45 minutes for a careful and detailed build. Brake calipers have a little rub, the caliper needs a little centering. I'll will be checking and torquing bolts tomorrow. Shifting was spot on. I'll probably spend another two hours cutting cables, bleeding the brakes and converting to tubeless, a month or two down the road, specially the seatpost hose which is absurdly long and bent to a U right at the bottom bracket. I'd say the condition of the bike as it came out of the package, 10/10, build effort beginner level, and bike quality SUPERB. Can't wait to ride it. I'm 5'6" and I bought a small. The seatpost almost didnt fit. I only have 5 mm of post under the top cap showing. If youre shorter, you may have issues with the 150mm dropper. [video=vimeo;121207557]https://vimeo.com/121207557[/video]
Coolio Bingo! I hope the videos of you riding it are a bit more exciting than the build. LOL Congrats!
Haha, I know right. I'm trying to be the Disneycollector of bike unboxing. That chick makes millions opening boxes on video. http://fusion.net/story/38924/the-h...-million-just-by-opening-disney-toy-packages/ [video=youtube;hVpKBHAsbPo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVpKBHAsbPo[/video]
Oh, crap. The Stealth Reverb dropper seatpost is knocking. Wrote YT and waiting on reply. But by the looks of my documentation, it going to Rockshox. Ugh. I'd fix it if I could, but from the looks of it, it sounds and feels like a bad bushing or bushings. Oh well, riding vintage bikes until this gets sorted out.
Just did my first ride, sans the dropper, which went back due to a defect. Main points noticed. It's a good climber. I sometimes use a 22 pound carbon Spec Epic Marathon 29er, that's an excellent climber. This one is a good climber. On arduous fire roads climbs, it's ok. The 160mm legs don't hold it back at all compared to my 150mm Trek Remedy. The 65.2 degree head angle didn't wander at all on the climbs. This was a big surprise. I tested it on one particularly steep climb that I use the granny on on West Ridge single track, no issue. Didn't spin out. Although there is no weight advantage to the bike vs. the old alu rider, it does take off from jumps incredibly well. I was getting air even without trying. I rolled down a couple of short rocky sections and it did well. The Pike fork is not a whole lot better than my old Bomber 55 RC3 ti. They're about equal, which is a good thing. I did appreciate the three modes on the Pike, the pedal setting helps. I'm glad I have it. Where the YT Capra excelled and makes it a win for me is that it corners like its on rails. My old bike, which was raked out with a 10mm longer fork and -1.5 degree angle set resulting into a 46 inch wheelbase, had a tendency to push to the outside of corners at speed. Be it flat fire road or single track, anywhere over 15mph, I'm always praying "cmon, cmon, get in there". The Debonair shock was excellent. I set it at home, and never touched it again. It's fire and forget, I like. It does weep quite a bit of oil. Thats cool, as long as it doesnt need constant service. The SRAM Guide brakes were plasticky, but excellent. SRAM X9 group, plasticky but worked great. If I were to nit pick, I'd say the biggest negative is the sound the carbon frame makes on fire roads climbs. First I thought the gears were breaking in. But it wasn't. The frame, as is climbs gravelly roads, makes a sound similar to sand grit on your teeth when your grinding them as you hear it with your inner ear. Weird. Oh, and the e.thirteen TRS+ wheels buzzed like a bumblebee on EPO and cortisone during descents. Hikers were looking back at me from 50 yards away. It was kinda annoying.
I like this blurb. "The V4L linkage design was born at YT, and designed by Stefan Willard, an engineer with many endeavours on his resume including designing Mercedes AMG chassis; a man who cares about mountain bikes nearly as much as air."
"This is Stefan. His name is Stefan. Harden the F Up Stefan!" (Chopper) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unkIVvjZc9Y (0:55) Nice bike Bing! Not sure how many different bikes you've had since we last rode together. I hope this one works out well - it's cool looking.
Believe it or not, I've only had one trail bike since we last rode together. I had the Trek Remedy since 2011. I have had a bunch of other bikes, like 2 dh rigs, and maybe 3-4 vintage bikes, but none of those were for regular trail riding. I am a bike prude in a world of bike hos Edit: Just came from my second ride. Still fiddling with the fork. The shock feels all set, and I already started ripping on some berms and jumps. Oh boy! What a bike! Cornering is so sharp. I lost the front end on a loose gravel corner and the recovery was easy. Wow. Log and dirt jumps, woot woot! I've been ridding it with the fork and shock in pedal mode and finally opened all of it up for a twisty and tech segment. I landed a 2 footer to flat and the Goat feels like a dh bike on landing. Sooooo plush. Did a triple set of jumps in fast succession and it was AWESOME! Felt like a bike park. So smooth. The Pike feels like it has to break in some more, and I hope it only gets better. Setting sag is useless as it will settle randomly between 15-25%. I put 10 psi below recommended for my weight, 1 click of LSC and it feels great. Am using 90-95% of travel already. Thinking of putting in a bottomless token, but hesitant coz it already feels good. Maybe if I actually bottom the fork