Masts trails at afan, proper riding!

ddmonkey – I’ve just swapped my flow/pro2 wheels for crossmax st’s on my enduro, will be testing them out tomorrow.

I had the st’s on my yeti asr5 before and they are quick and strong, especially compared to the crest rims they replaced.

Will let you know how they feel…

Thanks all for the confirming what I thought about my location..

Ecky-Thump, them links are perfect, thanks! will hire a bike and head the bike shuttle in Torbole. Is it easy enough to navigate from the shuttle drop off, or is it marked? How long does it take to get down?

mr plow – it does already, if I keep going out riding at this rate I could end up divorced 😕

Deew – sound like sensible upgrades to consider..thanks.

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Weight[/url] by dan45a[/url], on Flickr

Guys at my LBS said it runs with shimano 10 speed chain no problem. They also said with a rear clutch mech you can get rid of the chain device due to the taller chainring teeth? sounds good though..

Thanks for the comments, all appreciated…

for some background – I’ve gone from a carbon xc/trail bike and a heavy AM/mini dh bike down to the this enduro for a 1 bike solution. I know there is always a compromise, but thats why im looking to cover all bases…

I like to enter XC marathons as well as gravity enduros so that’s why i’m looking to get the best balance.

Interestingly my strava time of a full loop of cwmcarn xc on the enduro (then fitted with heavier flow/pro2 hoops) is just over a minute longer than it was on my 26lb yeti asr5c. Not lots of difference, so was pretty chuffed how quickly the enduro rides. Perhaps that is why I was expecting the weight figure to be lower.

just looking at the sram xx1 crankset, seems very good value (under £200) compared to XTR…. anyone tried xx1 cranks?

I’m not moaning, I do love it, it rides better than any bike I’ve had.. Just surprised at the weight as I’ve spent a wedge already. And lots of talk online of these bikes weighing 27lbs, suppose it shows you have to spec high end for every parts to achieve that.

Realistically will look at the cranks next, but will have to wait a bit for funds..

stick with your minion – advantage combo for an uplift day, thats perfect.

Ardent 2.25 on the front (2.4 better) would be skechty as it can take abit to dry out in FoD.

Its a great day out!

I wouldnt say it’s so may the travel(140mm+ is fine) its the the stiffness of the fork/stantions, 32’s are very flexy, I’ve had a 4 sets,even more so in 150mm guise I’m sorry to say. It holding your line which is hard on the 32’s.

matt1986 – with regards to training. sounds like you have your fitness covered, just get used to long decscents which is a challenge in the UK. Cwmcarn uplift day is a good idea. I used to go to cwmcarn, pedal to the top and ride straight down and pedal up again and keep doing loops witout stopping do that 3 times and you’re in peices. Good luck!

I’m doing it with a few mates.

Really looking forward to it as not done it before.

Anyone know how it compares to a gravity enduro or perhaps the dyfi enduro loop? I really have no idea what to expect.

I did the mega 2 years ago with a fox 36 van, which was spot on the the downs and qualifiying but obviously heavier on the climbs.

I spoke to a guy after the race who used a meta5.5 with fox 32’s he said he was ok for the firt 30 mins but after that he was in a world of pain, he was annoyed as he also had brought a bike with 36’s fitted which he’d used for qualifyingand wished he’d used that. I agree a 32 is out of its depth in the alps.

Ideally a fox 34 or 36 float would do it. as mentioned to reduce cost go for a set of used 36 floats, can always sell them on if you dont want to keep them. You will get more out of the trip, riding the Oz downhill track etc.

I remember towards the end of the mega race thought woods I didnt know If I wanted a climb or a descent as legs and arms were in agony. Best thing I have every done a a bike though!!

My wife has an 08 r design 2.0d 138 ish bhp.

Drives ok, not a sporty car and goes well, it is comfortable with excellent seats. We use it to transport our twins about, interior space is good considering its not a massive car.

Reliability has been excellent over the last 3 years. Good car for the money.

neallyman – that will be an awesome build. I’d be really interested to hear your thougts on it once you have it built and on the trails.

Shame mavic havent gone 650b yet with the crossmaxs as they are amazing wheels. Just fitted my STs to my enduro to give it a bit more trail zip.

My mate has a cube stereo super hpc 160, carbon, it was £3k for the whole bike and has a really good spec. He is really flying on it, so I’m convinced the 650b wheels do give an advantage of grip and speed for enduro style riding.

Keep us posted on any bronson developments… 🙂

I looked into the Bronson but it was the frame plus wheels and forks purchase that put me off. Also my lbs couldn’t get a frame only for quite some time.

