[Dirtjumper999]

So I have been riding street and dirt on my new bars (NS Proof 3") and new tires (Intense MK2 2.25) for about 2 weeks now.

I went from Funn Fatboy 2" bars, and Holy Rollers, and holy crap the difference is insane. I shaved off 2lbs off my bike with the newer set up, bringing it to 26.8lbs, with most of the weight now in the center with heavy cranks.

I can spin much faster now with the decrease in weight in the tires. For some reason I felt more comfortable trying foot jams now. I boost higher out of my jumps, and tables and inverts feel effortless now. You'd never notice what a difference lighter tires/wheels make until you go from uber heavy to super light. They have only slipped once on the trails and that was on a particularly dusty landing, haven't slipped at the park yet, nor on street.

I was expecting the bars to make everything feel really strange and tall, but they don't. I used to start a manual and it would take a few seconds until I found my place to click it and stay there for a while, now I go right into that place. It does feel a bit weird looking down and seeing thin bars instead of 31.8's. They are still at the 28.5 they come in, but I might trim them down to 28 or 27.5.

Overall, if you are looking at lightening up your bike, and your tires are 700g+ get some MK2's. If you want a super light 3" riser... NS Proof. Though I don't think NS wants you riding them on rigid.

Pics of the finally dialed Eastern Betty will be up soon.

 

[stino]

tires/rims are indeed a huge factor in bike feel when in the air. On the ground as well, though the only noticable difference there is probably acceleration.

Though I don't think NS wants you riding them on rigid.

if that is really true, it's such a shame imo. When NS started, they were almost all about 'as strong as possible'; at least, that's the feeling I got when I bought their 'Streetlegal' frame and 'Pure 4130' bars: indestructible, bike felt like a tank. I've done really bad things to it and it's still more or less fine now.
Last time I checked their site they clearly jumped onto the bandwagon.. stuff as ligt as possible, cassettes that are extra noisy (seriously wtf), ...
On the other hand I didn't hear of any breakage so maybe I'm just ranting over nothing here.
Let us know if the bars keep up!

 

[Dirtjumper999]

Well the only thing I can say for sure is they do make a point of saying that the bars are "ideal for dirt, street, and park riders who use a suspension fork". I have taken 3 pretty hard crashes that each time I was thinking, that would bend the bars if they are cheapo, but they are perfect so far. I think NS went the route they did with their R&D is because thats where the riding was headed, no one needed huge heavy parts anymore, the street riding became less of straight hucking things and more of smooth streety style.

 

[stino]

wonder what the actaully mean with the suspension fork thingie..

the street riding became less of straight hucking things and more of smooth streety style.

I know.. I really like a harder style, both for riding myself and for watching. Guess I'm stuck in the church gap/levan/young days ;P

 

[Bikael Molton]

guys, it's simple:
aluminum bars with suspension fork
steel bars with rigid.

 

[Dirtjumper999]

guys, it's simple:
aluminum bars with suspension fork
steel bars with rigid.

That's not necessarily true, I ran rigid with a 31.8 aluminum bar for about a year with no problems. It's finding a 31.8 bar with a 3" rise thats the problem.

 

[Zenkis14]

What size holy rollers were you running?

And what was the actual weight loss when switching tires

 

[FR4life.]

Sounds dialed. Just broke my second eastern betty.. Make sure to check the chainstays and headtube gusset for cracks, thats where mine have broken. Prolly going to be replaced with a majesty.

 

[Dirtjumper999]

I was running a 2.4 and a 2.2 holly roller. the exact weight change was almost exactly a lb from each tire.

Really? You broke two betty's?! I have had a lot of trouble from my bottom bracket, its been creaking only on the left side, so I was about to switch to a Profile BB... so I guess I will have to check the frame to be sure. I can't imagine I'd crack it though... I am 140lbs and a pretty smooth rider. Thanks for the heads up though.

 

[Dirtjumper999]

Oh my god. I just went out and checked under the downtube... where was yours cracking? There looks like these tine inconsistent breaks in the paint... I can't tell if its just the paint or the frame... That ruined my day. I thought I'd finally found my perfect frame. Anyway you can send me pics of where yours cracked to compare?

 

[ServeEm]

those breaks in the paint, are they at or real near a weld?

 

[Dirtjumper999]

those breaks in the paint, are they at or real near a weld?

Yep they look like they are at the base of the weld for the gusset. Just called Eastern, they told me that even if its just cosmetic, I can bring it in and get the newly designed 2011 frame... The warehouse is like 40mins from my house so I am going to try to make it up there next week.

 

[Paulyd]

man i was so close to buying a thunderbird, but the guy sold it. so getting a dob now.

thanks for the review on the tires, and the bars, look like good future products.

 

[FR4life.]

I'll try to get some pics. Didn't mean to ruin your day.. I love the way bettys ride but I weigh around 155 and I'm pretty smooth give or take the occasional case or overshoot. Maybe I just have bad luck. Regardless, anyone want a brand new betty for cheap? Black or white! haha.

 

[FR4life.]

Mine is cracked between the downtube gusset and headtube.. Also on both sides of the chainstay yoke about halfway through, but I have a sh1tty camera phone and couldn't really get a good shot of those cracks. Is this where yours is cracked as well? Mine still feels solid but the headtube is probably the worst place ever to crack a frame and I most definitely value my face enough to not ride it until I have a new frame. Also, what may look like rust on the other side of the gusset is just dirt. I take good care of all my bikes, but my hardtails are always cosmetically thrashed pretty quickly.

 

[Dirtjumper999]

Mine is cracked between the downtube gusset and headtube.. Also on both sides of the chainstay yoke about halfway through, but I have a sh1tty camera phone and couldn't really get a good shot of those cracks. Is this where yours is cracked as well? Mine still feels solid but the headtube is probably the worst place ever to crack a frame and I most definitely value my face enough to not ride it until I have a new frame. Also, what may look like rust on the other side of the gusset is just dirt. I take good care of all my bikes, but my hardtails are always cosmetically thrashed pretty quickly.

Exactly where mine are. Its not a complete crack however, more like someone took a pen and made a dashed lines. It feels super solid at the moment, no flex at all. But I am going to take it up to Eastern next week and get the 2011 frame. I like this frame too much to get a completely different frame with different geo.

 

[FR4life.]

Exactly where mine are. Its not a complete crack however, more like someone took a pen and made a dashed lines. It feels super solid at the moment, no flex at all. But I am going to take it up to Eastern next week and get the 2011 frame. I like this frame too much to get a completely different frame with different geo.

That's exactly how my crack looks too, prolly hard to tell from a phone pic. The geometry is great, I just wish I had more toe clearance for barspins..

 

[Dirtjumper999]

Yea, our Eastern rep told me that they added a different gusset and changed the butting process for that junction, as well as changing the chainstay yoke a bit. Supposedly a lighter frame...

 

[Dirtjumper999]

So the new frame doesn't look that much different than the old. The welds look much thicker than the old. It's the same weight, we'll see how it holds up. I will post pics as soon as I get it built up.

 

[Dirtjumper999]