I took my FM1002 out to a large lift service bike park for 6 hours of solid riding. Did a little less than 15000ft (~4.5 km) of vertical/elevation. It was my first time at a life service bike park and it was absolutely amazing.
The frame felt perfectly at home on both the flowy and technical downhill trails. I did end up making quite a few adjustments over the day and I got a really good feel for the bike. Halfway through the day, all the adjustments left me with a completely dialed bike. My own skill was the only limiting factor.
Got lots of compliments on the frame as well, which is always nice.
If I could build it again:
- I wish I had 35mm carbon bars instead of 31.8mm bars. My bars would flex a lot, way before my fork would flex. Glad I didn't get alloy bars. I keep hearing good things about OneUp bars.
- I do see how a 38mm stanchion fork would feel stiffer and more planted on the downhill but, the 170mm Lyrik Ultimate still plows over anything and performs extremely well. People with the 38 forks seems to have a more plush experience
- I also need bigger grips, the PNW grips are too skimpy.
- I wish I had clipless platform pedals, like the Crankbrothers Mallet E
- The DPX2 Rear shock is great, but I am curious if a Cane Creek DBAir CS would have better small bump compliance
On the negative side,
- The paint isn't holding up nearly as wells as my FM936's paint. It looks like the grey primer and orange color paint didn't fuse very well. Some spots are better than others. In the end, painting is highly skill dependent and I shouldn't expect more the for the price.
