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New Whip? New toys for the dependable steed?

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,071
3,779
sw ontario canada
Same old Knolly Podium V2.

Now with 27.5 front wheel! - Hope Pro4/DTChamp/Brass/WTB Freq I25/Wild Rockr'2

The 888 gets...
volume adjuster removed (yet again :disgust:)
x- firm spring
new SKF green fork seals
Ohlins/Andreani shimmed rebound piston kit

Going to be interesting.:panic:
Part of me want to run a 26" front for a bit to see what difference the fork mods make on their own.
The other part of me says I'm going to be running them both so who cares....:wave:
 

iRider

Turbo Monkey
Apr 5, 2008
5,648
3,089
And put responsive, strong sized wheels on it.
What? You are using these new 559 EnduRAD wheels?
Cool, I have heard they are 21.6% stiffer, accelerate 15.8% faster and follow undulations in the ground better. The next big thing (besides some missing links and black sliding shafts, of course). :D
 

DaveW

Space Monkey
Jul 2, 2001
11,160
2,685
The bunker at parliament
This year I thought I should try out the 27.5+ size so I can talk to customers about the pros/cons of them.

Running a 2017 Niner Rip9 RDO 27.5+

Started out as the 2star build kit but I instantly changed out a few bits.
moved to LEV integra internal routed post instad of the more budget external Lev
ANVL saddle (The Niner saddle is the single more painful saddle I've ever encountered!!!)
ANVL carbon bar and Swage stem, the bikes a bit short for me length wise so I went to a 50mm stem to get the same reach on this size large as my previous medium Lapierre Zesty 527
Zee brakes and 203 front rotor 180 rear..... came with SLX/180 front/160 rear which was laughably under gunned for what this bike can do!
Minion 2.8 front Rekon 2.8 rear
SixxC 170mm carbon cranks (the 175mm is too long for my stumpy legs and this bikes low bb)

So far I have to say it's a ridiculously fun bike, tyre pressure is def way way more critical with a much finer line between too much and too little.
For the majority of riders in NZ I think it's a tyre size that will work really well due to the mind buggering levels of grip.
Down side is if you are doing aggressive high speed cornering or G-out's the tyres will be a bit squirmy.
But lets face it the average rider down here doesn't really do much of that, so all good! :)
 
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EVIL JN

Monkey
Jul 24, 2009
491
24
This will be my new toy for this year! Wanted to really get a mini ripper that is like a short travel dh. Found a deal on the frame on CRC and decided to give it a shot since I had a shock laying around that I figured would make it just right.

In Standard guise the frame gets 150mm travel, with the shorter shock it now gets sub 120mm, slackens the SA and lowers the bb to a bit under 13". Have different fork from pic which is a Manitou Minute with 120mm travel. Still snow/ice on trails so havent had a chance to really try it out but driveway impression feels right on track! Might go with offset hardware to raise the rear back up a bit and probably rebuild wheels with 27.5 when I run out of tires.

Overall build is not to craz but some nice brakes, bars and gears. Otherwise pretty budget.



 

EVIL JN

Monkey
Jul 24, 2009
491
24
Looks like a very fun bike!! Wjat frame is that??

Thank you, posted it on PB and they all tell me it will blow up and kill me haha! Its a Fireeye Burning TR aka some catalouge frame from asia. Was one of those great late night purchases
 

Metamorphic

Monkey
May 12, 2015
274
177
Cackalack
Rebuilt my warranty Spitfire with a couple new parts. Been dialing it in lately and it is feeling killer. After a near-wallet emptying case of newbikitis last year I am feeling strong for 2017.

 
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Toshi

Harbinger of Doom
Oct 23, 2001
38,031
7,550
Like Nick's DH steed, my 5010 got new Chinese crabonz rims over the winter.
 

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,001
1,693
Northern California
Knolly Delirium - swapped my medium '16 frame for a '17 large. Stuck with the X2 and sold the Eleven Six. Just added new rims, they feel lighter then I expected, not sure how long they'll survive. I'm going to pick up a new dual crown for it before I head to Whistler.

Banshee Spitfire - '16 model I bought at the end of the season. Will probably swap the rear shock, but no other big changes planned.



 

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,005
Seattle
Two new frames coming, but a couple months out. Not sure if they'll be @kidwoo approved because they'll be running 26" wheels in frames meant for 650b, or not @kidwoo approved because I'm going slightly off the derp end in the wheelbase department.
 

djjohnr

Turbo Monkey
Apr 21, 2002
3,001
1,693
Northern California
Needed to sell one shock with the other frame. 11/6 performed really well from a traction perspective, but I couldn't get it to feel very lively and it would bottom out hard on the Knolly which has a regressive rate during the last part of travel. I could have gone to a firmer spring and sacrificed some small/medium bump absorption, but the liveliness and spring curve of the X2 just felt better on the Knolly. Push does have a new build of the 11/6 that makes the shock more playful. I'd love to have one on a bike thats progressive all the way through it's travel.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,852
9,557
AK
For the RFX, I replaced the POS Specialized post with a Transfer, the slightly bigger FSA headset bearing to eliminate any play, the screw-in shimano brake pad pins, and that's it. In the future, if I get a wild hair up my a$$, I might put the XTR derailleur and XT shifter on the RFX and get another SRAM 11spd setup for the fatbike, mainly to move the 11spd XTR/XT off of the fatbike, because I hate it for changing wheels and the big fat wheels make it worse. But then again there's that new SLX and Sun Race 10spd cassette with a 40 or 42...
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,031
5,921
borcester rhymes
My rides aren't changing much for 2017.

Evil following with inferior flexy wheels and a backwards seatpost. nothing changing here though I want a SRAM cassette and alloy freehub for my onyx to lose a half a pound of rotater weight.

GT Fury which is too long and has inferior rollover wheels. Firmer spring and tubeless on bonty g5s this year.

DBR mason b+ kid hauler. Probably a 29er swap when the freehub arrives.

DBR century road thing. Carbonz wheels and bearings that roll.
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,071
3,779
sw ontario canada
Apparently not ;)

To be fair, most people would just run a firmer spring and be done with it; there's quite a few folks quite happy with a coil shock on that frame.
I found that strange when you mentioned it. I still have a 2010 Delirium (basically one of my sons bike now) and it just loves the Ti CCDB. I never liked air on it, but then again I'm a coil guy. I do have full air on the Endo, but want to try coil.

I wonder, was Noel compensating for the ramp-up in air shocks, thinking most would run air not coil?
 

ChrisRobin

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
3,346
190
Vancouver
-The 2015 Intense 951evo didn't get much of an update other than Zee brakes to replace the Saint brakes I put on my trail bike. I did install a Works 7mm reach adjust headset and switched from a low rise Atlas 50mm stem to a Thomson 40mm higher rise stem.

-The Carbine 29 saw a change of front triangle from medium to large triangle... makes the bus harder to turn but I like the reach better. Plus the switch from a 60 or 70mm stem to 40mm, and threw on my old Saint brakes with smaller rotors.

Other than a few changes here and there, I don't plan on switching bikes.

The 951 is a 2015 and the C29 is a 2014....all of their hub standards are either obsolete or close to being obsolete.