NSMB - 2020 - Hardtail Thread
Dropper and a new wider bar and thicker grips for this year. Trying to keep everything on a budget. The wider bar made a bigger difference than I thought it would.
Posted by: Vikb
I finally got my winter bike built just as it's starting to feel cool and moist here on the island. It's a large Cotic BFeMax with 160mm Lyrik and 29 x 2.6" DHF/DHR. So far I've just cruised around the 'hood. I'm on the mend from an injury so it'll have to be a slow and gradual introduction of the new whip to the trails. I am looking forward to see how she rides when things get really wet. :-)
Loving the cotic. With the colored housing, have you ever gone a totally different color? Might look good also. Whats up with the frame bags? How long are these winter rides?
I've given up figuring how to show photos on here, or even how to show a link, so you'll have to go 'old school' ;)
Posted by: trumpstinyhands
I've given up figuring how to show photos on here, or even how to show a link, so you'll have to go 'old school' ;)
Old school post for an old school paint job. Nice one man, looks sweet. Love the paint. How's it ride for you?
^Thanks! I lusted over the Klein 'Backfire' paintjob circa 1989 and 30+ years later I have it ha ha. Welding by Mike Truelove and paint by Chris Dekerf. I'm used to riding hardtails but I'm still really surprised how well this rides downhill. There's nothing that I've ridden on my last 'enduro' type full suspension bike that I've not been able to ride on this. 3" 29er tires and F&R Cushcore help the 'plough' factor but it handles really well too.
You guys should check out the fuckyeahhardtail Instagram account if you're in to that.
Posted by: RAHrider
Loving the cotic. With the colored housing, have you ever gone a totally different color? Might look good also. Whats up with the frame bags? How long are these winter rides?
Thanks. I'm pretty happy with the way the Cotic turned out. If you look at the purple Daambuilt I posted earlier in this thread it has blue housing which I think looks nice contrasting the purple frame. I have done a blue frame with white housing in the past. I thought it looked decent, but not good enough I wanted to replicate it on this bike. Of the housing colour options I could get my hands on for brake and shift there were no contrasting colours that I liked so I just went with blue.
The frame bags are for holding stuff. What's up with all these hydration packs people wear??? ;-)
The lower bag is for all my tools/spares/pump. It doesn't get accessed often. The upper bag will most often hold a few energy bars and my phone. If it gets warmer than expected my windvest/ear warmers will go in there. I don't wear a pack/fanny or carry anything on my body besides my clothes/protective gear. Compared to people I ride with I generally have less cargo space so it doesn't seem excessive to me.
I typically ride from home so a short ride is ~4hrs and a long ride is up to ~7hrs in the winter. My GF will sometimes want to drive so the shortest ride we'd do would be 2hrs in that case. Although other than water and maybe an extra energy bar my gear load for long or short rides doesn't really change.
Posted by: CuprinolDropper and a new wider bar and thicker grips for this year. Trying to keep everything on a budget. The wider bar made a bigger difference than I thought it would.
I've been pretty lucky with my droppers lasting a long time, but I do love putting a fresh dropper on the bike. The Ragley looks great. Have a blast on it this winter. :-)
Posted by: trumpstinyhands
^Thanks! I lusted over the Klein 'Backfire' paintjob circa 1989 and 30+ years later I have it ha ha. Welding by Mike Truelove and paint by Chris Dekerf. I'm used to riding hardtails but I'm still really surprised how well this rides downhill. There's nothing that I've ridden on my last 'enduro' type full suspension bike that I've not been able to ride on this. 3" 29er tires and F&R Cushcore help the 'plough' factor but it handles really well too.
Wow! Looks amazing. I love a bright coloured bike for our deep dark forest riding. Pops in photos and just feels more cheerful in the depths of winter. I'm also a 29+ fan. Two of my three steel MTBs are 29+. I'm with you on appreciating how capable these aggressive geo modern hardtails are. I wasn't expecting that based on my old school geo HT experiences.
