Ok so I figured it's time for an update. This bike has seen quite a bit of adjustments since it first saw dirt. I actually ended up crashing on it on my second ride and breaking two ribs, so that was great. It was a rough start to our relationship but we're rebuilding trust and things are starting to get freaky now.
At any rate the goods:
Overall impressions of the bike and the ride are impressively positive. I went into this not expecting much just to not get my hopes up. I've come away really enjoying riding this bike. I initially built it for racing and pure long mileage xc rides and it's taken a bit of a turn for a more trail build. It turns out my riding style (which results from the brutal socal terrain) is a bit on the aggressive side and it's necessitated some changes to the initial setup I had.
I basically have the bike setup for two distinct modes. To swap back and forth between every day grab and go trail bike to XC bike mode I swap out a few parts; Dropper post for Carbon, Tires swapped to racing ralphs and if I feel like it, fork dropped to 100mm. That drops the weight from 25lbs dead nuts to 23lbs.
Changes I made from the initial build:
-Handlebars - 620mm "Raceface" Riser bar
swapped for 780mm flat nashbar carbon handlebar
I literally broke the knock off Raceface next riser bar in my garage before ever riding on the trails. It turned out to not be a big deal because I need a flat bar with this frame anyway. These nashbar handlebars are a bit stiffer then they need to be but they were insanely cheap and they keep it light.
-Seatpost - Nashbar Carbon Seatpost
swapped for KS 900r Non Remote seatpost
I like to ride steep, chunky, technical socal single track. I tried doing average trail riding in gut punch high post mode and I nearly died. I chose to use a seatpost without a remote so I could easily swap back the carbon post with carbon seat back on for race weekends. It's slightly annoying but it works with the theme of this bike as my beater low maintenance xc bike.
-Fork - RS Recon extended to 120mm and Revalation RCT3 internals installed
I'm still on the fence about the 120mm fork. I like what it has done to the handling overall and riding position on steep stuff. It has however contributed to a slight bit of lumberiness (yes that's right, i made that word up) to the front end. Leaning the bike over still feels exaggerated and lumbery and it has a smidge of sit up and beg feeling to the bar height. I'm going to ride the bike like this for a few months and drop it back to 100mm for racing season.
What I'm most definitely not on the fence about is the upgrades I made to this Recon. I added the RS Revalation RCT3 Compression and Rebound dampers. I also added the rev air spring side top cap that allows the usage of tokens. Fork is superb and comes in only weighing 4lbs dead nuts after the internals swap.
-Tires - 2.4" Maxxis Ardant Front
swapped for 2.35 Maxxis Forekaster
I hated the maxxis Ardant. I do however love the air volume that the 2.4" ardant casing has. I tried out this Forekaster on a whim and I'm happy with it. The 2.35 Ikon is a great rear tire for our socal conditions so that has remained. I've got a set of Schwalbe Racing Ralphs that I throw on for XC races. These tires are definitely my daily ride tires for our dry conditions. I may try a specialized butcher/slaughter combo next.
-Derailleur - 10spd SL
swapped for 11 speed XT
I'm still running the drivetrain in 10 speed config but with a wide range cassette. No matter what I tried the 10spd SLX derailleur wouldn't come off the big ring to my liking so I swapped it for an m8000 model. Nuff said.
-Grips - ODI TLD lock ons
swapped for Ergon GE-1
I've put these on all of my bikes... I'm in love. I can't run anything else at the moment.
-Brakes - 160mm front
swapped for 180mm front
I was burning down the front rotor on 3mi + hammer fest descents. It freaked me out 1 time too many and I decided to make the switch.
Pictures... (sorry for the crappy phone camera pix)
Trail mode but fork in 100mm
