Background: I've been riding nothing but 29ers for the last 3 years or so to include a Ti Racer X and a Salsa El Mariachi. The Racer X gets all the trail use, the Salsa sees daily commuting, (very) occasional trail and some dirt roads. While I love the RX for all day rides it just isn't designed to let it all hang out. I was looking for something to bomb around on those 2 hour type rides, jump the log piles instead of roll them and just add a little fun back in the mix that I've been missing since moving from 26". For me, 26" bikes just jump and pop off obstacles so much better.
Enter the WFO. I don't know that I need that much travel (5.5") but I was after some slacker angles and that fun feeling bike I'd been missing. After one good ride on the local trails, I think I've found what I've been missing. Build is as follows:
Large WFO, 135mm rear with RP23
Marzocchi 44 Micro Ti
I9 Classic hubs on ZTR Flows with DT Supercomps and DT RWS 10mm for the rear
Currently running some 2.35 Rampages
XO shifty bits and rear derailleur
XT cranks and front derailleur
Gamut bashguard
Hope Tech X2 brakes 183f/160r
Beat but trusty Time Control Z pedals with ti kit installed
Salsa 11 deg bar with ESI grips
Thomson X4 stem, 90x0
WTB Rocket V and Thomson Masterpiece post borrowed from the Racer X
Building it up, there were a couple little things of note. I really like the cable routing which seems minor but I usually have something to complain about there, like for most frame designers it's an afterthought. Had a hell of a time getting the RP23 in to the lower mount. It's a weldment of course and with a little coercion, it fit. A minor nit, the Park BB tool doesn't fully engage to tighten the cups because of the linkage hardware getting in the way. A more major nit is with the direct mount front derailleur. Not sure if it's the derailleur or the location of the mount but on full compression the lower part of the cage hits the swingarm and the y-brace of the rear swing arm contacts the mounting point. I'll talk to Niner and see what they say. I don't see it doing any real damage and paint chipping is not an issue as I went for the milk dud anodize finish.
Got out for today's ride not really sure what to expect. First things first, this is a friggin bike bike. I'm 6'3", 180-185lbs ready to ride by the way. I took a best guess on the suspension setup with 160psi in the RP23 and about 40psi in the fork. These trails start with a dirt road climb to a tight, switchbacked single track climb. Going up felt pretty good considering this thing is probably 6 pounds heavier than my RX. The two tightest switchbacks were no problem but the damp leaves and roots were a bit tricky, more on this later.
On to the rest of the singletrack and a shot at some logs with speed. Popped over all of them like the 26" days, still slipping around a lot on the damp ground after a quick tire pressure adjustment but having a good time. We continue on, I'm not really feeling held back by the WFO on the flats, a little slower on the climbs but jumping and popping off obstacles, hitting the g-outs and railing most corners (tires again). In general, having a great time with only a little suffering which was either the bike or the crazy steep hike with the dog this morning. Finished up the ride having hit all the technical stuff successfully, cruising on the downhills and staying near the front on the flats and twisty stuff.
Going over the ride at the end I realized that everything worked together well. I'll need to dial the suspension a bit more, possibly still a bit soft f&r. The soft setup I believe contributed to some excessive pedal strikes. The Hope brakes felt amazing. Some issues with the seatpost slipping but I'm not going to worry about it until I try the Crankbrothers Joplin I have yet to order. Last but not least, the Panaracer Rampages suck for damp northeast riding, period. Since that's 95% of my riding, they'll have to go. Wheels, tires and tweaking them for conditions is what I do and there is no way these things are going to cut it. Have to see about some Ardents or something similar.
Everybody likes pictures so here you go:
Hydro formed downtube makes a good fender
Yep, it's a large in milk dud ano
Little wet/damp/muddy today
Enter the WFO. I don't know that I need that much travel (5.5") but I was after some slacker angles and that fun feeling bike I'd been missing. After one good ride on the local trails, I think I've found what I've been missing. Build is as follows:
Large WFO, 135mm rear with RP23
Marzocchi 44 Micro Ti
I9 Classic hubs on ZTR Flows with DT Supercomps and DT RWS 10mm for the rear
Currently running some 2.35 Rampages
XO shifty bits and rear derailleur
XT cranks and front derailleur
Gamut bashguard
Hope Tech X2 brakes 183f/160r
Beat but trusty Time Control Z pedals with ti kit installed
Salsa 11 deg bar with ESI grips
Thomson X4 stem, 90x0
WTB Rocket V and Thomson Masterpiece post borrowed from the Racer X
Building it up, there were a couple little things of note. I really like the cable routing which seems minor but I usually have something to complain about there, like for most frame designers it's an afterthought. Had a hell of a time getting the RP23 in to the lower mount. It's a weldment of course and with a little coercion, it fit. A minor nit, the Park BB tool doesn't fully engage to tighten the cups because of the linkage hardware getting in the way. A more major nit is with the direct mount front derailleur. Not sure if it's the derailleur or the location of the mount but on full compression the lower part of the cage hits the swingarm and the y-brace of the rear swing arm contacts the mounting point. I'll talk to Niner and see what they say. I don't see it doing any real damage and paint chipping is not an issue as I went for the milk dud anodize finish.
Got out for today's ride not really sure what to expect. First things first, this is a friggin bike bike. I'm 6'3", 180-185lbs ready to ride by the way. I took a best guess on the suspension setup with 160psi in the RP23 and about 40psi in the fork. These trails start with a dirt road climb to a tight, switchbacked single track climb. Going up felt pretty good considering this thing is probably 6 pounds heavier than my RX. The two tightest switchbacks were no problem but the damp leaves and roots were a bit tricky, more on this later.
On to the rest of the singletrack and a shot at some logs with speed. Popped over all of them like the 26" days, still slipping around a lot on the damp ground after a quick tire pressure adjustment but having a good time. We continue on, I'm not really feeling held back by the WFO on the flats, a little slower on the climbs but jumping and popping off obstacles, hitting the g-outs and railing most corners (tires again). In general, having a great time with only a little suffering which was either the bike or the crazy steep hike with the dog this morning. Finished up the ride having hit all the technical stuff successfully, cruising on the downhills and staying near the front on the flats and twisty stuff.
Going over the ride at the end I realized that everything worked together well. I'll need to dial the suspension a bit more, possibly still a bit soft f&r. The soft setup I believe contributed to some excessive pedal strikes. The Hope brakes felt amazing. Some issues with the seatpost slipping but I'm not going to worry about it until I try the Crankbrothers Joplin I have yet to order. Last but not least, the Panaracer Rampages suck for damp northeast riding, period. Since that's 95% of my riding, they'll have to go. Wheels, tires and tweaking them for conditions is what I do and there is no way these things are going to cut it. Have to see about some Ardents or something similar.
Everybody likes pictures so here you go:
Hydro formed downtube makes a good fender
Yep, it's a large in milk dud ano
Little wet/damp/muddy today
