Following on from replacing front bouncer, I've now made some major alterations to the cockpit. Off with the original low riser bar, longer/lower stem combo replaced with a higher riser, shorter/higher stem.
Recent updates include;
- Rockshox Pike 454 U-Turn (from leaky Manitou Nixon Super)
- Hope ProII/DT 4.2d (Chris King bling/DT 4.1d)
- Maxle (from std quick release)
- Easton EA70 2" alloy risers, 27" (Maxm 1" carbon risers, 24")
- Thomson Elite 90mm x 15 degree rise (100mm, 5 degree)
- Spacers (shuffled)
- Yeti Hardcore grips (slimmer Yeti Speed Grips)
Why ?
- The Pike has a slightly shorter axle-crown length than the Nixon and I didn't want the front end to be any lower
- A quick test ride of Uphilla's rig highlighted just how XC orientated mine was and opened my eyes to just how different the same rig can feel
- A switch of riding style from XC to "trail", "all mountain" (or whatever you want to call it)
- Rag's continued jabberin' about "balance"
- Chipmunk's preferred ride position had me re-evaluate mine
- A re-occurence of sore lower back and too much time off the bike to ponder such alterations :p
- As I'm on the cusp between a medium and large frameset, opting for the compact and nimbler size meant I've always had a long post showing - low bars only served to emphasize this
All these "thoughts" contributed in some portion to my gray cells wondering if I didn't ought to raise my controls. The pic's attempt to highlight the differences although I couldn't find an older, low slung profile shot but the work stand snap goes someway to show just how low the bar used to be. The new bar position was a best guess after comparing the old/new components;
After a successful Woburn test I need to lower the bars a tad but overall the higher cockpit appears to be a winner. For instance;
- DH's are now feel much more stable (a given)
- Up hill control doesn't appear to be greatly affected (quite a surprise). Although no steep, rough off road sections have been tackled yet
- The higher/wider riser;
- imparts a greater degree of control amongst the twisty's
- a greater lean angle in the open fast turns
- rearward bias seems work the rear shock better
- opens up the chest, improving breathing
- has loads-a-room for trip 'puters, GPS, lights, cup holders ;)
- alloy bar looks much cleaner than the chipped lacquered bar it replaced
- I presume the shorter stem has also affected the steering affects of the wider bar (just don't ask me how :lol)
To be impartial I guess I'd have to balance the +ive's with a few -ive's and say that;
- Sneaking between trees take a little more focus, I've clouted one already (Cannock should be fun - :O)
- At one point, I founder the lighter front end wandered/step out more than usual during a tight, steep climb - but the Pike's U-Turn feature should be able to counter that
I still reckon some fine tuning is necessary as the bars might be a little too high. But then I may just need to get more familiar with the setup. I'll experiment after a couple of rides over a variety of terrain.
Just out of interest peeps, what is your bar/saddle height relationship ? Grab a tape and we'll see what the typical differences are, I'll start the tapes rolling;
- Floor to Grip center; 41.5"
- Floor to Saddle top; 40.5"
With around 6wks left to our big
Afan wkend, I figured it was time to get down to some serious spannerin' and fettle/overhaul my ride. As the chain was also getting past it's
best, now seemed like a logical time to replace my entire drivetrain. Changing the gear now
should also mean that I'll have some time to iron out any glitches and bed-in all the new bits.
So my ride time last wkend wasn't spent steamin' out on the trails :( but skimmin' flesh off me'knuckles within the cool garage.
Drivetrain replacement's;
were 100% like for like, but not thru the lack of trying ;)- Chainrings (XT) - to overcome my dreaded Cannock induced, wet weather, granny ring climb chain suck. Although it's only a matter of time before it occur elsehwere and in all weathers.
- Cassette (XT) - I did try and order a SRAM X0 (PG_990) cassette which unfortuntely wasn't in stock and I didn't like the number of loose rings on the X9 (PG-980) I received. With their tendancy to chew up alloy freehub carriers.
- Chain (PG-971) - cleaned and then lubed with Chad's recommendation; T9 Boeshield. Hopefully it's better than Finish Line XC which washes off far too easily for my liking.
- Rear Mech (X9) - after checking that the hanger was straight.
- Shifters (X9) - I'd hoped that Chad might have some early 2007 units available, but alas no :rolleyes
- Cables - Jagwire sealed jobbies replaced with a dose Teflon lube added for good measure.
