Here is my “new” DH rig. I had to swap over a lot of parts off my last DH bike to get it built up so it is still a bit of a work in progress as I have a few parts on order to make some upgrades. I still need to cut the brake cables down a bit but I am going to wait till I get the new handle bars and fork before I do that.
Here is a quick overview and my first ride impressions: So far I have only been able to do one race on it but I do have more lined up so I will post a longer term review further down the line. My first impressions of the frame are very positive. I felt very comfortable on the bike, it took very little time getting used to it in terms of fit and ease of handling. It is extremely maneuverable, very easy to turn in sharp corners, wheelie, and jump. You can ride from the center of the bike for the most part so it doesn’t require a lot of body-english to get it to respond. The last DH bike I was riding was only 9.2lbs (including shock) and this one is 10.10lbs (including shock, rear axle, and headset cups). I figured between that and the fact that I am running a much heavier wheel set that I would have noticed the weight gain a little more. The weight is very well balanced and the center of gravity is very low. The bike also feels very stable at high speeds and seems to handle square edge hits ok (the wheel path is like the letter j but tilted to the left so it has a little rearward wheel travel before moving up and then in) but I suspect this will get even better once I have a softer spring on there and can get all the travel out of the frame.
I have done very little experimentation with the frame adjustments. I have mostly run the rear suspension in the max travel setting at a progressive rate and I currently have the HA set at 65 degrees. So far it all feels really good with the exception of the rear end ramping up a bit too quickly for me. This is mostly due to the fact that the rear spring is too heavy so I will be putting a 350# spring on there in the very near future. I did move it to the linear setting for a little bit but the small bump sensitivity was lost due to the heavier spring so I will try this setting again once I have the proper spring weight.
I am really excited about the potential of this bike. As it is now I am really happy with the performance and handling of the bike. I can’t wait to see how well it does once I get the suspension dialed in properly.
Special thanks to Brian HCM#1 for his time, help and patience. He has been extremely diligent about responding to my questions, helping me with trouble shooting and set up, and helping me get the additional parts I needed very quickly. Thanks for your time and support, very much appreciated.
Here is a quick overview and my first ride impressions: So far I have only been able to do one race on it but I do have more lined up so I will post a longer term review further down the line. My first impressions of the frame are very positive. I felt very comfortable on the bike, it took very little time getting used to it in terms of fit and ease of handling. It is extremely maneuverable, very easy to turn in sharp corners, wheelie, and jump. You can ride from the center of the bike for the most part so it doesn’t require a lot of body-english to get it to respond. The last DH bike I was riding was only 9.2lbs (including shock) and this one is 10.10lbs (including shock, rear axle, and headset cups). I figured between that and the fact that I am running a much heavier wheel set that I would have noticed the weight gain a little more. The weight is very well balanced and the center of gravity is very low. The bike also feels very stable at high speeds and seems to handle square edge hits ok (the wheel path is like the letter j but tilted to the left so it has a little rearward wheel travel before moving up and then in) but I suspect this will get even better once I have a softer spring on there and can get all the travel out of the frame.
I have done very little experimentation with the frame adjustments. I have mostly run the rear suspension in the max travel setting at a progressive rate and I currently have the HA set at 65 degrees. So far it all feels really good with the exception of the rear end ramping up a bit too quickly for me. This is mostly due to the fact that the rear spring is too heavy so I will be putting a 350# spring on there in the very near future. I did move it to the linear setting for a little bit but the small bump sensitivity was lost due to the heavier spring so I will try this setting again once I have the proper spring weight.
I am really excited about the potential of this bike. As it is now I am really happy with the performance and handling of the bike. I can’t wait to see how well it does once I get the suspension dialed in properly.
Special thanks to Brian HCM#1 for his time, help and patience. He has been extremely diligent about responding to my questions, helping me with trouble shooting and set up, and helping me get the additional parts I needed very quickly. Thanks for your time and support, very much appreciated.
Attachments
Last edited:
And I thought this thread had Nicolai content. 
. I think it more of an illusion than anything. The tubing has interesting/different angles and the top tube is unusually low and the gussets at the headtube probably have something to do with the illusion too. It was a concern of mine before buying the bike because I thought every photo made the front end look steep.
