My friend Leisure Suit Larry...
Finally got my bike all put together and got a solid week at Northstar on it. Here's my thoughts.
The BuildThe Build
- Medium TR450 in master yellow
- DHX4 rear end.
- 500lb rear spring
- 2012 Marzocchi 888 RC3 Evo V.2 Fork
- E-Thirteen LG1 Plus Guide
- E-Thirteen Guide Ring in GREEN
- Easton Havoc 35mm direct mount stem and bar
- Straitline De Facto Platform Pedals
- Saint cranks/brakes
- An amazing velvet cheetah saddle
- Geax Neuron (f) DHEA (r) tires in UST
The Ride
Finally got the bike put together the night before we were supposed to head out to Sunrise on a Sunday morning. First threw a leg over it, and thought it was stiff with a 600# spring and two cranks of preload.
Then I rode it down the hill. It was so stiff front and rear that I really thought I made a mistake. So I cranked down the preload on the fork to a lot less, and rode it some more. Rear end was still so stiff that I was not happy.
Went home, changed out the rear spring to 500#, packed up and drove from Phoenix to Reno for a week at N*.
Figured out a few things.
1. Had the preload on the fork up too high after putting in the x-firm springs. Dialed that down.
2. 40# for tire pressure is way too high, even if you're 240#.
After messing with it some after the first day at N*, figuring out how to dial back the preload from the bottom of the 888, and messing with the rebound speed on the front and rear, I had one hell of a bike.
Riding it at N* I was worried she'd just be a high speed jumping pony. I was super wrong about this.
The bike is very, very flickable for a bike that was described as a plow bike. It also was super easy to manual the bike, then kick it down into turns or over little bumps.
Honestly, I liked it more than my 303. It is more my style.
Gripes
1. The tires.
Geax tires are sort of crap. Yes, they're cheap, but at this point they're not holding together. 8 total days of riding, maybe 40 laps on the mountain, and they're coming apart. Going to order some Maxxis bits tonight.
2. 175mm cranks.
I went too long on the cranks. Kept getting pedal and toe strikes. Going to order some new cranks on Friday when I get paid.
3. Saint 810 brakes
Stop like champs, but not a lot of modulation in the lever. Also, they require a lot of work on the part of my trigger fingers.
Overall?
I'm super happy with this build. It was in stock, it was easy to build, easy to maintain. I would highly suggest one of these to people who like to ride bikes. I ran into three other guys riding TR450's at N*, and EVERYONE had grins. Only crack we could make is "god that bike sucks" at one another. It is a killer ride, and rides like a bat out of hell.
Finally got my bike all put together and got a solid week at Northstar on it. Here's my thoughts.
The BuildThe Build
- Medium TR450 in master yellow
- DHX4 rear end.
- 500lb rear spring
- 2012 Marzocchi 888 RC3 Evo V.2 Fork
- E-Thirteen LG1 Plus Guide
- E-Thirteen Guide Ring in GREEN
- Easton Havoc 35mm direct mount stem and bar
- Straitline De Facto Platform Pedals
- Saint cranks/brakes
- An amazing velvet cheetah saddle
- Geax Neuron (f) DHEA (r) tires in UST
The Ride
Finally got the bike put together the night before we were supposed to head out to Sunrise on a Sunday morning. First threw a leg over it, and thought it was stiff with a 600# spring and two cranks of preload.
Then I rode it down the hill. It was so stiff front and rear that I really thought I made a mistake. So I cranked down the preload on the fork to a lot less, and rode it some more. Rear end was still so stiff that I was not happy.
Went home, changed out the rear spring to 500#, packed up and drove from Phoenix to Reno for a week at N*.
Figured out a few things.
1. Had the preload on the fork up too high after putting in the x-firm springs. Dialed that down.
2. 40# for tire pressure is way too high, even if you're 240#.
After messing with it some after the first day at N*, figuring out how to dial back the preload from the bottom of the 888, and messing with the rebound speed on the front and rear, I had one hell of a bike.
Riding it at N* I was worried she'd just be a high speed jumping pony. I was super wrong about this.
The bike is very, very flickable for a bike that was described as a plow bike. It also was super easy to manual the bike, then kick it down into turns or over little bumps.
Honestly, I liked it more than my 303. It is more my style.
Gripes
1. The tires.
Geax tires are sort of crap. Yes, they're cheap, but at this point they're not holding together. 8 total days of riding, maybe 40 laps on the mountain, and they're coming apart. Going to order some Maxxis bits tonight.
2. 175mm cranks.
I went too long on the cranks. Kept getting pedal and toe strikes. Going to order some new cranks on Friday when I get paid.
3. Saint 810 brakes
Stop like champs, but not a lot of modulation in the lever. Also, they require a lot of work on the part of my trigger fingers.
Overall?
I'm super happy with this build. It was in stock, it was easy to build, easy to maintain. I would highly suggest one of these to people who like to ride bikes. I ran into three other guys riding TR450's at N*, and EVERYONE had grins. Only crack we could make is "god that bike sucks" at one another. It is a killer ride, and rides like a bat out of hell.
