[Biffff]

Just built up my new XC/AM/mini DH bike. Sorry for the crap pic quality.
2012 Trance X
Float R
Fox 36 Float RC2
XTR 10 speed shifter
XT RD
XT cassette
KMC X10sl chain
XTR trail brakes
Xt cranks
E-13 ECX guide
Mavic 819's with Hope pro 2 evo's
Thomson post and stem
Chromag bar
Maxxis DHF 2.3 single, and Spec Purgatory set up tubeless.

Might get a shadow plus RD and RP23 by the end of the year.

 

[Da Peach]

Flats, eh?

The standover looks spooky on them thar frames.

Pretty slick rig though!

 

[Demomonkey]

Looks like a heck of a lot of fun!! I'm interest in that guide works out for you.

 

[Biffff]

Ya......I like the look of the sloping top tube of the Reigns a little better, but supposedly the straight TT is stiffer and stronger. The frame is a large witch adds to the effect.
I've done some pedal up laps of my local DH trail and have not lost the chain yet. So far the guide has been great.
I used to ride clipped in for XC, but to be honest my rding style is better suited to flats whether I'm xc or DH. I'm trying to decide on a nice light, flat and thin pedal for this bike......Crampon, Point 1 and Vault come to mind. The new Strait lines might be an option too.

 

[nowlan]

Look deadly. Email me if you come into Town, we will shred the XC.

 

[Da Peach]

Spank spikes FTW.

love mine, and they are way less $.

 

[William42]

a word of advice: I have that same bike, with the float r shock. Its probably not worth your time trying to change it - the trancex uses an odd sized shock, and so your best bet will probably be to try and find one off another trancex.

They valved the stock r shock a little stiffer, figuring that it wouldn't have a comp adjustment for pedaling, which actually benefits it for the DH. The higher end trancex's that use the rp23 use a lighter compression tune, which is great for small bump compliance and slower riders, but if you are a fast descender (which most DH'ers I've met are) propedal doesn't feel that phenomenal when being used to make up for too light of a compression tune.

My recommendation is that if you find the stock tune isn't doing it for you, send it to push and get custom work, don't bother trying to source the custom sized trancex shock.

edit: also, my DH pedals are crampons and I recently switched to them for my trance (and just swap them back and forth). For DH use, I wouldn't trade the crampons for the life of me, and with my old 5.10 freeriders it was never a problem, but with the stiffer soled impact2s I have now, I can feel the spindle buldge and particularly it squeaks a lot from pedaling. And if your trails are like mine, you have a lot of time spent grinding up hills before you get to ride the DH section, and that squeak is maddening. If somebody were looking for a pair of DH pedals 9/10 people who are me would recommend crampons, but as a trail pedal they're not perfect.

 

[Demomonkey]

I used to ride clipped in for XC, but to be honest my rding style is better suited to flats whether I'm xc or DH. I'm trying to decide on a nice light, flat and thin pedal for this bike......Crampon, Point 1 and Vault come to mind. The new Strait lines might be an option too.

I find myself thinking the same thing. The last few rides I've alternated between clips and flats and have decided that I have more fun on flats. I can keep up with my riding buddies who ride clips (well, we're slow going up hills these days), feel more confident in every situation and my feet dont hurt after 3 hours wearing a brick on each foot. Also in the market for new flats, thinking Straightline AMP's or DMR Vaults but the prices here in NZ kill me.

 

[Biffff]

Look deadly. Email me if you come into Town, we will shred the XC.

Chris........I went to send you an invite for a ride on FB today, but you have dissapeared?????

 

[Biffff]

a word of advice: I have that same bike, with the float r shock. Its probably not worth your time trying to change it - the trancex uses an odd sized shock, and so your best bet will probably be to try and find one off another trancex.

They valved the stock r shock a little stiffer, figuring that it wouldn't have a comp adjustment for pedaling, which actually benefits it for the DH. The higher end trancex's that use the rp23 use a lighter compression tune, which is great for small bump compliance and slower riders, but if you are a fast descender (which most DH'ers I've met are) propedal doesn't feel that phenomenal when being used to make up for too light of a compression tune.

