The Hellatrail: An Abomination
- Thread starter gemini2k
- Start date
what kinda chamois would he/she/bi have to buy?
Yeah, but honestly the paint has to be a drop in the bucket when we're talking about a bike sized for the Jolly Green Giant.
A to A- so far. Better than my revox or RC4 in my DH bikes I'd say. I've been running it in the progressive mode. I did notice a little mid stroke harshness in the rougher sections. I had the resevoir air pressuve a little low (~140 psi, reccomended is 160-200, I upped it to 180 last night after the ride). I'm optimistic the higher pressure and more linear front shock mount might yeild some improvements. But yeah, really stoked on it. The DVO hype is real.
'
OKAY FINE!! I'll run it in gravity mode next time.
I have the inseam of someone 6'8" and the wingspan of someone 6'4" (roughly). Bar width is sorta complicated. It's not just a product of height. Bar height, wingspan, arm length/shoulder width ratio, trail conditions (whacking bars on trees), etc. all effect optimized bar width. Either way, I think trail conditions suggest I need a ~29.5, my arm body suggests maybe a 30" or so. 31.5" is too wide either way. If Iower the bars I might want them wider, we'll see. I'm gonna order some Answer 780 carbon DH's this week I think.
Also, the pink is actually a lot better than the yellow I think. Much fuller color. I wish the yellow was a bit brighter.
Because
Edit: Because manuals
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Bar width: How tree'd your trails are comes into play. Over 30" is too slow and clumsy on a lot of my local trails. You'd have to slow down and take turns wide really often. I run 29.5" on my enduro and DH bikes, 28" on my XC bike. I still clip knuckle a fair amount but this width is the best trade-off I've found.
niner
Was the stack increased or did you guys go with a shorter travel fork to account for the 29" front end? I've been thinking the 650 rear, 29 front could be a pretty sweet combo. More stiffness in the rear where you need it (more), better roll over in the front etc.
They're smart guys, they'll do ANYTHING for the right price, ANYTHING.
I typically have 8 inches more than most guys.I just did a little guestimation- I think your handlebars are about 8" higher than mine are on my (size medium) Megatrail.
that was a dick joke.
Rode it all day yesterday at Mammoth. Even with a sketchy semi slick rear tire it handles the hardest trails there no problem (Bullet, chainsmoke, pipeline, velocity, etc.). Supergravity mode is perfect for resort riding. I only clipped my pedals once, when I was pedaling on a flat smooth section at 5mph. And abruptly fell flat on the ground. Luckily no one was around to see that though. The DVO suspension setup with carbon bars is amazing. I did 15k vert yesterday and my hands were barely starting to get tired. The braking bumps and holes (mostly holes) at Mammoth definitely make it one of the rougher resorts I've ridden. The performance is not far off from a full on DH bike. The 29 front wheel is great for straightline stuff, but I'm still struggling to turn as well as I would like to with it. It has a tendancy to want to tuck when I lean it. It might be the result of the super deep and loose Mammoth pumice though. A 27.5 front wheel for resort riding might be in the cards if I can sell some of my spare bike parts I have lying around.
Geometry is almost perfect. The only thing I would change would be to make the seattube 1-2 inches shorter. And of course, that is what Matt at GG suggested I do, but apparently I'm stupid and stubborn!
Geometry is almost perfect. The only thing I would change would be to make the seattube 1-2 inches shorter. And of course, that is what Matt at GG suggested I do, but apparently I'm stupid and stubborn!
I want one of those jerseys. Where get one?
The number of the beast part, not the ononeoennee1111! part
The number of the beast part, not the ononeoennee1111! part
Custom from One Indsutries. Even with my super pro awesome discount it was surprisingly expensive.
that trail looks fun.
sorry, hella fun.
sorry, hella fun.
It is an awesome trail. Steep and fast. If they fixed the jumps at the bottom so they weren't so mediocre it would be world class.
PLEASE MAMMOTH MAKE THE BOTTOM OF THE CHAINSMOKE JUMPS AS BIG AS THE BLACK JUMPS ON PIPELINE!!!
PLEASE MAMMOTH STOP GOING AROUND ROCKS AND MAKING BULLSHIT WOOD BRIDGES AND TABLETOPS ON EVERYTHING!!!!
The bottom of that trail used to be for mountain biking.
Back in my day.
On my lawn.
The bottom of that trail used to be for mountain biking.
Back in my day.
On my lawn.
I'm kinda disappointed that your stem is black. Needs moar colorwayz
That's just the spare stem. They were supposed to ship me a white one, but they shipped me a black one. So I gotta send it back
.
neutral stem, neutral rims, neutral bars......
It's like you're willingly ignoring the fine products from our good friends at spank components and loaded industries.
It's like you're willingly ignoring the fine products from our good friends at spank components and loaded industries.
neutral stem, neutral rims, neutral bars......
It's like you're willingly ignoring the fine products from our good friends at spank components and loaded industries.
but...CARBON bars!
oddly enough I have a spank 2" rise 800mm bar sitting in my garage. Was gonna put it on the DH bike but returning it so I can throw an enve one on there instead.
