NSMB - 2020 - Hardtail Thread

Posted by: michel77

I toyed with the idea of selling my Chromag for a while thinking maybe I'd like to get something more geared towards longer XC rides, gravel, bikepacking, etc.  Then I read the feature on Skyler's Daambuilt on bikepacking and that was a bit of an eye-opener.  I mean I always knew you can ride whatever bike on whatever trail, but the hardtail (with some tweaks) started making more sense again with the added benefit that I can now keep using it on the local trails :)

I've had some more XC bikes I've used for bikepacking and surprisingly the more aggressive geo hardtail seems to be fine for long non-techy rides [aka gravel grinding]. I need to string together a few 12hrs saddle time days, but it's looking promising. That said I'd rather tour singletrack anyways. Gravel or paved sections to connect a singletrack loop are fine. I'm less excited by days of gravel grinding. I'll do that here on the island because it's what we have, but if I am going to travel to tour I want to shred. For that the new HT is amazing compared to the older more XC bikes I've used. 

Your Chromag looks great for bikepacking. Maybe get some faster rolling tires [Rekon?] if the trip favours speed over ultimate grip, but that's all I would do.

@Michel77 Nice Surface. How do you find it at 130mm? I was running my Krampus at 120mm before I put the Pike on my new bouncy bike and really liked the shorter travel.

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: michel77

I toyed with the idea of selling my Chromag for a while thinking maybe I'd like to get something more geared towards longer XC rides, gravel, bikepacking, etc.  Then I read the feature on Skyler's Daambuilt on bikepacking and that was a bit of an eye-opener.  I mean I always knew you can ride whatever bike on whatever trail, but the hardtail (with some tweaks) started making more sense again with the added benefit that I can now keep using it on the local trails :)

I've had some more XC bikes I've used for bikepacking and surprisingly the more aggressive geo hardtail seems to be fine for long non-techy rides [aka gravel grinding]. I need to string together a few 12hrs saddle time days, but it's looking promising. That said I'd rather tour singletrack anyways. Gravel or paved sections to connect a singletrack loop are fine. I'm less excited by days of gravel grinding. I'll do that here on the island because it's what we have, but if I am going to travel to tour I want to shred. For that the new HT is amazing compared to the older more XC bikes I've used. 

Your Chromag looks great for bikepacking. Maybe get some faster rolling tires [Rekon?] if the trip favours speed over ultimate grip, but that's all I would do.

That sounds encouraging, thanks for that! My plan for this summer is to partly do the Oregon Three Sisters route, Bend to Oakridge section so probably about 4-5 days total and I plan to spend most of those nights in town with maybe one or two nights of trail camping so I can get away with a fairly light setup I think.  Frame bag, seat bag and handlebar sleeping roll should cover it well with a small hydration backpack.

Definitely changing out tires, I love my Minions but not for that type of riding.  I was thinking I might even do a 2.4 Ikon back, 2.6 Rekon front for summer duty.

Posted by: fartymarty

@Michel77 Nice Surface. How do you find it at 130mm? I was running my Krampus at 120mm before I put the Pike on my new bouncy bike and really liked the shorter travel.

Hey man, thanks.  I love it at 130mm, it's pretty much perfect for what I use it for now.  

When the Surface was my only bike (for 3 years basically) and I was trying to hang with the guys on bigger bikes, and I'm talking good riders on Nomads and Yeti SB150's, I needed everything I could get. The Fox 36 at 150mm was great for smashing like that but having the Smuggler for that stuff now (and still not keeping up lol), this is where the Surface shines for sure.  It can still handle most everything but it's noticeably better on steeper climbs, and it just feels right.

Here's what I have been riding down in AZ for the past 11 months (exclusively) and have a little north of 900 miles on it. 2018 Fuse Carbon, bought it NOS in March of last year, and now that I am thinking about it the only thing still stock are the frame and brakes. I love it, fits me like a glove, although its stiff AF with the carbon wheels. So stiff that I have recently purchased a Why Cycles S7 ti frame to move everything over to, but now that I have it in hand I am having a hard time building it up, and am considering returning it. I don't know. It was a birthday present to myself, it's very similar to the Fuse on paper, but I'm just afraid I'll lose the magic I have with this one. More to follow I suppose.

That is quite the bar, tell us about it?

Still rocling my Chromag Wideangle for the 2020 season. 160mm Pike, 36mm rims with 2.6 Minion DHF.  Super fun bike. I just rode it and left my fully at home and I have really picked up the pace. So fun to push the limits.

Same Chromag Wideangle but with 2.8 in front and 2.6 in rear. Waiting for the end of March for the Chromag Stylus to come.

https://nsmb.com/photos/view/19867/

Posted by: heathen

Still rocling my Chromag Wideangle for the 2020 season. 160mm Pike, 36mm rims with 2.6 Minion DHF.  Super fun bike. I just rode it and left my fully at home and I have really picked up the pace. So fun to push the limits.

That's a nice rig, what year is that?  Looks like pretty modern geo with the steep seat tube angle?

Posted by: Cheez1ts

This thing makes my palms sweaty. It doesn’t have the sliding drops though a la Honzo for running single speed!? Too bad.

Guessing it’s not a 44mm headtube but rather the older 34mm? Must know more!!!

Posted by: michel77

Posted by: heathen

Still rocling my Chromag Wideangle for the 2020 season. 160mm Pike, 36mm rims with 2.6 Minion DHF.  Super fun bike. I just rode it and left my fully at home and I have really picked up the pace. So fun to push the limits.

That's a nice rig, what year is that?  Looks like pretty modern geo with the steep seat tube angle?

2018 Wideangle. Modern geo but I wish the HT angle was more slack.

Still rocking the 2019 Primer in 2020. I've been riding the bike exclusively since October and I'm in love.

Rachid why you no line up tire logo's with valve stems? I thought you were a details man? :)

The blue on the Primer looks great with the Fox fork, I don't think it would look as good with an all black fork.

I assume you're talking to me about the bars; they are custom titanium "Klunker" style bars built by Defiance Frameworks in Homer, Alaska.  I needed something with a higher rise on that bike because of the super short headtube (also don't like a mile of spacers), and I had them from a retro project I built a couple years ago.  "Modern" riser bars above 40mm start to look like DJ bars...those bars are 4" rise.

I built up that Why Cycles S7 last night and the front end is much higher, so I will be selling the Ti bars.

Thanks!