Frorider profile

For those wondering: ‘SHOCK/STRUT: Digit INTEGER Strut (External adjustments: air pressure, LSR and LSC damping. Internal adjustments: positive air volume, negative air volume, shim adjustment of LSC, HSC, LSR, HSR)’

Interesting observations about human nature, as always Mike.  Reminds me of the very-clean bejeweled Overlanding Rigs, heavy with poor mpg and even worse pavement handling.  But aspirational.

I thought I read the whole article but I missed this important info—the wide Q factor when I bought Turbines was why I returned them.  

I recall RF at the time apologizing for not listing the Q factor for the cinch turbines at intro.  They also couldn’t really explain to me why this general purpose crank had a Q factor bigger than all my other RF cranks.

The very low stack height in the XL completely removes it from my consideration as a 6’2” rider.  Yes, if one ignores the significant increase in effective stem length you can resort to the riser bar bandaid.  Or, as seen in other review pics, you can throw in an extra 30-40 mm steerer spacers but then the reach is reduced by say 15 mm.   Sadly WAO isn’t the only Canadian brand building these full suspension triathlon bikes ;)

I have an XL nomad like this one (matte black) sitting in the shed that I’m thinking of getting completed again (I’ve been raiding it for brakes etc for other bikes).  Not sure if article mentioned it, but the short reach is actually even shorter when you consider that the stack is 20-30 mm lower than my more modern XL bikes.  I’m an ‘invest & maintain’ long term owner of cars and bikes, and somewhat frustrated that the bike industry spent $$$ on frame development over 20 yrs but somehow still released bikes with crap geometry for taller riders

I feel like SC is trolling us with their prices.

For mtb drivetrain nerds I think the best combination of range / weight / shifting / rock clearance is the 11 spd SRAM xx1 shifter / derailleur with the E13 9-46 T cog set.   

511% range obviously blows the setup in the article out of the water.  And you don’t need to modify the derailleur.  

But yeah, for anyone forced to use the older Shimano freehub this Garbaruk option is nice.

On the subject of rear hubs…the Project 321 with the ‘silent’ pawl version is in my experience the best combo of engagement, reliability, insanely low resistance.   The light weight is an added bonus.  The preload system has been faultless on my two sets.   My experience is with CK, Hope, DT, I9…several others…I’ve avoided Onyx however.

Good comparison.   #Indie4life.

If you ride a lot & have several bikes and/or a parts bin, you find yourself swapping out brakes or shifters or dropper remotes semi regularly…for various reasons….and inevitably the integrated clamp thing becomes a giant PItA (I have a mix of 3 different brake brands and 2 shifter brands).  

Then one day you find yourself (ie Me) saying No to the whole fiasco.  Especially when your brake levers can now be inboard as much as needed