The 2019 RC2 fork is the best single crown fork i’ve ever used. However the high speed compression is VERY dampened and is a likely culprit for it stiffening up past half way. As a freerider I have it wound all the way out (off) and have only bottomed out once when overshooting a 45 foot double to flat!
As for tokens, this is a similar story. You probably want none or 1 at most to remove a lot of the ramp up and in return you get more mid stroke support as a result of having a more linear progression through the travel. I personally use 1 token.
I run an Ohlins coil shock in the rear of my Capra tuned for me by TFtuned and it doesn’t outperform the Lyrik, they match up great. The coil at the rear is the best thing i ever did to my capra by the way since its an extremely progressive linkage.
My usage is probably a bit strange (mostly freeride) but I use one to have my seat absolutely slammed for the majority of my riding and then able to raise it to full extension which is just enough so that pedalling isn’t too awkward when I need to. For maximum pedalling efficiency i’d run it higher but i’m more concerned with having it as low as possible. 170mm drop on a capra
I’ve seen a LOT of broken Capras, not seen any broken Nomads – V3s or V4s.
More Capras out there? I genuinely witnessed a chainstay snap on an alu nomad last week. It was a different colour to the rest of the frame so I asked if it had already happened before. Turns out he’d had 2 front triangles already. At least the Santa Cruz warranty seems good.
PC and sound won’t be a problem. I have a fully kitted out home recording studio with an array of microphones. I’m sure there will be a lot of parallels between recording music and recording film with regards to the editing and patience required, but also many differences and a lot of new skills to learn!
Naturally, i’ve been getting caught up in the whole ‘for only a couple hundred more you can get…’ thought loop for the last few days and now i’m looking at spending around a grand. Currently looking at the Sony A6500 and Fujifilm XT30 which can each be bought used from CEX with a 2 year warranty.
You might be surprised. Have you tried putting the phone in a proper cage with handles? Almost any camera will give better results if you mount it in an appropriate frame/cage.
I haven’t tried anything other than a clip over wide angle lens which was unusable. I’ve seen a few youtube videos from amateur film makers which demonstrate the capability of phones by making short films with an iphone, tripods, gimbals, lights, etc.
Perhaps I could get better results by buying some of those accessory items rather than just a nice camera?
I used to like 2 finger braking with the reach and bite point really far out with a hard bite point (shimano).
I prefer the total opposite now – 1 finger braking with levers as in board as possible, bite point close to the bars and lots of modulation… (on hayes dominions which are 10/10)
Seems like you’re only musing over a flash new bike because of the approaching big 5-0 and there isn’t actually anything that you want or that’s going to make you any happier! Nothing wrong with that, but surely better to save the cash for a rainy day!
There’s nothing inherently better about the bikes from the more prestigious brands. An 8k Yeti/Santa Cruz isnt necessarily better than a similarly spec’d 5k Canyon/YT.
Diminishing returns is true as well. I personally don’t care for the benefits of an XX1 Eagle over the GX and I bet most wouldn’t be able to tell in a blind test. Having said that there are areas where I won’t compromise – geometry, suspension, brakes, tyres.
If you want something that wows you how about something with more travel for those Morzine and BPW visits? If you go mid-range (or direct-sales) you might have some cash left over to ride those places more and upgrade your Whyte too (upgrading components one at a time is great for reducing N+1 bikes syndrome!)
For others looking, jump bikes are an option too and I feel any skills learnt on a jump bike are more easily transferred to your bigger bike than on a BMX.
The caveat is that they aren’t as good for mini ramps, bowls or street, but my experience i that they are just as capable on jump boxes, spines, and bigger quarter pipes and better on dirt jumps.
Can a compnay not create a 8 or 9 speed 10-50, I have 11 speed 10-42 at the moment and there are so many gears I dont use!
I’d like this too, it would be a great way to reduce unsprung weight for better suspension performance. I think gear boxes will be great for this reason too. Large gaps between gears won’t be a huge problem for my winch and plummet riding.
I wish Bird made a frame I wanted (a DH bike). Based on their warranty, value and apparent customer service (which everyone raves about) I don’t know why you’d go anywhere else if they have a bike in the class you’re looking for. How do they manage to offer a lifetime transferable warranty on frames only a grand a piece?
Do more pull ups and start hanging off edges on your fingers!
As a reasonably good rock climber I don’t really suffer much arm pump while riding DH, not even close to the pump that might be experienced on a route at least!
I’m 6’1 and demo’d a size L AM9. I ride mostly DH and it felt borderline too big for that, but the length felt amazing for climbing (which I care about less).
Ended up with an XL Capra 29 (485mm reach) and a 35mm stem. Spot on.
I’m of the opinion that the mixing engineer for a particular album knows more about how it should sound than the headphone manufacturer and therefore I want my cans as flat as possible.
I do understand that lots of people like the hyped sound of non mixing headphones though and that’s totally ok too
I somewhat retract my earlier statement about the RS not being an upgrade. As Walleater pointed out the swinglink in the RS lever should provide a greater mechanical advantage producing more force at the rotor for a given pull. Personally i’d find it hard to justify buying new brakes that only go 1 step up the ladder, unless it was a proper good deal. If i wanted to get a really noticeable increase worthy of a purchase i’d be looking at codes and bigger rotors.
I’ve owned Guide R, RS and RSC and I’d say that the RS are a good upgrade if you like extended steep terrain. R just doesn’t have the bit needed when the poo hits the fan due to not having the mechanical advantage in the lever (the swing link). Buy yeah 200 / 180mm rotors are a no-brainer.
Interesting. I’m assuming that the RSC doesn’t offer much over the RS then if you don’t care for adjusting bite point. The RS is surely set to the minimum bite point where most people would set the RSC lever adjuster?
Going from guide R to guide RS will offer no real gains in braking performance, but bigger rotors should.
At your weight (not that it’s especially heavy but you’re not small) why not go 200mm front 180mm rear? A few extra grams isn’t going to change anything but the extra performance will.
Is there any massive stuff at BPW? My friends and I have got quite into more freeride type stuff. We’ve done everything at revs, havok and today at black mountains and trying to find bigger or as big stuff!
Bad news, it wasn’t the headset. I’m pretty convinced my headtube is cracked.
There’s a perfect line around the inside of the headtube that goes about 3/4 away round the tube at top tube height (just below the opening for the toptube). The line is very smooth and doesn’t look like a crack but I think that must be it. I’m gutted! Had the bike only about a month!
The noise is coming from the frame. Here is a video making it happen by twisting the frame (I’m putting in more force than it looks)
Worryingly, if i get my ear to the frame it’s loudest towards the front I.e. not the pivots. I can still make the noise if I raise the bars off the floor and rest the top tube on my knee in an attempt to eliminate the headset.
I’ve searched high and low for a crack in the frame but can’t see any.
It’s been happening for weeks or months and it’s been used for some hard DH while the noise has been occurring. This weekend gone I landed completely flat off the biggest jump on the 50to01 line at revs, so probably more than 20 foot high to flat. If it’s been cracked all this time I’m surprised it’s not snapped
i realised i could replicate the noise last night with the bike upside down, holding the tyre so the wheel couldn’t turn (really hard) and pushing on the cranks.
Once the click has happened by pushing one crank arm down, freewheeling the cranks back a quarter turn and trying again doesn’t click. I have to go to the other crank arm and repeat for it to click (i.e. it happens on both sides, but has to be one then the other). This makes me believe it’s some sort of side-to-side or torsional effect and my suspicions are the frame pivots. Annoyingly I can’t tell where the sound is coming from, perhaps I need someone else to get there ears next to the bike while i push hard on the cranks.
