5’8″ 32 inside leg.

Medium Gyro, did have a Medium Superfly 100…

29er all the way for me.

The Pinnacle now with fat tyre/wide bar treatment… 28lb 8oz with pedals btw

I’m testing the Pinnacle right now, it’s very short for a given size (my medium says 5’7″–5’10” but tbh I find it on the short side and I’m 5’8″.

However, it’s remarkably nimble and very fun to ride. The skinny X-kings and 680mm bar are somewhat at odds with the 15QR Recon but I’m going to plonk a Rubber Queen on the front and some 710mm bars and I reckon it’ll be a little ripper.

Spec is hardly setting the world alight compared to a Canyon or similar. But it’s well thought out and there’s nothing to let you down. FULL Deore group inc the very good brakes (no Alivo downgrades where you might not spot them). Recon Gold 15 QR fork is slooshy and noisy but controlled, stiff and does what it’s supposed to.

In all, I’m rather surprised by how well it rides but then it is designed by the guy that used to design the Genesis Altitude and Core so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.

Cwmcarn is much better than FOD – it might might be one trail with a few variations but it’s much longer than anything at FOD – something like 400m of descent vs 80m. For an alright trail rider having their first go, you’ll be doing amazing if you do anything approaching 4 minutes runs. Vs comfortably sub 2 mins at FOD.

FOD feels more like technical woodland trails on the whole too, and I do it on my 120mm FS 29er, open face helmet and just knee pads tbh. Cwmcarn is wider, rockier, faster. It’s a real DH track albeit a fairly tame one in the grand scheme of things. I also tend not to bother with the uplift at FOD as it’s much quicker to ride up if you’re doing it on a trail bike.

Also as mentioned, if you’re struggling at Cwmcarn, they’re very cool about dropping you off at the top of the XC so you can just hit the descents…

Don’t think I’m being down on FOD, I go a fair bit, it’s great fun but if you want a proper DH experience, Cwmcarn is better. That said, if you’re doing it on your trail bike, Cwmcarn can be a bit intimidating. I’ve done it on an Orange Five on 32 Floats and it was ‘fine’. Much happier on a Patriot the 2nd time. You might prefer FOD afterall if it’s a trail bike you’re going to ride.

Also know as jumping on the bandwagon.

Hang on a second, the X is great but the Croix de Fer was around a long time before it doing the same thing very well. There may have been others.

The video was quite similar in vain though…

It’s not as outrageously over priced as most Oranges, but there are better value alternatives out there:

Hence the “It’s not far out”. You can find better but you can find worse.

Over priced.
Under specced.
Odd geometry.

Tiagra/105 Mix and BB5s with Easton Finishing kit is hardly far out for the money. Slack cross bikes are hardly new anymore and there’s clearly demand for them…

Is that an industry term?

In internet publishing, yeah. Best example is probably the Daily Mail :wink:

What? So I should take the Boxxers I’ve just fitted out? Aw…

Post pics on pinkbike first…

you say that like there’s a point to trying it any other way!

I rest my case!

the Gyro’s the first one I’ve felt comfortable on

It is a very good execution though!

I’m tempted to arrange a Five29 vs Five test. I’ve even got the same American Classic wheelsets and Schwalbe tyres in 26 and 29. But more because it will just be a big traffic bait piece rather than actually caring much :-P

I wonder how many will be slammed into the slackest setting with an angleset by default, without actually trying it any other way…

I thought lifetime was only on the bearings anyway?

Refused to pay for Park, gone through a couple of sets of cheap ones. Bought Park. Wish I’d bought Park to begin with.

Maybe it is the gearing. The same gearing is essentially higher on a 29er.

That’ll be a factor on the steep stuff where he will be mashing the granny ring with no ratios left to grab at, but assuming he’s in the middle of the gear range on a simple fireroad it won’t.

I’d put it down to purely ‘feel’, now that feel might make you go faster of course. I’d expect the Gyro feels like it has more momentum, feels smoother, and therefore it’s easier to keep your head down and the power on.

I do find it easier to keep my rhythm and cadence strong and consistent on the 29er which probably counts for something. On a 26er I always feel a bit stabby and short on Torque, which probably leads me to generally be less efficient and probably slower.

Roverpig, can I be the first to say, buy the effing bike already! :wink:

Have you found you are more attractive to women when riding the 29er?

Tsk, this is a given…

Laterally stiff, vertically compliant.

You’ve got a few hundred words at most to work with. And you expect the reviewer to waste them by saying “the frame was very stiff in a side to side manner, especially while pedalling hard, yet it was remarkably comfortable in a vertical manner when riding over bumps”.

Jargon is a byproduct of limited word counts and having to write the same old shit over and over again :wink:

Don’t play it cool and breezy. You want the job, end of.

You’ve got the interviews and contract negotiations to figure all of that stuff out.

There’s literally no way of communicating what you’re feeling without shooting yourself in the foot IME.

Straight away I’d be looking at shock and faster rear tyre seeing as you already have them to hand. And the pedalability of the shock and the speed of the tyre will have a greater effect on speed than the weight saving will suggest. This alone will see the biggest improvement, esp as it’s free.

If you have money to throw at it, weigh the wheels and then if the weight savings look good, consider the American Classic All Mountains at a smidge under 1600g, nice and wide and light and strong.

