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First Impressions REVIEW (and the Story of SCOR)

SCOR 4060 LT NX First Impressions

Photos Deniz Merdano
Reading time

This 4060 LT has been a head-turner. Everyone asks, "what the hell is that?" The subtle branding helps it fly under the radar but the silhouette and the badging are both distinctive. It doesn't help when I say, "it's a SCOR 4060 LT," and then when I add, "it's a sub-brand of BMC," that doesn't help much either considering the Swiss brand's mountain bikes are rarely seen around here.

So what the hell is SCOR? The brand was born in the imaginations of a few BMC employees who rode steep and challenging trails and had no option but to choose bikes from other brands.* As Antoine Lyard told me; "It started as an after hours project from Mariano Schoefer. Mariano is one of our engineers and he likes to rides big bikes aggressively." Mariano began to cut up existing BMC Trail Fox frames, modify them, and then put them back together with geometry that better suited the riding this group liked to do.

*Currently BMC's 'long travel' bike is the 120 mm Fourstroke LT

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29" wheels. 170 mm travel up front and 160 in the rear. There is also a SCOR ST with 150/140 mm travel. The frame components are the same and the switch requires only a different fork and a 57.5 mm stroke shock vs. 62.5 mm. There is also a flip chip and a headset which is adjustable by removing the headset and then pressing it back in again after rotating the upper and lower cups 180º. This shifts back and forth between 63.8º and 65.5º.

Antoine continued; "Mariano was then joined by yours truly and industrial designer Christoph Bigler. Mariano and I tested this proto to settle on geo, while Christoph was doing a design study on what this bike could look like. This was Fall /Winter 2018/19 and we settled on a ballpark of 63.5/63.75 ° HTA, which was nowhere to be seen on the market." This, radical-at-the-time geo was a reaction to the riding the group was doing in the Jura region of Switzerland. Many of the trails they rode were old hiking trails with ridiculous switchbacks and impossibly-steep descents.

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Those who are more familiar with SRAM NX drivetrain components had me convinced the sky would fall, but my experience has been entirely adequate. The derailleur got banged out alignment once but it was easily reset.

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My luck may run out, but so far I can't complain. I'm currently running the drivetrain on a GX Eagle cassette rather then the stock NX because I couldn’t swap the cassettes because of different drivers.

Eventually management took notice of the group's efforts, realized resistance was futile, and gave them the green light to dedicate working hours to their passion project. As progress was made with all aspects of the endeavour, it became clear things didn't align perfectly with the BMC brand, which was how the SCOR sub-brand was born; "At that point our CEO made the call, and the direction was set. This unlocked a lot of aspects: purpose, brand marketing, all the way down to distribution strategy."

Many of the bike's numbers continue to be on the progressive side which is noteworthy considering it's a first of breed and because the design was drawn up more than four years ago. The 63.8º headtube is close to the cutting-edge-for-an-enduro-bike end of the spectrum along with the 348 mm bb height and 77.9º actual seat tube angle (76.5 effective @750mm). The wheelbase and chainstays however are shorter than much of the competition, and that is by design. As Antoine tells us; " We had experienced longer chainstays on competitors’ bikes we rode in the past and for us the benefits were not worth the trade-offs. Our trails are narrow, steep and all corners have weird radii, plus Mariano loves to get hang time so short stays are the ticket!

For my part I haven't noticed any stability issues at speed, nor have I found the bike particularly nimble in tight circumstances, but I think that's more a reflection on the 170mm-drop post than on the geo.

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Coming...This is an elegant carbon fibre mountain bike, not a dumptruck.

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It's the bottom of the line but come on, at least give us a nice stem cap to look at! This one may be the most 'dollar store' I've ever seen. A small gripe and this is likely a supply chain issue. And I’m a spoiled ‘journalist.’

