Wednesday, April 02, 2008
That Big Ol' Belt Buckle
I am referring to the big belt buckle you get when you finish the LT100 in under nine hours. Not me, obviously. After all, LT100 is code for "Something Fish Should Never Do . . . . Ever." Who am I to argue with that? I know my role in these occasions, and that role is support.
Part of what I'm able to bring to this year's race is a geary rig for Jon to ride (without him having to build his own). This is where my obsession begins. I've got two on offer. The first is Maggy, my trusty IF dedicated mountain bike and the second is Hillary, my do it all cross/mountain bike. Each have their merits.
Maggy was designed for a 100mm fork and has an XTR Hydraulic system with Rapid Rise shifting (high-normal). Hydraulic and rapid rise are the down side. Jon also wants a rigid fork. I picked up an 80mm suspension corrected Switchblade. 80mm suspension corrected when it was designed for 100mm may also be a down side. A big upside is that this bike has a top tube that is longer than Hillary's, and more in line with what I think Jon normally runs.
Hillary is now setup with an 80mm Reba and was designed to be run as such. Hillary also has disc brakes, but they're cable actuated. I also have her set up with Paul Thumbies and traditional (high-normal) derailleurs. On the down side, her top tube is shorter. I sat on her last night with a 100mm stem and the cockpit felt too short. I've ordered a 120mm Salsa Stem to help alleviate the shortness and I hope that 120mm is the right balance of length without being too long. So, which should Jon ride on his quest for the big'un?
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6 comments:
General rule o’ thumb for squishy front ends that are to be converted to rigid is to account for about 20-25% sag. If’n your frame was designed for 100mm of squish, after 20% sag, you are sitting right at 80mm. Perfect. Maggy ought to ride like a dream.
Wait, hold on a second…. Lets start with axle to crown lengths. What do you have for both forks?
I can't find the Marzocchi, but I'm running a Manitou with a published axel-to-crown of 510mm. The switchblade has an axel-to-crown of 465mm. So, it looks like it's going to be Maggy.
What kind of pedals are you running?
froggers
So you're okay with Maggy? I'm putting a pair of Crank Bros. Acid pedals on it - they have a bigger platform - for RAWROD. I've got cleats galore around here if you want to give them a go.
I have found that for 29ers 465mm works best for 80mm forks and 485 works well for 100mm rebas...but that doesn't mean it won't work.
I ran a Black Sheep Ti fork on my old Dean which was built around a 100mm Reba. The Dean really handled well with it.
Now I am running the Curtlo which was built so I could run an 80mm fork. My WB Rocksolid with a 465mm length is sweet.
Niner suspension corrected fork is 485mm long for the 100mm Reba I think, which matches up with my Black Sheep.
But isn't Maggy sort of slack on the headtube angle Fish? If it is a 71 degree it should only steepen up a degree. My Niner was sitting a a 72 degree headtube angle and while sort of twitchy it was not unrideable. I got used to it.
Bottom line--I agree, go with Maggy
You must have the Jon I know confused with some other Jon as the Jon I know is gonna be on a single speed at Leadville. Right?
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