mrt profile

I have a Spur in the stable and have a Chromag Arcturian that came in January… the spur doesn’t see much saddle time as the Chromag is just a barrel of fun. I find the Spur gets pulled out for longer rides with a bit more air time/chunk, but if it’s a proper session type ride the 167mm Chilcotin comes out to play.

I also have a SS that is Ti from Blacksheep, it was cutting edge two in 2010 and remains amazing but the newer geo is fantastic and I shopped the Tyaughton vs the Arcturian and it came down to the big meaty tires as a fat bike alternative for snow.

Is this perhaps the best way to hack a wide spread 9 speed with a newer cassette and derailleur?  Because if you can hack the shifts and the gear spacing isn’t an issue…

Lots of feels on this one. Right on amigo.

Word.  Me too.  

Chilcotin, Spur, Arcturian and Stumpy.

No issues on the XTR derailleur(s) here... I've heard people have issues, but I'm guessing must be batch related. I'm on 3 bikes with 180 days in the saddle across stable in 2020 and no issues on derailleur (nor on 2 bikes over 2019 season), purchase of the 3 derailleurs occurred between XTR release and March of last year so fairly spaced out.  Hopefully it is a batch issue.

Agree on cassette, I'm blown away as my 10 speed and 11 speed XTR were like timex watches.  The new XTR cassettes are like ninja stars after a season.  Its nuts, all 3 were new in March 2020 and I'm wondering if a better option is SRAM or eThirteen... but swap from Microspline to Xd is a PITA.

Tallboy really didn't give me the pop or playfulness I want in a short travel/snappy rig.  I do think Evil The Following and Tallboy are much more comparable to the Spur.

I was on the Tallboy all of last season, albeit on East Coast New England rocky rooty and short punchy up/down terrain and just didn't love the bike vs. my Knolly Fugitive or Stumpy.  Maybe VPP =/= Clydesdale bike?  I would actually say its better to compare the Evil Following (had Mk I and MB but not MkIII) to the Tallboy, where I'd say its no where near as good in the all-rounder up/down and even send it category.

Picked up the Spur for this season so will see how it goes, that said I do have a big squishy Enduro/Freeride rig and want something snappier for quick "dad break" rides or for long days in Pisgah or (hopefully) out and about in Whistler Valley for a couple weeks every (normal) summer... LOTS, Duncan's, Uncomfortable Bum, Out There, etc.

First Spur ride was yesterday, but on top of 10 cm of well packed snow so about as useful for gathering an opinion as riding a bantha.  It is wicked light and the two little drops that were packed in nicely the Sid Rear handled smoothly (I have a Pike dropped to 120mm and stuff with custom bits and tune for the Spur).  The tech was buried by the snow so more to come.

I picked up the new Tallboy (alloy) tossed on a new 2021 Fox piggy back and did a helm 130/i9/XTR full build.  It is not nearly the bike it is replacing, a mkII Evil The Folllowing (aka MB).  I’m disappointed in the Tallboy not holding a flame to the Evil... the Spur and the Evil mkIII are both likely replacements later this year.   But totally underwhelmed by the Santa Cruz, mediocre vs the Evil and even though massively different than my Fugitive LT, still just disappointing.   Skip the Tallboy.

Note: does not fit XL Knolly Warden or XL Evil The Following. Seriously rained on my parade

Posted by: trumpstinyhands

Re. tire pressures, I ran my bike with the stock 3.0 Minions and 29+ Cushcore front and rear for a good while. I found 15-16psi up front and around 18 in the rear worked well. Any softer and the bike would start to feel like a trampoline. As you alluded to on your first post, I'd stock up on 29+ tires if you want to keep the bike set up like that. Personally I find the 3" Bontrager SE4 tire significantly better than the stock Minions.

I had a genuine LOL moment when I put my bike on a scale (with EDC pump, multitool and I think a half full water bottle....) and it weighed in at 38lb.

Shortly after I cracked the rear rim so put the bike on a bit of a diet, building a standard 29er rear wheel, removing the front Cushcore and replacing the rear with a Tannus and adding a OneUp bar. It's lost a little comfort in the rear but not to the point of getting beaten up in the Park. With a 70+mm bottom bracket drop the pedals now drag along the floor with the smaller rear wheel ha ha.

If the 29+ wheels don't work out for you, you could probably just run 29er wheels and a 180mm air piston in the fork to raise the BB again, and pretty well turn the bike into a Doctahawk. The seat tube angle is so steep and reach long that I don't think it would screw up the geometry.

I will try to hunt down some of the Bontes so I have a couple extras, standing by for restocks on the minions too.  I’m really digging the bike.  Many thanks on psi and rubber recommendation.  

As a proper all-the-time Clydesdale (ex-Rugger 1 or 8 depending on fitness) I’m less concerned about the weight and didn’t notice it on first ride in up/down chunky New England tech.  Likely once I aim for some 15+ milers with it I’ll find maybe I want to shed weight, but better for me to drop that than the bike!

I had a Surly Ice Cream Truck for a couple winters, but hated the geometry (and the bluto) and the constant flat tires like every other ride (no inserts).

I loved the grip and tech climbing that came with the fats… in snow and on trail.  I also have a singlespeed hardtail that is going on 12 years old and wanted something newer geo as an alternative to full squish for aggressive or longer trail riding, ergo lets try the Arcturian.

Hoping to put a bit more saddle time on it this week, I have it tubeless with Cush Core so fingers crossed I can lock down the magic psi.

I decided to be a bit of a goofball toss out common sense by buying into a dying tire size and a conservative hardtail trail bike and do this Arcturian build. I am on the east coast but take summer refuge in the Sea to Sky. This build has been a long time coming and delivered for a first ride yesterday.

That was a long 7-month wait. The color, electric grape, turned out brilliantly. It has its first taste of dirt (frozen, delicious). It chewed up the New England tech and the silly 3.0 rubber are the tricky bit of breaking into correct PSI, they’re Minions and predictable but with CushCore and 3.0 tires will take a while to get perfect traction/cornering formula . The super slack HtA on a Hardtail plus the mongo size fork, no issues. Chainstays plus the tire size mean the wheelbase eats the 1up rack real estate but feels playful on the trail

More to come!