How it Rides So Far

We started out okay, and then things got weird. After the first couple of rides I knew I needed to chop the bars, which I did. And then I didn't ride the 4060 for about a week. I can't remember if it was one of the COVIDs or Sea Otter that produced this absence. When I got back on the bike, my bars felt as though I hadn't cut them. And I rode poorly. I didn't bail but I had about 5 high-consequence close calls and I stepped away from several lines I usually ride. I think this was on Cypress. When I got home I measured the bars. They had grown from their original 800 mm. As it turns out there was a bulge on the bar that produced a hard stop for my left grip, so I fastened it right there, which took the bars I'd cut down to 760 all the way to 805, with every one of those 45 extra millimetres* on one side. My failure to recognize what was wrong during that ride was surely one of my proudest moments.

*in my notes I wrote 30, but maybe I was trying to minimize my embarrassment

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I've had no trouble having fun on this bike, except in one condition that is rare on the North Shore; high speed chunk.

After that things got better. There's a sort of hanging drop on Cypress with a bit of a dodgy root entrance to rock face, to launch, to steep landing with blown out-left-hander exit, and I've managed to ride on the SCOR a couple of times. The last time was very slimy and both front and rear wheels slipped. Surprisingly this didn't induce panic and I pointed my fingers and let it roll.

It hasn't been all roses though. The bike has consistenly felt good on slower steep sections, or on smoother surfaces at any speed, but I've struggled to get it to feel right on high-speed rough sections, particularly those with hefty impacts in rapid succession. I thought I had it sorted after a pretty good test day on Cypress. Our friend Ian Rudd, the Mayor of Cypress, was doing 60 shuttle laps on his DH bike, over three days, for his 60th birthday and we rode the last 9 of them with him. Which was pretty great.

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SRAM Code R brakes; less power than RSC.

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I'm adjusting to the difference quite well however.

His course, which Ian and his buddy Jason had been prepping for weeks beforehand, was fast, undulating and smooth for the first 90%, and then the last chute is bony and wide and steep. The bike felt great everywhere but there. I made a few adjustments and probably made it worse, but then my buddy, and World Cup mechanic, Mike Wallace, suggested I slow the rebound in the Zeb And then it started to click.

At that point I thought I had it dialed, but then I was riding a different sort of dual-character trail on Seymour, and on the high speed rough section at the end, I felt like I was getting bucked toward the front wheel when I began to get up to speed. In that respect the bike has been a little like my COVID experience; every time I feel like I had handle on it, I got slapped back down. It seems I'm getting there though, and it's more likely me than the bike at this point, as you may have gathered.

Some Changes

Since that time I've ridden a lot of trails at the sketchy end of my repetoire, and doing it pretty confidently. But I've made a couple of changes. The big one is the wheels.* The tires were fine, but I knew if the bike was mine I'd be riding with inserts and sticky rubber. I had a set of Crankbrothers Synthesis wheels wrapped in a TCS light casing and High Grip compound WTB Judge/Convict Combo with Cushcore in the back and Tannus Tubeless up front, so I slapped those on. Along with some Ergon grips. That's it so far, but I'm going to sub in a 200 mm or greater dropper as well to replace the 170.

*and pushing the grips on equally

SCOR didn't want to send me the lowest model but it was all they had. I'm really glad they did because it's so good, and because it's the platform I'm trying to evaluate, rather than the parts. This is a bike that is worthy of significant upgrades. The frame is the same as the more expensive models, and this bike sells for only 900 USD more than the least-expensive frame-only selection. I have enough info about the swapped-out components though so you'll hear about them in the full review.

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The RockShox Zeb Select up front with a RockShox Super Deluxe Select + rear shock. High performance choices.

Maybe We should talk about the Parts (etc)

One of the elements that is most unexpected about this bike, for me at least, is that the spec is very well thought out and performance-focused, and yet could compete with direct-to-consumer brands in terms of investment quality. Are the Swiss known for producing products that compete in terms of value-per-dollar with the best in the world? Based on what I know so far, that is the case here. Of course there are issues outstanding in terms of performance and durability but thus far there is cause for optimism.

