NSMB - 2020 - Hardtail Thread

Posted by: Tremeer023

Posted by: Znarf

Lockdown-Bike (more pics in my album)

My Lockdown-Gravelroad-Rocket. It is a Pipedream Moxie 2020 size Large with 29“ wheels.

Very nimble and super snappy compared to my Raaw Madonna. Also super light in comparison. The geometry makes it very capable, but I can tell you my wrists and hardtails in harsh terrain don’t mix. I can ride almost all the trails/stuff I can ride with the Madonna. But I’ll pay dearly with several NO-Bike-days, because of wrist problems. I can ride the stuff with the Madonna no problems for a couple of days in a row. It’s not a fork issue, the Pike Ultimate works great.

I was going to sell the frame, but now I’ve settled on another use case and am super happy:

I use it it on bikepaths, gravelroads, fireroads and only the mellowest of trails, attach lots of water and snacks with straps and enjoy riding it with only a helmet and no pads like the 15 year old kid I was 20 years ago. Very uncomplicated and innocent fun. And with higher rise bars it’s very comfortable. Love the 78deg seat angle...

Nice to see another Moxie - looking good. I've got the older teal colour but prefer that blue. Oh well, good excuse for a new paint job at some point. The stack height is low on the Moxie, I've just put a 3 inch riser on mine with the stem slammed. Running a shorter fork than you though. If you're just riding gravel and mellow singletrack I agree with the high rise bar. It's really comfy when seated.

The stack height is TOO low imho on the Moxie. I really can not imagine that anyone would ride it without spacers and a regular rise.

It would look nicer with a bit more headtube length and less spacers. But the blue paintjob is fantastic, even nicer in person. Some trick glitter particles, very, very nice. All in all a really enjoyable bike!

And thanks for the good wrist wishes :)

It’s not the fault of the bike at all. The frame is surprisingly comfortable for what it is. My wrists are just toast, runs in the family. 20years of biking and loads of trailbuilding with pick axes etc did not help. But so far I can ride gnar relatively pain free with fat ESI grips, flexy Syntace Carbon bars and the best full suspension I can find. First world problems really.

If my wrists put an end to trail riding at some point I’ll tour the world with a recumbent bike, no joke!

Posted by: Tremeer023

Posted by: Vikb

After a year of riding overhauled the Daambuilt Mega Krampus:

- fresh 11 speed XT drivetrain

- Chromag Magna 40 rims + Hope Pro2 hubs + Woltooth Boostinator kits + Sapim Race spokes

- Rekon+ tires in 29 x 2.8"

- RRP front fender

- SQLabs 16 deg bars [vs. old 12 deg bars]

- Chromag 31mm stem [vs. old 35mm stem]

- Some inboard bar ends for alternate hand positions when touring

- fresh brake pads in rear and bled both brakes

- Selle Anatomica saddle [my old touring saddle]

- custom Porcelain Rocket half-frame bag [wider than standard model for more capacity]

I'm heading out for a week on this bike shortly. I'm excited to get her dirty and break in all the new parts. :-)

Never tire of seeing this bike.  Matching hoses, nice work.  Also love the seatstay/tube brace.  The older I get the more my bike seems to be evolving into a bikepacking rig, currently looking at a new frame bag for mine.

I've recently gone from 9 deg backsweep bar to 12 deg and it does feel better.  

Question for you if I may please Vic, how much difference does 16 deg make over 12 in your opinion?  I thought 9 - 12 deg was quite noticeable, but I can still 'get rad' on 12 deg.  Do you think 15 or 16 deg would hinder dirt jumping or general trail/dual track shredding, or is it something you could get used to?

Sorry to hear about the  wrists, that sucks. I did the seven summits years ago before I rode with any suspension and let me tell you I was cursing all the bastards who left braking bumps into every turn.

In terms of the hardtail, try dropping the pressure really low in the front tire. You don't ride as fast a hardtail "generally" so if you have a good  casing (I'm running DD with cushcore) you can drop your tire pressure to 15 psi or less and it will make a world of difference. On my rigid bike I just keep dropping the psi until my wrists like it.

Posted by: Kenny

After noticing a major difference in arm pump between my FS and HT and not having much luck improving it via setup related changes, I've ordered some revgrips to try. Bit of an expensive experiment, but conceptually I can really see how they'd help in a hardtail especially. 

