wesley_r Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 So, as some of you may know a little while ago I hurt my back. No, I didn't crash, I just have a dodgy back... getting it right again meant physio and 6 weeks off the mountain bike (longer, if possible)... So what to do? Easy - I took my Commencal to my LBS along with my old Mongoose Tyax frame and I said "put everything from here on here" Since I'm running an adjustable travel fork I dialled it down to 110mm and for the last few weeks I've been doing afternoon road rides to get fit, along with regular pilates. But I've had enough. I'm stronger and fitter now, and missing the trails big time. I've already done a Contermans ride on the hardtail and had a ball, so it's time to build up the blue beast again. Along the way a few subtle changes are going to be made so I thought I'd get a little thread going around the rebuild of my super awesome trail rig
wesley_r Posted May 28, 2012 Author Posted May 28, 2012 Step 1 is the frame - if you remember, I had the frame resprayed with some custom graphics I designed (along the lines of the Commencal DH bike and the MetaAM), and then disaster struck and one part of the frame, where the clear coat hadn't cured properly, got damaged in transit. I patched it with some clear film and left it, but now that the frame was not being used I sent it off to get patched up. You'll have to wait for the "after" photo, but this is what it looked like when I removed the film the other day (taking some of the outer layer with it!), before sending it back to get repaired. The repair is done, and it looks killer - better than new!
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 Nice, Wes! Are you gonna dial down the compression adjust on the rear a bit this time?
wesley_r Posted May 28, 2012 Author Posted May 28, 2012 (edited) Are you gonna dial down the compression adjust on the rear a bit this time? Why? What am I missing? You've lost me - must be my age Edited May 28, 2012 by the_wes
wesley_r Posted May 28, 2012 Author Posted May 28, 2012 While stripping the shock out of the frame we noticed that one of the axles / spacers / whatever you call them are bent. Now, bear in mind this is a 2007 bike bought 2nd hand, not from an "official" Commencal dealer. I emailed Absolut Biking (the Commencal distributor in SA) and after a speedy reply and some backing and forthing they agreed to mail me a new set of axles, free of charge. They didn't even charge me shipping. Axles should arrive today or tomorrow... With this sort of service I know that if I ever buy a new Commencal in the future I can do so with peace of mind. Thanks guys
Hairy Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 Nice work by Absolute there! The Question now .... how will you prevent those bending again. Are you running to low a pressure for the, well lets just call it "rider weight", and tend to hit the full travel bumper often. If this is the issue you might end up having to run higher pressure or send the rear can off to a place to custom valve/work the shock for you.
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 Hairy, I've ridden the bike, and I can tell you the Wes man runs the rear SUPER stiff. I was thinking the same, but bending due to running it too stiff...
wesley_r Posted May 28, 2012 Author Posted May 28, 2012 Cpt, what do you weigh? I run the rear at about 25% - 30% sag, which at my weight of 115kg is about 260psi (if I remember correctly)... and that's a Rock Shox Monarch RT3 with high volume canister. Hairy - where could I send it?
wesley_r Posted May 28, 2012 Author Posted May 28, 2012 O, Cpt, didn't you ride the bike at the DS event? I had the shock super stiff that day for that course. Or did you ride it at Majik?
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 105... Granted, last time I rode it was at Nitida... and that was before you had the new shock in, so maybe it was just a remnant of that...
wesley_r Posted May 28, 2012 Author Posted May 28, 2012 Next up - cockpit. Initially I was running Truvativ BooBars - 780mm width and 20mm rise. To be honest, I found them great when pointed downhill, but for all round trail use a bit too wide and low - so I switched to a set of 30mm rise, 710mm wide Holzfellers I had. I quickly realised the ideal for me would be a 25-30mm rise, and a width of 730-760mm... I tried getting 740/30 BooBars and 730/30 Holzfellers locally, but with no joy (after months of trying). Then out of the blue a new local online shop launches - www.dialdbikes.co.za - and lookey what they have. Deity Dirty30 in 760mm width and 25mm rise. And what's more they are pretty light, and looks like if needs be it'll be easy to cut them down (which is a mission on the BooBars due to the taper which limits how far your controls can move in). If you want to hook yourself up with a pair I can recommend these guys. Nice range of gravity orientated stuff, and cool guys to deal with... here's a link to the bars: http://dialdbikes.co.za/deity-dirty30-handlebar.html Available in many funky colours, I finally settled on the simple, yet striking black and white. Look how well that matches the frame
wesley_r Posted May 28, 2012 Author Posted May 28, 2012 105... Granted, last time I rode it was at Nitida... and that was before you had the new shock in, so maybe it was just a remnant of that... yebo - see, 10kg less, and I think it was at about 20% sag for a 115kg rider... and it was the old shock... the RT3 is o so plushy
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 And a lekker plug for your mate's store... I'm so glad there's finally a local source for this stuff though, Wes...
Captain Fastbastard Mayhem Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 yebo - see, 10kg less, and I think it was at about 20% sag for a 115kg rider... and it was the old shock... the RT3 is o so plushy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5rX37vsxV4 Yeah. That old shock was, well, a shocker
Super_mil Posted May 28, 2012 Posted May 28, 2012 Cpt, what do you weigh? I run the rear at about 25% - 30% sag, which at my weight of 115kg is about 260psi (if I remember correctly)... and that's a Rock Shox Monarch RT3 with high volume canister. Hairy - where could I send it? I had a Commencal Meta 5.5 too and manged to bend several of the axles that run through the lower eyelet of the shock. I was told by Absolute biking it was due to me running too much SAG (30%). The Commencal data sheet suggests that you run only 20% SAG for optimum and a max SAG of 25%. To achieve the 20% SAG I had to run the Fox Float R at 210 - 215psi. Unfortunately the frame cracked at the headtube and has since been replaced. So, if you ever need the rear triangle, linkage or hangers (I have 2 derailleur hangers), drop me a PM.
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