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Finally got my RFX put together. Here are some first impressions.
Took it out to one of the local trails for the first time this morning. I picked trails that I was familiar with, and had a good mix of climbing, fast descending, rock gardens, rollers.. even a drop or 2. I've been riding nothing but my 5-Spot for the past 1.5 years, and I have spent a good year riding these same trails (an average of once a week) so I had a good baseline for comparison.
My RFX was built from the parts I had taken off my 5-Spot except for the wheels, fork, stem and front derailleur.
This thing definitely requires more effort to get it up to the hill. I have a TALAS 36 up front, but there was really no need to reduce fork travel in any situation. It is definitely not the weight that is making it feel porky, but more the geometry. The slacker head angle, shorter stem, more weight on the rear wheel, made it a little require more to muscle it up the hill. I'm not saying that it is a poor climber. Traction is superb, and it gives up nothing to the 5-spot on short, technical climbs. It is on the longer grinds up smoother sections that will make you realize that this is a very different bike.
Coming down is an entirely new experience for me. Simply put, there is no need to pick a line. It holds very steady and rips through everything. I have not changed anything on the fork or shock from factory defaults and set my rear shock to 20mm sag (135psi). There is still a bit of stiction from the fork, but I'm getting full travel on the RP23. I suspect that I'm running the rear shock on the low side, and will do more tuning in the coming rides. The closest I've come to making my 5-Spot feel this way is with a DHX coil in the back, but the stability of the RFX at speed pointed down is unmatched. I checked myself many times on one of the longer descents simply because I was going waaaay faster than I wanted to.
Rock gardens and rollers are a treat with this bike. Just point and shoot. You don't even feel it. I don't know how else to describe it.
There is the constant debate on whether the RFX will replace the 5-Spot. Coming from a 5-Spot to a RFX, I'd personally have to say no, if the bikes are set up as they were intended to. If you are on a 5-Spot and have set it up slack, then maybe.
Here are some pics. Sorry, no couch shots. Bikes deserve to be on the trail.
Took it out to one of the local trails for the first time this morning. I picked trails that I was familiar with, and had a good mix of climbing, fast descending, rock gardens, rollers.. even a drop or 2. I've been riding nothing but my 5-Spot for the past 1.5 years, and I have spent a good year riding these same trails (an average of once a week) so I had a good baseline for comparison.
My RFX was built from the parts I had taken off my 5-Spot except for the wheels, fork, stem and front derailleur.
This thing definitely requires more effort to get it up to the hill. I have a TALAS 36 up front, but there was really no need to reduce fork travel in any situation. It is definitely not the weight that is making it feel porky, but more the geometry. The slacker head angle, shorter stem, more weight on the rear wheel, made it a little require more to muscle it up the hill. I'm not saying that it is a poor climber. Traction is superb, and it gives up nothing to the 5-spot on short, technical climbs. It is on the longer grinds up smoother sections that will make you realize that this is a very different bike.
Coming down is an entirely new experience for me. Simply put, there is no need to pick a line. It holds very steady and rips through everything. I have not changed anything on the fork or shock from factory defaults and set my rear shock to 20mm sag (135psi). There is still a bit of stiction from the fork, but I'm getting full travel on the RP23. I suspect that I'm running the rear shock on the low side, and will do more tuning in the coming rides. The closest I've come to making my 5-Spot feel this way is with a DHX coil in the back, but the stability of the RFX at speed pointed down is unmatched. I checked myself many times on one of the longer descents simply because I was going waaaay faster than I wanted to.
Rock gardens and rollers are a treat with this bike. Just point and shoot. You don't even feel it. I don't know how else to describe it.
There is the constant debate on whether the RFX will replace the 5-Spot. Coming from a 5-Spot to a RFX, I'd personally have to say no, if the bikes are set up as they were intended to. If you are on a 5-Spot and have set it up slack, then maybe.
Here are some pics. Sorry, no couch shots. Bikes deserve to be on the trail.
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