Absolute air pressure drops about 4.6 psi from sea level to 10,000 feet, so if your tires were at 20 psi gauge pressure they might measure close to 25.  This would definitely affect the feel, but why wouldn't you air up the tires right before you ride?

I'm not convinced it would have any effect on the fork, since the force on the fork depends more on the absolute pressure inside the air chamber as you're compressing it.  It may sag a little bit less, giving you an extra mm or 2 of travel, but I don't know if it would be noticeable. 

I'd also suggest sticking with 160 mm rotors.  I weigh 205 pounds (maybe less after sweating it out today), and have XT brakes with 160 mm ice tech rotors front and rear.  I think I would endo or lose traction before I reach the limit of the front brake.

160 mm rotors will also fit easier- you'll definitely need an adapter for the rear, maybe for the front too depending on your fork.  Weight will be about the same, or at least not enough for you to notice a difference.

Mine is 70 mm or 2.76", so I'd say your memory is pretty good.




or mine is bad too.

Regarding the geometry issue with the head tube.... yes it is indeed just all about handlebar height.  The XL of this frame locks you into a rather large stack height number.  I can some what work around this and can run a negative rise stem if I have to.  This frame was very touch and go for me because it's a tick or three off my ideal bike fit numbers. 

The chainstay length issue is just that, the chainstays are about .25" to .3" bigger then they really need to be for this size bike.  This all boils down to this being a design that supports front derailleurs.  If you ask me, they should have foregone that option and reduced the chainstay length to hit the new generation of drive train and bike geometry standards.

Yeah, I think it just comes down to when the frame was designed (or reverse engineered .  The -057 has been available since 2013, so the design is probably approaching 5 years old.  If they were designing the frame today I'd also suggest wider chainstays for plus tires.

Has your frame shipped yet?  If not, call Peter (I'm assuming you're getting this from him based on the CS- designation) and order the Neco headset.  Did he not offet it with the frame?

What are the "glaring' issues with the headtube length and chainstay length?  Can you not get your bars low enough?

...this could either come back to bite me with some of the steeper trails around here or I just need to harden up a bit.

Well the obvious answer is...







Nice looking ride.  I have my front brake line on the outside too- seems more people like it on the inside, but I haven't snagged anything or damaged the line.  The clips on my SID seem to naturally route it to the outside, and it sits pretty tight to the fork.   

Do you plan to leave the rear brake line outside the frame?     edit- I see your dropper post line is using the internal route.  Can you run this through the front derailler route?

Enter.


I can put together a video review to double my chances.  Surely by now, everyone has forgotten that I won the rims 2 years ago...

I've come to the conclusion that the 2.8" tire on a 34 mm inside width rim is just too wide for the -057.  I had been switching back and forth with the 29er wheels, but was using the 29er wheels more due to concern about damaging the chainstays. At best I had less than 1 mm clearance on each side of the WTB 2.8 tire, and in many spots it was closer to 0.5 mm clearance.  I bought a dial indicator to put on my truing stand and got the rim to within 0.25 mm, but this combined with runout on the tire is just too much.  The tire rubbed through the paint on one side, but the black underneath is perfectly smooth.  I already got a couple of weep holes on the sidewalls, so hopefully the tire will wear out before the frame .

For anyone considering plus tires on an -057, get a narrower rim in the back.  I don't know how narrow you'll have to go- maybe 25 mm inside width?  Not sure if I will try to rebuild the wheel or what- anyone know what the biggest 'normal' 27.5 tire is? Or is there a new plus tire that really isn't?

I still like the feel of plus tires, and for anyone starting from scratch you should certainly consider plus.  With that said, I don't know if I would do it again.  Maybe if more in-between tires come out a 34 mm inside width rim will be perfect, but today it just doesn't fit.     

While I can tell a difference in the softness of the ride, I think that any improvements in speed were due to improving my skill- I never really ride 'on the edge'.  I don't care about having the fastest time, but with the plus tires it was absolutely easier for me to lean into turns and get a feel for how hard you could push it.  This has improved my riding on the 29er wheels, such that I feel smoother and can carry more speed through the turns. 

I'll continue to ride them, but will have to true them on the bike before every ride, and will not trust them on any long distance rides.