The suspension components are RockShox Select and Select +, drivetrain is SRAM NX 12x, utilizing a Shimano HG-type driver, tires are well-chosen Maxxis Dissector and Assegai, both MaxxTerra and EXO+, CODE R brakes, and seemingly, so far entirely serviceable no-name wheels and hubs.*

*Spec. sheet says they are XCX-530 for the hubs and the wheelset. And persumably the rims. Spokes? But, admittedly without looking hard at all, I haven't found any distinguishing marks on the products themselves. Which I kind of like.

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I couldn't see a name on the rims.

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The hubs were similarly unidentified.

This is all entirely decent stuff, with money allocated intelligently. I've heard horror stories about NX Eagle drivetrains, and rear derailleurs in particular, but I've always been charmed in that department and the trend continues here. There is also an assumption that CODE R brakes are as powerful as, but less adjustable externally than, the CODE RSC. This is bunk. But after a few rides I got used to grabbing a bigger mitt-full, and modulating more sensitively, and I've continued to close the gap.

I'm not sure if this fits Andrew's Min-Max preferences,* but it has nailed my interpretation of his framework

*perhaps aside from the rear hub.

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The excellent details show off the benefits of having an established brand behind your startup.

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The post has been a little meh.

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It works but it's nothing to write home about.

This Test Bike Comes with a Story

At first, the person I spoke to at SCOR, was very professional. And particular. No. Make that precise. And I mean those as compliments!* This is significant because much of our experience testing bikes for the last 22 years has been loose in a beautiful and haphazard way. An example is, I've only had one marketing 'executive' try and demand to control who would test his company's bike. I can't remember if he won or we agreed. But it's one of those.** Which means virtually all of the rest of these folks have been willingly sending bikes to a fly-by-night web zine with no strings attached, which I think that's pretty cool.

*I should add, this person was exceedingly nice to interact with

**Identity guesses encouraged in the comments

Sometimes bikes arrive before I hear they may be coming. Or before I know they exist. Often I simply get an email asking what size we'd like. I ask a couple of questions, and about reach numbers at L or XL, and about intended hucking, to help select the right tester, and then choose XL.* But it's not like that with BMC. I had to fill in an application form. Which I have done before, for European companies exclusively, but those forms couldn't compete in terms of commitment required and, as I mentioned earlier, precision. Startlingly, there were questions I was unable to answer like, on what date(s) would you publish things about our bike, and on what date will you have it back to us. That second one was the hardest one because I simply had no answer. Their reply was that the bike had to be returned in one month.

*Except for Deniz. He gets his own size.

This is not an unreasonable timeline, but it is for me. I was planning to ride the bike. A lot. I replied something to the effect of, I understand your policy but I'm afraid that won't work for our format. Did I say format? It might have been better than that, but going back to read what that email actually says would sully this narrative. I replied to this electronic mail with; the minimum we could do is 60 days. (even at the time I suspected this would turn out to be a lie). Otherwise, I said, we'll have to wait for another time. Which, I assured them, was fine.

There was no reply to that email but I'd put it out of my mind the moment I hit send. I was quite certain it wasn't coming.

Perhaps three weeks later, the SCOR 4060 LT NX arrived, without notice, at our door. This was incredibly badass.

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#lovesthesteeps You'll have to take my word for the fact that this photo was taken on a steep section of trail.

And then I think I got COVID. The first time. That slowed things down a little. The throat lesions, clearly visible in the mirror, were the worst part. And then we went to Sea Otter, which is a disruptive event at the best of times, but particularly so when you do it like we did it this year, squeezing every drop of sap out of northern California. I'd say we crammed two weeks of living into 5 days and four nights. Re-entry wasn't smooth. And then I got COVID. Again. Needless to say, things are a little behind schedule.

Anyway, thanks for being badass SCOR, particularly whoever intervened in my application. After meeting Antoine at Sea Otter, he is my prime suspect. The ninja bike delivery was a beautiful way to say, keep it as long as you'd like.

