Chromag Rootdown & Surface (and maybe Primer) Builds

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Chromag Rootdown & Surface (and maybe Primer) Builds
Author Message
flag Slackerdude
Posted: Jan 5, 2024 at 19:38 Quote
Pandalosi0 wrote:
Yo! I'm looking to expand the bike quiver with a basket jammer and for some reason an xc bike. However, in the spirit of 2 frames 1 bike; has anybody experimented with a rigid fork on their Rootdown? Curious if I could just swap fork and tires to accomplish a round town xc rig

fast rolling tires make a difference for sure , even a somewhat suspension corrected ridged fork would steepen the angles and tweak geometry off quite a bit... I guess you'd just have to try it , I think root down is designed around a 160mm fork and you won't find a rigid fork corrected to that degree but steepening the angles could possibly make it snappier. I usually just up the psi if i'm going to be on punchy xc trails or riding with girlfriend around town... but my 2.5 meets always feel sluggish with that type of riding.
flag quinnltd
Posted: Jan 8, 2024 at 8:38 Quote
Pandalosi0 wrote:
Yo! I'm looking to expand the bike quiver with a basket jammer and for some reason an xc bike. However, in the spirit of 2 frames 1 bike; has anybody experimented with a rigid fork on their Rootdown? Curious if I could just swap fork and tires to accomplish a round town xc rig

I wouldn't even bother changing the fork. I've used mine to bomb around town with minion dhfs in exo and even that is decently speedy. With an xc or hybrid tire, I doubt most people would notice a difference to a regular commuter.
flag jakalwil
Posted: Jan 8, 2024 at 11:26 Quote
quinnltd wrote:
Pandalosi0 wrote:
Yo! I'm looking to expand the bike quiver with a basket jammer and for some reason an xc bike. However, in the spirit of 2 frames 1 bike; has anybody experimented with a rigid fork on their Rootdown? Curious if I could just swap fork and tires to accomplish a round town xc rig

I wouldn't even bother changing the fork. I've used mine to bomb around town with minion dhfs in exo and even that is decently speedy. With an xc or hybrid tire, I doubt most people would notice a difference to a regular commuter.

Agreed. I have a set of old wheels with Maxxis Hookworm 27.5 tires (essentially giant bmx tires). I swap those on my Stylus, turn up the fork compression a few clicks so it doesn’t squish around so much, and it’s an absolute blast jibbing around town
flag Pandalosi0
O+
Posted: Jan 9, 2024 at 17:12 Quote
Yeah makes sense. Was curious if somebody has done it. I've liked seeing folks "repurpose" their Rootdowns throughout the web. Was also kinda hoping to justify keeping the frame but I'll probably end up selling
flag husstler
O+
Posted: Jan 9, 2024 at 20:37 Quote
No, the way this works is that you sell it because you’ll never need that bike again and proceed to buy another in 12 -18 months.
flag Slackerdude
Posted: Jan 9, 2024 at 21:19 Quote
I feel I will be riding my Rootdown as a mountain bike for many more moons...
flag powellriviera
O+
Posted: Jan 10, 2024 at 12:19 Quote
Pandalosi0 wrote:
Yeah makes sense. Was curious if somebody has done it. I've liked seeing folks "repurpose" their Rootdowns throughout the web. Was also kinda hoping to justify keeping the frame but I'll probably end up selling

Mone has some pretty sweet biplane forks that may work

http://www.monebikes.com/store/bi-plane-fork

Throw on a reverse component 10mm more stack height and you maybe close enough

https://shop.reverse-components.com/en/headsets/angle-spacer/3035/0.50-angle-spacer-for-tapered-forks?c=1225
flag Pandalosi0
O+
Posted: Jan 10, 2024 at 20:25 Quote
husstler wrote:
No, the way this works is that you sell it because you’ll never need that bike again and proceed to buy another in 12 -18 months.

To clarify, I would only sell my Rootdown frame because I have loved it so much that I got a custom ti Sycip frame based off the L Rootdown geo! I've got a Doctahawk frame posted that I'm a bit torn about letting go of
flag husstler
O+
Posted: Jan 11, 2024 at 7:57 Quote
That's a fortunate problem to have!
flag MLLNS
O+
Posted: Feb 29, 2024 at 16:27 Quote
Cmzmyers wrote:
Rootdown conversion to gravel bike? Has anyone converted their Rootdown to a gravel bike setup? I've been interested in trying gravel riding but thought before I buy a gravel bike I would setup my Rootdown for this type of riding. The easiest thing would be to buy gravel specific tires and try that but wondering there's anything else I should do, or if someone has down this already. Appreciate any input.

