UFO profile

https://youtu.be/BE7mgfwd6M8  this guy is pretty over the top with excitement, but maybe not?

https://youtu.be/nfh-Essrs9Q  this is a different guy but has more actual track footage with audio.

My consensus is that to drive these things at 10/10 for 90 mins straight as well as to operate and adjust car settings, monitor everything else going on around you on track, is basically other worldly. And no ABS or traction control.

For me, a bigger bike allowed me to ride faster and feel like I'm a better rider than I actually am, until I hit actual harder trails and features and get served humble pie. And crashes at higher speeds also typically hurt more or cause more bodily damage. The small bikes IMO help to keep the trails in my wheelhouse interesting and keeps me on my toes without letting the bike go straight down wherever it wants. 

But I do also understand the struggle and safety net of 'overbiking', with how well many bikes pedal nowadays and weights that are very comparable to the smaller trail bikes

I've been geeking out on YouTube where a couple of civilians have been invited to drive F1 cars. Their description that stomping on the brakes from high speed with literally all the strength they had to prepare for a turn and the resultant G forces snapping their heads into their crotches was pretty eye opening. Then they find out they only actually hit 75% of max braking force. Knowing the pros do this 10+ times for 90 minutes straight sets things in perspective.

Drive to Survive was fantastic, totally hooked me from being a barely casual F1 follower to a pretty dedicated fan this year. I can't believe I looked forward to waking up at 5am Sundays to watch!!

Well you've already given up suspension, gears, and a 'flickable' rear end ;P

I was a very late adopter to dropper posts,  so obviously I made do for a long time without. But it's one of those overly complicated pieces that does something so simple with a resulting convenience that has made riding more enjoyable for sure. But back to the top about suspension, gears and short rear ends...

With your anti conformity to the marketing machine,  I'm expecting you to revert back to a fixed seatpost and rim brakes in 2020

The $99usd 1up v1 dropper would be perfect for this bike.

I do wish they went 10spd even if it added $100 to the msrp, 9 speed upgrade path for lower gearing is a challenge...the M6000 Deore rear derailleur will happily handle 11-46 smoothly on a hardtail with a clutch that actually works and give you Eagle-like gearing with the 28t ring. I guess they can't have the entry level model shift better than the SX and NX drivetrain of the higher spec models costing 1.5x and 2x more

I've had great success with a set of Slate T4's on the stock red pads even (but with SRAM centerline rotors), so much so they've ended up on my park bike. I came across a second set in which I could never get the same power out of the front brake... I tried to swap the lever with my known good set, tried finned Shimano metal pads, both with no improvements. So something going on at the caliper.

Could that brass Chromag QR lever not have just bolted onto a 34.9 or whatever you need clamp? *sorry*

"it's capable of writing cheques that the suspension can't cash."

That's an interesting concept for me as a primarily hardtail rider. Similar train of thought to Andrew's lack of concern in overforking FS bikes vs. overforking HT's.

Your Ripley review is timely as I'm considering moving to a 120 or 140mm FS primary bike. I guess what I'd be curious with is for you to spend similar time in a Ripmo and see how much it gives up on the flats and climbs given its weight is about the same, to cash in on 20mm more suspension. Just sweet talk Cam some and make it happen.

I'm not sure you can get away from the Magura hoses. The Shimano banjo fitting does not work at the Magura caliper as I recall, though the Shimano barb and olive will fit the Magura line

Yeah really hard to stomach the frame only price of the Ibis/SC unless you're 150% committed to this genre. And at that same price you can move to the Ripmo/Hightower which is undoubtedly more capable, minimal weight penalty, and virtually same geometry.

Well I've got another few weeks/ months to build up and rehab from a frustrating Fall of injuries

I'll be swapping most of my current build over. 10 speed 11-46 drivetrain with a 28t oval ring that the frame will hopefully clear. Old XTR brake levers with Deore 4 pot calipers front and maybe rear if needed

Thanks for the feedback; I ride primarily Eagle and Burke,  but have expanded out to the Fraser Valley a bit too. I don't often get my wheels off the ground intentionally, so huckability isn't huge on my criteria. I just wanted something to take a bit of the sting out of the hardtail (more than a 2.8" tire) and more climbing traction is never a bad thing. 

I think the gyst of the reviews was that it's more capable than a 115mm bike should be. The other bike on my radar was the new Tallboy, but being so new there have been virtually none on the used market and even then it's at minimal discount compared to new.

My Trance is coming with the DVO shock, I really like the DVO fork I've been using the past 6 months and I've also had good experiences with the Topaz on a more recent trail bike too

OT, how do you like the Trance 29? I have one on the way as a do it all trail bike, to replace the various Chromags I've been on over the past 3 years. Everything I've read indicates that it rides like a 130-140 bike

Back on topic, I'm hoping it will work with the 28t oval rings that work well for me

I've used a 2.4 Ibex in the rear, no complaints

I have a Trailmaster DT that has worked well for me and more importantly looks awesome.

I did also have an original Trailmaster LTD with the ti rails that didn't work as comfortably for me, I'm not sure why.  And the ti rails creaked incessantly.  I don't know if the new LTDs are any different, but at that price premium I'm not about to find out.

Posted by: heathen

I am not the only one to thi k about this.

I had a quick look at the leverage curve charts. The Range is actually quite progressive and should work well with a coil.  The Patrol is less so, around the same ball park as the Stump evo.

Although leverage curve is very important,  the shock's compression tunes now also add another variable.  

So at the end you need to look at the overall sum of the parts and how they all play together. 

I trust Transition have gone coil because of a defined performance benefit, they as a company are pretty good with not following the trends generally speaking.  I mean at the end of the day they gave us modern slack geo with decreased offset forks which they pretty much cobbled together in their garage to R&D

Posted by: heathen

Norco Range and Transition Patrol both have 160mm frames.

Range has 205mm x 60mm rear shock

Patrol has 205mm x 65mm rear shock

So the Patrol is more linear then the Range. Yet transition only offers the Patrol with a coil now. I think that is a recipe for disaster. That's why I made the meme. I personally dont feel the Range is progressive enough to run a coil either.

It's not as simple as dividing the travel by the shock stroke, that only gives you an average of the leverage ratio.

Through the modern voodoo of linkage design, where in the travel the design begins to ramp up is also an important consideration.

I had an old Chromag stripped and repainted by Dekerf; easy process and he did a fantastic job. I'm not sure if he blasts or chemically strips the frames, I'm guessing he blasts it. $350 is the cost for a wide array for 'standard' colours