Bike Check: Taylor Vernon's Custom Painted Prime Rocket

Sep 13, 2023
by Matt Beer  

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BIKE CHECK
Taylor Vernon's
Prime Rocket
Photography by Nick Bentley

2022 Red Bull Hardline bronze medal winner, Taylor Vernon, is a name that you've surely heard before if you're a downhill racing fan, especially if you're a Brit. He made a splash by landing a spot on the GT Factory team back in 2012 beside the Atherton siblings. He's been keeping the dream alive and the results coming in between working a full-time job and being a father. As a privateer for the last couple seasons, he's picked up a sponsor with Prime Bicycles.

The Rocket is their full carbon, 29er downhill bike, but Taylor has worked with them to develop a new rocker link that will accommodate a 27.5" rear wheel. We chatted with him to get the lowdown on his freshly painted, British-themed Rocket with mixed wheels.

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Taylor Vernon
Age: 26
Height: 170 cm / 5'7"
Weight: 67 kg / 148 lb
Hometown: Bridgend, U.K
Instagram:@taylorvernon67


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Prime Rocket Details

Frame: Prime Rocket, size medium, w/MX link
Fork: RockShox Boxxer Ultimate, 130 psi, 3 volume spacers
Shock: RockShox Super Deluxe Coil, 400 lb/in spring
Wheels: Crankbrothers Synthesis: alloy 29" front, carbon 27.5" rear
Tires: Maxxis Assegai front, DHR II rear
Drivetrain: SRAM X0 DH w/O-Chain drivetrain damper
Pedals: Crankbrothers Mallet DH
Bar & Stem: Burgtec RideWide alloy handlebar, 30mm rise / MK3 stem, 45mm length / Bartender grips
Seat & Post: SDG Bel-Air V3, Prime Aero carbon Post
Brakes: Formula Cura 4, 220mm Galfer rotors R&F
More info: primebicycles.com

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Taylor describes his suspension setup as supple and progressive. That's apparent with the fork settings: 130 psi, 3 volume spacers, fully open LSC/HSC, and 8-10 clicks of rebound (from closed). The rebound and pressure may vary slightly depending on the track.

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Similar to the fork setup, the RockShox Super Deluxe Coil has a lighter compression damping tune for Taylor. He is on a 400 lb/in spring to handle the chatter and hidden roots at Les Gets, but has run higher on other tracks. He counts the clicks from open and has turned the LSC and HSC two and three clicks in.

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Taylor rides Burgtec alloy bars at 750mm wide.

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10mm of spacer go underneath the stem.
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He's rolled the bars forward slightly with the MX link compared to the bike's stock full 29er setup.

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We recently gave the Formula Cura 4s a solid review for the pull-to-power ratio and zero mechanical issues.

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220mm Galfer rotors front and rear.

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Alloy front 29" rim with round spokes...
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...and a carbon 27.5" hoop with bladed spokes at the back.

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O-Chain's Active Spider adds a level of damping to chain oscillations to a degree, 9, in fact. Les Gets has a ton of roots hidden below the soft duff so the Active Spider has been adjusted to 12 degrees to up the freedom against chain forces. Just the top half of an E-Thirteen LG1+ is needed.

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Prime for silencing clanging chains.

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With the ability to clip in from the forward or rearward direction, Crankbrothers' Mallet DH pedals are a favorite amongst DH racers. Taylor winds the traction pins nearly all the way in.

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If it ain't broke, don't fix it. SRAM's XO DH 7-speed drivetrain is another popular choice amongst privateer and professional teams.

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Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Bike Checks DH Bikes Prime Bicycles Prime Rocket Taylor Vernon


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58 Comments
  • 53 1
 As someone with a full time job and a young kid I have massive respect (and jealousy) for anyone who can find the time and the energy to ride bikes on a regular basis. Big up TV. I mean, he is 15 years younger than me but still, fair play.
  • 15 0
 Seriously, there are times when I struggle to get more than one real ride in a month. Props to TV.
  • 3 1
 @tomfoolerybackground:

Dad's life sucks on hours in the saddle... I've never been that "fat" in my whole life hahaha or maybe it's time to change our wives... Any exchange out there?
  • 5 0
 @loamaddict: I thought I was getting away with one by teaching the kids. If they’re into riding it’s not recreational fun, it’s parenting! But then sports.
  • 5 0
 @tomfoolerybackground: thanks man, I seriously needed this after feeling like total crap for not riding enough. Cheers, mate.
  • 1 0
 Work less ride more!
  • 1 0
 I am fortunate my middlest child has taken to riding with me so I can get out at least once a week with him. He's 13 now so I am not having to hold back very much cross country and not at all downhill.
  • 28 1
 "the Active Spider has been adjusted to 12 degrees to up the freedom against chain forces."