Click for the full spec and geometry of The SCOR 4060 LT (and ST) NX sells for 4499 USD

Frameset Prices

4060 FRS LT  - Fox Float X2 Factory : 3799 USD

4060 FRS ST  - RS SDLX Ultimate : 3599 USD

4060 FRS LT Limited – Öhlins TTX22M/RXF 36m.2 Coil :  4999 USD (fork included)

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Comments

Tjaardbreeuwer
+19 Dr.Flow Lynx . Mike Wallace shenzhe Pete Roggeman Mammal Muesliman leon-forfar Velocipedestrian finbarr bishopsmike Timer HughJass Jake Smith Poz ohio Alex Hoinville dhr999 Derek Baker

And this is why NSMB.com is my first click any day I feel like thinking about mtb’s (which is most days from April to October).

Even though I have no intention of buying this bike, you make it such a fun story to read!

Great work, all of you here at NSMB.com!

Reply

cam@nsmb.com
+6 Pete Roggeman Tjaard Breeuwer Lynx . bishopsmike Poz Alex Hoinville

I’m glad the first comment wasn’t  TL/DR! 

And we all appreciate the kind words. The best thing about nsmb.com is our audience and our commenters. So thanks to you as well!

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Onawalk
0

Excellent,

And this bike looks like a winner.  This in the ST mode, but with the same geo….

I’m going to apologize in advance, that I’m going to use your bar blunder story as evidence that as much as we all like to believe we are bike wizards, we can rarely tell the difference between 10mm here or there.

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cam@nsmb.com
0

I certainly felt like something was wrong, but I usually (and accurately) assume the problem is the rider when I'm struggling.

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earleb
+13 BadNudes Dave Smith Mammal Pete Roggeman Niels van Kampenhout Velocipedestrian Tjaard Breeuwer Matt L. Lynx . Jake Smith Timer Poz Alex Hoinville

Ferrentino (then marketing guy at Santa Cruz) demanded that Kemp (then writer at NSMB) test a Santa Cruz. 

So now can we have Kemp (now marketing guy at Santa Cruz) demand that Ferrentino (now writer at NSMB) test a Santa Cruz?

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DaveSmith
+3 earle.b Jake Smith Alex Hoinville

fair play!

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pete@nsmb.com
+1 Tjaard Breeuwer

We really need to set up a few more exchange programs. Cam thought Porsche would come calling after the Porsche/Enduro Dream Rides (https://nsmb.com/articles/dream-rides-2018-porsche-911-gts-2020-specialized-enduro-expert/), but I think he's still waiting for the call.

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FlipFantasia
+3 Pete Roggeman Cooper Quinn Cam McRae

He even knows a guy....

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ThadTheRad
+7 Pete Roggeman Mammal pedalhound BadNudes Velocipedestrian Tjaard Breeuwer finbarr

"Mariano began to cut up existing BMC Trail Fox frames, modify them, and then put them back together with geometry that better suited the riding this group liked to do"

Now that is something I want to see. Please please please, if anyone at SCOR or Mariano sees this comment, can we pretty pretty please see these prototypes. Pleeeeeeaaaaasssseeee. That is the kind of prototyping that inspires me to want to go back to college just to try and get into some of the composites engineering professional electives.

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cam@nsmb.com
+2 Mammal BadNudes

I believe we can oblige. Maybe I should dive a little deeper and add Mariano to the conversation?

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ThadTheRad
0

YES

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Mariano
+19 Niels van Kampenhout Jotegir Tjaard Breeuwer Sjwagner75 cheapondirt mrbrett finbarr Pete Roggeman Lynx . bishopsmike Tadpoledancer DadStillRides 4Runner1 HughJass hotlapz Poz Cam McRae Kos Derek Baker

Hello hello, given the number of eeee and aaaaa in your please, I had to create an account to answer you! You can actually find a few pictures of the prototypes on our website:

https://www.scor-mtb.com/scr_in_en/scor-stories?___from_store=scr_eu_fr

https://www.scor-mtb.com/scr_in_en/about-scor?___from_store=scr_ch_fr

There has been two versions, first a Geo only and then one including the kinematics concept.

