mountain_lion Posted October 22, 2009 Posted October 22, 2009 Ek is tussen 'n small en medium; ry gewoonlik 'n small met 'n lang saalpyp. Damm! Reeds blyplek betaal in Greyton vir hierdie naweek. Sal dit dus nie Saterdag kan maak nie. Weervoorspelling vir Sondag lyk maar nat op die oomblik... Terloops, met die lig tegnologie wat deesdae beskikbaar is het, is daar geen rede om stadiger in die donker te wees as in die dag nie! Met die ligte waarmee ek in 1997 begin ry het, was 'n ander saak, maar steeds baie fun. In die donker is jou fokus skerper; niks behalwe dit wat jou ligte vir jou wys wat jou aandag kan aftrek nie.
Iwan Kemp Posted December 2, 2009 Posted December 2, 2009 (shameless x-post!) Feedback Time. This time from me. Current Bike: Morewood Mbuzi Favourite Trail: Eden / Tokai / Majik / Paarl Favourite Trail Feature: Jumps, drops, burms, rock gardens at speed First Impressions: Colour is a lot more vivid in real life. Red bits makes a world's difference. White saddle & fork on the one I rode rounds it off nicely Ride Impressions: Setting the bike up was fairly quick and easy. I usually change settings based on the trail I'm riding and that took awhile to get down. But once I got behind the knack of it wasn't too difficult to hit the sweet spot. Frame (front and rear) is stiff with no noticeable flex when pushing hard. Suspension design and intended use of the bike leans towards trail rather than AM. No problem with that, but I had to remind myself what I'm demoing. Bike is agile enough (not Racer-x sharp or Junkjumper lazy) and handling is neutral. Didn't take me too long to get used to steering and the bike's limits. First ride out on the trail (Tokai) I stopped to drop some pressure out of the shock. Not a lot, but the bike pedals well enough to run is softer without inviting Bob and all his nasty habits. Suspension set-up and feel feels similar to Racer-X / Moto-Lite. Notes on kit: Stem: I preferred the 70mm stem for everyday riding. Used a 100mm stem once for a day at Oak Valley and I assume most mile-munchers will go this route. Other testers were devided in opinion. The longer stem felt familiar, but some preferred the shorter stem when they gave it a shot. Handlebars: Was nice to see the bike come with a wide(ish) riser bar. Must be at least 660 or 680 wide which aids steering and control. Have 711mm bar on the Mbuzi so jumping between the bikes made the Chumba?s bar feel comical, but it was on par for a trail bike. 680 should be the min though. Fork: Felt a bit stiff through its travel, but a couple of rides in it loosened up quite nice. Glad to see Fox going the FIT route on their 32 forks as well. 120mm vs. 140mm: I tried the bike with a 140mm (32 Float RLC) fork to compare the ride to the 120 on there. On the steeper stuff the 140 did feel more controlled obviously due to the slightly slacker HA. For the rest of it I actually preferred the 120. Felt sharper and not as wallowy. Hmmm...wasn?t that bad though. For heavier riding 140 will be cool, But I won?t run a 160 on the bike as seen in some pics. Saddle: the Chumba branded saddle that came with the build reminds me of the uber comfy and very comfortable Charge Spoon. Nbody complained and at least two people wanted to keep it! Grips: Similiar to ODI Ruffian?s The tires. Conti Mountain Kings...They are rubbish. Bike came with a 2.4 UST front 2.2 UST rear. First of all I don?t know where Conti got those sizes. The 2.2. is closer in size to 1.95?s and the 2.4 closer to 2.1?s than anything else. Secondly the grip laughable. For the first ride I left them on to try them as I never have and wanted to feel what they are like. Bike was all over the place with close to no grip front or rear. Decided to replace it with Kenda Nevegal front and Small Block Eight rear both 2.1 UST?s. Second ride was like a new bike. Seriously. I had a lot more confidence through corners and pedalling out of turns. Night and day. I?m a Kenda fan so I might be biased, but EVERY SINGLE person who rode the bike with the Conti?s and Kenda?s couldn?t believe the difference. Overall: I liked the bike. It?s not build for the type of riding I do, but I enjoyed a ?new type of riding?. Yes you can jump and drop the bike and it?ll take more than the average rider will throw at it. The biggest % of riders like being out and about and won?t attempt anything too big or scary. If you?re a trail rider, racer (xc or marathon) or into light AM this bike will be perfect. It?s no secret that I?m a DW-Link fan, but the cheapest DW-linked frame will set you back close to R30k. The Chumba goes of R12500! For less than R30k you can buy a complete bike dressed in XT. Brilliant. What?s great is the fact that it?s a very neutral bike. Not too sharp, not slow or sluggisg when turning in, pedals well but can be run soft, light for an alu frame (has a carbon rear) and looks the business. So for most riders the bike will feel like home. Comfy and...familiar.
Iwan Kemp Posted December 2, 2009 Posted December 2, 2009 Rode it back to back with a couple of bikes, more on that later...
bak2basiks Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Nice review Crow.... @Mod: Can we have a sticky on bike reviews and maybe bike demo days...?
Iwan Kemp Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Yip, it's a bargain. Not just cause it has a RP23, but cause it's a brilliant frame.
CAAD4 Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Do it. The orange with red accents and other bling bits will look awesome.
Iwan Kemp Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Test rode this back to back with Trek Fuel, Trance and Trance X, Anthem, Shova, Junkjumper, Felt Virtue, Mbuzi (!)...hmmm couple of others...what were they again?! Let me know if someone would like to know b2b opinion.
Sammajoor Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Do it. The orange with red accents and other bling bits will look awesome. You got a photo of one
bak2basiks Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Test rode this back to back with Trek Fuel' date=' Trance and Trance X, Anthem, Shova, Junkjumper, Felt Virtue, Mbuzi (!)...hmmm couple of others...what were they again?! Let me know if someone would like to know b2b opinion.[/quote']Crow, I'm not really interested in something like this, but I'm sure it will be a good read. I just think that at this price point, and "for fun" its more about choice, exclusivity and appeal of a brand, look or colour. I don't think that the one bike is better than the other, because if I choose a Turner frame above a Titus, Santa Cruz or Morewood, is it not more about my choice as an individual as opposed to "....this bike will go though a 10m deep river with enough traction to make you feel, blah, blah...". I am sure that there are really expensive brands out there that are crap, but as you've mentioned in your post the bike was transformed with a different tire choice.But ok, I might be completely wrong....cheers...
CAAD4 Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Samma check out chumbaracing.com for pics of the custom colours like the orange.
mountain_lion Posted December 4, 2009 Posted December 4, 2009 Test rode this back to back with Trek Fuel' date=' Trance and Trance X, Anthem, Shova, Junkjumper, Felt Virtue, Mbuzi (!)...hmmm couple of others...what were they again?! Let me know if someone would like to know b2b opinion.[/quote'] Of couse we want your opinion.Spill the beans Crow.
Sammajoor Posted December 7, 2009 Posted December 7, 2009 That orange frame is calling me.............
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