steerer and headtube, works components make not just -1, -1.5, but even -2.

I was going to play it safe and go with -1.5 (from 65 stock) but part of me is screaming "wind it to 11" because even with the -2 it'd still be steeper than my DH bike. Everyone I've asked says no, but I figure that just means I need to ask more people.
The luddite at the back's ol' 26" Capra's H/A is sub 63.5°
 

Gary

"S" is for "neo-luddite"
Aug 27, 2002
7,541
5,472
UK
+5 ape index.
Ape index is utterly irrelivent to body sizing while riding a bicycle!

Hint: it doesn't even take torso length, inseam, shoulder width, hand size or arm length into account. Nevermind flexibility.
 

Inclag

Turbo Monkey
Sep 9, 2001
2,750
439
MA
Ape index is utterly irrelivent to body sizing while riding a bicycle!

Hint: it doesn't even take torso length, inseam, shoulder width, hand size or arm length into account. Nevermind flexibility.
Guilty.....That's fair and correct. The entire system needs to be considered when it comes to sizing.

I suppose my point was that a good rider is a good rider irrespective of bike size so long as they don't exceed the limit where they physically can't get over the front or back wheel enough. I'm tall and lanky and it's obvious that I have more margin to move between the wheels compared to my older bike. That's about the only difference I can tell, but if you plan on riding hard and challenging stuff it seems that you need to have proper 'Oh SHIT' ability to get excessively over the back or front tire to save your ass or do tight or tricky things.

That Pole video I thought was hilarious because it seems painfully obvious that the bike is riding the person. Not the other way around.
 

Happymtb.fr

Turbo Monkey
Feb 9, 2016
1,907
1,252
SWE
I am thinking about either a 2019 Devinci Troy or a current RM Altitude. I would probably run the frame in a high BB position and use 170mm cranks
I have a Troy with 27.5 wheels and the bb is already in the low side, it's good but I get a few pedal strikes now and then. I run it in the low position with around 30% sag. The high position is 5mm higher according to the geometry table which will not fully compensate for the smaller wheels but on the other hand the leverage is quite progressive so that you can run a little less sag and still have a smooth top, even more so if you get a coil.
I would put a 170mm or 180mm 26" fork at the front to keep the HA where it was thought to be.
 

Udi

RM Chief Ornithologist
Mar 14, 2005
4,915
1,200
Appreciate the various thoughts on HA / FC length.
I think it's cool that a bunch of you guys are riding setups outside the norm (in various directions).
What's your concern with wandering? When climbing? I put a -2 degree headset in a first gen Megatrail, and it took a little more work to keep the front end planted climbing, but it wasn't too bad. This was a 26" bike, with pretty short chainstays (425ish mm IIRC). I think a slightly longer stay would be ideal for a front center that long, but it wasn't bad.
I don't care too much about climbing, moreso on flatter corners, but I guess climbs too.
It has 434mm (17.1") stays so it's probably "in support of" a little more FC too like you say.
I'm on 650b though and this will have the 650b offset 36 on it, which obviously puts the front wheel a little further forward itself - which is the only reason I'm considering the -1.5* might still be a better option. With the 26" offset lower I'd definitely go -2* no question.
but if you plan on riding hard and challenging stuff it seems that you need to have proper 'Oh SHIT' ability to get excessively over the back or front tire to save your ass
Yeah totally agree and my reasoning was the same as yours, I've been craving a little more wheelbase for what you describe - FC specifically, not "reach". I find a lot of riders look at the reach number alone, when what really matters when it comes to weighting and traction balance / not going OTB on steep stuff is the wheelbase and the FC/CS ratio.
 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
I don't care too much about climbing, moreso on flatter corners, but I guess climbs too.
It has 434mm (17.1") stays so it's probably "in support of" a little more FC too like you say.
I'm on 650b though and this will have the 650b offset 36 on it, which obviously puts the front wheel a little further forward itself - which is the only reason I'm considering the -1.5* might still be a better option. With the 26" offset lower I'd definitely go -2* no question.
Makes sense. I happen to ride particularly low bars for unrelated reasons (trainwreck of a right shoulder is just more comfortable with the bars low) but that probably helps me weight the front end too.

That said, the friend of mine who bought a G16 first (riding his sold me on the bike) runs more normal bar heights than I do, and actually tried a -1.5 degree headset in his for a bit. He's back to stock (62.5 degrees) now, but he didn't hate the 61.

As a final thought, the difference in the offset on the 36 between wheel sizes is all in the crown. If you're so inclined, you can put a set of 26" uppers on 650b lowers and get the 650b tire clearance and axle to crown height with 26" offset.