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Question for Sovereign owners

Colin

Monkey
Nov 5, 2001
372
0
in my tiny apartment
For the Evil Sovereign ownere out there:

Anyone using theirs for strictly trail-riding? I'm curious as to your long-term opinions of the frame since I haven't read much since the frames first came out. My build would be a mix of quality parts, a 100-130mm fork, and a single speed drivetrain.

Just hoping to hear opinions from riders who have had their frames for a while. I am a little worried about the seat tube angle and 'shorter than advertized' top tube length I've read about here.

Thanks.
 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
I trail ride my sovereign.

The Top Tube is much shorter then I expected.

I haven't had my frame for long. So I can't say much.


this was taken on sat. I've since then moved the wheel back from here at a little under 15.75 to 16 and it made a large difference, I was suprised how much of a difference it made.

I'm considernig trying the rear most drop out and seeing if I can get it near 16.5 to see how I like it on the trails. It's obviously nicer for street and park riding in the shorter settings.

I can say the bike loves twisty singletrack
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,195
4,419
Castle said:
5'10 and the reg.
For trailriding, that's a pretty short stem you have on there.
Back in the good old days, I rocked no less than a 120mm.
 

partsbara

Turbo Monkey
Nov 16, 2001
3,996
0
getting Xtreme !
Colin said:
I'm 5' 10" as well. I am hoping to run a 70-90mm stem. Probably 90mm.
i m about your height, a tad taller and i ride a reg DOC... 70mm thomson... works good for DJ'ing and trail riding... 410mm seatpost helps...

with the 90mm stem you ll loose a bit of jumping and street rideability but gain in the XC / trail climbs...
 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
dump said:
For trailriding, that's a pretty short stem you have on there.
Back in the good old days, I rocked no less than a 120mm.
yeah like I said I just got it not long ago, so I haven't had time to do all of that, I would like to eventually get a 70-90mm for trail riding and some lighter tires.

here is it's typical set up.....

 

Castle

Turbo Monkey
Jun 10, 2002
1,446
0
VA
CHOP said:
Damn Castle, how many bikes you got?
2, sovereign and the vpfree which is for sale and to be replaced with something smaller for the winter.
 

PowersUSA

Chimp
Apr 12, 2002
52
0
Mass
My "Long" Sovereign is setup for trail riding. The horizontal distance from the center-top of the headset to the center of the seatpost just below the saddle is 24 inches. I'm running a 70mm stem.


 

John P.

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2001
1,170
0
Golden, CO
Castle said:
I trail ride my sovereign.

The Top Tube is much shorter then I expected.
Sean-

Try a 90mm stem. You'll be amazed at what a big difference that makes. I just threw one on mine, and coming from a 50mm stem, it's like night and day. TONS more fun in the woods.

Colin, I know this is going to come across as biased, but I've probably got more saddle time trail riding a Sovereign than just about anyone else in the world. I rode the hell out of our alpha prototypes, and I've been blasting around on a beta prototype and production model for months now. I run mine with one ring up front (and our new LG1 guide), a 130mm fork, light wheels, and a heavy duty XC setup. The steepness of it took some getting used to for me (I've been riding a 6" travel Bullit for years now), but I really like the frame now. If I had my way, it would be a hair slacker, but again, that's coming from a guy who's been riding a bike with about a 67 head angle for years.

When Dave first proposed this project, I was pretty skeptical - I'm an FS guy and have been for years. But having ridden the Sovereign on trails for two years now, I'm totally converted. The 853 tubing gives it a ride quality like no other, and if I were worth a dam in the skate parks, I got a feeling this bike would rip in there, too (with a few minor parts mods).

Anyway, I hope this doesn't come across as too spam-ish. It's really just my honest opinion of my experiences with the frame.

Later,

JP