Viewing 17 posts - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)
  • Shiny new Rocket pics!
  • JonEdwards
    Free Member

    Well there is under a coating of finest Peaks clart anyway









    So far its riding pretty well. Fast but involving, climbs well after a bit of shock fettling and rips through corners beautifully. A little bit tail happy under braking compared to the FS bikes I’m used to, but not always in a bad way, and not helped by the OTT rotors (wheels pinched from my Uzzi). 30.5lb in current spec, inc pedals, so by the time it’s got it’s own wheels and sensible rotors on, we should be well under the aimed for 30lb, which is about right, I think, for a trail bike that can take a beasting.

    doom_mountain
    Full Member

    Looks fun 😀
    It’s nice to see a new bike that’s dirty…

    Duane…
    Free Member

    Nice pics.

    Curious about the chain tensioner, what does it offer compared to taking a couple links out of the chain?

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    dannybgoode
    Full Member

    Mmmm – want a Rocket. Funds and wife won’t allow. If I were to go FS it would be very high on my list…

    Cheers

    Danny B

    ndg
    Free Member

    How are you finding the Vipr? I’m considering my options between the CTD and Vipr when the green ones land…..

    Thrustyjust
    Free Member

    Mmmmm, mini Daves Chain Device. Looks great.

    passtherizla
    Free Member

    Nice! I have the CTD Kashima and its been excellent so far.

    Northwind
    Full Member

    Braaaaaap! Look even better muddy than they do clean, those.

    Alex
    Full Member

    Hey Jon, looks fab. How are you finding that shock? My Float died (fixed under warranty) and I really fancy something a bit better for an upcoming alps trip. Are they sektors or revs on the front?

    JonEdwards
    Free Member

    Curious about the chain tensioner, what does it offer compared to taking a couple links out of the chain

    Well the chain is as tight as it can go anyway, but that still leaves slack in anything but big/big. What this does is 1/2 the length of chain that can flap about. I was very sceptical, but having got utterly fed up with the stinger on my Uzzi (forever bending it), and not having the space below/behind the BB to try any other, more solid, 2 ring device, I gave it a go and it works very well. Haven’t dropped a chain yet and there’s very little drag.

    How are you finding the Vipr?

    The short answer? It’s a shock, it goes boing.

    The long answer (it IS long, you have been warned!):-
    I’ve never been a big fan of air shocks. All the FS bikes I’ve owned have had coil shocks on, and whilst I’ve demoed a fair few bikes with air cans, I’ve always been left with the impression that the shock either needs a custom tune to work right, or is simply not up to the job. When I demoed a Rocket this time last year, I was pretty taken with the Kashima RP23 – very smooth and comfortable for normal trail riding, but it did wallow horribly on the big bombholes on my local DH run.

    Go forward a year, and Cy recommended the Vipr, as he’s really not impressed with the Fox CTD forks or shocks – soggy midstroke apparently, and that’s largely backed up by the reviews on the web I’ve seen. Coming off the Uzzi, which has an inch more travel, a DHX4 coil and being a VPP an axle path that’s very good at square edge hits (but also does some strange things in the granny ring), the Rocket definitely feels different. It’s not sticky in any way, but it does feel busy – certainly no magic carpet ride. One man’s “precise and supportive damping with loads of feel and feedback” could be another’s “bit harsh, really”. Not yet made a decision as to which side of that I fall yet. Also – it’s still not bedded in yet, I guess.

    I did a few runs with Cy last week, and riding at the same speed over the same trail, we were using identical amounts of travel F&R (to the mm), so I seem to have it working the way he intends to.

    Off to Riviera Bike next week, so we’ll see how I feel after ragging it round Molini for a few days…

    cy
    Full Member

    Nice one J. Glad we got the setup sorted for you.

    Tensioner is a Bionicon V.02 Chainguide. It’s an option on any of our frames. As with Jon, I was very skeptical but I wanted some retention of a race last year. Got it, put it on, never took it off. Really effective. I would imagine a clutch mech does 90% of what it does though, so the main advantage for me (and Jon) is because we still use 9spd drivetrains.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Off to Riviera Bike next week, so we’ll see how I feel after ragging it round Molini for a few days…

    Full write up required! I’ll be getting my Rocket in orange in the next 3 weeks or so, and we’re booked with Riviera in July. To say I’m excited is an understatement!.

    Edit – I had decided to go with the CTD shock, but the more I hear about the Bos shock, I may change my mind.

    Alex
    Full Member

    Thanks Jon. Useful stuff. I shall ponder some more. I’m not mad keen to have another fox shock so the vip’r is the default option after that. Clutch mech on mine stopped the chain dropping on 2×10 (which it did all the time when battering it down rocks in Tenerife), had stinger as well decided I didn’t need it. Will go 1×10 with a chain guide for PPDS I think.

    iainc
    Full Member

    Full write up required! I’ll be getting my Rocket in orange in the next 3 weeks or so, and we’re booked with Riviera in July. To say I’m excited is an understatement!.

    Edit – I had decided to go with the CTD shock, but the more I hear about the Bos shock, I may change my mind.

    maybe I’ll pick up the wrong Orange Cotic from the shop 😛

    JonEdwards
    Free Member

    I guess the best way to put it would be that I knew I didn’t want the Fox (or the Roco), so I ended up with the Vipr by default. It’s possible that the Fox might respond well to a custom tune, but I don’t know that for a fact, and having bought a brand new bike, I don’t want to be sending bits away for expensive mods, I want it to be “right” out of the box.

    As far as gears go, I would rather be running 1×10, (or better yet 1×11 which may yet come if SRAM play the game right and do an X9 or XO version), but I don’t have the legs to power 1×10 for proper long rides in the Peaks/Lakes/Wales, which is what this bike is for, so I stuck with the tried and tested 22/36 + 11-32 9 spd set up, so no clutchy mechs, and a definite need for some form of chain retention.

    Nobeerinthefridge
    Free Member

    Behave yerself Iain!.

    JonEdwards
    Free Member

    OK, back from Riviera (I’ll do a seperate write up), but an update on the bike.

    Broadly, it just worked. Got me down some proper mental singletrack – there were several times I was either going to clear a section or get scraped off the valley floor. Slack and low got me down in 1 piece, and I never felt like I was pushing the limits of what the frame was capable of.

    The shock got a lot more fluid after a couple of days beating – I just ended up forgetting about the feel of the back end all together, which is probably a good thing. Didn’t touch it all week.

    The fork was “OK”. I’d have preferred the solidity and extra cush of my Lyrics, but practically, it didn’t hold me back much, and they didn’t get all divey/soggy on me on the steep stuff, which is the important bit.

    XTR Trail brakes – awesome!

    The UST Rubber Queen BC was fairly impressive too. Ultimately I’d have preferred a 2.5 Minion 42A dual ply on the front, but for a lighgtish tyre, it worked remarkably well (not great on the wet slate), and despite being 6 months old is showing remarkably little wear (I’d expect a Minion 42A to last about a week of DH riding). Burped it a couple of times on the last day carving into catch berms, but it stayed inflated.

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