The rationale - if you can call it that - was I bought one of the ex-demo Stif 5010s in their closeout sale as a "reward" for my collarbone healing. The MX thing really works for me. Or the SC thing. Anyway, a "want" for a bigger 5010 had me vacillating between a Bronson and a Nomad. Being realistic about the trails I ride 90% of the time. the Bronson was a way better option.
The V5s are hard to get and silly money. This V4 came from Merlin at around 50% off which makes it "about right" in my view for spec (which isn't stellar by any means). Swapped a few parts from other bikes but not ridden it yet. As all that would tell me is "how much mud clearance is there?" and "is it difficult to clean?" 😉
I didn't remove the SC decals. The matt invisiframe took care of that. I might buy replacements but I quite like the stealth.
I'm a fan of Eagle AXS. Not a fan of SRAM brakes so swapped to my MT7s with posh levers. The Lyrik was fine but I kind of had a spare 36 with a posh new glide core air shaft so that obviously happened. The wheels have cushcore trail fitted (which I prefer to the Pro), dumped the reverb and (just) managed to fit a 210mm v3 OneUp. And a used but not that beaten up OneUp Bash.
Every review I read said it suits a coil, which is handy as I might have one of those coming as well 😉
It'll be my big day out in the FoD/Yat bike and going away to ride new and fun places bike starting with La Palma in April.
I'm not selling my Giga tho. Owes me nothing, not worth much and there are still dates/times when having all the travel is the right answer to "What bike".
Does mean a N-1 tho. Which I'm a bit sad about. But if the one thinghaving a whole summer off riding has taught me, no point owning bikes you're just not enjoying riding. Obviously not a bike issue 😉
Nice! Looks like a bit of a weapon that 👍
What is making way for it with the N-1?
A Propain Hugene which - based on the geo and everything I read - should have been the perfect bike for the stuff we ride.
I just never really gelled with it. As I say not a bike problem 🙄
mud wise, it doesn't really collect there which is nice.
When you regrease the linkage bearings, make sure the outside is cleancleanclean or everything sticks to it.
Other than they are an amazing ride, I put a coil on mine.
Thanks @nwgiles. It does look better than a few FS designs I've had (looking at you DW link!)
I'm going to test my regreasing skills on the 5010 as I expect it was never done when it was a demo bike. Shall make sure to clean everything thoroughly first.
I will ride it with the air shock just to get a feel for it, but I expect once the coil is fitted, it won't be coming off 🙂
regreasing is easy enough, you do need to undo the back end to access the grease port sadly, so you might as well remove it and then clean up is easier
Do you run your in High or Low setting with the coil? And can you tell any difference? Since it'll be mostly in the right number of bits to change it when the coil is fitted, I might as well set it to the 'right' one.
Well I say me, it'll be at Sprung in the FoD getting the right spring fitted and add adjustments done, documented and then left alone because whenever I do anything to suspension, I somehow make it worse 😉
Looks great that.
hows the Glidecore NA3 spring proving? Did you have a direct comparison with the old NA2 spring? I'm tempted as an upgrade...
Not ridden it anger yet @snotrag - I wasn't really impressed with the 36 from new. Always felt harsh especially on break away. So I opted for the NA3 as I needed a 10mm longer spring. Sprung tho have also relieved the bushes which apparently are always too tight on this version of 36s. So I don't really know how much is the NA3 and how much is the work they've done.
All I can say so far is they feel amazingly plush in the car park test!
I like that. But then I would as I have two SCs on the same platform/generation of that suspension design and they work well for me.
regreasing is easy enough, you do need to undo the back end to access the grease port sadly, so you might as well remove it and then clean up is easier
My experience too. Was a PITA trying to regrease it so I ended up removing the back end on my V5 Tallboy to make the process easier and cleaner. Turned out it didn't need doing at the time as the sealing seems great.
Noice.
I leave mine in the high position, I have the RS super deluxe ultimate coil with HBO, run a 600lb spring. 6ft and 115kg.
