vincentaedwards profile

Great write up! I’m glad to see so much thought put into the dropouts- esp love the 142 SS option. If I wasn’t a happy owner of a SS ti honzo, I’d be reaching for my wallet right now. 

I absolutely agree with your thoughts on carbon wheels + hardtails. I do wonder how the new Zipp moto rims would work. 

Do you have any thoughts on ride quality compared to the honzo?

Nice to see a carbon hardtail w/ proper SS dropouts that will run a 142 SS hub. 

I do wish they had gone a bit more modern on the SA- (if nothing else to support slight over-forking) - but I'll try one before I jump to conclusions. 

I'm looking forward to the long term SS review! Let us know if you get any conclusive answer about the 88t option for a Pro4 hub- I hope you're right!

Thanks Cam! I’m currently doing a ‘min-max’ build on a Ripmo, and leaning toward a similar drivetrain setup. (XT and Xtr 11 speed stuff) I’ll probably just keep using my XG1195 cassette until it’s worn out... but at that point I’m looking at either an E13 or Garbaruk to get a little bit more range. 

Glad to hear you had such a good first experience on the YT. I bet they are going to sell a lot of these...

Geometry numbers of the CF-Pro 29 and the Ripmo are nearly identical. That’s probably not a bad thing. 

How did that e-13 hybrid drivetrain compare to 11 speed shimano, or GX-Eagle?

Thanks Andrew! Sounds like good news but I’ll definitely double check before I order parts. Glad to hear you had such a good experience with this cassette. I was a bit wary or 3rd party cassettes at first, but e13 is proving to be a great option for many.

Compatibility question:

Will it work with the forthcoming (someday, maybe) xtr9100 shifter and mid-cage derailleur?

It’s hard to deny that this will be a game changer for the entry level market- especially if it’s actually durable and reliable.

This is the first truly affordable (especially at OEM cost) ‘full’ range 1x drivetrain. (Shimano SLX 11-46 was close)

Yes, 615g is a heavy cassette... but on a hardtail it’s a worthwhile trade off for the range, compatibility, and ease of use.

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I bet in about 2yrs we will see shimano roll out SLX 11-51 and it will be great too.

I did get to spend some time on the 111, right before they cut it from the line. Super fun well balanced bike- I wish I had bought one years ago. I ended up going with a tallboy3 as it’s as close to a carbon 111 as I could get. (And I’m super happy with that decision, 68 degree HA and all. My biggest gripe is the 73degree STA, but pushing the saddle forward mostly solves this... measurement shows I have a 74.5 Effective STA)

I’m glad you put so much focus on describing the dynamic effects of that steep STA. It sounds like a 75 degree STA would have made you much happier. I hope you do get a chance to put the longer fork and dvo shock on this bike and do a follow up. 

I would love to see bike reviews measure actual STA at their saddle height. If a standard for measuring could be agreed upon, this would be great information to have. What’s printed in geo charts is very arbitrary

My rims arrived in a timely manner and so far I’m very impressed. Finish quality is excellent, they built up easily, and the ride quality is great! Spoke tension is more even due to the offset drilling.

Compared to the flow Mk3 rims they replace, they feel lighter and more precise, and they definitely spin up faster. As expected, trail feedback is heightened somewhat, but they aren’t overly harsh. I’m going to need to experiment with tire pressure, as I feel like small changes are more noticible than they were with the alloy hoops. The best way I can describe the feeling is that with my alloy rims the tire and rim felt like more of a ‘unit’ whereas with the carbon rims, I can really focus on what the tire is doing because the rims are stiffer.

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Update: After a season on the WAO rims... I have very little to add. They’re perfectly true and perform like new. I’m very happy with my purchase.

I just ordered a pair of the ‘insider’ rims, as they are a better match for my riding style. I’ll report back here after a month or so of use. So far, We Are One is one of the most helpful companies I’ve ever dealt with- they advised me on rim selection, as well as best practices for building a wheel with their rims (spoke tension, as well as spoke and nipple selection)

I have a Kona Process 29 AL/DL. It climbs well and has good trail manners for such a capable bike. I use it at the bike park, and for rocky technical trail riding. It’s a bit more work than my Tallboy3 when climbing, but still very manageable. 

I think the geo and suspension kinematics are really key to how well it performs. I find that steep SA paired with short chainstays and long-ish reach really work for me. It’s also very quiet and composed on rough dh sections. It’s a bike that loves to go fast.