So after 11 weeks of waiting and racing the first 3 races of the season on 3 different bikes my M3 finally showed up. I'm psyched.
Ok so it's not really "superlight", but damn impressive for an 11lbs frame.
This is how my living room and bike room sat while I waited for the frame
Built
Specs:
Intense M3 medium "works" finish
Manitou Swinger 6-way w/steel 400lb spring
Boxxer WC
Sunline Direct Mount stem
Sunline V1 bars
Odi Ruffian Lock Ons
Avid Juicy Carbon brakes 8" front 6" rear
WTB LaserDisc FR wheelset
Shimano XT cassette
Sram X9 Short cage r, Derailleur
Sram X9 Shifter
Bontrager Race Xlite Pro saddle
Bontrager Race Xlite ACC seatpost (carbon with a sliver of aluminum for support)
Shimano Saint 170mm cranks
Race Face 36T DH ring
Sram PC-990 Hollowpin Chain
Welgo MG-1 pedals
Gamut guide
Michelin DH16 2.5 front tire
Michelin DH24 2.2 rear tire
Bontrager 26" standard tubes
Target weight: 40lbs, achieved weight: 38lbs
I got the bike together Wed. night and didn't have a chance to ride until this morning. This beast is a blast. I do have a little bit of concern with my setup though. The amount of sag I have is somewhat "correct" for my weight but I'm skeptical. The E2E of the shock is 240mm, when I'm on the bike in riding position the E2E is 223mm. Thats approximately 25.5% of the travel, the ideal sag is 30%, however I feel like I'm sagged too far as it is when I'm pedaling or cruising around, once I get going down the hill, I dont notice. Should I go ahead and drop it down to the full 30% sag?
I certainly feel that its not a supple as I would like. It's certainly plush on jumps and hits, but plowing rock gardens could be a bit smoother.
Any M3 owners with setup tips?
As for the weight it tips the scales at 38lbs even, however I didnt get an axle from Intense so I borrowed the stock steel axle from my Session10 which weighs in at 1.5lbs(stupid as ....). Once I get a hollow aluminum rear axle I'll be set. Next season I'll switch to the new FSA Gravity Light cranks to save about 200g, along with a Ti spring for the rear shock, road cassette, ceramic bottom bracket and possibly new tires(we'll see how the Michelins do. At 1400g they are a bit of a pig). That should save me about a pound, in addidtion to whatever I lose in the rear axle.
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I finally got some ride time on the bike. Not much, but SHEEEESH! I can't wait for the next race! You guys were correct, I was off on my weights. I've swapped out the rear axle, installed the bashring and chain/seatstay protector and the weight is now 39lbs(so says the shop scale, which has been accurate in the past).
-Kevin
Ok so it's not really "superlight", but damn impressive for an 11lbs frame.
This is how my living room and bike room sat while I waited for the frame
Built
Specs:
Intense M3 medium "works" finish
Manitou Swinger 6-way w/steel 400lb spring
Boxxer WC
Sunline Direct Mount stem
Sunline V1 bars
Odi Ruffian Lock Ons
Avid Juicy Carbon brakes 8" front 6" rear
WTB LaserDisc FR wheelset
Shimano XT cassette
Sram X9 Short cage r, Derailleur
Sram X9 Shifter
Bontrager Race Xlite Pro saddle
Bontrager Race Xlite ACC seatpost (carbon with a sliver of aluminum for support)
Shimano Saint 170mm cranks
Race Face 36T DH ring
Sram PC-990 Hollowpin Chain
Welgo MG-1 pedals
Gamut guide
Michelin DH16 2.5 front tire
Michelin DH24 2.2 rear tire
Bontrager 26" standard tubes
Target weight: 40lbs, achieved weight: 38lbs
I got the bike together Wed. night and didn't have a chance to ride until this morning. This beast is a blast. I do have a little bit of concern with my setup though. The amount of sag I have is somewhat "correct" for my weight but I'm skeptical. The E2E of the shock is 240mm, when I'm on the bike in riding position the E2E is 223mm. Thats approximately 25.5% of the travel, the ideal sag is 30%, however I feel like I'm sagged too far as it is when I'm pedaling or cruising around, once I get going down the hill, I dont notice. Should I go ahead and drop it down to the full 30% sag?
I certainly feel that its not a supple as I would like. It's certainly plush on jumps and hits, but plowing rock gardens could be a bit smoother.
Any M3 owners with setup tips?
As for the weight it tips the scales at 38lbs even, however I didnt get an axle from Intense so I borrowed the stock steel axle from my Session10 which weighs in at 1.5lbs(stupid as ....). Once I get a hollow aluminum rear axle I'll be set. Next season I'll switch to the new FSA Gravity Light cranks to save about 200g, along with a Ti spring for the rear shock, road cassette, ceramic bottom bracket and possibly new tires(we'll see how the Michelins do. At 1400g they are a bit of a pig). That should save me about a pound, in addidtion to whatever I lose in the rear axle.
--------------------------------
I finally got some ride time on the bike. Not much, but SHEEEESH! I can't wait for the next race! You guys were correct, I was off on my weights. I've swapped out the rear axle, installed the bashring and chain/seatstay protector and the weight is now 39lbs(so says the shop scale, which has been accurate in the past).
-Kevin