Ed Oxley writes…
I’ve been able to get a fair amount of riding done on the Tranny in its 1×9 trail bike build. It rides really well and manages to feel snappy in acceleration without being harsh on the bumps. It’s a fun bike to ride hard and I like the way that the light frame allows a solid build without ending up with a heavy bike. Fast corners are a treat, you can chuck the bike around and it’s a hoot through the berms or on a tight and twisty natural singletrack trail.
The most significant change that I’ve made lately has been adjusting the Fox 831 fork travel to 120mm. This has slackened the head angle a little and gives the bike a more confident feel on rougher and steeper trails. It was an easy job to do the adjustment as it just involved removing a spacer from inside the fork, topping up with Fox Forx Suspension Fluid and Float Fluid and replacing a crush washer.
At last I’ve got a working set of brakes on the bike after running three sets from the Singletrack spares box that had all seen better days. I’m now running brand new Hope Race X2 brakes with 160mm rotors at each end. They are Hope’s super light xc brake set and are CNC machined from alloy and come with titanium bolts to keep the weight low. The pads even have an alloy back plate for weight saving. Performance feels good although it hasn’t rained since I fitted them so we’ll have to wait and see. Strangely I’ve got one carbon lever and one alloy! The ones you can buy come with alloy levers. Apparently Hope can make the alloy lever lighter than the carbon one which they have to buy in. They will be getting a full Grinder review in the Singletrack magazine in due course.
The Race Face Respond cranks have spacers which allow 6mm of chainline adjustment and this has been great for fine tuning the position of the 34 tooth MRP chainring in the MRP 1.X Guide. I have lost the chain a couple of times but only when back pedalling. It is a system that works and keeps weight low but I’d rather have the security of a full chain device. MRP do the Mini G chain device which only weighs 220g although if you are watching every gram then the 1.X at 58g does seem very appealing. Again look out for a future Grinder review of the cranks and the 1.X.
New rubber is on the Tranny now with a pair of WTBs excellent 2010 Weirwolf tyres in 2.3 sizing. Pretty fast rolling with a nice edge to them, they are particularly good in loose conditions and on hardpack and they seem like pretty good all rounders. Again there hasn’t been much rain, but they handle light mud well.
I’ve really taken a risk and have put ‘narrow’ WTB TXC bars on the bike and amazingly they are OK. Narrow is 680mm by the way and this is all part of the attempt to not Calderdale-ize the build. This would involve fitting wide bars, massive fork, heavy sticky tyres, wopping rotors etc. The result is a bike that has relevance beyond the valley. I’ll probably put wider bars on though(!)
Finally I have the pimpest pedals in the valley with these slim Blackspire Sub3 (Ti axle) beauties. They weigh 265g and that’s for two of them making them an xc pedal with downhill performance. They are nice and grippy, although not as mega grippy as pedals with grub screws where the threads bite into your shoes. They have a good concave shape that your foot fits into giving grip and really good feel. They clear mud really well because there’s just not that much pedal to catch it in the first place. The pins are removable from behind with a posidrive screw driver which should help to avoid the problems you get with grub screws that get too mangled to remove with an allen key. The pins do seem robust and have survived pedal strikes with no damage. My pair are anodised purple but only black is available in the UK.
Here are some details of the build…
Ibis Tranny frame
Price: £1299.99
From: www.2pure.co.uk
Fox 831 fork (reviewed in issue 56 of Singletrack)
Price: £679
From: www.mojo.co.uk
Fox Forx Suspension Fluid 10wt (946ml)
Price: £17.90
from: www.mojo.co.uk
Fox Float Fluid (8oz bottle)
Price: £9.90
From: www.mojo.co.uk
Hope Race X2 Brakes
Price: £379.98 (pair inc. rotors)
From: www.hopegb.com
Race Face Respond Cranks
Price: £159
From: www.silverfish-uk.com
MRP 1.X Guide
Price: £39.99
From: www.ison-distribution.com
MRP 34t Chainring
Price: £34.99
From: www.ison-distribution.com
WTB Weirwolf 2.3 Folding tyre (tubeless compatible)
Price: £39.99 each
From: www.hotlines-uk.com
Blackspire Sub3 (Ti axle) Pedals
Price: £179.99
Cromo axle version weighing 350g cost £79.99
From: www.hotlines-uk.com
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