[bullcrew]

OK so I opted to give the Fantom DM stem a shot and per Sadies recomendations the new blacklabel bar over the dirty thirty Ive been using for a while now (and love).

Packaging and looks are spot on, products finish is amazing and well done the ano tats on the blacklabel bar for 2 tone finish is a VERY NICE touch...
Weights are as described and feel is a different story, I didnt think a bar would feel decent with this low a rise compared to my pro tapers and dirty 30 Im used to and the extra inch was a bit worriesome (mainly because its new to me and not my normal)... Things like angles, reach, etc are always a bit irritating when I have to first sit on it and adjust them... I like things that just fit but willing to try stuff and tinker to get it working for me then beat on it.

The stem no biggie typical stem as far as adjustment I opted for the 55mm position, as far as bars and grips this was a part where I rode, adjusted, rode adjusted from bar angle, brakes, grip position etc to get it so it was grab and go...

The width of the bars is amazing when throwing a arm down and leveraging the front as well as weighting it is easier with it being such a low rise bar...
It felt really comfortable right off the bat, some adjusting and the outer palms arent too weighted and the hand contact standing is solid as well as comfortable with the sweep of these bars.

No hard review as of yet, have a small ride and a little amount of hammering on them but so far Im imressed, cant wait to open it up and see how the bars feel at that width, Ive clipped a few bushes on the 30s but the advantage outweighs that IMO... I will run them full width and see where it goes from there possibly shave 1/4 - 1/2 " off each end but they measure close to SPANK 775s on the other Jedi here at the shop and rise is lower though...

Heres some pics of the ites and mounted for reference and visual as to width and height....

Yes its 55g heavier than the twenty6 stem but 7075 series aluminum and SOLID for the weight so it doesnt bother me at all... GREAT unit...

 

[BmxConvert]

What's the story on the Twenty6 stem? I thought you were a big fan of that?

 

[bullcrew]

What's the story on the Twenty6 stem? I thought you were a big fan of that?

I am and I like Tyler alot a really cool guy who makes SWEET stuff...
BUT if Im not swapping stuff and trying stuff then I might miss out on something thats all... I have nothing bad to say about twenty6 stuff, well designed looks good works good.....

I like Sadie and Eric and they make some really bad@$$ components that are overlooked alot... The stem is 7 series which I was looking to jump to already and I didnt want a lower stem right off the bat but I did want new bars and since running deitys bars Im sold completely... It was a no brainer for me to try the stem.

As far as bars getting wider these days I feel a bit wider clampin surface is needed. Things seemed to get a bit too thin and light in certain areas..

So as far as twenty6 is concerend good stuff and to Tyler 2 huge 's up...

 

[S.K.C.]

Awww son of a...

I was JUST thinking about posting up a thread about the new 2011 Deity gear the other day!!! LoL!

Their new stuff is VERY cool PLUS the Vendetta III cranks finally come in 165mm length AND they have a standard 48 spline axle interface so they are compatible with other axles out there:

http://www.deitycomponents.com/vendetta_crankarms2.htm

http://www.deitycomponents.com/vendetta_crankarms4.htm

http://www.deitycomponents.com/vendetta_crankarms5.htm

http://www.deitycomponents.com/vendetta_crankarms7.htm

I remember asking if they were going to put out 165's when they first debuted the Vendettas a few years ago, so this is pretty sweet. Cro-Mo 3-piece cranks with Titanium or Steel spindles, Deity EXT external BB, or Euro BB, compatible with 83mm widths... pretty badass.

http://www.deitycomponents.com/vendetta_crankarms14.htm

http://www.deitycomponents.com/vendetta_crankarms15.htm

 

[marshalolson]

do you train on the rock garden in those pics? looks epic.

 

[cracked]

Is that a Hopey Steering Dampner??

Hows that working for you??



Sweet rig. Nice write up by the way. Thx!!

 

[bullcrew]

do you train on the rock garden in those pics? looks epic.

The run in is epic... fades most brakes.

Yeah its a hopey love it when arm pump hits or riding nasty stuff turn it a bit and keeps the arms fresh longer.

 

[Tomasis]

Yeah its a hopey love it when arm pump hits or riding nasty stuff turn it a bit and keeps the arms fresh longer.

nice bike!

you certainly have many interesting stuffs inside..

I didnt find much good info about in hopey. can you care explain how it works, is it same as dampener as seen in moto bikes? design looks interesting, im trying figure out how it dampens down brute force

 

[bullcrew]

how does that thing work for you? how does it affect your riding, or when can you feel an advantage?

Hopey damper is a hydraulic damper, it locks it self in the steertube of the fork and under the top headset cup. When you tighten down the steering components it locks it all in place. The top dial that says hopey can be spun to the right increasing resistance on thenoil flow but only in 1 Direction. Say the bars pointing worward is the 12 o'clock position then when you turn right or left from there it has as much resistance as you dial in. When you return the bars there's a bleed port inside that allows the bars free movement back to the 12 o'clock position.
I usually leave it off till I hit some nasty stuff or a climb then I dial it in a bit and no worries it takes the jarring bars and Smooths it out as much as you like.
I DJ, drop, from, race, do lots of high speed tight single track rutted stuff etc and just a little resistance helps a huge amount.
I'm plenty big (not fat) so muscling the bike is no big deal but all in all the damper is worth it and allows focus on the trail and less fatigue especially on long days or multiple days (all day shuttling).

Its definently a huge help at times and slowing the slamming or jarring bars a bit helps especially with holding a line on a really nasty run.

I find I have mine on a smidge more than not all the time.
There's wobble from speed on crotch rockets or mechanical wobble from rocks either way same thing and people like the stiffness from the fox 40 well this is like adding that to any bike.

 

[Pslide]

Thanks for the reviews Bullcrew - very good stuff.

Been considering the blacklabel bar, and your review makes me want to try a Hopey damper as well...

 

[BikeFan84]

The run in is epic... fades most brakes.

Yeah its a hopey love it when arm pump hits or riding nasty stuff turn it a bit and keeps the arms fresh longer.

talked to tim the other day he was testing out a new version of the Hopey at Seven Springs, and all I can say is dayyyummm. I liked the old one a lot and miss it but the new one is amazing.

 

[cracked]

Sorry to Hopey-Jack this Deity thread; But...............

Which model are you using? Their page kinda blows.

 

[bullcrew]

standard Hopey
23-901 drop down bracket