Honestly altering them is simple enough
I have one of these on order. I won't be using the red spring tho because otherwise I'd need to buy a red Lyrik to match it 🙂
yes the red spring is quite bling, mine is paydirt gold so its bright enough
Well that's arrived. At a very good price even after customs and RM "Handling charge" which appears to be storage costs for holding onto it for a few days. Aways it's no longer being held hostage, and the bike and the shock are off to Sprung tomorrow where it shall be joined by a spring and the know how needed to set it up, so I can forget it.
Still haven't ridden it. This weekend is not looking promising, then I'll be away for a week. Oh well I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. Off to BPW start of March, might have to wait until then.
Shock fitted. Mostly tho this post is to say how much I rate Jake and Mike at Sprung Suspension. Super professional, really friendly, decent cup of tea 🙂 Mike ever sorted my front brake after somehow I'd mashed the pads together putting the bike in the car.
Setup feels amazing, brand new hardware lathe'd on site, and perfectly set up for my weight and riding "style". Shame the roads were all flooded on the 30 min drive through the FOD. No way I'm riding this bike there until it dries up at least a little bit!
Coincidentally they had a new V5 in for suspension fettling. No regrets on getting the V4 🙂
Very nice! Was there a reason for going Rockshox rather than Fox on the coil?
I want to try a coil on my Bird Aether 7 which is a similar "intent" bike (150/130 travel, but full 27.5) but I've not spent that much time yet working out which one to go for so it might end up depending on what deals are available unless there are any real selling points to one over the other!
Edit - just realised it's a Bronson not a 5010 so longer travel rear as well, but question still stands!
@jfab - I have a 5010 as well, but that'll be sticking with the air shock.
I went with the Vivid over Fox offerings based entirely on my discussions with Sprung about what was the best "trail" type coil for the Bronson, and also my riding buds experience with the same shock on his Stumpy Evo.
Also I was able to get the posh Ultimate at a very good price. If the Fox equivalents has been similar, I might have gone that way!
Ah that might be the confusion, you seem to have as many bikes as me!
I'm leaning now towards the inline Cane Creek so I can keep a bottle in the frame, the list keeps growing/changing! Being a tart I do have a 36 Factory on the front so the Fox is tempting, although the coating colour of the Shocks/Forks doesn't match anyway.
I'm leaning now towards the inline Cane Creek so I can keep a bottle in the frame, the list keeps growing/changing! Being a tart I do have a 36 Factory on the front so the Fox is tempting, although the coating colour of the Shocks/Forks doesn't match anyway.
Apparently - according to to Sprung - the fox springs have the worst tolerances of any spring. Often a rated 450 will come in at 425 or 475. I'd still have considered one tho to match my 36!
Still not ridden it. Combination of holiday and rubbish weather. This weekend tho, I'm going to a trail centre so at least it won't just be 100% mud plugging.
Last "upgrade". Cannot get Orange OEM Magura caliper rings. So these are ebay 3d printed specials. Holographic apparently but I was just happy to have something mostly matching the frame colour.
I only wanted to post it it once!
Not that orange 🙂 That was an orange option offered on the ebay listing, but my experience with these things is they never match what's already on your bike. I had about 6 different versions of red on one of my previous bikes, and it really did look awful.
So I played safe with something that is actually pretty close to the frame colour. Well if you squint from maybe 10 feet away 😉
Oh I just zoomed into your pic. They are excellent. Assume that is an Orange swing arm?
Assume that is an Orange swing arm?
Yes, Stage Evo. Tacky but I like them. I'd not try matching to Fox orange though, you are wise to play it safe
Nice One
I’ve got the Vivid coil with the hbo on my Sentinel and it’s excellent. Prefer it by some margin to the Cane Creek Kitsuma oil I had before. I had a Fox factory dhx2 coil shock on a previous Aether 7 and that was pretty good - but I’m really sold on having an hbo on a coil shock.
Nice SC but really you should have a red Lyrik and red spring. Because RED.