So you ain't gonna ride in the sun obviously.
Not to mention rims.neutral stem, neutral rims, neutral bars......
It's like you're willingly ignoring the fine products from our good friends at spank components and loaded industries.
Purple carbon bars
http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Deity-Carbon-The-DC31-Mohawk-Handlebar-2013.html
You're welcome.
In case you haven't noticed, he's an attention whore. In addition to being a standard whore.
Glad I'm e-famous.
Well yesterday was the first day I rode it since I last posted about it. I was travelling for work for 3 weekends. I'm still really happy with it. I don't think my impressions have changed much. I'm more certain I've made the right call getting the bike. The geo I picked out is basically perfect except I think the ST could be an inch shorter. I'd like to try a 26" version. I think that would be interesting as a pure 'park bike'. I've managed to compensate a little bit for the pedal strikes in the low setting. Although I haven't had anymore time to play around with the different geo settings. Stay tuned!
Well yesterday was the first day I rode it since I last posted about it. I was travelling for work for 3 weekends. I'm still really happy with it. I don't think my impressions have changed much. I'm more certain I've made the right call getting the bike. The geo I picked out is basically perfect except I think the ST could be an inch shorter. I'd like to try a 26" version. I think that would be interesting as a pure 'park bike'. I've managed to compensate a little bit for the pedal strikes in the low setting. Although I haven't had anymore time to play around with the different geo settings. Stay tuned!
I really like this bike as you've clearly gone to a lot of effort to tailor it to your own specific needs.
Any thoughts on how the mixed wheel sizes are going compared to a matched setup? I see potential for mismatched front/rear traction amongst a whole host of other things, but for someone not loving all aspects of the bigger wheels while knowing change is inevitable, I'm tempted to try something similar in the future (probably 27.5f / 26r).
I've been wondering how the benefits and drawbacks of bigger wheels effect each end of the bike individually, maybe you or @Sandwich have some thoughts on this? All discussion so far seems to only be around complete changeover.
Any thoughts on how the mixed wheel sizes are going compared to a matched setup? I see potential for mismatched front/rear traction amongst a whole host of other things, but for someone not loving all aspects of the bigger wheels while knowing change is inevitable, I'm tempted to try something similar in the future (probably 27.5f / 26r).
I've been wondering how the benefits and drawbacks of bigger wheels effect each end of the bike individually, maybe you or @Sandwich have some thoughts on this? All discussion so far seems to only be around complete changeover.
Glad you enjoy it.
Well, its hard for me to do an apples to apples comparison about wheel size mismatch. I've never ridden a bike with this kind of geometry before that has matched wheel sizes (no one has probably). The rear 27.5 wheel feels like like a 26" to me. I can control and slide that thing around just like my DH bike. I definitely prefer it for agressive riding compared to the dual 29" setup on my Ventana. I do notice that the front wheel has the typical 29'er feel. A little awkward and more cumbersome in turns. It's a little harder to weight the front end agressively. BUT, I'm getting better at that. For a long time (since I got the Ventana) I've struggled to ahve the confidence to lean the bike over far in turns. The 29'er front wheel feels a little unnatural doing that. However I had the best 2 wheel drift in my life yesterday riding that bike at demo forest in Santa Cruz. So clearly the front wheel CAN be control just fine. And riding the flow trail there, which is getting really bombed out, definitely helped improve my 29'er confidence in turns. So, long story short, stay tuned. I think that the 29'er shortcomings are less of shortcomings and more just 'different'. I've had a decade on 26 wheels so it takes a little while to adapt. It also doesn't help that I bounce between a 26 DH bike, a road bike, and moto's regularly.
I should qualify that previous statement about apples to apples comparison. I should say not yet*. I'm planning on selling my Ventana El capitan and my spare FTW FB-10 and replace the 2 of those with single, second custom megatrail! With a few minor geo tweaks. I'll set up with dual 27.5. So that will be fun! (I'm running out of room in my garage so I need to get rid of a bike, life sucks. Someone buy them plz!!) I've already got some good ideas for the paint scheme too! It will be equal loud and obnoxious, but in a completely different way.
Also I've played around with the settings some more. I rode the bike in the plaid mode (Trail rear hole, front lower progressive hole) 2 weeks ago at UCSC, 1 week ago in South lake tahoe, and super gravity mode at demo yesterday. The super gravity is definitely hero settings for anything that doesn't require technical climbing. But so far my only falls/crashes on the bike are when i clip the pedal on something riding flat or uphill terrain at 5mph. So I've resolved to keep it in trail mode if i'm pedaling up anything other than fire roads However, I don't find myself clipping pedals or cranks on descents at all. I'm running the bike sans bash, and it's seen a few rocky trails and handled it no problems. I was killing the berms and jumps on lower corral in South Lake tahoe. The BB height and HA in trail mode is really plenty adaquete for DH style riding. You only find yourself wishing for gravity mode because it's there, not because you need it.
