NSMB - 2014 – Hardtail Thread

Sooooo….my Whishart is 99% done….

looks well nice mate, shame you can't ride it at the minute!

Kyle Sangers Chromag

Missng the fun of the Stylus. Winter project to resurrect and get a new top tube grafted.

I'm finally giving up the hard tail in favour of something with squishiness in the rear. I'm selling my 2001 Kona Stuff in case you want to relive the good old days.

Thanks but I'm good reliving the good old evil days. Yours a small frame? Mine was and a complete bright blast to ride.

/thread

/thread

pft

end thread is this guy: http://endurosaurusrex.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/dave-harders-chromag-rootdown/

won the crankworx open enduro last year for 40+ and took the kootenay rockies enduro series overall on a 29er hardtail

You and I clearly have different mind and skill sets/troll

It's an 80mm since you can't read. Sure, it's a stretched out 12" frame thats a fucking blast to ride if you don't mind hammering on a ridiculously stiff frame. It was obviously never meant for the average ride or rider. Shits and giggles it is and that's what does make it fun to ride. At least imo.

Not everyone's cup of tea but it's always been mine.

I bet your skill sets are real high.

pft

end thread is this guy: http://endurosaurusrex.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/dave-harders-chromag-rootdown/

I guess I missed the Shimano press release where it was announced that XT and Zee have now displaced XTR as the top tier Shimano mtb groupo

pft

end thread is this guy: http://endurosaurusrex.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/dave-harders-chromag-rootdown/

won the crankworx open enduro last year for 40+ and took the kootenay rockies enduro series overall on a 29er hardtail

Harder on a hardtail. A fitting name. And a really nice bike.

Updated a few parts on mine for the hardtail season.

On one 456 Summer Season
Marzocchi 44 RC3 Ti
Shimano XT wheels, brakes, drivetrain w/42t cog
Chromag bars, stem, grips, saddle
Tmars dropper post 110mm
Raceface 30t NW, Evolve cranks, Saint pedals
Minion DHF EXO 3C front, cut Clutch SX rear

Soon to be switching to zee FR derailleur and 40t Hope cog

pft

end thread is this guy: http://endurosaurusrex.wordpress.com/2014/04/09/dave-harders-chromag-rootdown/

won the crankworx open enduro last year for 40+ and took the kootenay rockies enduro series overall on a 29er hardtail

I'm not sure if its the same guy, but at the Revy enduro, a guy on a blue Chromag won elite. He passed me like I was going backwards on the steepest fall line trail of the day - Frisby DH. Very impressive.

The rear end of my Rootdown is definitely smoother riding than Steve C's Honzo. Does the Surface ride that significantly much stiffer than the Rootdown, D? I would have guessed it was the other way around.

(From another thread)

Flat is where it's at!

To prevent further thread derailment, I demand that walleater stop teasing and post a full ride review in the hardtails thread.

Those chainstays are teh-bicycle-bootyliciousnus but I'm dying to know if their [:fro:] extreme thickness [/:fro:] leads to excessive vertical compliance. Although with a booty like that any harshness may fall into the category of "baby, make it hurt so good…"

Well, I've been out on my Whishart three times now. Still pretty weak (me, not the bike) but I felt a bit more 'in the zone' today and did a ride roughly based on the earlier version of Executioner, parts of Lower Crippler etc.

Somewhere along the line I think I gave Rob the wrong dimensions for the fork that I was planning on putting on it. Which in a way is pretty funny, as the final geometry (measured with teh finest of Android apps ha ha….) is pretty well matches my 'Plan A' geometry which I pussied out of going with as I thought it was a bit extreme. The actual head angle is 65 degrees! The BB is still low enough though and the SA is fine with the saddle pushed forward a bit. The front end is still roomy enough with the 24" TT.

After three rides I'm feeling at home on the bike, and unlike my 29er, everything just feels in the right place. The front wheel is nice and forward on the steeps (feels awesome on steep techy stuff!) and the saddle is out of the way. I'm still getting used to getting forward on higher speed corners but I've muttered 'hell yeah' at least a couple of time when I've got it dialed. I'm looking forward to going to Squamish and getting off the brakes….
I didn't design the bike for climbing but I think it'll be acceptable at least. It sucks less than I do at the moment! I need to utilize the 16.5" stays and just hammer up stuff but I've not got the strength at the moment.

All in all, I'm already loving the bike waaay more than my 29er (which was great in it's own way but I just never gelled with the somewhat dead feeling. Pretty well like driving a new SUV, when I prefer my old RWD truck…..). It's super fun on the steeps and feels like it'll also be a laugh on the Half Nelson type stuff. I don't really care about flat or uphill stuff!

Oh, as for the rear end, I love the shape of the chainstays (from Nova) as they give loads of clearance and look cool (remind me a bit of the old Columbus Max OR ones). The comfort seems 'normal'. I've got 2.4" 650B tires set up tubeless, and the X-Fusion Hilo SL post acts almost like a suspension seatpost in that it moves about 1 cm when at full extension, which some people may hate, but works really well on a hardtail. I've not noticed the rear end to be harsh anyway.

Chromag sure makes a nice hardtail[HTML_REMOVED]#128293;[HTML_REMOVED]#128293;

Contemplating pulling parts of the Samurai to run the 29er for the winter.