YES I AM SCREAMING ABOUT THE CARBON WARDEN STOKE- haha:thumbsup:!
I created a new thread as the bike is so cool, it needs STOKE in the title - haha!
Well, I was trying to hold off on posting anything until I had more ride time with the carbon warden on a larger range of trails, but I can't - as I am way too excited about it. It is too awesome to contain anymore!
I now have about 5 rides on the carbon Warden, but none on our more aggressive trails yet owing to the recent rain. However, I have gotten some solid rides with it with longish descents, climbs, rough sections, pedaling, corners, jumps, etc.
As many of you have known, I have been fortunate to have owned and ridden a lot of new bikes over the past 9 months (Nomad, 2 Followings - a small and medium, Insurgent, RFX, Delirium, Endorphin, and now the carbon Warden). This doesn't include my test rides on other bikes. I have jokingly referred to this as my subscription to the bike of the month club. Though it is a bit obnoxious even for me, I went into every purchase with the idea that this will be "the" bike. Even my girlfriend rolls her eyes when a new box shows up. I try to explain the geometry, suspension, etc to her - she doesn't get it (eyes roll) but it sounds good - haha.
I really didn't expect that I would have churned through this many frames. Many of you have asked me to provide some comparison, which I will provide here soon.
With all of my bike purchases, I typically get the frame in the evening after work from the Fedex store (owing to signature required) and then rush home grab a beer and start the build process. I am pretty fast with the build, but it still takes some time to get it right.
Then the big moment arrives - the first pedal around the neighborhood. Now I know not to make too much of this moment, as the bike, suspension, etc need dialing. Though I tell myself not to overly think it… it is the big anticipation, as you spent cash, you have dreamed about its performance, you spent the few hours fondling it as you put it together- haha, and now was it all worth it - the big answer!
Well, the Warden felt great on the first neighborhood ride:thumbsup:. I instantly recognized the damping of the carbon fiber. Its behavior was different than the other carbon frames that I have ridden. The Warden is stiffer than the RFX but not as stiff as the Insurgent. The Insurgent is the stiffest frame that I have ever ridden. In corners with the RFX, I notice the flex and you can get slight tire buzz. With the Insurgent, it pushes back against you. On the Warden, I don't notice flex nor do I notice stiffness - I guess it just works well when you don't notice it. This is still baffling in my brain.
For comparison, my first rides on other frames - Nomad felt dead, RFX geometry/sizing felt off, Insurgent felt long, Delirium felt like a beast, and the Endorphin felt a bit noodley.
Having ridden lots of frames of different sizes and shapes, I would say long bikes are very comforting for jumping and downhill confidence, but they aren't very fun for corners. Considering corners represent a majority of my riding and it is typically where you loose or gain speed on your buddies, the bike needs to corner well. Knolly has nailed the geometry with respect to this - corners well and provides stability. I still don't know how Noel did this with the Delirium, which is a long bike! The Warden geometry feels great for one bike needs - if you prefer to avoid the N+1 bike ownership theory
.
Of course sizing plays a role in all of this. I found the RFX cornered well, but short front center made it nervous at speed. The Insurgent is the opposite - comfortable at speed, but I struggled with it in slower speed corners.
As many of you know I was really surprised by the Endorphin and its fun factor, but I have to admit now having recognized it from riding the Warden, I over forked the Endorphin. I guess I slightly noticed it in the corners. The Warden corners very well and better than the Endorphin with the 160mm fork (which was my error). I am running the Warden in slack mode, I tried the high setting to start, but instantly felt more comfortable with the slack setting. I like the lower bottom bracket. I believe this assists with cornering. It is low, railing some corners, I am brushing the pedals against the ground - makes it fun! I do give up a little with climbs in the slacker setting, but of course it is all about the downs anyway!!!!
Cable routing - the Warden routing is slick - I was impressed by the Delirium and Endorphin, even though the Warden is adds a layer with the internal brake. It is a cool set-up. I still have to internally route the brake, because my existing hose was too short and needed a longer one - haha! Anyway it is easy - remove the fork - thread the cable/hose to the head tube and out the top of the head tube, and then turn the cable/hose end and aim through the door. This is easier on the Warden than on the Delirium or Endorphin owing to the door location relative to the head tube is closer.
I do have to acknowledge that part of the amazing feel of the Warden comes from the suspension components - 11-6 and Lyrik. The 11-6 is awesome. I have changed the recommended setting a bit, but it feels awesome. The Lyrik feels better than Fox 36 - just as stiff, but more supple off the top. It matches the 11-6 very nicely.
I am loving Warden! It weighs 30lbs. The standard clichés apply here but it is true - it rides lighter than it weighs. The bike can pop and very easy to transfer lines or just stick it and hang on. Every ride let's me send the bike farther and farther. Again, I can aggressively attack corners and the suspension provides great traction, but light enough to throw around. This bike may actually get me into more trouble than the Delirium.
Between the combination of riding various new bikes and not being 100% comfortable on them, some of my top end trail speed has diminished. I am noticing this is quickly returning with the Warden, which says a lot.
Yesterday my buddy from SoCal was visiting with his PUSH 11-6 carbon RFX. At the top of one of the downhills, we switch bikes. We get to the bottom - he is just screaming that the Warden was just butter. He was blown away. After the ride, he was still talking about the Warden telling me never to touch any of my settings as he couldn't believe how well it rode it. He said it was the first "wow" he has had on a bike in a long time. I think he is now considering making the switch to the Warden - haha!
It is an awesome frame! My search is done….now I just get to ride, ride, ride!!!!!!! More to follow!!!