To be honest, suspension settings seem to be a much larger knob to turn than shock mount settings. I'm still dialing in spring rate and rebound on the fork. I just gave the diamond it's first rebuild yesterday (didn't change the damper oil or open the air spring, just cleaned chassis and replaced lubricating oil). It definitely feels better now. They don't use the right oil for the chassis i think.
Next ride will be in Santa Barbara this Monday or Tuesday with the bike in the linear front shock hole and trail rear hole. The rockier trails there will probably like the higher BB better. We'll see how that works!
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If I can purge my garage of some parts, I'll buy a 27.5 wheel to throw on the front just for kicks.
Anyone need a 150 DT Swiss 440 rear wheel with dual duty rim and HR tire???
Well, its hard for me to do an apples to apples comparison about wheel size mismatch. I've never ridden a bike with this kind of geometry before that has matched wheel sizes (no one has probably). The rear 27.5 wheel feels like like a 26" to me. I can control and slide that thing around just like my DH bike. I definitely prefer it for agressive riding compared to the dual 29" setup on my Ventana. I do notice that the front wheel has the typical 29'er feel. A little awkward and more cumbersome in turns. It's a little harder to weight the front end agressively. BUT, I'm getting better at that. For a long time (since I got the Ventana) I've struggled to ahve the confidence to lean the bike over far in turns. The 29'er front wheel feels a little unnatural doing that. However I had the best 2 wheel drift in my life yesterday riding that bike at demo forest in Santa Cruz. So clearly the front wheel CAN be control just fine. And riding the flow trail there, which is getting really bombed out, definitely helped improve my 29'er confidence in turns. So, long story short, stay tuned. I think that the 29'er shortcomings are less of shortcomings and more just 'different'. I've had a decade on 26 wheels so it takes a little while to adapt. It also doesn't help that I bounce between a 26 DH bike, a road bike, and moto's regularly.
I should qualify that previous statement about apples to apples comparison. I should say not yet*. I'm planning on selling my Ventana El capitan and my spare FTW FB-10 and replace the 2 of those with single, second custom megatrail! With a few minor geo tweaks. I'll set up with dual 27.5. So that will be fun! (I'm running out of room in my garage so I need to get rid of a bike, life sucks. Someone buy them plz!!) I've already got some good ideas for the paint scheme too! It will be equal loud and obnoxious, but in a completely different way.
Also I've played around with the settings some more. I rode the bike in the plaid mode (Trail rear hole, front lower progressive hole) 2 weeks ago at UCSC, 1 week ago in South lake tahoe, and super gravity mode at demo yesterday. The super gravity is definitely hero settings for anything that doesn't require technical climbing. But so far my only falls/crashes on the bike are when i clip the pedal on something riding flat or uphill terrain at 5mph. So I've resolved to keep it in trail mode if i'm pedaling up anything other than fire roads However, I don't find myself clipping pedals or cranks on descents at all. I'm running the bike sans bash, and it's seen a few rocky trails and handled it no problems. I was killing the berms and jumps on lower corral in South Lake tahoe. The BB height and HA in trail mode is really plenty adaquete for DH style riding. You only find yourself wishing for gravity mode because it's there, not because you need it.
To be honest, suspension settings seem to be a much larger knob to turn than shock mount settings. I'm still dialing in spring rate and rebound on the fork. I just gave the diamond it's first rebuild yesterday (didn't change the damper oil or open the air spring, just cleaned chassis and replaced lubricating oil). It definitely feels better now. They don't use the right oil for the chassis i think.
Next ride will be in Santa Barbara this Monday or Tuesday with the bike in the linear front shock hole and trail rear hole. The rockier trails there will probably like the higher BB better. We'll see how that works!
Edit:
If I can purge my garage of some parts, I'll buy a 27.5 wheel to throw on the front just for kicks.
Anyone need a 150 DT Swiss 440 rear wheel with dual duty rim and HR tire???
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So, the only bike I have any experience on doing wacky wheels is the Brooklyn, and that was back in 2006. There were so many other factors that isolating it to just the wheels would be impossible. The fork had 65mm of offset, the tires I ran were arrow/gazzalodi jr, the BB was 14.5" high in 24/26, 13.5 in 24, and like 15 in dual 26, and the bike had a 67 degree head angle. Comparing that mess to a purpose built differently wheeled bike with good tires would be impossible, in my opinion. The only comment I really can make about the dual wheelsizes is that the bike really liked to carve turns. I don't know if it was because of the shorter RC with smaller wheels, or because of slacker effective head angle, or all that offset up front, but it really like berms with 24/26, and felt "normal" with dual 24s or dual 26s.
If you designed the bike right and controlled the variables (like increasing head angle while you increased A2C, increasing offset slightly with the bigger wheelsize) then I don't see how it would be all that noticeable when completed. Especially with a 650b/26 setup, as 650b isn't all that big of a jump. 29/650b might be another story, but I wouldn't put that much thought into a 2650b setup.