The first one is a BMC trailfox with a cut just behind the HT and suspension links mainly to position the rear wheel in the desired spot. The second one is made of another trailfox in the front (cut in 4 pieces and the RT half BMC fourstroke / half CNC. I used the original suspension pivots to locate and fix the CNC machined suspension.

All the carbon work is hidden behind the paint but I hope you can still imagine and understand how it's been built.

Hyve a great weekend! Mariano

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ThadTheRad
0

Very, Very cool stuff

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the-prophet
0

Don't need college for that...just some sheets of carbon, some epoxy, and a jig saw or two. That is a garage worthy project for sure. Start collecting some old or busted carbon frames! May help to have some sort of a frame jig to hold alignment where you want it.

My buddy has made a few versions of longer carbon rear end for an older frame he loves.

College comes in when you are designing the carbon layup and tooling for the finished product, not a hacked-together-from-other-parts proto.

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jgshinton
+5 Lynx . Pete Roggeman shenzhe Niels van Kampenhout Alex Hoinville

This is why NSMB is the only legit bike website. How can you review a bike in 30 days? That's barely enough to get the suspension, fit etc dialed. Then another month trying it on different terrain to get a feel for the personality...

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cam@nsmb.com
+5 shenzhe Tjaard Breeuwer Lynx . Timer Alex Hoinville

While I tend to agree, if you are young and single and without other work or life responsibilities or test products (ie you can ride the same bike and ride it almost every day) and/or have access to a bike park, this isn’t out of the question. Or if you are gifted at suspension setup. None of those apply to me however.

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mammal
+2 Cam McRae Justin White

Nice that you got to help steer Yaaaan to victory on his 60 laps! I was there from lap 15-25, and 33-42 I believe. And we plumbed in the final little shoot with drop-berm section in the 3 weeks prior.

I'm pretty sure that rocky shoot you're referring to is a bit awkward on most bikes, but longer CS would definitely help. 432mm is just a shade shorter than my DH bike I rode that weekend, and even that was usually dancing around a bit back there on that section. I've drooled over the LT since it was released, but I know a longer CS would be more complimentary for what I'd use it for.

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just6979
+2 Cam McRae T0m

"Those who are more familiar with SRAM NX drivetrain components had me convinced the sky would fall"

"My luck may run out, but so far I can't complain. I'm currently running the drivetrain on a GX Eagle cassette rather then the stock NX."

It's not your luck, and "so far" is the key. It's the corners they cut (or cost-benefit trade-offs, depending on viewpoint) that drastically shortens the useful lives of sub-XO Eagle stuff. The b-pivot bolt on GX, and lower, simply goes to shit too quick, especially compared to the rest of the mech. It gets floppy so fast, you'll think the hanger is bent, or the housing is kinked, but it isn't, it's just the mech flapping in the breeze. And the GX chain is nice enough when new, but it wears pretty fast, especially when considering the price difference to XO with hardened rollers and much longer life. GX cassette I'm actually impressed with: holding up quite well, and shifting crisply even with a Shimano mech!

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cam@nsmb.com
+2 Mariano Derek Baker

An update on this bike is that it's really started to hum. The high-speed issue has been sorted and I had a wicked ride on it yesterday. Looking forward to dialling it in even more, and glad I didn't have to give it back beforehand!

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Lynx
+1 Pete Roggeman

Interesting bike, looks really quite nice, will be interesting to read the full review, especially if you managed to get the rear better dialed for overall performance instead of having to tune for each specific type of trail situation - maybe try a different shock, the tune might actually not be perfect for this bike, despite best efforts, maybe a DHX2, so as to evaluate if it's a shock thing or the actual linkage dynamics.

