not only was it my first full-sussy ride, but i can't remember the last time i had gears. my typical XC bike is rigid, also. bike setup was just slightly different than what i would do. mainly, wider bars. narrow bars make me feel cramped. SRAM triggers, Marta SL brakes, XTR cranks, SRAM X0 RD, XTR FD, MAXM bars. King, Thomson, Kenda, etc.
test riding a potential future bike (4"x4") on a rocky trail (HOL and beyond for you local folks). it was interesting. going down was rather odd. i was not used to the rear end, controlled by an RP3, being so smooth. i have to say, it was a little uncomfortable, and by uncomfortable, i mean odd. the front, a Float RLC, was damn smooth. overall, it was smoother than i was expecting, and tracked better than i was expecting.
climbing was a pleasure. i had always considered myself a masher...but damn, with gears, spinning is fun. it's nice making it up a climb that you had never made it up before. it's also nice not feeling absolutely battered after a ride. i absolutely love the fit of the frame. 23.5" TT, with 120mm stem felt perfect. anyway, i wasn't expecting to make it up about 50% of the climbs i faced today (long, and steady, as well as short and steep), but i pleasantly surprised myself.
SRAM triggers are nice. however, i don't know if it's this particular bike's setup, but the left trigger felt odd. i accidently hit the black trigger multiple times, while not being quite able to reach the silver one. i'm wondering if it's possible to bring the silver one in a little, so that the trigger body can be moved inwards...?
Turning was spot on. the bike went where i pointed it. low speed, high speed...nice. wasn't expecting that. my Inbred is quite twitchy, this bike felt like a good mix between a twitchy frame and a point-and-go-sled. like a "muted twitch", i guess? i don't know.
only semi-big problem was dropping the chain while in the middle ring. i did some adjusting, and that was solved. also, getting the front end up was a little harder than i was expecting. i'm sure this is only temporary, until i actually get used to have a properly setup suspension fork (as opposed to the super stiff Sherman Jumper on my DOC).
cannot comment on the stiffness of the rear end 'cause i have nothing to compare it to, except my Inbred, and DOC.
this is mainly just a stream of thought...hense the randomness.
test riding a potential future bike (4"x4") on a rocky trail (HOL and beyond for you local folks). it was interesting. going down was rather odd. i was not used to the rear end, controlled by an RP3, being so smooth. i have to say, it was a little uncomfortable, and by uncomfortable, i mean odd. the front, a Float RLC, was damn smooth. overall, it was smoother than i was expecting, and tracked better than i was expecting.
climbing was a pleasure. i had always considered myself a masher...but damn, with gears, spinning is fun. it's nice making it up a climb that you had never made it up before. it's also nice not feeling absolutely battered after a ride. i absolutely love the fit of the frame. 23.5" TT, with 120mm stem felt perfect. anyway, i wasn't expecting to make it up about 50% of the climbs i faced today (long, and steady, as well as short and steep), but i pleasantly surprised myself.
SRAM triggers are nice. however, i don't know if it's this particular bike's setup, but the left trigger felt odd. i accidently hit the black trigger multiple times, while not being quite able to reach the silver one. i'm wondering if it's possible to bring the silver one in a little, so that the trigger body can be moved inwards...?
Turning was spot on. the bike went where i pointed it. low speed, high speed...nice. wasn't expecting that. my Inbred is quite twitchy, this bike felt like a good mix between a twitchy frame and a point-and-go-sled. like a "muted twitch", i guess? i don't know.
only semi-big problem was dropping the chain while in the middle ring. i did some adjusting, and that was solved. also, getting the front end up was a little harder than i was expecting. i'm sure this is only temporary, until i actually get used to have a properly setup suspension fork (as opposed to the super stiff Sherman Jumper on my DOC).
cannot comment on the stiffness of the rear end 'cause i have nothing to compare it to, except my Inbred, and DOC.
this is mainly just a stream of thought...hense the randomness.
Turn around time is a bit long, 3 weeks or so.
I rode a rigid Giant from '92-'96 and bought a Trek Y22. All of a sudden I could ride 40 mile high country epics and *not* be wasted beyond comprehension at the end of the ride.