But the wheels I looked at where the new 650b hope hoops with arch ex rims, price is good versus overall weight. DT spline range worth a look to.. Suppose it depends on the use, trail centres, enduro, dh.

Loving the pike forks also, but kashima fox forks always look bling 😉

I bought an sworks enduro frame in the end as didn’t want to wait for the Bronson. Not regretting it quite yet….

Hoops are ace and I’ve had a few and still use a flow/pro2 set. But if your budget allows if recommend trying some mavic crossmax st or sx dependant on ur riding. They are simply awesome, stronger and faster.

If you want to build also consider a dt 240s hub with flow rim, again pickup is faster and are lighter.

But if the budget fits the hoops go for it they are still very good.

Beautiful day at Blaengarw trails

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Sworks at Blaengarw[/url] by dan45a[/url], on Flickr

One of the best bikes I’ve owned! Here’s mine which I’ve just sold for an enduro sworks. Whilst the alpine is very capable going down I felt it needs trails with more elevation to really come alive. It climbs surprisingly well for its weight, as said if spinning is your thing it fine. Got mine done to just over 32lbs.

Had my enduro for 3 weeks now and it obviously climbs better, but according to my strava times its quicker on the downs as well…perhaps I’m more suited to a linkage type suspension. Anyway fun wise they both rock.
I could recommend an alpine 160 to anyone who appreciates the gravity side of riding.

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Alpine 160[/url] by dan45a[/url], on Flickr

Steer clear of morzine. I’ve been twice and it’s lost it’s magic for me. The trials are battered and its crap when it rains.

I much preferred les arcs and alpedhuez. Both good options for enduro style riding.

Alpdheuz will be fine the week before the mega, you can ride the whole mega track as practice which is awesome. You have the oz downhill track which is one of my all time favourites. Plus cool trails below alpduhuez down to heuz.

Les arcs is best with a guide for a day or 2 as the natural unmarked stuff is top drawer.

If that’s in the les arcs area I would say at least knee guards.

I had a trip there a few years ago and was blown away by the elevation and natural riding. Even if you are doing Xc I’d imagine you will utilise some sort of uplift to get to the best trails. With that elevation comes very fast and very long descents, more than you can experience in the UK.

I would say get your brakes in good order, tough tyre sides walls for the rocks and a qr seat post in case it gets steep.

Might be best to check with bike village see what they advise

Have a great trip!

ddmonkey – It’s a medium size, I’m 5’8″. I would say it comes up small for a medium, especially compared to my yeti.

Used the sworks at eastridge enduro today (excellent day) and it was faultless, descends just as we’ll as my orange alpine, but climbs like a mountain gloat, especially good on technical climbs, hooking up on roots and rocks well.

Thanks mate.

It’s from don skene cycles in cardiff, I buy all my bikes from there and they had one left of 3. I thought these had all gone last month….
I went in after asking about a Bronson c orignally but the cost and faffing around with new forks and wheels made the price scary.

Then they offered me a good deal on the sworks, I’d always wanted one and the price was right 🙂

Here it is….
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S Works enduro[/url] by dan45a[/url], on Flickr

Feels very light considering the build. Have setup shocks and contact points ready for tomorrow’s enduro at eastridge.

Should be a good test 🙂

Got to be the most excited I’ve ever been about a bike!!

Ive literally just bought a medium 2013 model only ridden it around the shop and size did feel small even for me at 5’8″ but that coming from a yeti medium which are known to be big.

I’d go large at your height… but as they always say on here to try one out, but it’s hard to do that sometimes on rarer bikes.

I must say I feel super excited… I’d pondered for months over what to get trying different 650b 29er and 26er bikes.

In the end the hassle of new wheels, forks, tyres was too
much outlay on top of a frame.

Anyone interested in a mint condition orange alpine 160 2012 with ccdb coil in plasma blue let me know… I’ll be listing in the coming days with photos..

Thanks all for the responses. I’ve done the deal and collecting it later today ready for eastridge enduro tomorrow. I’ve got the enduro CCDB shock tuning settings off the cane creek site ready to dial in.

I’ll post a pic soon as I can…. Pretty damn excited now!!

Thanks ddmonkey, thats good feedback. Funny you say about the size, I sat on a new 2013 comp, in medium and it did feel quite short (espeically compared to a yeti medium).

The s works comes with a ccdb air which ideally should be best of both worlds in wieght vs performance.

Anyone else got any feedback?

@tealeith – I may have a 2012 alpine 160 frame with ccdb coil for sale shortly. Had very little use.