I rode the BWR Vancouver Island 220km in 2023 on my 2022 Rootdown. I put a 34t chainring on and installed fairly slick Vittoria Terreno tires front and rear. Bike performed great. If the bike could accommodate a 36t chainring I would probably prefer that for such a long race with sooo much tarmac (50% paved) for BWR. I also rode the Merritt Crown 130km XC race on this same bike with Rekon on the front and Rekon race on the rear, and it was perfect. Of course a dedicated gravel bike would have been best for BWR and a dedicated XC bike best for the Merritt Crown, but the Rootdown performed well, and I finished respectfully.
flag lance-h
O+
Posted: Feb 29, 2024 at 19:52 Quote
Picture with a real camera as requested


photo
flag sren
O+
Posted: Mar 1, 2024 at 13:11 Quote
MLLNS wrote:
Cmzmyers wrote:
Rootdown conversion to gravel bike? Has anyone converted their Rootdown to a gravel bike setup? I've been interested in trying gravel riding but thought before I buy a gravel bike I would setup my Rootdown for this type of riding. The easiest thing would be to buy gravel specific tires and try that but wondering there's anything else I should do, or if someone has down this already. Appreciate any input.

I rode the BWR Vancouver Island 220km in 2023 on my 2022 Rootdown. I put a 34t chainring on and installed fairly slick Vittoria Terreno tires front and rear. Bike performed great. If the bike could accommodate a 36t chainring I would probably prefer that for such a long race with sooo much tarmac (50% paved) for BWR. I also rode the Merritt Crown 130km XC race on this same bike with Rekon on the front and Rekon race on the rear, and it was perfect. Of course a dedicated gravel bike would have been best for BWR and a dedicated XC bike best for the Merritt Crown, but the Rootdown performed well, and I finished respectfully.

How much travel have you been riding?
flag husstler
O+
Posted: Mar 1, 2024 at 16:56 Quote
MLLNS wrote:
Cmzmyers wrote:
Rootdown conversion to gravel bike? Has anyone converted their Rootdown to a gravel bike setup? I've been interested in trying gravel riding but thought before I buy a gravel bike I would setup my Rootdown for this type of riding. The easiest thing would be to buy gravel specific tires and try that but wondering there's anything else I should do, or if someone has down this already. Appreciate any input.

I rode the BWR Vancouver Island 220km in 2023 on my 2022 Rootdown. I put a 34t chainring on and installed fairly slick Vittoria Terreno tires front and rear. Bike performed great. If the bike could accommodate a 36t chainring I would probably prefer that for such a long race with sooo much tarmac (50% paved) for BWR. I also rode the Merritt Crown 130km XC race on this same bike with Rekon on the front and Rekon race on the rear, and it was perfect. Of course a dedicated gravel bike would have been best for BWR and a dedicated XC bike best for the Merritt Crown, but the Rootdown performed well, and I finished respectfully.

I did the Tiara in Merritt and was toast. Impressive that you did the whole thing!
flag Slackerdude
Posted: Mar 2, 2024 at 11:29 Quote
[Quote="MLLNS"]
Cmzmyers wrote:
Rootdown conversion to gravel bike? Has anyone converted their Rootdown to a gravel bike setup? I've been interested in trying gravel riding but thought before I buy a gravel bike I would setup my Rootdown for this type of riding. The easiest thing would be to buy gravel specific tires and try that but wondering there's anything else I should do, or if someone has down this already. Appreciate any input.

I rode the BWR Vancouver Island 220km in 2023 on my 2022 Rootdown. I put a 34t chainring on and installed fairly slick Vittoria Terreno tires front and rear. Bike performed great. If the bike could accommodate a 36t chainring I would probably prefer that for such a long race with sooo much tarmac (50% paved) for BWR. I also rode the Merritt Crown 130km XC race on this same bike with Rekon on the front and Rekon race on the rear, and it was perfect. Of course a dedicated gravel bike would have been best for BWR and a dedicated XC bike best for the Merritt Crown, but the Rootdown performed well, and I finished respectfully.[/Quote

Do you feel at all that the saddle is in the way when you stand and pedal ? I love my root down for what I use it for which is climbing and descending while mountain biking but when commuting to the trail on the road when I stand to sprint over a small hill to keep momentum the saddle is right there kind of in the way if not dropped, Its a small gripe since the Rootdown works awesome for most of what I ride , My other hardtails have slacked seat tube angles and I dont have that issue. While seated climbing is very comfortable on the Rootdown.

 


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