Stretch Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 "WHAT" !!! You have not upgraded to a dropper yet. No it's not really an upgrade - it's a must - an essential change - a life changing experience. A bike without a dropper is not complete !!I'll rephrase...a rider who needs a dropper is not complete [emoji12]
V12man Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 Lol, where does that come from? Sometimes you are no fun....Been riding mtbs nearly 30 years.... I have learned.... the bike is almost inevitably better than the skills.... But if money must be spend - dropper post.... first - everything else after...
Skylark Posted January 24, 2015 Posted January 24, 2015 Having a dropper is like instantly being able to choose from 2 bikes, one that you can try all the kinds of crazier stuff on and the other that you can comfortably put the long miles on. Its something you can't properly appreciate till you get one fitted on your own bike, the entry cost is a bit off putting but its one of those things that the price is what it is, swallow it and move on because the results are priceless.
rudi-h Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 I'll rephrase...a rider who needs a dropper is not complete [emoji12]Strong disagree! I maybe only "need" a dropper 1 in 100 times that I use it... It's not that you cannot ride without it, it just makes it safer to ride rough descents, boosts your confidence and it's almost a must if you want to learn to hop / manuel / jump / wheelie properly. So the only valid reason for not getting one is if you do not want to ride faster, have a strong desire to break your collarbone AND if you have no intention to learn rad skills!
Paul Ruinaard Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 Mate, Save the money from your bike upgrade fund and go on a trip to Whistler or France, learn some more skills or get yourself some local coaching. That machine and the itch to add bling is bad zen. Learn to ride that thing well....
Samurai Pizza Cat Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 Mate, Save the money from your bike upgrade fund and go on a trip to Whistler or France, learn some more skills or get yourself some local coaching. That machine and the itch to add bling is bad zen. Learn to ride that thing well.... Couldn't agree more! Go to France, rent a SC V10, and ride your existing (stock) bike for the other 11 and a half months of the year. If you still want to upgrade: On a XL bike you need 750mm+ bars and if the stem is longer than 50mm you probably need to replace that as well. It will sharpen your bike's steering and make it easier to ride gnarly trails faster. Please remove any bar-ends if you have them. Don't ask why, just do it! Same goes for the Spez socks... As said below get a dropper post, and get the 2015 FIT damper. Get Andrew Savage from Stoke Suspension (savage@stokesuspension.com) to fit it for you and spend a couple of hours with him to set up the suspension. (It's better to ride a crap bike with the correct suspension set up, than a expensive bike with an incorrect set up.) Setting up the suspension correctly for your weight and riding style will make a HUGE difference. Carbon wheels are always a great, but stupidly expensive upgrade. And finally: Make sure your valve caps and the lock-on rings of your grips match! Chicks dig it..
Wayne Potgieter Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 Oh yes. If you're still running tubes, go tubeless. My personal choice would be schwalbe snakeskin rocket Ron and Nobby nicYOu say that...both are great tyres. My new niner is running Michelin Wild race 2.25 front and 2.1 rear and i really really really really like them. Not sure if i made this clear...i Really like them.
LazyTrailRider Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 The 2015 FIT CTD cart can be done for about R 3.5k and you can pop the fork up to 120mm at the same time. One of the bikes I rode in December was a 2015 Camber Comp carbon (with carbon Rovals). It had a new Float with the FIT cartridge on it. My hatred for Fox has been muted. This thing was every bit as buttery smooth as my Revelation and even more so in the first bit of the stroke. Up to this point, I laughed at anything without black stanchions, but I've changed my mind. It's that good...
MoreTrails Posted January 27, 2015 Posted January 27, 2015 Look, it all depends on what kind of riding you are doing. The Camber is a very capable platform that can be set up for a variety of types of riding... It can be slimmed down to ride a multi day race, or beefed up to get hammered in an #enduro all weekend.So some points to ponder...:first thing I'd do, and it's not weight related, is get a dropper. Secondly swap that POS fox fork out for a revelation.Yes, try and get rid of the fox fork unless you can get a 2015 cartridge.The revelation is a far better platform on the whole otherwise Tyres (I am running tubeless already)...Ground Controls have ok reviews, probably look at something else when I lose one of them. Doing Argus on them so they will probably take a beating? 2.1 at the back, worth going wider or is there a climbing sacrifice to be had. Bottom line, worth investigating for ultimately upgrading. Definitely going to do some homework on a dropper post. Bars, stem, seatpost? Any real gains to be had or more personal preference issue?Argus will murder the tyres and your legs, but you will be stronger for it.Afterwards fit bigger rubber than 2.1 for better grip & cushioning 50-65mm stem and wide bar, 740mm plus, will help a lot! I'm afraid I'm with the pieman on this one. That Fox EVO is clanger. A cartridge upgrade will help - the 2015 FIT CTD cart can be done for about R 3.5k and you can pop the fork up to 120mm at the same time. Otherwise look at a Revelation.What Droo said. What Droo and I have noticed happening globally, the altering of these 100/120mm 29 trail bikes to have:Bigger Rubber - 2.25 to 2.4Extended fork to 120/130mmBigger fork fitted like a Pike / Fox 34, for stability of steering due to the big wheels and speeds that the modern trail bike can reachAccompanied with a short stem and wide bar, the 29er trail bikes turn into hooligans Get Andrew Savage from Stoke Suspension (savage@stokesuspension.com) to fit it for you and spend a couple of hours with him to set up the suspension. (It's better to ride a crap bike with the correct suspension set up, than a expensive bike with an incorrect set up.) Setting up the suspension correctly for your weight and riding style will make a HUGE difference. Happy to help, just let myself or Droo known if / when you want to do this One of the bikes I rode in December was a 2015 Camber Comp carbon (with carbon Rovals). It had a new Float with the FIT cartridge on it. My hatred for Fox has been muted. This thing was every bit as buttery smooth as my Revelation and even more so in the first bit of the stroke. Up to this point, I laughed at anything without black stanchions, but I've changed my mind. It's that good...Yip, the new Fox stuff is going to be sooooo much better than there last iterationsRock Shox are still setting a really high bench mark for other companies to reach...
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