Viewing 12 posts - 1 through 12 (of 12 total)
  • NBD: Off the shelf normality again
  • thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    And technically not even new, it’s (barely) 2nd hand with a fairly believable 5 rides use.

    It’s been a while since I had a propper full suspension bike. My history goes something like Halfords Saracen tufftrax (’97, so way past the glory years), Carrera Hard tail (before Carrera became good), longer travel hardtail (before they became slack), 100mm FS sold quickly, more and even longer travel hardtails (getting slacker), Specialized Pitch, throwing ££££ at the Pitch, selling the Pitch in furstration because either it needed upgrades to make it significantly better, or things broke, a lot (not the frame, just everything else).

    Then ‘the wilderness years’ where I went through all sorts of niches, singlespeeds, fat bikes, gravel bikes, fixies, before realising that whilst the challenge of riding them was fun, actually riding them was getting less and less fun and I’ve got knackered wrists and hands from a decade of rigid bikes. Before getting an On One Scandal in the pre-order sales as a ‘normal’ bike. Obviously it’s now singlespeed.

    Fast forward to last week, I’ve been back in a stable-ish 9-5 job for a year, the mortgage if fixed, winter and it’s fuel bills are almost over. And I’m car free so the bank account is looking healthier. And this popped up on Facebook Marketplace about an hour away at a sensible price and with a seemingly legitimate reason to be selling it. After getting it home it got the usual immediate upgrades from the spares bin like converting the wheels to tubeless (already taped, they just needed valves and sealent) and swaps for a lighter Ragley Ti saddle and ice-tec brake rotors. The pedals are some Wellgo Magnesium’s I had lying arround which are great to add a splash of colour, if unfashionably thick these days (and the paint will be all chipped off soon enough).

    First impressions, a tale of two halves

    The back end:

    It pedals really well, like just about every modern bike. It’s not a hardtail, but even as a flat pedal masher it doesn’t feel like I’m being penalised for getting out of the saddle and sprinting.

    The Rockshox trailhead app really does work. As a result the rear suspension feels nice and progressive and bottomless. OK it’s only been round Swinley but it’s nice to only use 2/3 of the rear travel despite casing a few jumps getting used to it. Rockshox really do seem to have nailed the ability to setup shocks with manufacturers.

    The front end:

    The fork looks unreasonably skinny in that chunky frame! In practice it’s stuff enough most of the time but it’s not Rockshoxx 35 stiff. Temper that criticism against my being 100kg in riding kit.

    The Fox / Marzocchi version (a table in the manual) feels less spot on than the RS app. The recommended pressure produced only about 15-20% sag and running less pressure feels like it’s then blowing through the travel too quickly. It’s not bottoming out (only used about 85% of the travel) but feels like it’s diving a long way in corners which upsets the ballance a bit. It’ll definitely need more tinkering to get it right. I’m currently running about 92 of the 105psi recommended and about 25% from open on the compression damping. Maybe more air/less compression is the right way to go after all.

    On the other hand, compared to the 35 on my other bike, it feels like a much more expensive fork even with the apparently cheaper seals and no foam ring (Seriously? Saving the £5 Vs SKF seals I can sort of see the logic, but the 2p a foam ring must cost?).

    35 Vs Z2 if buying aftermarket? I’d get the 35 if you want a 150mm+ travel fork. The air spring feels right at that travel but unreasonably progressive when stopped down to 130mm (usefull though if you ride it hard). And it’s undoubtedly the stiffer chassis. The damping is undeniably basic so it depends on where you’re riding. I found it hard work on the rocks at Afan, but great for more natural single-track elsewhere where repeated chattery big hits aren’t a feature. It’s supportive, but also spikey.

    The Z2 has the better spring, and less friction. And if you’re a lightweight or buying a 130mm version it’ll be stuff enough. Damping I’ve not ridden enough to say. So far it feels less spikey but also less supportive.

    Drivechain:
    Deore 12s is good, REALLY good. Shifting is the usual faultless Shimano shifting, I’ve already smacked the dereilieur into something and it’s still straight, what more could you ask for at this price?

    Brakes:
    The 2-finger versions of Shimano’s levers are ……… a bit rubbish. You can’t wind the reach in far enough to get them right up against the grips how I like them so my arms get tired. And having to run the clamps ~2″ in from the grips to make them 1-finger useable means the shifter is just a little bit of a stretch. Ergonomically I much prefer SRAM shifters anyway, but that’s personal preference. I’ll get used to the finger paddle eventually. I’ve got some older XT levers I might swap but that opens a whole can of i-spec worms.

    Dropper:
    I’ve got short legs for 6ft and the 170mm dropper is a slight stretch. The Brand-X remote isn’t as nice as the ZTTO one on the Scandal so might be a swap at some point.

    Finishing kit:
    Nukeproof stuff is nice enough as always. The Vitus grips are very nice with a file pattern on top and a waffle underneath, but way too skinny for a large bike (are hands height proportional?) I can’t wrap my fingers round the bar! The saddle was nice, just not my width.

    Tyres:
    Yup they’re black, and both faster and grippier than the mud/enduro Vittoria Goma tyres on the Scandal. But that’s because it’s bone dry at the moment.

    Wheels:
    No complaints. The hubs are clicky, and the weight’s perfectly reasonable. You’d have to spend a lot of money to get something that was a significant upgrade TBH. I’d bought some DT wheels for the Scandal before buying this and won’t bother swapping them on for now.

