Some pics...pretty crappy, minus the ones Chad took and sent to me. few have been posted before i think.
Got in about 45 miles this weekend....nothing aggro at all but great riding to dial bike in.
Will wait to hit some technical stuff to really make judgment but I love it. On the climbs it was not so much the weight I noticed but the angles and cockpit. But thats ok...that is what I expected. Due to the long fork (even in shortest 140mm setting bike felt slack) and the short stem (50mm), climbing the REAL steep stuff was noticeable and the front wheel really wanted to wander. Part of it I am sure is because it is the first ride I have done on a FS bike in about a year so I am relearning to ride. Having said that, I made a very steep climb yesterday which made me happy cause it was the first climbing challenge on the bike and I made it. Climbing normal stuff I cranked up the climb......no problem at all. Bike climbs awesome.
The fork is friggin PSICK!!!! I was blown away by the fork. The rear did not quite keep up with the front so I still have some adjusting I think. The one thing I hate about FS bikes are all the friggin adjustment....3 air chambers on the fork alone...compression this....bottom out that.....booster...blah blah blah. I have NO FRIGGIN idea if it is even near optimal setting but it felt great so i dont say changing to be honest.
The brakes are friggin psick! On the first single track downhill I almost bailed badly cause the brakes are so friggin powerful....got used to it shortly thereafter but WOW! I love them!
Not much to compare them to cause its been so long but the tires kicked some serious asss!!! I love them and will definitley recommend them. It seems that these tires are getting excellent reviews and are the tires to beat, along with the Schwalbe Big Bettys which weigh about the same but apparently roll faster.
I love the cockpit! Yeah, as expected, I felt the short stem and it does not help on "Steep" climbs but on more normal climbs I was fine. On the downhills I would not trade it for anything. I friggin love it and will deal with the climbing disadvantage sicne i did not get the bike for climbing anyway. Playing around on the stairs at the local park it was so sweet to be able to flick the bike so easily....front end lifting is awesome with the setup so yeah, it stays for sure and I will just deal with the climbing disadvantage when it gets real steep....worth it to me.
I could not be happier.....I love the bike. The ONLY thing I would touch is to add a Blackspire Stinger chainguide, which is already ordered. The SRAM rear der works great in preventing chainslap compared to shitmano but I would still want the extra noise reduction and chain drop protection a chain guide will give me.
Will post more after I grow some balls and do something more technical.
Specs are as follows:
frame - 2006 RFX ano black, large, w/ DHX 5.0
fork - 2007 Marz 66 SL ATA
headset - King
stem - Deity
handlebar - Deity
shifters - Sram X7 twisters
Brakes - 2006 Hope M6 front w/ 8” rotor, M4 rear with 180mm 8” & steel braided lines
seatpost - Thomson
saddle - WTB Pure V SLT
crankset - Shimano Hone 2-ring with bash
Pedals - Shimano 646
Chain - Sram PC951
Cassette - Sram PG950 11-34
f.derailleur - Deore
r.derailleur - Sram X7
wheelset - DT 5.1 rims / I9 6-pawl rear hub with 10mm thru axle running Hadley 10mm x 135mm thru axle / Front 20mm
tires – Maxxis Advantage
seatpost clamp – Hope
Blackspire Stinger chainguide on order
Final weight exactly 35.7 lbs
M6 caliper. Hey, I am a good 175 lbs so what the heck
Other side of caliper
Asss shot courtesy of Chad
My inspiration from Crazy Fred from mtbr
You can see here some more Hope red bits....red reservoir caps and levers
Final Redbarn test ride photo sent to me by Chad
crappy inside garage pic
and outside garage pic
and a parting shot from Chad...thanks. it turned out exactly like I had hoped.
Got in about 45 miles this weekend....nothing aggro at all but great riding to dial bike in.
Will wait to hit some technical stuff to really make judgment but I love it. On the climbs it was not so much the weight I noticed but the angles and cockpit. But thats ok...that is what I expected. Due to the long fork (even in shortest 140mm setting bike felt slack) and the short stem (50mm), climbing the REAL steep stuff was noticeable and the front wheel really wanted to wander. Part of it I am sure is because it is the first ride I have done on a FS bike in about a year so I am relearning to ride. Having said that, I made a very steep climb yesterday which made me happy cause it was the first climbing challenge on the bike and I made it. Climbing normal stuff I cranked up the climb......no problem at all. Bike climbs awesome.
The fork is friggin PSICK!!!! I was blown away by the fork. The rear did not quite keep up with the front so I still have some adjusting I think. The one thing I hate about FS bikes are all the friggin adjustment....3 air chambers on the fork alone...compression this....bottom out that.....booster...blah blah blah. I have NO FRIGGIN idea if it is even near optimal setting but it felt great so i dont say changing to be honest.
The brakes are friggin psick! On the first single track downhill I almost bailed badly cause the brakes are so friggin powerful....got used to it shortly thereafter but WOW! I love them!
Not much to compare them to cause its been so long but the tires kicked some serious asss!!! I love them and will definitley recommend them. It seems that these tires are getting excellent reviews and are the tires to beat, along with the Schwalbe Big Bettys which weigh about the same but apparently roll faster.
I love the cockpit! Yeah, as expected, I felt the short stem and it does not help on "Steep" climbs but on more normal climbs I was fine. On the downhills I would not trade it for anything. I friggin love it and will deal with the climbing disadvantage sicne i did not get the bike for climbing anyway. Playing around on the stairs at the local park it was so sweet to be able to flick the bike so easily....front end lifting is awesome with the setup so yeah, it stays for sure and I will just deal with the climbing disadvantage when it gets real steep....worth it to me.
I could not be happier.....I love the bike. The ONLY thing I would touch is to add a Blackspire Stinger chainguide, which is already ordered. The SRAM rear der works great in preventing chainslap compared to shitmano but I would still want the extra noise reduction and chain drop protection a chain guide will give me.
Will post more after I grow some balls and do something more technical.
Specs are as follows:
frame - 2006 RFX ano black, large, w/ DHX 5.0
fork - 2007 Marz 66 SL ATA
headset - King
stem - Deity
handlebar - Deity
shifters - Sram X7 twisters
Brakes - 2006 Hope M6 front w/ 8” rotor, M4 rear with 180mm 8” & steel braided lines
seatpost - Thomson
saddle - WTB Pure V SLT
crankset - Shimano Hone 2-ring with bash
Pedals - Shimano 646
Chain - Sram PC951
Cassette - Sram PG950 11-34
f.derailleur - Deore
r.derailleur - Sram X7
wheelset - DT 5.1 rims / I9 6-pawl rear hub with 10mm thru axle running Hadley 10mm x 135mm thru axle / Front 20mm
tires – Maxxis Advantage
seatpost clamp – Hope
Blackspire Stinger chainguide on order
Final weight exactly 35.7 lbs
M6 caliper. Hey, I am a good 175 lbs so what the heck
Other side of caliper
Asss shot courtesy of Chad
My inspiration from Crazy Fred from mtbr
You can see here some more Hope red bits....red reservoir caps and levers
Final Redbarn test ride photo sent to me by Chad
crappy inside garage pic
and outside garage pic
and a parting shot from Chad...thanks. it turned out exactly like I had hoped.