****** I ordered some dark gray/black Lyrik stickers for the ultimate stealth warden!
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I created a new thread as the bike is so cool, it needs STOKE in the title - haha!
Well, I was trying to hold off on posting anything until I had more ride time with the carbon warden on a larger range of trails, but I can't - as I am way too excited about it. It is too awesome to contain anymore!
I now have about 5 rides on the carbon Warden, but none on our more aggressive trails yet owing to the recent rain. However, I have gotten some solid rides with it with longish descents, climbs, rough sections, pedaling, corners, jumps, etc.
As many of you have known, I have been fortunate to have owned and ridden a lot of new bikes over the past 9 months (Nomad, 2 Followings - a small and medium, Insurgent, RFX, Delirium, Endorphin, and now the carbon Warden). This doesn't include my test rides on other bikes. I have jokingly referred to this as my subscription to the bike of the month club. Though it is a bit obnoxious even for me, I went into every purchase with the idea that this will be "the" bike. Even my girlfriend rolls her eyes when a new box shows up. I try to explain the geometry, suspension, etc to her - she doesn't get it (eyes roll) but it sounds good - haha.
I really didn't expect that I would have churned through this many frames. Many of you have asked me to provide some comparison, which I will provide here soon.
With all of my bike purchases, I typically get the frame in the evening after work from the Fedex store (owing to signature required) and then rush home grab a beer and start the build process. I am pretty fast with the build, but it still takes some time to get it right.
Then the big moment arrives - the first pedal around the neighborhood. Now I know not to make too much of this moment, as the bike, suspension, etc need dialing. Though I tell myself not to overly think it… it is the big anticipation, as you spent cash, you have dreamed about its performance, you spent the few hours fondling it as you put it together- haha, and now was it all worth it - the big answer!
Well, the Warden felt great on the first neighborhood ride:thumbsup:. I instantly recognized the damping of the carbon fiber. Its behavior was different than the other carbon frames that I have ridden. The Warden is stiffer than the RFX but not as stiff as the Insurgent. The Insurgent is the stiffest frame that I have ever ridden. In corners with the RFX, I notice the flex and you can get slight tire buzz. With the Insurgent, it pushes back against you. On the Warden, I don't notice flex nor do I notice stiffness - I guess it just works well when you don't notice it. This is still baffling in my brain.
For comparison, my first rides on other frames - Nomad felt dead, RFX geometry/sizing felt off, Insurgent felt long, Delirium felt like a beast, and the Endorphin felt a bit noodley.
Having ridden lots of frames of different sizes and shapes, I would say long bikes are very comforting for jumping and downhill confidence, but they aren't very fun for corners. Considering corners represent a majority of my riding and it is typically where you loose or gain speed on your buddies, the bike needs to corner well. Knolly has nailed the geometry with respect to this - corners well and provides stability. I still don't know how Noel did this with the Delirium, which is a long bike! The Warden geometry feels great for one bike needs - if you prefer to avoid the N+1 bike ownership theory
.Of course sizing plays a role in all of this. I found the RFX cornered well, but short front center made it nervous at speed. The Insurgent is the opposite - comfortable at speed, but I struggled with it in slower speed corners.
As many of you know I was really surprised by the Endorphin and its fun factor, but I have to admit now having recognized it from riding the Warden, I over forked the Endorphin. I guess I slightly noticed it in the corners. The Warden corners very well and better than the Endorphin with the 160mm fork (which was my error). I am running the Warden in slack mode, I tried the high setting to start, but instantly felt more comfortable with the slack setting. I like the lower bottom bracket. I believe this assists with cornering. It is low, railing some corners, I am brushing the pedals against the ground - makes it fun! I do give up a little with climbs in the slacker setting, but of course it is all about the downs anyway!!!!
Cable routing - the Warden routing is slick - I was impressed by the Delirium and Endorphin, even though the Warden is adds a layer with the internal brake. It is a cool set-up. I still have to internally route the brake, because my existing hose was too short and needed a longer one - haha! Anyway it is easy - remove the fork - thread the cable/hose to the head tube and out the top of the head tube, and then turn the cable/hose end and aim through the door. This is easier on the Warden than on the Delirium or Endorphin owing to the door location relative to the head tube is closer.
I do have to acknowledge that part of the amazing feel of the Warden comes from the suspension components - 11-6 and Lyrik. The 11-6 is awesome. I have changed the recommended setting a bit, but it feels awesome. The Lyrik feels better than Fox 36 - just as stiff, but more supple off the top. It matches the 11-6 very nicely.
I am loving Warden! It weighs 30lbs. The standard clichés apply here but it is true - it rides lighter than it weighs. The bike can pop and very easy to transfer lines or just stick it and hang on. Every ride let's me send the bike farther and farther. Again, I can aggressively attack corners and the suspension provides great traction, but light enough to throw around. This bike may actually get me into more trouble than the Delirium.
Between the combination of riding various new bikes and not being 100% comfortable on them, some of my top end trail speed has diminished. I am noticing this is quickly returning with the Warden, which says a lot.
Yesterday my buddy from SoCal was visiting with his PUSH 11-6 carbon RFX. At the top of one of the downhills, we switch bikes. We get to the bottom - he is just screaming that the Warden was just butter. He was blown away. After the ride, he was still talking about the Warden telling me never to touch any of my settings as he couldn't believe how well it rode it. He said it was the first "wow" he has had on a bike in a long time. I think he is now considering making the switch to the Warden - haha!
It is an awesome frame! My search is done….now I just get to ride, ride, ride!!!!!!! More to follow!!!
****** I ordered some dark gray/black Lyrik stickers for the ultimate stealth warden!
