jamie-hamilton profile

A bit late to the party but well said. Having been involved with a bit of local trail building and by no means do I claim to be the most prolific, most expert or skilled by any means. Is it ok to just say you were involved with the trail building process and take gratitude in seeing all the smiley faces at the bottom of the run? No need to claim anything, just enjoy the ride and leave ownership to the kids who want to keep all the toys in the sandpit. I'll be that guy silently stoked to see happy faces out on the trails, Cheers!

Dear Kiwi Dog Guy!

I'm also a kiwi dog owner, and like you I have tried to varying degrees of success to turn my dog into the trail variety. Breed is an important factor. For example my pooch is a german short haired pointer and as such any whiff or sight of a small furry animal, all sense & sensibility goes out the window! Thus changing the ride into a search & rescue mission! One such occasion ended up with an injured dog & 48hrs lost in a forest, ( Not to be confused with lyrics from a Cure song ).

Solution?

Lower your expectations of your dog & change the experience to suit your dog. So for us this meant rides with my dog became geared towards her & her abilities & natural instincts. Hence I began training her in the art of Bike Joring, ( harness your dog with them attached to the front of your bike leading, encouraging their natural instinct to run and lead! ). It took about 3 months in a park to get the technic & trust sorted between man, beast & bike. But now my pooch gets to come riding albiet a slightly more tailored definition of the "ride".

Hope this helps! Happy riding!

Yeh these would be great for the Volunteer Crew at the Christchurch Adventure Park, hint hint! I'd def buy one for sure!

Yes! In recent years as technology & focus on good geometry etc have proven that you don't need the biggest gun to win the battle. Longer is not always better. It's all about how you use it. Bronson, shorter Processes, Pyga etc more like these please!

Once again Uncle Dave not only nails it, but fairly kicks it in the testicles & walks on with a smug knowing look on his face. Ah yes Uncle Dave, you hold a special place in my heart.

I did the same thing. I run a Marzocchi 350 CR at 150mm and really like that setup. Feels really balanced and comfy throwing the front into the rough. And the great back end feels like there's more than 134mm. My 160mm Nduro bike is now collecting lots of pretty cobwebs.

Abso-bloody-luetly! biggest grin ever!

F%$# yeh! Without sounding like a wrinkled up old fan boy, I've had many of my happiest bike moments aboard one or another Kona bike. Over 25yrs of riding I've owned 4-5 Kona's all gave me happy times & big smiles! And my Process 134 has cemented my long term relationship. No bull, just outright fun!

Hey Drew! I always get these measurements wrong so for context I measured from the dead center of the axle to the top of the crown ( not including the air spring cover ). And it came out at 525mm on the dot.

Does this help? I figure it takes the head angle from 68 to 67 or there abouts? Maybe raises the BB buy 2-3mm? I think if I pushed it out to 160mm it'd probably start to feel a bit weird but at the moment I love it!

Ask Seb what he thought of it at 160mm I remember talking to him, and that's what he'd done. Albeit with a Pike if I recall?

Yes I agree with all that's been said so far. Same here swapped to a 30T NW and swapped the forks to a Marzo 350 CR set to 150mm ( does not effect handling negatively at all & I highly recommend if you like steep & tech ) also swapped the front tire to a DHF 3C. By far this is the best "riding" "feeling" bike I think I've ever owned! Having come off a 6inch "Unduro" bike I have never missed the extra travel. But have actually relished the poppy, responsive nature of my lil blue steed. And really at the end of the day, time is precious, so having a bike that extracts every ounce of fun out of each ride & leaves you with a sh%$# eating grin every time, is a winner.