My recommendation is that if you find the stock tune isn't doing it for you, send it to push and get custom work, don't bother trying to source the custom sized trancex shock.

edit: also, my DH pedals are crampons and I recently switched to them for my trance (and just swap them back and forth). For DH use, I wouldn't trade the crampons for the life of me, and with my old 5.10 freeriders it was never a problem, but with the stiffer soled impact2s I have now, I can feel the spindle buldge and particularly it squeaks a lot from pedaling. And if your trails are like mine, you have a lot of time spent grinding up hills before you get to ride the DH section, and that squeak is maddening. If somebody were looking for a pair of DH pedals 9/10 people who are me would recommend crampons, but as a trail pedal they're not perfect.

I've read (on MTBR) that the stock 1.75" stroke shop can be replaced with a 7.5 x 2" shock, and it makes for a pretty nice ride.
I do charge hard on the downhills and am quite impressed on how well the float R feels. Its too bad that they don't make a Float RC with a traditional compression adjuster instead of the silly 2 and 3 postion propedal levers.

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

I've read (on MTBR) that the stock 1.75" stroke shop can be replaced with a 7.5 x 2" shock, and it makes for a pretty nice ride.
I do charge hard on the downhills and am quite impressed on how well the float R feels. Its too bad that they don't make a Float RC with a traditional compression adjuster instead of the silly 2 and 3 postion propedal levers.

Problem with swapping to the longer shock is it jacks your BB... Not exactly sure by how much, but when I've lifted my Trance up .25 inches (without the shock bolted) it easily raised the bike half an inch. Undesirable side effect IMO. Rock Shox was nice enough to offer the Monarch in the Trance sizing though. Like Will said, it's better to have someone tune your Fox if it doesn't suit your tastes. I decided to invest in a Push-built Monarch RT/AM. Push builds the shock from the ground up, tuned to your tastes, and eliminates the RT3 lever for a 10 click compression adjustment.

Let me say this about that shock: It made the Fox feel like it was broken. If you have lots of high-speed brake bump stuff, or rocks, this shock opens the bikes throttle wide!

Nice build too BTW.

 

[Biffff]

Problem with swapping to the longer shock is it jacks your BB... Not exactly sure by how much, but when I've lifted my Trance up .25 inches (without the shock bolted) it easily raised the bike half an inch. Undesirable side effect IMO. Rock Shox was nice enough to offer the Monarch in the Trance sizing though. Like Will said, it's better to have someone tune your Fox if it doesn't suit your tastes. I decided to invest in a Push-built Monarch RT/AM. Push builds the shock from the ground up, tuned to your tastes, and eliminates the RT3 lever for a 10 click compression adjustment.

Let me say this about that shock: It made the Fox feel like it was broken. If you have lots of high-speed brake bump stuff, or rocks, this shock opens the bikes throttle wide!

Nice build too BTW.

That sounds like a sick option. Can you buy the shock directly from Push or do you need to purchase then send it to them???

 

[nowlan]

Chris........I went to send you an invite for a ride on FB today, but you have dissapeared?????

I got rid of my account a while back.
Anyway email me at chris_nowlan@hotmail.com anytime you wanna ride, We have been doing some pretty epic XC shred mostly in fight trail. As soon as I get my 40 back from OGC ill be get at ya about ward, stoked.

 

[Uncle Cliffy]

That sounds like a sick option. Can you buy the shock directly from Push or do you need to purchase then send it to them???

It's a direct purchase. Push basically has a small partnership with SRAM that allows them to buy all the parts, then build up shocks as needed. (There's a link to that Monarch in my previous post.)

 

[RoboDonkey713]

If you didn't want to get a custom tune right off the bat but wanted it to wallow less, Buy some of the Fox Volume spacers. I put the middle size one in mine and it made it ride more to my liking. (Less wallow in the mid stroke and more ramp up at the end)

 

[Chaingangster]

I believe the latest version of the RP23 w/Adaptive Logic is available aftermarket in the 7.25x1.75 size. I haven't actually called to confirm this, but it is listed as an aftermarket part#.

I'd still probably go with Push though. I had them work on the RP2 on my Reign and it made a world of difference!