G-Unit Posted November 29, 2012 Posted November 29, 2012 The setup was originally quite "racey" so I have replaced the RLT with a Talas. I will be able to test the bikes performance with 100mm, 120mm and 140mm travel in front. I did this as I noticed that quite a few 650 specific bikes came standard with longer travel forks. I have also replaced the flat bar with a 1/4" raised carbon Easton bar so I am hoping that the bike could be used for a SANI or smashing some local trails. So far total cost with a set of new Crest ZTR's will come in at around R21k. Anyway we will see this weekend Yoh! R21k is pretty steep - I hope for your sake it was worth it.
Ryanpmb Posted November 29, 2012 Posted November 29, 2012 Angles shouldn't change unless you change to a 27.5" specific fork on a 26" frame.
snoop01 Posted November 29, 2012 Posted November 29, 2012 It's a lot of money but I feel that I have done sufficient research. Also where can you get a dual sus carbon 650 with XTR, Crest, and a talas for R21k? I suspect based on my experience with selling bikes and parts i could probably recoup the cost by selling the individual parts if I can't sell the bike. If not then bummer I guess
shaper Posted November 29, 2012 Posted November 29, 2012 to give you a local comparison, the sports basement are selling th Jamis Dakar 650B Comp which is an alloy frame for R19k and the components not as good. http://www.sportsbasement.co.za/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=421
edkin Posted November 29, 2012 Author Posted November 29, 2012 to give you a local comparison, the sports basement are selling th Jamis Dakar 650B Comp which is an alloy frame for R19k and the components not as good. http://www.sportsbasement.co.za/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=421 Thanks for all the info guys. I'm more encouraged than before to try the conversion route. Looking forward to hearing feedback from snoop01 on monday
I FLY Posted November 29, 2012 Posted November 29, 2012 I had that spark 35 that snoop has now got and I had it as a 650b (sold the wheels to a friend with a Santa Cruz who is loving them) I did a few races with it and you can feel the difference, long flat sections is where you see the biggest difference. You can add about an extra 6 km/h before you spin out. It does also roll better over rocks not as good as a 29er but better than a 26er. Which Santa Cruz model? I have a superlight that I am thinking of trying 650b wheel set on.
Hairy Posted November 29, 2012 Posted November 29, 2012 Damned you all....if my Shova never got a new set of wheels recently this would have been my next experiment. A friend has a little Mojo he converted and is really loving the bike.
edkin Posted December 4, 2012 Author Posted December 4, 2012 I am almost finished converting a Scott Spark 35 to a 650. I went for the Scott as it has a BB adjustment clip but to be honest I doubt that this will be required. I also checked all geometry and spces between the Scott 650 specific MTB and the Spark. Almost all measurements were very close to identical. The headset angle was the made up the largest difference but in real terms was very slight. Should be riding it this weekend if all goes well and will report back. Hi snoop01Any feedback for us??
snoop01 Posted December 4, 2012 Posted December 4, 2012 The bike is complete. Going for my first ride later this afternoon. 2 hour local route that has everything from climbing to single track to really technical stuff. Can't wait and will report back.
Stretch Posted December 4, 2012 Posted December 4, 2012 there was a chap at berg n bush this year that had 650b wheels on his Zula. Never got round to asking him his opinion though. My feeling is that it is not worth the 5k for an extra inch edit - see you have done it - interesting to see the report back
snoop01 Posted December 4, 2012 Posted December 4, 2012 Ok so I went for my first ride. The first thing you have to remember is that I'm not a race snake, the second thing to remember is the "new bike stoke" phenomenon. Anyway this is what I found...- the bike climbed very well - similar to a 29er but I preferred the ride. This could be a result of the fact that my 29er is a hard tail and my 650 is a carbon softail.- it was vey quick to accelerate in the technical stuff and single track. I am 175cm tall and don't have the most powerful legs so at times I felt that it took a while to get the big 29" rolling.- the downhill technical all mountain stuff was really great, probably a result of the Talas and the raised carbon bars.The bike is far from dialed and I need to play with it a lot more but what I can say is that it was a very natural transition. I am looking 4ward to the process am now fairly confident that I have made a good choice. I will however be honest with my report back as I have nothing to prove and don't mind admitting that I have made a mistake. At this rage though all good. I can send pics of the bike if anyone is keen. Later Snoop
edkin Posted December 5, 2012 Author Posted December 5, 2012 Ok so I went for my first ride. The first thing you have to remember is that I'm not a race snake, the second thing to remember is the "new bike stoke" phenomenon. Anyway this is what I found...- the bike climbed very well - similar to a 29er but I preferred the ride. This could be a result of the fact that my 29er is a hard tail and my 650 is a carbon softail.- it was vey quick to accelerate in the technical stuff and single track. I am 175cm tall and don't have the most powerful legs so at times I felt that it took a while to get the big 29" rolling.- the downhill technical all mountain stuff was really great, probably a result of the Talas and the raised carbon bars.The bike is far from dialed and I need to play with it a lot more but what I can say is that it was a very natural transition. I am looking 4ward to the process am now fairly confident that I have made a good choice. I will however be honest with my report back as I have nothing to prove and don't mind admitting that I have made a mistake. At this rage though all good. I can send pics of the bike if anyone is keen. Later Snoop Hi snoop01Thanks for that feedback. Glad to hear its going well. I would very much like to see a pic of the bike and would very much like to hear any more feedback from you. If you don't want to put the pic up on the forum would you pm it to me? I've taken my bike to my lbs for an assessment to see if its worthwhile as I'm quite keen to do the experiment. They are are talking in the region of R6000 if they use use my old hubs.
snoop01 Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 Hi Edkin, send me your email address, I dont mind posting pucs on the hub just not certain how
Shebeen Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 Which Santa Cruz model? I have a superlight that I am thinking of trying 650b wheel set on.definitely no rear wheel clearance on my superlight(large). it's the old style frame with the linking bar on the two seat stays, and mud clearance is already an issue.
Shebeen Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 Hi Edkin, send me your email address, I dont mind posting pucs on the hub just not certain how[more reply options][attach files] like so.
shaper Posted December 5, 2012 Posted December 5, 2012 Hi snoop01Thanks for that feedback. Glad to hear its going well. I would very much like to see a pic of the bike and would very much like to hear any more feedback from you. If you don't want to put the pic up on the forum would you pm it to me? I've taken my bike to my lbs for an assessment to see if its worthwhile as I'm quite keen to do the experiment. They are are talking in the region of R6000 if they use use my old hubs. sixfifty.com are slowly dropping their wheel prices, their cheapest being USD$220 plus shipping and you can get tyres locally from R550-R900 depending on where you look. http://www.sixfifty.com/category/wheels.aspx
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