Posted by: Vikb
Posted by: a.funks
And in with the new!
First proper ride tomorrow night…
She fine! Welcome to the Pipedream Tribe. :-)
The best colour of those. Sweet machine!
NSMB - 2022 - Hardtail Thread...
Posted by: a.funks
Finally! Out with the old:
And in with the new!
First proper ride tomorrow night…
Sweet ride. What an upgrade! You are going to be in heaven tonight.
That is a brutally beautiful colour
Posted by: a.funks
Finally! Out with the old:
And in with the new!
First proper ride tomorrow night…
I'd like to take a moment to appreciate the sheer number of trigger clamps in this picture.
I got out for a nice solo ride today. Back at the end of last year I didn't have many folks to ride with in the area so I did a lot of solo riding. Now I've got connections with three different riding groups plus my GF. I've haven't wanted to say no to ride offers from the new peeps so I can keep the social momentum going, but that's meant no solo trail riding for me lately. I missed it. Riding alone I can go a steady pace for the whole ride with few stops. I can get into a nice flow. Not my fastest trying to keep up with someone speedy and not back pedaling slow to not drop someone behind me. I'm dealing with end of life aging parent and end of life aging cat issues. I got a chance to partially relax and process some thoughts feelings today [on the climbs] and shut off my brain and just cruise [on the descents].
It started raining just as I got done my ride. I don't know why, but that always feels extra sweet!
On the gear front my one any only issue with the Bird Forge is getting enough weight on the rear wheel on steeper climbs. I'm already at a 31mm stem so my options to get my CG rearward are a more swept back bar or more bar roll. I've installed a 80mm rise bar with 9 deg backsweep and rolled it back a bit. So far so good. I'm going to ride that setup a while and see what I think. Although I downsized vs. the Cotic BFeMAX this replaced if I was buying again I'd get the Medium vs. the M/L I have now. That said the M/L rides well 80% of the time, but unfortunately I really love me some steep techy climbing so I need to solve that as not cleaning sections I can do on another bike would be very unsatisfying. I'm reasonably optimistic I can solve this, but only time will tell.
Actually the 3rd alternative is to increase the fork travel from 140mm to 150mm or 160mm. Given the low BB that wouldn't be a terrible solution. I'll play with the bars first since that's essentially free. I'll service the fork in the summer and that'll be a good time to swap air shafts if I feel like that's needed.
Last edited by: Vikb on April 29, 2022, 7:49 p.m., edited 1 time in total.
I’ve just about calmed down from Thursday night’s first proper ride. It’s amazing!
Moxie stream of consciousness:
It just feels so right. Like my Levo’s “storm into everything, steamrollering, maximum confidence” front end but with so much immediacy when I pump or pedal. It’s freakishly smooth. I was expecting it to carry speed better than my old hardtail because of the bigger wheels, I expected it to feel a bit less bumpy/harsh over the rough but not to this degree. How much of that is 29” vs 27.5” or steel vs aluminium or brand new 160mm Lyrik vs 150mm Pike that’s due a service, I don’t know. All I know is it’s bloody brilliant!
Popping off everything, building confidence in the balance to get some more air (I’m far from a great jumper but I am a frequent jumper). Singlespeed was awesome - far less unpleasant than I was expecting, I actually preferred it to geared hardtail or my weird Levo habit of full power solo and zero assistance with the group. We don’t have big hills here although there are some steeper bits. 18 miles and 2000’ of climbing on that ride. Quads were aching more above my knees but the rest of my legs felt less tired if anything. The rest of me feels great, not beaten up like with the Zero.
Set up details - the excellent chaps at my LBS built it up, seat and dropper came straight from my Zero, likewise bars and stem and brakes and I think nothing has changed regarding clamping positions because all feels right. Two spacers under the stem (10mm?) and 40mm bar rise so the front is high but so’s my Levo’s and I love it on that too. Added some LSC to the Lyrik but haven’t even checked the sag or fork pressure or adjusted the rebound - feels great and I’m a really fussy sod!
