NSMB - 2022 - Full Suspension Bike Thread

That was/is definitely the thing I'm paying attention to.

It's about 335 or a little less, but I'm running 165mm and it's a fairly short travel and supportive suspension, so initial findings are fine.

I did the relatively techy golf course climb up to bridal and tooled around lower Seymour today, which is usually enough for me to get some unexpected pedal strikes on a bike that's too low for me, so I'm hopeful as the bike feels amazing. Need a rip down something like dale's to tell better. Probably gonna be a while though based on the current snowpack. Lol.

If I had any complaints about the jib so far it'd be that the whole thing felt a little "pitched forward", steep seat tube, somewhat steep head tube, and long chain stays being contributing factors.  Tipping the whole back back about a degree via the mullet seems to have fixed that.

Posted by: Kenny

That was/is definitely the thing I'm paying attention to.

It's about 335 or a little less, but I'm running 165mm and it's a fairly short travel and supportive suspension, so initial findings are fine.

I did the relatively techy golf course climb up to bridal and tooled around lower Seymour today, which is usually enough for me to get some unexpected pedal strikes on a bike that's too low for me, so I'm hopeful as the bike feels amazing. Need a rip down something like dale's to tell better. Probably gonna be a while though based on the current snowpack. Lol.

If I had any complaints about the jib so far it'd be that the whole thing felt a little "pitched forward", steep seat tube, somewhat steep head tube, and long chain stays being contributing factors.  Tipping the whole back back about a degree via the mullet seems to have fixed that.

The overfork and shrunk rear wheel probably put the HTA around 64 and the STA around 75? Sounds perfect to me. I wonder what it does to the reach, shortened by 10mm or so?

Yeah it's about 1.5 degrees slacker all around, so it works out to around 64/76.

It's definitely on the shorter side reach wise now, but it has a reasonably high stack to start with and these changes increase stack as well,  so it feels pretty good.

Did you try the 440mm chainstay options?

I recently tried that (compared to stock 445mm) and WOW it is an unexpected BIG difference. My Madonna is much more playful now. I like it even better and will try it on my Jibb next…

Cornering isn‘t affected much, but bunny hops, pumping and lifting the front wheel on trails is more effortless. Rear wheel is a tiny bit more squirrely, but as the Madonna is a very composed bike that doesn‘t bother me.

Interesting on the shorter chain stays! I was thinking about trying them.

I have 50mm rise bars and some spacers under the stem and it fixes what has always felt like too much forward weight bias for my personal taste, but the front-end definitely felt quite tall now. 

Maybe shorter stays would allow me to drop the bar height a little and still keep things balanced. The rear suspension works so well on this thing,  I think it has performance/stability to spare so maybe they're a good option! Fairly cheap experiment and I want to bring in a spare derailleur hanger anyways so helps justify the shipping.

After buying wife and myself new plastic bikes in 2020 (Sight&Scout) I said I would not buy a new bike for a few years... Well I lied and my wife egged me on with no hesitation. We both hated how prone to failure my 20I7 Optic was, pivots hardware would loosen up after just a few rides, BB would walk out of the frame even with retaining compound. That Optic frame must have been made end of shift on a Friday. So when Emily saw me looking at the new Element with dilated pupils she said "get it". Put a deposit on it in September and here it is now. Hard bikes to track down in BC, I had to go to Alberta to find a C30.

I am building it up as my style of BCXC bike. Travel will stay the same, just better tires, wheels, brakes and a bit of Purple.

I am in the middle of Ride Wrapping it. I hope to have it all built up and ready to ride for Sunday. This is my first wagon wheeler!!!!

A few upgrades to make it a proper BCXC bike.

Nobl TR37 front rims to keep the weight down a bit.

More Purple

Those Elements look awesome.

Yeah! A beautiful bike!

And indeed not easy to find…

Wow, super jealous of that Element. Beautiful bikes.

No changes for me in 2022, still on this Tallboy that I believe I purchased as a frame and fork from someone who posts here. Might move the drivetrain to 11 speed Shimano and explore a new shock. If I build a new bike this year it will be a hardtail or gravel bike. Continuing physical therapy and getting back into riding shape after a major back injury last summer is my biggest upgrade.

All built up and ready for its maiden voyage. Is this bike backing?

You know, if you lost one of those bottles I would bet that you would have room for a couple of sandwiches.

I’ll be curious about your experience moving to 29. I’m about to make the same move and I’m still on the fence about it.

That Element is high on the list if I ever decide to try my transition from ht to fs again. I had a Giant Trance 29 for a bit and while it was good, the geometry wasn't quite where I wanted it. Now that another couple of years have elapsed, I'm glad to see more light weight short travel options with 'aggressive' geo

Posted by: FLATCH

You know, if you lost one of those bottles I would bet that you would have room for a couple of sandwiches.

I’ll be curious about your experience moving to 29. I’m about to make the same move and I’m still on the fence about it.

You won't regret it. There's a noticeable difference.

@heathen Man that's a cool build but aren't those spokes a bit too tight?!!  : Þ

Looks like you could fit another bottle behind the seat tube!