I :love: my bike. New wheelset and bars (thank you Go-ride!)
Evil porn
- Thread starter Shortbus
- Start date
Thanks 
The front end sits a bit tall which bothers some people but the head angle is pretty steep so it compensates for that, my fork runs 6" but I run it with a bit stiffer setting so it really works great on the Imperials (SL or not). Plus it makes for SUCH a stiff front end it's ridiculous.
The front end sits a bit tall which bothers some people but the head angle is pretty steep so it compensates for that, my fork runs 6" but I run it with a bit stiffer setting so it really works great on the Imperials (SL or not). Plus it makes for SUCH a stiff front end it's ridiculous.
i am loving the frame
That bike is huck-tastic. What's the weight? Why'd you go with an imperial SL?
Got any riding pics?
Got any riding pics?
Thanks guys. I went with an SL for the following reasons in no order:
1- got a great deal
2- I owned an Imperial before (1st gen) and absolutely LOVED it, but being short (5'5), I had somewhat of a hard time getting the correct full leg extension for those XC rides, it would kinda stretch me out a bit, so the SL fit PERFECTLY. It's everything the Imperial is, but is a bit more capable of XC, which is great for me.
Riding pic, 2006 US Open at Diablo, I didn't race but almost WISH I did I was passing peoeple on V10s haha!
To anyone who says mtn creek is harsh on a hardtail, no way no how. Its a faking BLAST people. Just ride harder.
1- got a great deal
2- I owned an Imperial before (1st gen) and absolutely LOVED it, but being short (5'5), I had somewhat of a hard time getting the correct full leg extension for those XC rides, it would kinda stretch me out a bit, so the SL fit PERFECTLY. It's everything the Imperial is, but is a bit more capable of XC, which is great for me.
Riding pic, 2006 US Open at Diablo, I didn't race but almost WISH I did I was passing peoeple on V10s haha!
To anyone who says mtn creek is harsh on a hardtail, no way no how. Its a faking BLAST people. Just ride harder.
i love diablo to death, i hit that drop too and have a pic..its so fun there, and i rode my friends hardtail,and man does it take a huge beating on you..
hasha yes but that's half of the fun now isnt it =)
good point, its still a hassle, like jumping is fun, but the tough trails its more of a liability then a bike IMO but its still fun, that ladder he hit is anywhere from 6-12 feet dependant on where you land.man do i want to ride there.
Ya I only was able to hit the middle ladder I chickened on the bigger one, but like you said you can easily fly a good ways of the middle one, or do it slowly and fly like 4 feet to get a feel for it. It's real nice how you can progress on them though and gain confidence before throwing urself off and killing yourself and the racers coming across at the bottom...
Pretty sick bike, man!
Sweet ride. Crazy how the frame almost makes the DC fork look spindly..lol
killer bike man, i love the thread title...
I heart the imperial...
I heart the imperial...
i'm a smal kid, 5 6 and 15 years old on a huge bike, and i hit the super small one and the middle one..i was afraid to do the big one, and i'm like okay, jesse listen, there is a guy with a camera here, you land it or not, you have something to be proud of its you busting your ass or doing it clean..i did it and was like wow, that was super simple..i'm hitting the bigger one, the log flume or w.e. next time when i get a helmet camera going.. its really simple just once you land pull your brakes...but yeah again, hardtails are almost impossible to ride on most blacks and double blacks..if you guys have never ridden there, just think of all rock with a flurrying of dirt and some wood features.its a lot of pointy uneven, steep and painful rock..the only non rock run is alpine which is fun but short..either way, if i had a hardtail i'd ride it, just a lot more painful on ya.Shortbus said:
thats right after alpine..
i'd like to boast that i hung out with that shortbus guy at the open and knew him when he had his first imperial.
he was slaying us at diablo. so bummed we didn't have video cam on it. hopefully something surfaces, it's a must-see. at the end of the day he had tears in his eyes laughing about all the fun he was having.
now i call him rocketbus.
he was slaying us at diablo. so bummed we didn't have video cam on it. hopefully something surfaces, it's a must-see. at the end of the day he had tears in his eyes laughing about all the fun he was having.
now i call him rocketbus.
great story and awesome picture. congratulations on going for it.habitatxskate said:i'm a smal kid, 5 6 and 15 years old on a huge bike, and i hit the super small one and the middle one..i was afraid to do the big one, and i'm like okay, jesse listen, there is a guy with a camera here, you land it or not, you have something to be proud of its you busting your ass or doing it clean..i did it and was like wow, that was super simple..i'm hitting the bigger one, the log flume or w.e. next time when i get a helmet camera going.. its really simple just once you land pull your brakes...but yeah again, hardtails are almost impossible to ride on most blacks and double blacks..if you guys have never ridden there, just think of all rock with a flurrying of dirt and some wood features.its a lot of pointy uneven, steep and painful rock..the only non rock run is alpine which is fun but short..either way, if i had a hardtail i'd ride it, just a lot more painful on ya.
thats right after alpine..
tmx said:
haha! I <3 tmx. Someday i'll be able to clear those doubles as smoothly as she did and maybe even pretend to be able to catch up to her *_^
yeah, its an amazing place..something differnet, the people are awesome, the workers and the riders., they are all willing to help, its changing every year..(15 new trails i'm guessing) tons of new woodwork and everything..i need to ride there again soon.
mmm, getting ma baby a new coat of powder woo woo can't wait
Nice Ride - I love you Hard tail guys
Nice bikes and nice job hitting that.
I can't wait till I get a DOC to replace my damn Azonic that broke.
I can't wait till I get a DOC to replace my damn Azonic that broke.
thanks. Evil bikes = <3
I think Seth is going to cry 
That orange is so nice. 
why thanks and i'll give Seth a big hug for making this frame what it is, i absolutely love the SL.
Colour is fluo orange with twilight clear, which is basically a gold/red sparkle... i'll get some better daylight pics sometime it sparkles quite a bit in the sun
Colour is fluo orange with twilight clear, which is basically a gold/red sparkle... i'll get some better daylight pics sometime it sparkles quite a bit in the sun
here is mine:
a couple of different incarnations.
a couple of different incarnations.
I took er for a quick ride yesterday its truely amazing how these bikes handle. I'm also trying a shorter (pretty much shortest) dropout setting and it makes a world of difference too.
:biggrin: Thanks a bunch Seth, my only regret is the SL decals where unreplaceable, I loved the little winged stars :biggrin:
Nice man looks sweet, love the new color! Here's a couple pics of your old frame still going strong.
awesome to see the glittery blue still running shiny
more pictures. Its more of a flop clear coat than sparkle, meaning it chanegs colours based on the angle, although with a light base not as drastic, I get a golden shine out of it at certain angles but it still sparkles 
Where did you get your frame PCed? Was it someplace local to NOVA?
Does anyone know where you can pick up IMP frames anymore I can't find one any where.
got er painted at Absolute powder coatings in PA, they do awesome work and are REAL competitive price wise.
aaaah. This is part of the charm of these frames. They're not all that easy to get a hold off, but then every once in a while quite a few are in the classifieds...
I'm so pissed at myself I used to have one but hten got rid of it and now no matter what Frame I get nothing feels right!!! You can't get them new anymore which is even harder to get ahold of one!!
yep i went through that same dilema until i got a SL and it was all love again. Keep looking you're bound to find one. Did you mean they don't produce the SL anymore or all Imperials? I know the Imperial batches usually do get delayed and you can get on Evil's waiting list for free. 