[D-Rock]

My Salty has found the lord. Lord of the All-Mountain that is!!

I made some changes to seperate it from my XC Burner and hopefully realize it's true AM/Trail capabilities. This bike loves it nasty.

Changes include;

New front triangle (including shorter HT, new HT badge, new main pivot, new cable routing), Fox Vanilla RLC 130mm fork, 185mm rotor, FSA K-Force DH HB, Thomson X-4 stem, 2x9 drivetrain with RF bashguard.

The HT badge is absolutely stunning, no pics that I've seen do it justice. The new cable routing makes for an extremely clean install.

Teresa & Sherwood continually set the standard in customer service/support. They have once again made me proud to be a Ventana owner.

D.

Oh yeah, I know my camera sucks!

 

[smaxor]

D

good job your bike looks great, are you going to break it in at Bull on Sat ?

 

[paddlefoot64]

D.
Beautiful blue Salty! What does she weigh?

 

[D-Rock]

The pics really don't do it justice

good job your bike looks great, are you going to break it in at Bull on Sat ?

Thanks. I would be remiss if I didn't acknowledge your influence in my new bits for the re-build. Not to mention that's your old fork. Riding with you made me realize I was selling the Salty short.

I think I'll hold off on Bull Mtn. until I get totally comfortable with the changes. My knee is still scraped up from the last visit.

paddlefoot, 28.74 lbs. on a Feedback Ultimate digital scale. I knocked a 1/4 lb. off and beefed it up!

D.

 

[LoneStar]

Forget the bike! Is that your new backyard?

I will not be tempted. I will not be tempted. I will not.....

 

[MCF]

Handlebars....

Are those 1.5" riser bars (FSA K-Force SC Riser Bars)...I almost ordered a set yesterday. They look pretty sweet on the bike.

 

[D-Rock]

Are those 1.5" riser bars (FSA K-Force SC Riser Bars)...I almost ordered a set yesterday. They look pretty sweet on the bike.

The are 1.5" rise x 28" wide. FSA K-Force DH Riser.

D.

 

[Ciclistagonzo]

Very Nice...

Very, Very nice Re-Build.

I noticed you run your Spyders "Backwards" as I do. At least your front tire that is.
Did you try them the "correct" way first? And what caused you to run em this way?

I can't tell from the pics, but which direction are you running the rear tire?

I thought I was the only one that looked at the tread pattern and thought the direction of travel indicators must be wrong!

-A

 

[RedRocker]

WTF!!!!
Where's the Jake sticker????

It'd be fun to follow you down Bare Hare at Bull on that. Especially the log crossing!

Lookin good D.

 

[antman]

nice upgrades

I got my El Salt to replace my Burner. Our builds are kind of similar. If you, or anyone for that matter, are ever thinking of changing the RP3 to a DHX air all I can say is DO IT. DO IT. I have used a PUSH'd RP3 and a DHX coil and the way the DHXair performs, whether it be climbing or on rough technical downhills, continues to impress me. It combines the ability of both the RP3 (climbing and light weight) with that of the DHX coil (plushness) into one. The only change I plan to make on mine is replacing the Fox Vanilla with a different fork. Possibly the RS Revelation. Looking for travel adjustment and lockout capabilities.

 

[steiny]

Very nice. I like the build. My Salty is getting more burly with each passing month. I just put on 27 inch wide bars (25 before) and man I love the handling. I'll bet 28 is even better. I love the blue - just can't be beat. Are you running 4 or 5 inches in the back? Looks like 5 to me?

Now go get that thing dirty.

 

[TIGMAN]

Nice makeover !

Nice D Rock, I always thought you had good taste ! Our Salts are quite similar even though I switched out the Vanilla 130 RLC for a Revelation U Turn ! I still keep my fork at 130mm most of the time and love the ride ! TIG.

 

[kev]

ok. so now i'm

f***ed!

I was all set to swap outthe front tri from my large '03 El Salt for a large '06 x5, and here you go doing this unbelieveable job of adding some very serious gnarl factor to the El Salt paradigm. This has me reconsidering...

Did you think about going with the X5, and, if so, what kept you in the Salty stable? Given the "all mountain" focus of your El Salt, were you at all interested in the slacker head angle of the x5? If the El Salt could be had w/ a 69 degree HA and made to work as well w/ a 6" rocker and fork as the x5, we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

thanks for your input.

k

 

[LoneStar]

Doesn't going to 5" mode slacken the head angle to 69-ish? I don't own one, so I can't say with certainty, but it is designed for a four inch fork with a 70 degree head angle.

 

[D-Rock]

Follow-up, clarification

I took the Salty on a short shakedown ride with LoneStar this a.m. (37*F and raining)!!!

A few observations:

The handling seems to be much improved with the combo of the shorter HT and 28" bar. I didn't feel the front end wanting to loft on climbs like before.

Ciclistagonzo: I run the front backwards and the rear the recommended direction. I find the front to track better with this configuration.

RedRocker: Don't worry it'll be there.

steiny: 5" of course

TIGMAN: Thanks, great minds think alike

kev: The measured #'s are: 69.5* HT, 70.5* ST, 13.625" BB.
I like the shorter wheelbase for the tight Southeast trails and the traditional double-diamond shape of the Salty. I'm pretty sure there has been a Salty with 6" rockers posted here, I just don't remember who. A call to Sherwood would definitely answer those questions.

I hope to hit Chicopee tomorrow a.m for a better test.

D.

 

[Pauliemon]

Nice D Rock, I always thought you had good taste ! Our Salts are quite similar even though I switched out the Vanilla 130 RLC for a Revelation U Turn ! I still keep my fork at 130mm most of the time and love the ride ! TIG.

TIGMAN now that you have time on both those forks, how do they compare?

 

[RedRocker]

I took the Salty on a short shakedown ride with LoneStar this a.m. (37*F and raining)!!!

I hope to hit Chicopee tomorrow a.m for a better test.

D.

Nice riding temps.
LS and I were planning on Ft Yargo but I don't know where we are on that now. I do have some football to watch tomorrow.
Did Chicopee Friday afternoon and feel good about that!

 

[TIGMAN]

Revelation U Turn vs Vanilla ?

TIGMAN now that you have time on both those forks, how do they compare?

Hi Pauliemon

I guess the main reason I switched to the Revelation U Turn was to have the adjustable travel feature plus hearing good reviews on similar new line RS forks ! So far I am quite pleased with it : its plush, very tuneable, everything works on it, the price is right, and it beats the crap out of previous Rock Shox products of the past ! I like the Vanilla RLC 130 as well : its plush, set and forget, it works, and price isn't too bad either ! Stiffness seem quite similar, but tuneability goes to the Revelation ! I The ability to adj travel for the riding conditions of the trails is just a new toy for me to play with! TIG.

 

[paddlefoot64]

In my local riding areas, I don't think I would have time to change fork travel without running into a tree or be left behind by the rest of the riders. I guess if you had the pop-loc, you could do this without too much problem.

 

[TIGMAN]

So would I !

In my local riding areas, I don't think I would have time to change fork travel without running into a tree or be left behind by the rest of the riders. I guess if you had the pop-loc, you could do this without too much problem.

Hi paddlefoot !

If I set the travel lets say 115mm thats the way I ride the bike for a long duration but if I come across a nice big hill to go down I may stop and change it to 130mm or I may not ! I don't dial it up and down every 10 seconds ! If I am riding up and down single track I would leave it alone and set the travel where I like it before riding ! TIG.