Otherwise, something like a Mt Zoom Carbon bar (it’s been up to the task of going on my Gyro riding FOD DH fairly quickly) and the lightest saddle you can stretch to as these ‘outer’ components again can feel lighter in effect than they are on the scales.

What’s the front tyre? If it’s a dual ply Maxxis, consider a Snakeskin Hans Dampf, bit tougher than a singleply but no heavier.

Cinder Cone Ltd Ed (94 or 95 I think), pic stolen from another thread, but like this one instead of lurid rust-orange one.

That or the Clockwork which was like this one (which might even be mine as it seems to have ended up in Chippenham and I was just outside Bath when I sold it):

Apols if it’s someone on here, but TBH have a look at yourself, really?…

I’d go back, re-read your post and do the same tbh… or at least post your own video up for ridicule.

Bikefest is one of the best and most well run events in the country and one of the few that doesn’t go to hell at the first sight of rain. Shame I can’t make this year’s but I’ll be there for Oktoberfest.

Also +1 for rolling resistance being nearly all about the rear tyre.

Nobby Nic 2.25 Snakeskin here due to clearance issues with the HD. No regrets tbh, the HD on the rear has always been overkill except for when I did FOD DH in the wet.

Leave it on the front all the time now though.

Looks lovely but as above, my guess is you’re suddenly going to find that bike a good size or two too big and in need of a very sticky up stem :-/

Coke, hookers and wing suit BASE jumping.

At the same time.

End of thread.

SDG Bel Air has always been a go to for Endurance stuff. Spoon seems good too.

Prescription Racing Jackets (new name for Jawbones) here. Again expensive but I don’t get on with contacts.

http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/UCI-Makes-Suspension-Mandatory-For-All-MTB-Disciplines-For-2014,574

Don’t think so, there’s a Gyro owner on here running a new XT double just fine I think…

I’d look for a rescue cat that is already a house cat. We had a kitten that was attacked by another cat and barely survived. The original owners got her back to good health but she just refused to go outside and would sit at the backdoor all day crying to get back in. So they put her into a shelter and we took her on.

Quite happily spent the rest of her life milling about the house. Might be worth looking into…

Yeah, but I generally go and see if anyone is ok if they fall over, it’s just nice isn’t it?

Yeah snakeskins have proper sidewalls like other brands. Not saying you won’t pinch flat them ever but they’re noticeably thicker in the sidewalls but only around 50g a tyre heavier than the normal ones.

Regarding the 2.25 HD, I speculated in a review of the 2.35 that a 2.1 should be made and would be well received as it was too big to go in a lot of frames, but the tyre obviously has appeal. They replied saying a 2.25 is more likely, so there you go…

Schwalbe UK have hinted to me that a 2.25 Hans Dampf is likely to happen.

Did you try a Snakeskin Nic out of interest?

Otherwise a Rubber Queen might be a goer but I don’t reckon that’s any tougher than the snakeskin Nic.

Ha! The fact that you’d win if we swapped bikes would prove that it’s the workman, not the tools…

Oh, but we could do some proper silly pseudo science and mix the bikes up and do multiple runs and the proclaim something definitive yet outrageous but ignore all the variables!

Now, people are getting their knickers in a twist because one driver actually decided to race (isn’t that the point?)! Make your minds up!

The very subtle but key point here which keeps getting ignored is this…

Webber: I turned the engine down and was reassured twice that we would not use the cars against each other

Subtle difference here is that this is akin to a fight being broken up, with Webber essentially having his arms held back while Vettel has struggled free and taken a free punch. Really the act of an honourable racer?

Because you’re a girl!

Race you! :P

Just think, you could kill two birds with one stone, proving droppers and single pivots are a load of shite!

I’d personally do a fairly quick ride for the first one to waken everything up and then plenty of stretching all week, with zone two on the other two rides.

Even if you pootle at 22kph on the 3hr ride, you’ll inevitably do 2/3rds distance easily so the 100km should come pretty easily.

Biggest risk will be getting swept along early on with a group that’s too quick – you can think you’re fine but really you’re working too hard. If you are in a group, and you feel like you could drop them all without killing yourself, you’re probably doing alright. If you’re comfortable but getting to the front for a turn is an effort, you’re probably in too strong a group. If you’re falling off the back on rises and working back to them on the flat/descents, it’s way too quick.

That’s a very cautious approach but it will see you round. Or you know, MTFU and go balls out from the off, no guts no glory eh?

I can shift my weight behind the saddle without my gut getting in the way…

It’s not the same. You’re a local, go and ride picnic bench with the saddle up and the saddle down and tell me it’s the same!

Hell, I even use my dropper on upper quarry trail which only has 10m of elevation change!

Yes, the bike feels so much nicer without it, until you get to a section where you normally use it and then the bike feels so much worse without it.

Personally I run the dropper fulltime and just keep a conventional post and saddle bolted together and ready to fit at any time. I then just figure out what ride and switch if need be. If I’m off out with more XC biased, long distance group, I’ll loose the dropper.

That Santa Cruz even makes my Gyro look nice!

Given I use the 40mm drop on the DOSS a lot, this would actually quite appeal to me. 400grams without remote or cable though is going to be getting a bit too close to 500g in reality which means it’s not that great.

I’d be well up for a 40-60mm drop only post if it was 400g or under with the remote and cable though!