Yep, That's Still Rad!

Rollovers

For myriad reasons, I'm behind on writing some gear reviews. I find myself with all the ingredients for review rollovers with ye olde NSMB recipe. First, take all the standard excuses. Then add that the trails here on the North Shore have been irresistible this fall. Mix in some unique justifications for each item, and put it all in the oven. And I thought that whilst they were piping fresh, why not sprinkle on some updates?

Hopefully, we can enjoy an appetizer without spoiling our meal. Originally I was going to serve a half-dozen of these, but Shimano LinkGlide M8130 is a lot more filling than I thought it was going to be, so I'll bring it out later as a stand-alone dish.

Manitou Mattoc Pro

Like generic star ratchet hub drivers and BOA-knockoffs, we're sitting on the cusp of a reverse arch revolution thanks to the expiration of the patent. In the next model year look for Fox Racing Shox to expand their 'backward' suspension forks from gravel to XC models and it likely won't be long before the stiffness-to-weight benefits have them flipping their whole lineup around.

I have it on good authority that they won't be the only ones as brands chase the next big swing of the does-bicycle-weight-matter pendulum. In particular, look for light-and-super-stiff reverse arch e-bike-rated forks, like this Mattoc Pro, to help drive the highest-priced SL motor-assisted rigs into the weight territory of the average meat-powered bike with the same travel application.

Manitou has, of course, been doing their Reverse Arch suspension forks for ages but combined with the new, old, graphics and polished crowns, it's the latest options like this Mattoc Pro and the Mezzer Pro that get all the attention.

I keep saying that I'll do my Mattoc Pro teardown when it starts feeling like it's due for a service, and at that point, I'll write the review. The fork just keeps feeling awesome. It's quite bizarre because I'm known to sometimes cut service intervals in half to keep my stuff feeling fresh - it's a maximum service interval, not a minimum service interval.

On top of feeling fresh well past its best-before date, this is the best riding fork I've ever been on. That's ignoring the unique spring and damping needs of different categories of suspension travel, but even compared to other current Manitou forks like the R7 and the Mezzer, this Mattoc Pro is magical in being a supple, smooth, stiff, supportive, stand-up piece of suspension.

The stiffness profile pairs beautifully with both the Kamloopsian carbon We Are One A130, and my steel Marinster Truck hardtail. Also, the two previous forks that I found most inspirational are the original Ohlins RXF 34 and, previous to that, my custom Fox Float 34 TALAS-V with an Avalanche DH cartridge. Is it a coincidence that they all had 140mm of travel and 34mm stanchions?

Banshee Enigma

My Enigma review series is delayed by what I'm calling 'The Ballet Of Bicycle Parts' but is in reality just my basic desire to ride it back-to-back with my Waltworks V2, with the same build, so I can dig deeper into chainstay length.

There are times, on the most aggressive trails that I'll ride a rigid mountain bike down, that I miss the extra 2" of rear center, and wheelbase, on my otherwise almost identical personal bike. There are times, especially on tighter and twistier XC trails or flowier blue trails when the super-short stays on the Banshee are a hoot. I've been riding all the same trails on both.

When my Walt is back from repair, I'm planning to move the parts from the Enigma to the V2 and then move the parts from my Marinster Truck to the Enigma, so I can talk about the bike with a suspension fork.

Thank goodness Banshee doesn't do model years! Speaking of, from the geometry chatter I've been hearing lately, it sounds like maybe the long-chainstay, -1° angle-setted, Banshee Titan I reviewed in '21 was featuring the geometry of the future.

9Point8 Fall Line Dropper

It goes up, it goes down, and it's as tight and smooth as on day dot. In other words, when it comes to the 9Point8 Fall Line Dropper post, I have exactly nothing to report. I supposed I can say to anyone who told me I'd bend saddle rails that the ones on this BikeYoke Sagma Lite are still arrow-straight.

When I look at the Fall Line I can certainly imagine a shorter seal head assembly and the head being re-designed to drop the rails more. Let's face it, for a lot of folks buying dropper posts the key concern is maximum drop for minimum length, something that Wolf Tooth and OneUp currently own. But I also see an Ontario, Canada brand doing their own thing, and absolutely owning their niche, and I love that. I see this post changing my relationship with a lot of test bikes as companies continue to approach, much too steep for me, 80° effective seat tube angles.

What does 9Point8 need to do to the Fall Line in general? Find some way to squeeze the guts into a 27.2 body with 80mm of travel so that all my friends with too-steep seat tube angles on their gravel bikes can get the right fit and a dropper post.

NSBillet Talon Cranks

As bizarre as it seems, North Shore Billet's Whistler, B.C., Canada-made crankset is a polarizing piece component. Some folks don't like how they're made. Crank arms, spindles, lock rings, chainrings, and BB cups are machined from high-grade aluminum billet rather than being forged and post-machined, as part of NSB making them as in-house as possible.

Some folks don't like what they cost, compared to crankarms that aren't made in Whistler, BC, Canada. Admittedly not the cheapest place to make anything but an awesome place to live, work, and play for those who design parts and run machines for the previously North Shore-based business.

Others seem upset about how much they weigh for the price, which is a component of passing the level of testing that NSBillet felt was necessary for what their employees, sponsored riders, and customers were going to be putting the product through.

There are many options for cranks on the market both more budget-friendly and more boutique, and some of them are also made in North America. But the Talon's are unique both by their aggressive intended application and the use of the excellent Race Face CINCH chainring interface.

These are the only cranks I can remember ever being regularly asked about. They look amazing, have a great story, and are high quality. If the price of entry isn't a barrier, you aren't concerned about a few grams, and they stoke your fire, there's no reason not to buy them. Well, except they don't come in a 175mm length.

Enduro MaxHit Headset

I only get asked about this one by folks I know working in shops. It's not light. It doesn't come in pretty colours. It's not the min-max winner which is a title I'd give to either the Cane Creek Forty or the Wolf Tooth Performance headsets, depending on if colours are a factor.

I hit a bit of a mix-up with the MaxHit since I've been running the same upper cup but had to swap lower cups from an external (EC) 44mm to an internal (ZS) 56mm to run it in the Banshee Enigma. Either way, as expected, I've had zero issues with the novel stainless steel headset that uses the cup itself as an outer bearing race.

I semi-regularly recommend this headset, particularly for riders on big-travel, big-hit, bikes whether they be very-long-travel single crowns or dual-crown forks. In addition to being beef-cake, the stainless steel construction is bombproof. Certainly, it's usable for any mountain bike application, but for less brutal riding, if I'm spending the money I've never had an issue with high-quality aluminum cups and I am a sucker for bright anodized colours.

Your preference may vary. For more information on what's going in inside the Enduro MaxHit, please check out my previous hit.

Now that I've successfully pushed all of that forward! Thank you for all the engagement in 2023. I have a few more pieces I'll be submitting this year and I'm looking forward to continuing these reviews as well as looking in on Shimano XT LinkGlide M8130, the Devinci Chainsaw HP&I Enduro+ rig, and a few other interesting bits and bobs early in the new year.

As always, I'd love to respond to feedback and questions about these products, or others I'm riding, in the comments.

Cheers!