Saturday, August 27, 2011

Current DH setup

Just returned from a DH session in Germany, and had the opportunity to test my new setup. Even tho the changes are subtle, they are critical. Well, instead of spilling more words, lets get to it, first a pic of the entire setup shot on the Bikepark parking lot:
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About damn time I install a direct mount stem. The 70mm stem before worked "ok", but this will work way better. The stem is a Blackspire, with adjustable length (42-47mm) and a 30 deg rise. Note the integrated topcap. Its from Point One Racing, cool little thing.
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I had some problems with my former I-beam seatpost and saddle, well the seat got destroyed on the last Bikepark trip ("Tour of Destruction" as I like to refer to it) Anyway, slapped on a Thomson seatpost and a Selle Italia Shiver saddle (Corratec edition). Simple, and more reliable.
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Im back on the Point One Racing Podium Pedals. Even tho I gave them a hard time in my review, they are still the best pedals I have ever been on. Superb grip (with the longer pins), lightweight, and thin as hell. This version is from a newer batch, so lets hope the durability has been improved.
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Weight is pretty much the same, it dropped a tiny bit to about 15.9 kg. Thats 34.9 lbs.
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Thoughts: After alot of riding I can conclude a few things. First up the shorter stem works great. Bike is more maneuverable and I like how its positioned me a bit further back. Secondly the Point One Pedals are a blessing after those piece of shit pedals from SuperStar Components, that definitely didn't go well with DH.I would also like to comment the RockShox BOXXER R2C2 fork. I'm still in awe of how amazing it works, it just EATS the trail. Just wow! I also found myself adjusting the Vivid coil to its medium compression setting, and it works better than full open. Softer is not always better.

Btw a small video of some riding is coming up. Stay tuned.

9 comments:

  1. Awesome setup you've got there, I bet it rides like a dream. I can't wait to see the video you've got coming up!

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  2. Thank you very much, yes it rides very well. The angles are just right if you are into a playfull DH bike. Im hoping to review the frame sometime soon.

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  3. Nice bike man! I just got a new bike yesterday (Specialized SX Trail 2). Stepping up from AM bike tothe suspension is not as adjustable as your ride, but I got too good of a deal to pass up. How come you don't have your KS 900 dropper post on? I was wondering on the freeride, needed something with more travel. Unfortunately reliability of it? Hopefully its not broken! Also, I see you only have one chain ring up front. Is it a 28T? Isn't it hard riding uphill? I have a recommendation for you. Have you heard of Cane Creek Angleset headset? You can adjust the angle on this headset + or - 1.5 degrees. So if you have 66 degree head angle for example, you can make it 67.5 for climbing and 64.5 for downhill. I can't wait to get it and it looks like you have a 1.5" headtube so it should work. Anyways, keep on riding! Matej

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  4. Sorry, don't know what happened. The comment should read like this. Nice bike man! I just got a new bike yesterday (Specialized SX Trail 2). Stepping up from AM bike to the freeride bike, needed something with more travel. Unfortunately the suspension is not as adjustable as your ride, but I got too good of a deal to pass up. How come you don't have your KS 900 dropper post on? I was wondering on the reliability of it? Hopefully its not broken! Also, I see you only have one chain ring up front. Is it a 28T? Isn't it hard riding uphill? I have a recommendation for you. Have you heard of Cane Creek Angleset headset? You can adjust the angle on this headset + or - 1.5 degrees. So if you have 66 degree head angle for example, you can make it 67.5 for climbing and 64.5 for downhill. I can't wait to get it and it looks like you have a 1.5" headtube so it should work. Anyways, keep on riding! Matej

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  5. Hi there Matej, thanks for the props on the bike. And congrats on the SX trail, its a great bike!

    I do use my KS 900 post, just not for the DH setup, as I don't use it at all when I ride DH/park, so I take it off to spare it for the impacts. When switching to the AM setup, the KS 900 gets put on again. The reliability of the KS is great, check out my review here on my blog.

    I have a single 32t up front. It was hard to ride this setup on my AM spots at first, but I don't have any problems anymore as my technique adapted to it. It improves your strength as well : )

    Initially I was thinking about getting a CaneCreek, but decided against it once I actually got on the bike. The bike sits at around 65.5 deg with a 160mm fork, and slackens out to about 64 deg with a BOXXER due to the longer axle-to-crown. It works great this way, and bike still climbs VERY good with the 160mm fork, and just rips when pointed down.

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  6. Good idea to take the dropper post out for the DH. I'm going to do that too, since I got 2 saddles, it'll take a second. I'm thinking about replacing my Joplin post with the KS. Any chance you can cut it down, cause 385 mm is too long, but would love to have 125 mm adjustment instead of 75 mm.

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  7. The KS is build in a way so that it cannot be cut down im afraid.

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  8. I was curious to hear your thoughts on the point one podium pedals for all mountain rides. I love so many things about these pedals, but they just flat out feel slower to me when lots of pedaling is involved compared to my Kona Wah Wahs. I don't know if its the bearing set up or the fact that my shoe will rest a bit on the actual spindle, but I'm just wondering if its my imagination or if someone else feels this way. Also I have had issues with play developing which is followed by an annoying clacking noise.

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  9. Hi there

    Keep an eye on that play, it might develop into the problem finally I got : /

    My Podium's feel great in pedally sections, do you have the longer pins?

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