Boy Components El Toro stem and 50mm DMR Odub Bars

I have a XL Chameleon 8 and don’t find it dead at all. Mine is setup up with a 140mm Lyrik and big wheels – 35mm inner width rims, onyx vesper, Assegai/DHR2.  I have a 20mm rise stem and 50mm rise bar with 30mm of spacers to get the bars up as high as I can.

@notmyrealname

What type of riding are you doing?

What size frame are you riding?

How much do you weigh?

If you have used the allowed 30mm of stem spacers the DMR defy stem only has about 5mm – 8mm of rise

I am currently riding an XL new Chameleon, and it is slightly stiffer than the last version(Green), but it is still amazingly comfortable to ride.

The Banshee Paradox V3 had slightly more compliance, which I guess works well for medium frames, but my XL felt draggy and dull, sometimes, almost like the tyres had gone flat.

I have also owned various steel frames like Cotics and Pace. All weren’t much softer than the Chameleon, just more noodly under power and a bit less zippy. Again, it is probably not the same experience for a medium-height, skinny rider.

Interestingly, Banshee was the only company to get the stack height correct for tall riders. Every other frame designer thinks it’s ok to add 10mm on the head tube for the XL frame, which makes it impossible to get the same max bar height vs the saddle height of the smaller frames. Fork manufacturers only allow a maximum of 30mm of stem spacers, so you need to resort to higher rise bars like 60 mm-80 mm rise. The problem is that you can only rotate the bar to a comfy position by moving it forward and massively extending the reach. Then there are no modern short 35mm stems that offer a medium rise. They jump from the Industry 9 A35 with about 6mm of rise to the Ergotec  Bass with 40mm of rise.

West Yorkshire Ilkley.

I was thinking of doing the same. I emailed Paul and he recomended the short pull (Canti) not long pull (v brake) for mountain biking.

https://www.bikeradar.com/reviews/maintenance/oils-and-lubricants/chain-lubricant/j-p-weigles-frame-saver-review

I have 2 cans on the shelf in the garage if you want to make me an offer :-)

Looks like the love child of a Panaracer Dart and a Tioga Pyscho.  With a hint of WTB Velociraptor.

Steel is real until you realise titanium is better.  Lol

Theres a nice Titainium Middlechild XL frame in the classifieds :-)

I have a 29er Zeb Ultimate for sale in the classifieds that is bearly used. I can also throw in a 190mm air shaft if anyone fancies :-)

I have two sets of Hope torque caps for sale as well if you need more. PM me.

I do Molgrips.

I have had to send two well known UK stems back as they flexed too much which made the bars creak or marked them.

If you are a big guy with powerful shoulders and wish to ride hard, then flex matters. Too much flex and you loose control – some is good but when things get too noodley you have to go to 35mm bars and wide stems or even better braced bars like the Surly Sunrise.

I’m local also and will keep an eye out for it.

There are a load of very different riding hardtails out there.

Your size and weight are significant factors in how a HT frame will ride. For example, if you are over 6 foot and +200lbs, your frame will flex a lot more than if you were a little chap.

Also, chainstay length makes a big difference in how a bike rides. The SC Chameleon is 425mm at its shortest, which is very playful. Not as playful as an RSD Middlechild at 415mm but still in the short range. The Cotics are at the other end of the scale and come in at 444mm, which is much more stable for high-speed ploughing.

I have one of the new SC Chameleons in XL, which is fantastic. If you choose the 29er dropouts, you can drop the BB even lower with a mullet wheel. This will also slacken the head angle a little, which is cool.

I bought a frame and built it up to my spec – XT, 140mm Lyrics, Ibis wheels with Onyx Vesper rear hub, and Surly Sunrise Bars.

or

https://surlybikes.com/parts/sunrise_handlebar

https://www.deitycomponents.com/highside_35_handlebar_80mm.html

Or RSD Middlechild Ti

Santa Cruz Chameleon 2023. It is outstanding.

No they are just catching up :-)

Shimano 12 speed single ring chainlines

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/deore-xt-m8100.html

FC-M8100-1 = 52 mm
FC-M8120-1 = 55 mm
FC-M8130-1 = 56.5 mm

What travel fork are you running? You could try adding 20-40mm of travel. I think 10mm more travel roughly equals 0.5 degrees off you head angle.

Thanks for the replies.

I’ll try a few things and post results. I am keen on getting rid of as much drag as possible with this Hydra. The amount of freehub drag with the Hyrda is very noticable compared to my free rolling Onyx Vesper. But the Hyrda does make a fun sound :-)

Just take your shoe lace off and use that. You don’t need to carry link pliers :-)

How about Hardtail Party’s favourite the Titanium RSD Middlechild. My XL is in the classifieds 😊

There is a video of Seth from Berm Peak showing you how to do this with a shoe lace. I tried it and it worked. If you’re not running Boa shoes you may already be carrying the tool you need.

I’m planning to swap my XT four pots for Pauls Klampers.

Oury V2 lock ons are big and just the right amount of soft.

https://www.lizardskins.com/personalized-lock-on-handlebar-grips?h=single-sided-lock-on-oury-v2-jet-black&c=lock-on_handlebar_grips&t=oury_v2_grip&v=0

I have an XL RSD Middlechild Ti frame that I’m toying with the idea of selling :-)

I have the Crank Bros mini pump with the magnetic attachment.

Make sure it works with all the valve cores on your various wheels. Or swap them out for ones that work with the pump. I needed it on a ride and it wouldn’t attach due to the lack of thread on the valve core.

I now have the oneup pump on my bike. No problems so far with that one.

Oury Lock on V2

I melted the middle out of an ice tech rotor and had to send it back. I’m back on standard plain slx rotors now.

Also this but its been out of stock for ages

Box One Stealth Boost Rear Hub 32h

I also have one of the old silent clutch shimano hubs as pictured above. Its still going strong on the pub bike :-)

I have an Onyx Vesper on my Hardtail. It’s quite liberating riding with no noise. The soft engagment is awesome. Worth every penny but I wish it was cheaper.

According to Rockshox and Fox you should only use a maximum of 30mm of stem spacers. So, if you already have used 30mm of spacers the DMR stem doesn’t add much stack as you might think.

I’ve been down this road trying to get my bars high enough.

Unless you have run out of steerer tube the DMR won’t offer much lift because its low stack offsets the height gain.

The industry Nine stems have a 40mm stack and 6mm of rise.

Stack, stack, stack!!!!

It’s important if you are tall.

The flapjack from the Tower cafe on the top of Leith Hill is the undisputed king of flapjacks. Everytime we ride there we all look forward to it.

I like the addition of coconut in the recipe above though, so I’ll give it a try :-)