With the whole bar width thing, takes a real man to own up to that sort of big mistake, I only wish I had even the slightest ability to be that not sensitive to stuff being off/off balanced like that, I feel if things are 5mm off. Weird about the bump, curious if that's a manufacturing defect or if something was just on the bar causing it?

**As to the "bonus" guess on what tool, at what company, would try to DICtate who tested a bike etc., for such sorts of moves, my money will always be on SpecialED.

Side note - it always amazes me how a company can charge les than $1k more for a complete built bike over just a frameset, who's fleecing who there?

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cam@nsmb.com
0

**actually representatives from Spesh, in both product and marketing, have always been in the upper tier to deal with and very respectful of our timelines and methods. This was about an individual rather than a company, and I bear him no ill will and actually have a lot of respect for him. But not about his meddling attempts. 

Good thoughts about the tune but it’s most likely just me not finding settings that split the difference between those trail conditions. Or some bungle like the one I made with my bars! Sometimes when I try to make changes on quick stops, especially on challenging trails with fast riders, I get in a muddle and make things worse.

Also - most companies don’t like selling frames and the pricing always seems to reflect that. I believe it’s harder to get a decent margin. SCOR at least has three options though.

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just6979
0

Frameset pricing factors are likely: very amenable wholesale pricing on components, and the want for bigger margins on SKUs that don't see that same quantities sold. You might surprised what SRAM charges OEMs for a full groupset, and I'd bet there are stupid deals on full group+fork+shock packages, and frame-only sales just don't hold a candle to full bikes. There could also bee some of the "dealership" factor coming in: shops probably don't want to keep frame-only SKUs in stock, so the OEM makes zero on them until the actual end-user sale, where full bikes are often paid for from the OEM's perspective as soon as they're shipped to the shop.

I have definitely done some napkin math and though about getting a basic build just for a frame and selling most of the take-offs. The spec I've built up to over time is in the $6-8K range for most brands now, but with NX builds at $3K and frames at $2K, I could probably either make money (relative to buying frame-only) with an NX build, or at least break even if I wanted to keep something like wheels as a spare. It is pretty silly from this end, but I think it can be sensible from the other end.

(All USD, BTW)

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rnayel
+1 Tjaard Breeuwer

Cam, do you know where can you see one of these frames in the lower mainland in the flesh? Can most BMC dealers get them? the Scor website doesn't list any dealers near Vancouver.

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cam@nsmb.com
0

Sent you a message. I may have the only one around?

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joseph-crabtree
+1 Cam McRae

The suspension linkage above the BB looks like it would be great for masticating leaves to loam.

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Simzesun
+1 Cam McRae

The Zeb select fork doesn't have a proper compression damping circuit. Only a threshold valve... So that can explain the lack of support and especially on bigger successive hits.

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JSW07
+1 Cam McRae

Is it just me or does this bike LOOK a lot like a Forbidden Druid? The color (Druid SLX build), slim top tube, low and narrow chainstays, shock position, the triangle seat tube esthetic, the cable port shape and placement. The obvious difference is the lack of a high pivot but esthedically, it looks like a Frobidden, it could be the color throwing me off.

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cam@nsmb.com
0

Some similarities for sure!

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ridestuff
+1 Cam McRae

That's a gorgeous bike, and it looks fast sitting still. Which is high on my list of useless but useful things

I like in a bike lol!

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cam@nsmb.com
0

I'm a sucker for aesthetics as well. Luckily good looking bikes often ride very well.

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just6979
0

Considering my current frame has a dent/crack on the downtube just under the [thin] edge of the rubber protector, from a rock getting kicked up by the front tire at speed (not smashing into something immovable), I'm highly suspect of the longevity of that storage area cover.

*(It's CFRP, can it dent? Doesn't feel right to call it a crack, though, because it seems to be superficial, localized, and hasn't grown in 1.5 years.)

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