Mountain Biking
- Thread starter Zefan
- Start date
I think there's only one way to find out, so I'm going to book a Zero TR demo bike on a dry weekend
Zero TR demo booked for tomorrow :/
Thanks for the tips, I'll check out the videos.
How are you getting on?
Bored, trying my hardest not to use it. I just want it to heal. X-ray in 3 weeks. For some reason, everyone has decided they want to ride recently too. Everyone is beating my PBs. I just want out
Soldato
Enjoyable journey over the handlebars into a bramble bush on the Marin this morning. Nice gash on the leg and a rather bruised but not broken wrist and shoulder. Been a long time since a had a crash and done the Marin plenty of times scott free so it was only a matter of time 
Soldato
Decided to decal my bike
Before
During
After
Before
During
After
I think, on balance, it has to be Pike as the front runner.
Looking at the 2015 150mm Pike RCT3 Dual Position Air Forks, two things are puzzling me slightly. The steerer is flared at the base... is that a thing now? Will it fit my Stiffee's headtube? And does the 15mm Maxle require a specific hub or is there an adapter for it? I've got a set of Nukeproof Halo wheels sitting around and I thought they might be 20mm?
Stared at that for ages before I noticed the yellow!
Glad I'm not the only one wiht a bike like that, for most of the year
Soldato
Stared at that for ages before I noticed the yellow!
Glad I'm not the only one wiht a bike like that, for most of the year
Ha ha, i always start off with good intentions of a clean after every ride, then CBA - quick clean and lube of the chain normally
Most for steerers are tapered now. 1.5" at bottom, 1 1/8th at top. Its virtually impossible to get a 1 1/8 straight through steerer fork now. The pike and lyrik both take 15mm axles. 20mm is more of a triple crown/downhill standard.
Bored, trying my hardest not to use it. I just want it to heal. X-ray in 3 weeks. For some reason, everyone has decided they want to ride recently too. Everyone is beating my PBs. I just want out
Hope it heals soon
I really need a hardtail in my life now after the Zero TR demo. The bike felt so damn fast around Swinley Forest, and I cleared tabletops that I haven't been able to do so on my Aeris because I couldn't build up enough momentum.
The bike was a bit used and abused being a demo, and the first 4 gears sounded like a bag of spanners after they got covered in mud. The Reverb wouldn't rise all the way unless coaxed, and the brakes sounded rough AF. But, the bike felt very planted and it was far easier to push it into a berm. My exit speeds were much better than the full sus
I took a large TR but I should've taken a medium because the reach was too much for my height. I'm on the fence though because even though I have the Aeris, I am still drawn to the Zero AM because I do go to Wales often and the terrain there is much harsher than the South East.
I've asked Ben for a quote for a particular spec for the TR, so I'll give it some more consideration once I've seen the price. It's not going to be cheap
I'm almost too scared to post it
Ben sweet talked me into 1x12...Frame: medium Zero TR in grey
Seatclamp: Hope QR in black
Rear axle: Maxle Ultimate 142x12
Headset: Cane Creek 40
Fork: RockShox Pike RCT3 130mm Solo Air - Matt Black
Brakes: SRAM Guide Ultimate
Rotors: Centerline 180/160
Drivetrain: SRAM X01 Eagle but with the Descendant crankset
Wheels: DT Swiss XM481 with the Hope Pro 4 hubs
Front tyre: Maxxis Minion DHF 2.3 EXO TR 3c Maxx Terra
Rear tyre: Maxxis High Roller II 2.3 EXO 3c Maxx Terra
Stem: RaceFace Turbine R 35 Stem - 40mm Black
Bars: RaceFace Next 35 carbon bar, 20mm rise 760mm wide black
Grips: Raceface Half Nelson Grips black
Seatpost: Reverb Dropper (125mm)
Seat: Fabric Scoop Saddle, radius - Black top black base, Titanium Rails
Bird chainstay protector
Mudhugger
Pedals: RaceFace Chester
Frame Protection: All Mountain Style Honeycomb (clear)
Will probably swap the SRAM GXP bottom bracket for a Hope one. It's overkill, I know, but I don't like upgrading components over time.
Well, I only ride trail centres so does that mean I only need a TR and not a full sus? I can see an argument for both at the same venue.
Wow. That's some spec, I still think eagle is overkill personally it's a lot of money that 1x11 with an expander covers.
That must be £2500? Easily?
Well theres big differences between some trail centre blues, to blacks. I've not been to a trail centre in maybe 2 years now
That must be £2500? Easily?
Well theres big differences between some trail centre blues, to blacks. I've not been to a trail centre in maybe 2 years now
Wow. That's some spec, I still think eagle is overkill personally it's a lot of money that 1x11 with an expander covers.
That must be £2500? Easily?
Well theres big differences between some trail centre blues, to blacks. I've not been to a trail centre in maybe 2 years now
I'm not going to get much change from about £3k :/ Spec for spec though it destroys anything else on the market. The Stanton Switchblade is £3500 and doesn't have the 1x12, but it does have Fox 34 forks. The Hope Crush RS looks awesome but it's also £3500+ for a 1x11 once you change the forks to Fox 36s, upgrade the brakes, add a Reverb etc. I know they're steel but that's a big jump in price for lower-spec components.
Yeah I'll agree with you on that. Swinley's red trail is car park smooth and flat compared to any red in Wales. The final descent into the Glyncorrwg Ponds trail centre in Afan Forest is ridiculously rocky, and I've never seen anything like it in any English trail centre but it's still "only" a red.
I'll have to think long and hard about it. Ben maintains that if they release a new hardtail then it's at least 7 months away because they haven't found a prototype that they're happy with yet. My head says wait for the new model since I already have a bike, but then the heart wants something new and shiny
Theres been hints of a steel hardtail! How many hardtails do they want to bring out
Though I reckon they'll bring out a 29" version similar to the TR it makes sense.
£3k on a hardtail, you sir are crazy - I love it
Ben and I had a long chat about steel hardtails. He said that they may do one in the future made from 853 (I think) steel which is the best but it's not cheap. He said that the steel frames have to pass an "EN" or something test which drives the price up because the test is so brutal. I saw Dan testing a steel hardtail prototype at Swinley about 18 months ago but they canned the idea. Ben still has a prototype that he rides, but apparently the steel is paper thin so he could never sell it
Ya, I feel a bit dumb for even considering it
He wasn't complimentary about the XT stuff at all. I dunno if it was just that demo bike, but the SRAM GX groupset on it felt rough as hell. Made me realise how good the SRAM X1 is on my Aeris.
Would a 46T be more forgiving than an 11 speed 10-42T cassette with a 30T chainring? I have that cassette on my Aeris with a 32T chainring, and sometimes I do wish it was a bit easier uphill.
Would a 46T be more forgiving than an 11 speed 10-42T cassette with a 30T chainring? I have that cassette on my Aeris with a 32T chainring, and sometimes I do wish it was a bit easier uphill.
Soldato
- Joined
- 6 Sep 2016
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Thanks, that helps a lot!
The 34T chainring on the Eagle with the 10-50T cassette is still the easiest to climb with according to that calculator, but the gain over a 32T with a 46T expander is very small. I only chose the 34T because Ben said that that's what they usually fit to SRAM Eagle builds.