@joebristol don't you start! I've had that from my riding buddies. I had the 36 sort of going spare, so even someone whose idea of fiscal responsibility is "buy it now", couldn't justify another brand new fork. Even if it would be in the fastest colour 🙂 And I absolutely could not buy a red spring for it because then the Lyrik would surely have somehow happened!
I've got 36s on my HT and Pikes/Zebs on other bikes. I think I prefer the 36s, but if I was buying new it would be "which one has the best discount"?
The guys at Sprung are big fans of that shock. Their view is it offers the best price/performance of anything out there. Shame tho the EXT on my Giga wasn't the same length....
Still haven't ridden it 🙁 Forecast for Cwmcarn was too grim and trails here are 100% hardtail only. So wrote a thing instead.
https://www.pickled-hedgehog.com/i-look-like-the-kind-of-guy-who-has-a-bottle-of-beer-in-my-hand/
Next week shall be the week. Or maybe the week after. I'm sure it'll be worth waiting for.
Quick update for anyone doing a search now I've ridden it. Two night rides, the second one with a bit more steepness/tech in it. One day at BPW and a long ride out to the Yat and back (50km+/1100m+).
Short review: I really, REALLY like it.
Longer review: No idea how it rides with an air shock but it'll never be refitted. That coil is so nicely damped, you can absolutely feel what's going on back there but it's all very controlled. Seems to be well balanced with the front. That fork feels totally different with the new air spring and some fettling by Sprung.
It does not feel like a big bike (like the Giga even tho the reach is the same) but plenty of room to move about and the whole "runty" rear wheel works for me especially through the corners. Some of it is obv new bike thing, but I've ridden a couple of obstacles in the dark and rather wetter than I was hoping for that normally are 50/50 at best. Nothing fazed it at BPW (Blue, Red, most of Red+) although I did put a shimmy in the rear wheel!
Other Issues: low BB same as 5010. Needs shorter cranks. Shame with DUB/SRAM chainrings not that much choice at a reasonable price pint so probably another set of GX Eagle. Brakes were terrible. Properly shocking. Came off another bike and I didn't really test them. New pads/clean rotors and they are rub free and very strong. I'm still getting use to the way the coil responds which has led to a few nose-y landing (like that one below). Still been riding HT for 4 months so it's not just a new shock thing.
It's a PITA to clean, er.. no that's it. 3 weeks it'll be saving my bacon (hopefully) on the rocky trails of La Palma. Before then it's getting an Aggesai up front and a EXO+ or DD on the rear. Oh it's not light. Some of that is defo in the wheels but while it's not Giga heavy it's got to be close to 35lbs I reckon. I won't be weighing it to find out 😉 Climbs okay tho. Need to ride it more to see if I notice the less efficient smaller rear wheel thing.
TLDR; if I could only have one bike it would be this one. I'd like it to be a bit lighter for all day riding, and I'm sure there will be points where a bit slacker might lower the "pucker rate", but as a ride what you've brung talent compensator for someone on the average side of competent, it's definitely that bike.
although I did put a shimmy in the rear wheel
That's BPW reds for you.
That's BPW reds for you.
I think it was Wibbly Wobbly into Rim Dinger or a particularly poor line choice on Pandoras Rocks!
I think it was Wibbly Wobbly into Rim Dinger
I dinged my rim on that trail last time I was there ... I mean, they could have put a warning sign at the start of the trail or something ... 🤷
Last "upgrade". Cannot get Orange OEM Magura caliper rings
I just bought a very cheap can of orange paint and sprayed them
I tried that, but the orange paint I had (some old aeromodelling rattle can of dubious vintage) tuned them more brown than orange. I quite like the grey ones. And they don't rattle (or I can't hear them) which was my biggest concern because they don't clip in like the OEM ones.
Those Maguras tho have been problem children. I was pointed at a set of discounted Saints or 4 pot XTs last night and I have to say I'm tempted just to remove the uncertainty of "which brake will turn up today"