Service items;
- RP3 - I typically clean and regrease the air can every 6 months and this was the first time that I've ever had a grubby'un.
- Freewheel (Chris King) - now using lighter/approved Teflon lube (Tri-Flow), which'll hopefully prevent drag experienced whilst back pedalling with subsequent cassette/chain de-railment.
A test ride had the drive train quieten down after a few miles with the shifters feeling slightly faster and defo lighter with new Teflon lined cables. I'm defo getting the hang of setting up this SRAM gear too, 'cos the cable tension didn't even need a tweak. A quick post ride check highlighted that the rear hub needed a little more pre-load, which was easily nipped up.
Tyres; Pleased with the results thus far, I was spurred on to change my
summer-esque Racing Ralphs boots for my
all mountain Bonty ACX's. But with a twist..:huh...this time I was going to ditch the tubes and go tubeless for the 1st time. So I set about;
- removing the RRalphs - easy, 'cos they're not tubeless
- stripping off the old rim tape
Cracking open a DT conversion kit then required the fitting of;
- double sided tape - fiddly and time consuming
- rim strip - a right wrestin' match with the elastic and rim parting company many times !
- Bonty ACX - down right painful ! - these are absolute buggers to get onto my DT 4.1 rims and not a job I'd been looking forward to.
Seating the bead and pumping up the tyre with a track pump revealed a flaw in my approach...I should have used a new tyre ! This used boot appeared to have it's fair share of cuts and holes that now needed patching. So off the blighter came so that I could apply some tubeless patches. However, once into the Hutchinson repair kit it became clear that only 1-4mm holes needed patches and that some adhesive would suffice on my "bleeders" ! :x So, wrestle the tyre back on I did...eventually and with aching knuckles !
Adding 60ml of Bonty Super Juice was a simple task thru the clever removeable presta valve - which has gotta be easier than leaving a section of the tyre unhooked, as per many DIY kits. Adding 40psi revealed that the adhesive had silenced many of the leaks (phew) and the juice seemed to be taking care of the rest. A few slow turns of the wheel, at different angles, meant checking it again in the morning...where it had lost lots of air ! According to the instructions, this isn't unusual and I'll report back with an update shortly.
Oh gawd, I've still got the rear wheel to convert ! :o I'm not sure that my pinky's can take much more and my tyre levers are also looking "tired" ;-)
As many a Blog has been created that review all thangs MTB, I thought it'd be handy to have a central area where they can all be found, incl'g a handy link on the sidebar. So Blog away Posse and review kit to your hearts content...
Bikes :Components :
Bars :
- FSA XC190 - riser, alloy
- Maxm MX-1 - flat, carbon
- Maxm MX-5 - riser, carbon
Brakes :
- Formula Oro
- Hope C2 - 2 pot, closed
- Hope Mini
- Hope Mono M4 - 4 pot, open
- Magura Louise BAT's, VentiRotors '07
- Shimano Dual Control '05
- Shimano Saint
Cables :
Cassettes :
- Shimano XT
- SRAM PG-990
- SunRace MZ
Cranksets :
Derailleurs : - Shimano XTR (fd)
- SRAM X-Gen (fd)
- Shimano XTR (rd)
- SRAM X0 (rd)
- SRAM X9 (rd)
- SRAM x9 Jockey Wheels '05
Forks :
Grips :
- Enduro Fork Seals Silicone
- Yeti Hardcore
Groupsets :
Pedals : Saddles :
- Fizik Gobi '05
- Koobi
- Specialized BG2
- Specialized Jett - women's
- WTB Shadow
Seatclamps :
Seatposts :
Shifters :
Shoxs :
Skewers :
Stems :
Tyres :
- Bontrager ACX '05 "Tubeless"
- Hutchinson Bulldog
- Hutchinson Spider UST
- Panaracer Cinder
- Panaracer XC Fire
- Schwalbe Nobby Nic's
- Schwalbe Racing Ralph '05
Wheelsets : Accessories :
Armour :
Helmets :
Hydration Packs :
Jackets :
Lights : Locks :
GPS :
Mudguards :
Pumps :
Shoes :
Miscellaneous : Review Websites :I find that the Blogger Archive drop-down is useless unless you know "when" stuff was Blog'd. So with a little help, I'm sure that the links to any new reviews will mysteriously find there way into this handy reference blog. Eventually...
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