Size is 16″ which I say is like a medium as all my other bikes have been, I’m just over 5’8″. Tired the 18″ and it was far too big.

My weight figure came from me weighing at my lbs without the cranks, pedals and chain removed. It was 30.31lbs so 32lbs was my guesstimate with it all fitted.

I’m on the lookout for an rp23 now so anyone know a good one please let me know. Kashima would be nice but not that bothered.

I do have a set of crossmax st wheels I use on my yeti, so wondering how much difference that would make if I fitted for enduro events. I think they are 1590g in weight. With the fast tyres could do the job…?

Thanks again for the reponses and suggestions.

Sounds like the rear shock is the one to target. Dont want to change anything at the expense of the strength as its still my alps/holiday/uplift bike.

Looks like I can save 100g on the bars with fatbar lite or even more with the Havoc carbons. Bars and shock will give me a 1kg wieght saving, plus some fast tyres should make it feel more livily.

may also look at some used xtr cranks if they come up in the classifieds.

I have used the ASR5C for some of the enduros and quick as it is, the fox 32 fork is not the stiffest when it gets really techy (those who rode Haldon mini enduro 2nd stage will understand where im coming from).

@guitarhero – what wheels are you running?

I’m doing the mini enduro series and the UK Gravity Enduro’s.

Did the Dyfi GE last year and the distance round was pretty long and know I will struggle on the the alpine on that distance of loop but would like to use it as its a wepon on the techy down stuff.
I have been using my Yeti ASR5C which may explain why I am used to more trail zip!!

I had thought of swapping to a CCDB air but I suppose that also lacks pro pedal, I read on average it saves 200-300g on the coil which would help??

@godzilla – I could be intetsed in the rp23. what year is it? Is it boost valve with kashima..?

Thanks for the responses!

I hadn’t thought about the propedal of the shock but that makes sense. I think I’ll look for a used rp23 but still keep the ccdb for uplift days etc..

Faster tyres is a good one to, I’ve actually ordered a maxxis ardent for my other bike so will try that on the rear.

Had considered a new frame but I’m waiting to see what’s coming in the 650b space…obviously the cost will get high then.

Shortening the cables is a good one 😉

Depends on the bias…. More dh or more enduro. Always a compromise I find.

Here’s my favourites..

For uk dh an Orange alpine 160 is perfect and can be pedalled better than you’d think. Sub 30lb build is expensive though.

For GE spesh enduro or lapierre spicy. Carbon if budget allows 😉

Wildcard would be a nicolai helius AM if you could find one….

Good luck!!

I found my 714 zesty the same with the o ring off the shaft at the end of each ride, even reducing the sag didnt change it ( as you mentioned).

I felt the suspension performance was fine and plush with feeling wollowy and just kept using it.

I know the guy who bought my zesty frame fitted a RS Monarch Plus and he felt that really improved the control/performance of the rear end decsending, but didnt give any technical feedback.

hope that helps in some way…

Its just as rusty90 says. I was there a few weeks ago there were signs pointing to the link so easy to see.

another vote for Crossmax ST. I replaced a set of hope hoops (pro2evo on crest) with ST’s.

I find the ST’s better in everyway. They are faster, stronger, engage quicker and tubeless just works.

Only downside as robinlaidlaw mentioned above is the rim width, but they are fine for my trail bike with 2.35 minions.

IMO the red Gorelch has a bit more flow to it so would recommend that. Also IMO as it has erroded over the years its become more challeging and even more fun.

Black is also good, if you do join both together in one day it is a big ride, distance wise seems ok but does take its toll.

I use 140mm fox float fork, on a medium, I’m 5’8″.

I have been thinking of fitting a bos deville at 140mm to stiffen it up a bit. Or perhaps a fox 34 if that can convert to 140?

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Yeti ASR5c[/url] by dan45a[/url], on Flickr

They are very good and very quick!! I use mine for trail centre ripping, uk gravity enduros and Xc marathons. Does it all very well. Not an uplift day bike though.

142×12 rear axle upgrade makes a big difference as well. The bike holds its line so much better.

I think it’s a good idea going to one 160mm bike. It will do it all around the South Wales area (assuming Newport Gwent you are referring to?).

You will have more time then ever but you will also have more hangovers if you are easily led astray ( as I was). With merthyr bike park opening in the autumn it’s good have the gravity side of things covered. Perhaps have 2 sets of wheels, trail and dh??

Sb66 is a beauty but expensive, spicy/ nomad/ enduro would all do the job.