Shipping from US to Canada is a disaster these days, I guess they all have covid? So who knows when they'll actually turn up, but I'll follow up after some testing.

Any local shop can bring them in. ALBA in Whistler is the distributor. I’ve been riding a pair for a few weeks.

Posted by: AndrewMajor

Posted by: Kenny

After noticing a major difference in arm pump between my FS and HT and not having much luck improving it via setup related changes, I've ordered some revgrips to try. Bit of an expensive experiment, but conceptually I can really see how they'd help in a hardtail especially. 

Shipping from US to Canada is a disaster these days, I guess they all have covid? So who knows when they'll actually turn up, but I'll follow up after some testing.

Any local shop can bring them in. ALBA in Whistler is the distributor. I’ve been riding a pair for a few weeks.

Yeah definitely been trying to buy local/domestic wherever possible. In this case I ordered direct from revgrips. Been waiting for the grips and some cassette shims from E13 for a few weeks now. Painful. I watch the tracking and they basically just do a milk run across California and back again once a week. Crazy.

Tremeer023 regarding 12 deg vs. 16 deg bars I'd say it's noticeably different. Cant really say better or worse. Depends a lot of the specific bike it's going on. I like having both options.

I have ridden 17 deg bars on all the techy stuff I'm comfortable riding and after an adaptation period it wasn't a problem. I don't dirt jump so I can't speak to that.

I plan to put a 16 deg SQLabs bar on the Cotic and it'll be used for shreddy riding. This bikepacking rig will also get ridden on very challenging natural terrain. I don't expect any issues due to the backsweep.

Posted by: Vikb

RAH - regarding 12 deg vs. 16 deg bars I'd say it's noticeably different. Cant really say better or worse. Depends a lot of the specific bike it's going on. I like having both options.

I have ridden 17 deg bars on all the techy stuff I'm comfortable riding and after an adaptation period it wasn't a problem. I don't dirt jump so I can't speak to that. 

I plan to put a 16 deg SQLabs bar on the Cotic and it'll be used for shreddy riding. This bikepacking rig will also get ridden on very challenging natural terrain. I don't expect any issues due to the backsweep.

Thanks for the info.  I feel like I've reached a sweet spot with front end set up so don't want to spoil it really but would love some bars with a brace, but the good ones all have at least 15 deg backsweep.

I still like to throw the bike around a bit though.  I guess there's only one way to find out for sure...   As you say, good to have the choice, can always go back to the current set up.  Reduced reach could become an issue if it's too extreme a change maybe.

Sean from Chromag sent me a preview of my frame they are posting shortly. Can't wait. The lettering is done in a metal flake so the lettering should have a "sparkle" in the sunlight. Not sure if it is only going to sparkle in my mind though.

Is that an 83mm BB shell or are you just happy to see me?

That Primer is going to rock once it’s all done.

Posted by: craw

Is that an 83mm BB shell or are you just happy to see me?

All my bikes are happy to see you Craw.

Thanks Ddean. I have mostly an old kit for it but it's quality stuff and all black (except for DVO green ano bits). The frame is at the shop but I'm away from home for a couple of weeks. Can't wait to ride it.

Posted by: RAHrider

Posted by: craw

All my bikes are happy to see you Craw.

Clearly they haven't been talking to my bikes then.

Tell us about the third bottle mount on the down tube.

All can be yours for 10k USD

https://singletrackworld.com/2020/07/is-this-35th-anniversary-yeti-arc-the-most-expensive-hardtail-ever/?amp#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

It's £9000 which is closer to $15k CAD. Which sure is a lot for a product that comes out a mould hung with painted stock parts. You could piece together a fully custom frame in just about any material and hang It with exactly every part you've ever wanted for less. I guess this is a effective statement for someone with more money than imagination but a need for brand recognition.

Posted by: craw

It's £9000 which is closer to $15k CAD. Which sure is a lot for a product that comes out a mould hung with painted stock parts. You could piece together a fully custom frame in just about any material and hang It with exactly every part you've ever wanted for less. I guess this is a effective statement for someone with more money than imagination but a need for brand recognition.

It would be in jolly Olde England, why that is anyone's guess? Duty charges? The yeti site is saying 9900 USD. If I had time it would be fun to break down the cost on the components. I'm guessing the frame will come in at $5,000-$6,000?