Before...
AFTER!!!
So I was lucky enough to secure a SWEET full suspension 29er this past week, and received delivery of it this morning. (If you read my post from yesterday you'd already know about my mini-saga concerning the United States Postal Service)
Anyway, got the frame unpacked and went to work building her up. Ran into some issues regarding the cable and brake hose routing and had to get my professional mechanic buddy Nelson to give me a hand, but in the end everything works! I still have to order a longer brake hose for the rear brake as the one I used from my Paragon hard tail is just a bit too short. It works, and is completely ridable, but doesn't follow the frame's routing guides like it should. With some luck I should have a new hose by the end of next week.
Anyway, got the frame unpacked and went to work building her up. Ran into some issues regarding the cable and brake hose routing and had to get my professional mechanic buddy Nelson to give me a hand, but in the end everything works! I still have to order a longer brake hose for the rear brake as the one I used from my Paragon hard tail is just a bit too short. It works, and is completely ridable, but doesn't follow the frame's routing guides like it should. With some luck I should have a new hose by the end of next week.
So about the bike. I'm not going to go into componentry too much (sarcasm!), but I'm running a Shimano XT hallowtech Crank, Shimano SLX direct mount FD, Sram X9 RD, Bontrager Race Lite wheels (it'll have Bonty Race X Lite race wheels), Bontrager carbon bars, and Bontrager Race X Lite carbon seatpost. I have a Fizik Tundra saddle on it now, but I'm probably going to swap it out for my Selle Italia SLR carbon saddle w/ ti rails (love the hell out of that saddle!-got it for 20 bucks!). Otherwise, it's got ESI grips, Shimano XTR pedals and Avid Elixer brakes. I think that's about it... :) Oh, and Fox will be providing the suspension, front and rear!
I might make some more component changes as things move along (and money moves in-hopefully!), but for now that's it. The only change I'll make to race is the wheels. I haven't weighed it yet, but I'm assuming it's not that much heavy. Surely it's gonna be heavier than my Superfly, but I really don't think I'll be worried about weight when I'm cruising over rocks and roots without getting all banged up!
From what I can gather, the suspension is really firm. I just pedaled up and down the street, and haven't done a proper ride yet, but it seems a lot less "squishy" than I though it would. This, of course, might change when I take it out on the trails tomorrow, but so far so good!
Oh, and I almost forgot, I'm wrapping my Bontrager wheels with Schwalbe Rocket Ron's containing Stan's Tire Jizz (thanks Lucho!:) ). I run my tires fairly low (27lbs in the rear, 21lbs in the front), and these tires roll faaast! They're super grippy, but still have little rolling resistance. They don't have a ton of puncture protection though, and they wear out faster than an Usher song at the prom, but it's hard to deny how awesome a tire they are.
I'll have more of a review after I ride tomorrow, but I'm so excited to finallly have a full suspension bike! I guess this means I'll actually need to move to a place where I really need a full suspension bike:).
I might make some more component changes as things move along (and money moves in-hopefully!), but for now that's it. The only change I'll make to race is the wheels. I haven't weighed it yet, but I'm assuming it's not that much heavy. Surely it's gonna be heavier than my Superfly, but I really don't think I'll be worried about weight when I'm cruising over rocks and roots without getting all banged up!
From what I can gather, the suspension is really firm. I just pedaled up and down the street, and haven't done a proper ride yet, but it seems a lot less "squishy" than I though it would. This, of course, might change when I take it out on the trails tomorrow, but so far so good!
Oh, and I almost forgot, I'm wrapping my Bontrager wheels with Schwalbe Rocket Ron's containing Stan's Tire Jizz (thanks Lucho!:) ). I run my tires fairly low (27lbs in the rear, 21lbs in the front), and these tires roll faaast! They're super grippy, but still have little rolling resistance. They don't have a ton of puncture protection though, and they wear out faster than an Usher song at the prom, but it's hard to deny how awesome a tire they are.
I'll have more of a review after I ride tomorrow, but I'm so excited to finallly have a full suspension bike! I guess this means I'll actually need to move to a place where I really need a full suspension bike:).
Awesome... thanks for the bike porn fix! No 2X10 drive train?
ReplyDeleteHaha, no worries! The 2X10 is my next upgrade. Right now it's 3X10. I considered buying an SRAM X9 double crank, but when I looked at the weight of the X9 compared to what I already have (the XT), my existing crank is lighter. I'm gonna hunt around and see if I can get a SRAM XX on the cheap. I found an FSA double on Ebay for a reasonable price, but I've never had all that much luck with FSA.
ReplyDeleteI've never really ridden the 2x10, but heard good things about it. I do find that the 3x10 has some repeat gears (which I've heard the 2x10 eliminates), and some that I don't even use, but it is nice to have such a wide range to choose from.