Tyres were at 22F / 24R. Part worn Eliminator 2.3 is a really great dry rear. Magic Mary 2.35 obviously a great front. Rimpact normal front, Pro rear. Brakes were pretty weak to start with because the rear had new pads and the front had old pads from the Zero that didn’t match the old disk from the Levo. Thankfully they bedded in and felt good towards the end of the ride. Gearing is 30:18 with 165mm cranks and a big 29x2.3 (it measures 2.4” wide, slightly bigger volume than the Magic Mary). Think the chainstays are on the slightly shorter side of middle, so maybe 432mm?
Noticed I used most of the fork travel at times (only by checking the dust marks), about 140 of the 160mm. Despite that I never felt that unbalanced thing or the head angle steepness near full travel that people say is an issue with a lot of travel on a hardtail. I never considered it an issue on the Zero but there were moments when you’d land a bigger (for me) drop with a flatter transition and you’d have to “give the bars away” (this is a horsing term from showjumping - substitute reins). The Moxie doesn’t even need that. So balanced!
Had two celebratory pints and then had to ride home via some trails and discovered that I ride better when lightly lubricated (I am out of practice at drinking!) - more confident and looser. Will have to try to find that when sober!
Funny thing about Thursday’s night ride - the bike count was:
3 x full-sus
1 x hardtail
3 x singlespeed hardtail
3 x electric full-sus
(And a mix of 27.5” and 29” wheels, 6:4 I think). And seven of us went to the pub and managed to not have any arguments about gear because the real world isn’t like the internet, thank god!
The colour is much better built up with all the black parts - it looked a bit too pale in the frame box but it’s SO awesome now! And yes, we have hundreds of quick clamps at work - if anyone knows of a brand that makes indestructible ones I’d like to know because we lose too many to fatigue/wear over time.
I'm glad you had a great ride. The Moxie is very popular for a reason. I've got a FS bike I love, but I keep grabbing the hardtail almost every ride. It's just such a blast to ride and for a lot of trails it's not really any downgrade in performance. Keep on trucking!
That Pipedream looks like a great bike. Sounds similar to my Knolly Tyaughton. The combination of great geometry and steel frame makes the bike feel very responsive and comfortable. It's the bike I choose every time if I am going for a solo ride.
Posted by: a.funks
And yes, we have hundreds of quick clamps at work - if anyone knows of a brand that makes indestructible ones I’d like to know because we lose too many to fatigue/wear over time.
Ever since the Vice-Grip branded ones became shitty Irwins, these are the only ones that stand out to me as significantly better than the rest. My experience with them is just in a home shop however.
Marino has finally finished my frame. Waiting for the fork now. The frame is for my anniversary, hence my wife's name engraved in the bike. Probably another two months for them to get the steerers in stock and then fabricate a fork, but I'm still stoked.
Excuse me that is offensively nice wtf
Thanks. I was worried things wouldn't work out. Communication with Marino is pretty limited but they seem to get it right based on the photos.
I’ve only seen one Marino in the metal which was a couple of years ago - seemed nice and the owner liked it. Your forthcoming one looks great!
I’m completely baffled by quite how smooth the Moxie is to ride - muting the rough, not being slowed by bumps. I’ve changed far too many variables to work out what’s making the bigger differences but I’m guessing there’s a lot working together. For instance vs my previous hardtail we’ve gone:
27.5” to 29”
Aluminium to steel
12 speed to singlespeed
32 to 28 spoke wheels
Flow EX to fairly soft 30mm rims (whatever used to come on the cheapest Levo)
150mm Pike due a service vs new 160mm Lyrik
Longer wheelbase & chainstays
Would anyone who’s made similar changes individually rather than en masse like to enlighten me as to which stuff matters most?
Tempted to take it on my next uplift trip of rock munching!
rad marino. i still can't get over how cheap they are. *checks website* - $320USD for full custom??
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