Last edited by: Vikb on Sept. 9, 2020, 6:12 a.m., edited 1 time in total.
Posted by: thaaad
You guys should check out the fuckyeahhardtail Instagram account if you're in to that.
That's a monster truck of a bike - love it. If somebody were to describe the paint job in writing it would sound awful but it actually works really well. Congrats! I vaguely remember the colour from the late 80s.
Oops, I quoted the wrong post. Comment relates to the Arcturian.
Last edited by: Tremeer023 on Sept. 9, 2020, 10:23 a.m., edited 2 times in total.
Thanks! Yeah it's certainly different to current paint jobs out there ha. I wasn't prepared for all the positive comments out on the trail. Maybe there needs to be a flouro revival!
Vikb, funnily enough my 'emergency' bike while waiting for my Chromag was (and still is....) a first generation Cotic BFe (I've also owned an early Soul BITD). It's amazing just how different the two bikes are. I could get the BFe down reasonable stuff but had to be soooo precise. On the flipside, it ripped on flat twisty singletrack.
Posted by: thaaad
You guys should check out the fuckyeahhardtail Instagram account if you're in to that.
That's a cool account. Funny there's one in there running a Trust fork. Wasn't the one specific thing testers all agreed on was that the Trust was not good at slappy landings?
If I didnt end up with my 29+ forward geo Naked, I was getting an Arcturian. Big rubber on big wheels on a steel hardtail with modern geo, so much to love.
That combo has surprised me a lot over the 4 months Ive had it. On the undulating, back and forth, techy jank that I love to ride - its awesome. Massive grip with 14 psi and cushcore. Great feedback through the pedals. My Naked has made me a better rider - Im working the bike A LOT more. On the bars much more. Banking the bike more. The hardtail has made my stance much more active and dynamic. After riding it 90% of the time this summer I find myself with a mechanical keeping the hardtail in the garage for a bit, so the Slayer is back out in full force. MY GOD.
Once I got settled riding the hardtail it would consistently surprise me with its abilities. I was shocked at how well it shredded janky stuff.
Turns out it wasnt the bike as much as I thought it was; it was how the hardtail forced me to ride.
It sure is nice to have two awesome and different bikes. Moreso than how cool and awesome it is in itself, one of the things I like most about my Naked is that it has forced me to become a better rider. Its about more than choosing better lines - for me it has forced me to have a more dynamic stance and be more active on the bars.
Posted by: Ddean
If I didnt end up with my 29+ forward geo Naked, I was getting an Arcturian. Big rubber on big wheels on a steel hardtail with modern geo, so much to love.
That combo has surprised me a lot over the 4 months Ive had it. On the undulating, back and forth, techy jank that I love to ride - its awesome. Massive grip with 14 psi and cushcore. Great feedback through the pedals. My Naked has made me a better rider - Im working the bike A LOT more. On the bars much more. Banking the bike more. The hardtail has made my stance much more active and dynamic. After riding it 90% of the time this summer I find myself with a mechanical keeping the hardtail in the garage for a bit, so the Slayer is back out in full force. MY GOD.
Once I got settled riding the hardtail it would consistently surprise me with its abilities. I was shocked at how well it shredded janky stuff.
Turns out it wasnt the bike as much as I thought it was; it was how the hardtail forced me to ride.
It sure is nice to have two awesome and different bikes. Moreso than how cool and awesome it is in itself, one of the things I like most about my Naked is that it has forced me to become a better rider. Its about more than choosing better lines - for me it has forced me to have a more dynamic stance and be more active on the bars.
You perfectly describe how to feels to ride a good hardtail. This also makes me miss mine terribly.
I moved to a big dumb enduro bike this summer (Kona Process 153) and while it's totally amazing, I sure do see the difference in how I ride now vs. how I rode before on my steel steed.
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