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Well first of all let me start by saying that I was a little skeptical on whether or not this new design would have any significant improvements over the old model when I first saw it. After viewing it in person at Inter Bike- it was apparent that the rear end was going to be quite a bit…well…better tied together. All the tubes on the rear end meet now to form a completely stout and flex free rear end- the seat stays are now joined ala the 951 cross brace. The chainstays and seatstays are now joined together with a CNC bracket near the drop out. The new CNC upper mounting position for the upper pivot (rather than the welded through barbell of the old SS) keep the alignment in check. The newer style VPP2 position of the links and swingarm allow more clearance on the chainstays (I'm not running any chainstay protector and there are no markings from chainslap)- it's simply quiet! Also as many people have mentioned and noted- the "clocking" of the ISCG05 tabs is not in the ideal position…BUT I didn't have a lick of trouble out of this one- no adverse effects after being caked in mud. I'm running everything off of my old SS- LG-1, Totem, FSA flush headset etc.
Ride quality is far better than expected- I did however have to find the magic setting as far as spring size (I was running a 450# on my last frame). After a first day of testing- I realized the rear of the bike was oversprung- I should have swapped the coil from the get go- but figured I'd give it a ride and make a decision once I got it on the trail rather than a parking lot squish test. After the first run- I was wishing I had swapped the coil to something softer. I had just enough preload to keep the coil from moving around and NO low speed compression tuned in on the rear shock at all. The next day I swapped to a 400# coil and that was the ticket. The bike felt more balanced from front to rear and this was apparent once I stood up on the pedals. Both trails we rode this weekend were covered in snow- one trail was very rocky while the other is a little more smooth and flowy- plenty of berms and a step down gap and a trail gap with small doubles thrown in and rock drops too. The bike flowed perfectly through all these obstacles. There were only 2 small rock gardens at the bottom of the trail, but after slamming into them it was apparent the suspension was excellent in comparison to the previous days set-up. Plenty of mud was flung about and caked onto everything- and there was sufficient mud clearance on the rear end for my set-up (WTB Stout 2.3 tires). Out of the saddle sprints were easy- no feeling of an overly squishy movement from the rear. The bike sets up for jumps nicely and the landings feel good from the ending stroke ramp that you get- especially on the step down gap which leads straight into an immediate g-out right hand turn- very controlled feeling. The new design definitely feels more lively and I have also realized that I'm gonna swap the bottom out bumper to the soft one rather than keep running the medium on the Vivid. The bike ramps up in the ending portion of the travel like the 951 does, I'd say that calling this bike a mini 951 is pretty much hitting the nail on the head.
These are just my initial impressions and I'll post more as I get more time on it in various conditions. Sorry for the quality of these pics, but when you're having such a fun time riding- it's hard to remember to stop and try to take pictures
E2
[email protected]
Ride quality is far better than expected- I did however have to find the magic setting as far as spring size (I was running a 450# on my last frame). After a first day of testing- I realized the rear of the bike was oversprung- I should have swapped the coil from the get go- but figured I'd give it a ride and make a decision once I got it on the trail rather than a parking lot squish test. After the first run- I was wishing I had swapped the coil to something softer. I had just enough preload to keep the coil from moving around and NO low speed compression tuned in on the rear shock at all. The next day I swapped to a 400# coil and that was the ticket. The bike felt more balanced from front to rear and this was apparent once I stood up on the pedals. Both trails we rode this weekend were covered in snow- one trail was very rocky while the other is a little more smooth and flowy- plenty of berms and a step down gap and a trail gap with small doubles thrown in and rock drops too. The bike flowed perfectly through all these obstacles. There were only 2 small rock gardens at the bottom of the trail, but after slamming into them it was apparent the suspension was excellent in comparison to the previous days set-up. Plenty of mud was flung about and caked onto everything- and there was sufficient mud clearance on the rear end for my set-up (WTB Stout 2.3 tires). Out of the saddle sprints were easy- no feeling of an overly squishy movement from the rear. The bike sets up for jumps nicely and the landings feel good from the ending stroke ramp that you get- especially on the step down gap which leads straight into an immediate g-out right hand turn- very controlled feeling. The new design definitely feels more lively and I have also realized that I'm gonna swap the bottom out bumper to the soft one rather than keep running the medium on the Vivid. The bike ramps up in the ending portion of the travel like the 951 does, I'd say that calling this bike a mini 951 is pretty much hitting the nail on the head.
These are just my initial impressions and I'll post more as I get more time on it in various conditions. Sorry for the quality of these pics, but when you're having such a fun time riding- it's hard to remember to stop and try to take pictures
E2
[email protected]
