joseph-crabtree profile

I"ve used a heated awl to melt a hole above the valve stem in a Cushcore so a tube will go through if I flatted far from home. It is a pain to get the valve stem out but at least I don't have to wear a Cushcore sash and can bring a smaller tube as the insert takes up some of the tire volume.

It's what I call irony.

What is with that visor? Stuck in the up position? I don't get it. Maybe I'm too old.

I've got a 24 year old king cage I just put on my new groad bike.

How did you get on with the relatively low BB on the tech climbs? My 120mm XCish bike is at about the same as this but my 150mm bike needs at least 345mm or so to pedal through the chunky bits.

OK, It is amusing that you would dig into the system to find who has downvoted you but not surprising considering your defensive comments.

Cheers,  Joe

BTW, is that last photo somewhere on Meyers Loop?

If you are speaking of the climb to Ollason peak I know exactly what you're saying. At 50 or even 60 it was a climb that didn't faze me. Now approaching 70 it hurts a lot more and end up walking that last steep section under the oaks.

Who cares about the bottle, what year is the Em Zed?

You can get a shim to use a 31.8 bar in a 35mm stem.

I'm using 2.5 or 2.6  tires with a 30mm rim in front and a 27mm rear w/insert to get a bit more rolling speed. I do have a set of 35mm rims with 2.6 tires and they do work better on low speed trails where you can't lean over as far but are definitely  slower.

I use BoeShield on the threads and nipple/rim interface. Lubes it up for the build and eventually dries to a corrosion proof coating that allows for truing while it also keeps the nipple from loosening. If it's good enough for a Boaing 747 it'll be ok on a wheel that rarely sees 40kph.

Posted by: Znarf

If you got an "old" Lyrik - get a PUSH HC97. It's amazing and keeps the fork up there all the time, without making it less plush. It opens up amazing in the rough stuff and is top notch for steep stuff, too. I don't need to twiddle the dials for different trails, like I had to with the stock charger setup. The fork works great with one setup in very different scenarios...

I've got a'22 Lyrik with the Push HC97 and ACS3 coil kit and it's so much nicer than the '23 with an air spring and Charger 3 that's on my FS bike.

I had a FlareMax also and ended up with 145mm of drop with a low profile saddle. I never thought it would be a big deal till I rode it a bit, drop does matter.

The bike did have a sweet ride and those long chainstays, for my size, really stuck the front tire to the ground on flat corners.

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

Posted by: Vikb

Posted by: BC_Nuggets

I may be wrong on this concept but with a hardtail it might be better to run something that rides higher in it's travel to help maintain slacker angles.  I say this after spending a couple weeks on a Rocky Mountain Instinct and then going back to my Chromag which had me going..."whert in the actual ferk"

If you've got an air fork can you not just add some pressure? You are dealing with a rigid rear so the front is going to seem plush by comparison with a slightly higher spring rate anyways and ride higher?

Yes of course.  But ideally something that rides high in the travel but has some decent small bump compliance would be nice.

I think coil is the way to go with a hardtail that has more than 120-130mm travel. Air forks tend to soften in the middle of the stroke whereas a coil will offer more suport and help maintain geo.

Thanks' PowellR & Niels, got it @ Knolly's black friday sale. I'd been jones'n for one and this was the last small ti they had so I went for it. Set up MX with a coil 140mm Lyrik and a bunch of parts from my AM bike that I haven't been riding much, just in time for the winter!

Tried to upload a photo of my new hardtail with no luck but here is the link,  https://nsmb.com/photos/view/22992/

Posted by: Vikb

With my MRP Ribbon Coil they suggest you need a stiffer spring as you reduce the travel.

Yeah, with 150mm travel a 40# spring worked with about 25% sag but at 140mm a 45# spring gave me less that 20%, felt too harsh off the top and still bottomed out.

I think that the trapped air in the lowers help the 150mm travel get a little more progression.

I've got a 140mm Lyrik w/Push ACS3 now and run a 40# spring and fairly high pressure in the bump stop to keep off the bottom and still get a plush ride.

I really like the Helm but @ 140mm the coil spring didn't have enough travel to ramp up and would bottom out with a clunk. I ended up putting in an airspring top cap and running 5-8 psi to give it some help deep in it's travel.

I emailed OneUp sometime back to check this out and was told they don't sell the lower tube. Ended up buying a Bikeyoke as all parts are available and have gotten a spare lower tube incase I needed to swap to my other bike at some point. Actuation is much smoother too.