    The bottom line

    Although the geometry between this and the Pitch is splitting hairs (apart from 3″ bigger wheels obviously). They’re night and day. Out of the box the Pitch was awfull. Fragile hubs, flexy fork, badly tuned shock, flexy stem, cheap drivechain. So while bikes have definitely masively outstripped inflation overall. At the budget end there really has been a trickle down of the good stuff. Probably coupled with consumers having higher expectations + social media meaning they can’t spec awfull parts that disintegrate just beyond the length of a magazine test.

    And while the fork is out of ballance with the rear end that might just be a case of doing a bit more tuning. Or even just getting used to not riding it like a hardtail with all my weight through the fork. And it’s not bad, just imbalanced. I could flip it into the high setting and drop the rear sag to 30% and probably solve it that way. I had one of the 2-step Mission Controll Lyrik forks on the Pitch. Which RS temporary fixed with a coil conversion, so having been spoilt by that everything now feels like a letdown!

    Biggest negative though? The fork isn’t red or orange!

    Bazz
    Full Member

    Looks decent, I had my first trip to Swinley on Thursday, which is surprising considering how close it is to me, and was impressed with the trails there, some decent little sections for a mediocre XC rider like me.

    garage-dweller
    Full Member

    Which model is it. From zooming on the photo I can see it’s a Vitus but don’t know the range. Apologies if i missed it in the mini review.

    Looks and sounds great.

    Fresh Goods Friday 696: The Middling Edition

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    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Yea, the new jump line makes a big difference to the feel of the red loop as it puts tanktraps + jump line in the middle which seems to flow a lot better.

    But the new Stickler section at the end of the red? What’s with the builders obsession with these small doubles in places where you’re lacking speed? There was already someone waiting on an ambulance after presumably not getting the front wheel over the landing. Just chuck and extra barrow of dirt in the gap and make it a table so those of us not on e-bikes stand a chance. As they are, they’re as hard to ride as short muddy ramps 12yr olds build at half term.

    Same on the jump line, two BIG amazing table tops. Then a series of steep rollers that are unrewarding if you get right, and high consequence if you get them wrong?

    Rant over, it’s free to ride and I don’t dig there so I shouldn’t complain.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Which model is it.

    Haha, missed that important detail. Vitus Escarpe CR

    Vitus Escarpe 29 CR Mountain Bike (2021)

    daverhp
    Full Member

    Saracen Tufftrax Elite (around 96) was my first proper mountain bike (after a Raleigh Tim Gould). Battleship grey with rigid forks which I upgraded to Manitou Sport with a whole inch of elastomer travel. Rode it in the Alps (before the Alps were a riding destination). Happy days. Wish I had some photos.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    Haven’t got any pictures of mine either, but it was exactly like this one.

    Objectively an awfull bike, but it got me hooked and lasted a couple of years before there wasn’t enough salvageable parts to make it worth keeping.

    Gribs
    Full Member

    The Fox / Marzocchi version (a table in the manual) feels less spot on than the RS app. The recommended pressure produced only about 15-20% sag and running less pressure feels like it’s then blowing through the travel too quickly. It’s not bottoming out (only used about 85% of the travel) but feels like it’s diving a long way in corners which upsets the ballance a bit.

    If they behave in the same way as Foxes then an additional token or 2 in the fork will help to sort out the dive.

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    If they behave in the same way as Foxes then an additional token or 2 in the fork will help to sort out the dive.

    Cheers, I’ll give that a try. Although reading through the manual it seems that 20% sag is considered plush so perhaps I’m in the wrong ballpark there as well.

    thestabiliser
    Free Member

    Lawn needs watering.

    Cracking looking bike tho

    whatgoesup
    Full Member

    @thisisnotaspoon – please tell me more about the Scandal SS – I’m half thinking about singlespeeding mine. How did you do it / does it ride well as a SS ?

    thisisnotaspoon
    Free Member

    please tell me more about the Scandal SS – I’m half thinking about singlespeeding mine. How did you do it / does it ride well as a SS ?

    Originally with a Surly Singulator, now with a BB chain device with a jockey wheel as the pulley.

    The singulator was the better option unless you need to get the wheel out a lot as the BB-mounted jockey wheel makes a whirring noise. The wheel removal is useful though as I currently have to borrow a small car if I need to get anywhere and can’t just throw it in whole anymore.

    I used a Gusset kit to convert the XD hub, I wouldn’t recommend it, unless planning to only ever use those wheels singlespeed as I’ve now broken two chain whips (including a £50 BSD Tools one!) trying to remove it.

    How it rides, I guess it depends on how you ride it with gears. I never got on with the Scandal with SPD’s, I just find my body’s geometry + modern bike reaches + SPD’s just doesn’t work so I’ve been on flat pedals which is slightly limiting. Always feels like there’s insufficient weight/grip on the front end so it’s always trying to tuck under. Now that I know I can’t swap back I’m resolving to experiment with a 70mm (+20mm) stem and 140mm (+10) fork travel. It should slow the steering down a touch whilst moving more weight forward which should improve it’s grip and confidence but we’ll have to see. I’ll persevere this summer but if it doesn’t work I may sell the frame/fork and get something more classic-XC shaped for SS.

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