Even though I walk through the valley of the Les Gets. I will fear no roots on my far TOO HIGH ANTISQUAT KINEMATIC, for OChain are with me; your CHAINGROWTH and PEDALKICKBACK damping effects, they comfort me
  • 2 4
 Ochain on DH bikes is kind of strange as PK is most evident when going slow. Ochain has great chain damping qualities though and bike gets deadly quiet with it. So I thing it is mostly a feeling thing rather than a real PK issue. On the other hand you probably need some AS for DH bike when pedaling hard. So I don't know, maybe they and tens of other brand not using HPs know what they are doing?
  • 1 0
 @lkubica: With an idler wheel you can adjust these values even better than without it, because they become independent from the chain ring size. Just look at how Commencal played with the position of the idler wheel on the Supreme V4, going through the different iterations to fine tune anti squat and pedal kickback.
  • 1 0
 @lkubica: antisquat != kickback. kickback matters when going over bumps, antisquat is while pedalling. can't have one without the other though, only perhaps on a high pivot, where antisquat can come for the axle path itself and not chain pull.
  • 3 2
 @lkubica: not true. PK is felt at all speeds.
  • 2 1
 Get a really expensive, high maintenance mechanical device... or use a hub with fewer clicks
  • 1 1
 @jwdenver: No it is not.
  • 2 0
 @IllestT: Low engagement hub Ochain, have both and guess what, Ochain still adds an advantage.
  • 1 0
 @baca262: This is kind of obvious, in non-idler design you have PK only because you want to have AS. So saying that somebody designed non-hp DH bike with too much PK is dumb, every non-hp-idler DH bike will have PK because it needs AS, simple as that. They needed AS and PK is a simple consequence.
  • 1 0
 @Blablablup123: For some reasons not all bikes are designed with idlers, just look at Santacruz or Frameworks or Specialized. So either they are dump or a bit smarter than armchair engineers ...
  • 1 0
 @lkubica: no one said it has too much, only that it's annoying. and not every non idler bike will have kickback, it can have a very low pivot and actual squat when pedalling, like the old demos.

bikes like the v10 basically have as high (virtual) pivot point as comfortable levels of kickback will allow. idlers are made so pivot can be higher and axle path more rearward, not because someone's a dumbass that can't sort out kickback.
  • 1 0
 @lkubica: yes it is. try hitting a root at high speed with and without a chain.
  • 2 1
 @jwdenver: I tried, just search the internet a bit, if a hub is capable of feeding the chain there will be no kickback, it's enough that the wheel turns faster than the pawls in the hub when a chain needs to "grow".
  • 17 0
 Must be some prototype suspension if the fork has a 400 lb spring in it and the coil shock has 130 psi of air and three volume spacers... Wish there was more info on those.
  • 1 0
 Even without editor's mistake, this suspension setup is strange, 130psi in a fork and 400lb spring with propably 3:1 leverage ratio? This boxer forks must have a vast air chamber.
  • 4 0
 @lkubica: Air pressure seems correct to me for the older style Boxxer based on my experience. If anything his pressure seems a little low but that's probably because he's using 3 volume tokens.
  • 1 0
 @Inclag: yup. Old boxxer ram crazy high pressures.
  • 1 0
 @lkubica: i'm 64kg, 350 spring on a v10.4 in 8,5" setting WITH a dhx rc4 which adds a decent amount of air spring effect. if he smashes hard (and he leaves compression open), 400lbs seems legit.

what's really strange is keeping the compression open, cranking it up calms the bike down.
  • 6 0
 I was horrified by the article title. I thought it was a Prime drink collaboration. Didn't know Prime was also a make of bike. Phew!
  • 7 0
 Haha it does have a Prime Energy paint job huh
  • 4 0
 It's really dope when a brands pro riders all ride different wheelsize than what the only offering of the bike comes in. Kinda like all the pro freeriders on 27/26 configurations of bikes that only come 29 or mullet. Am I the only one that feels like that's the bike companies calling us stupid?
  • 2 1
 More the bike companies selling what makes them money and saves on manufacturing. Also more us buying and running what we want.
  • 1 0
 Definitely one to watch. Had a good season given all the struggles that a privateer is facing. I don’t know if he will race the NA rounds…maybe a factory team will pick him or Prime will step up…but I’m not sure that they have the budget needed for a team.
  • 3 0
 Bike looks awesome. Taylor has had some low-key great results last year or two, would love to see him top 10
  • 1 0
 Never ridden mallets, What's the contact like with the pins wound all the way in? There must still be a bit of grip if you're not properly clipped in?
  • 3 0
 I’ve found that I have to wind my pins in with CB shoes (which you have to run a cleat spacer with too) just so I can actually clip in. When you’re not clipped in the spring mechanism is still kinda proud of the pedal so I don’t feel like there’s loadsa grip unclipped. Different shoes may not have this problem but I haven’t tried.
  • 1 0
 @emilyh: same issue. Went back to Saint SPDs. The feel of that click and ease to get in and out just feels better than the CB pedals for me.
  • 1 0
 @emilyh: Had that issue and I remember adjusting the front corner pins a little bit taller than the rest to have some grip and feel over the pedal. It worked fine for me and my Hellcats.
  • 3 1
 Think you got the spring rates mixed up, but what's that seat tower and post about.
  • 3 0
 Does this paint really need an article? Big Grin
  • 8 2
 My thought too. This paint job is as boring as my french flag!
  • 1 0
 130 PSI for a 67kg guy? Sounds like he i rigid a rigid fork. Normaly riders weight = pressure or does that not work for the Boxxer?
  • 3 0
 Boxxers run high.... My lad races DH and usually as you say, 55kg = 55psi... but his boxxers are 97 and 100psi depending on the bike. This has been set up using super advanced telemetry, not just feel. So 130psi at 67kg doesn't seem ridiculous to me.
  • 2 0
 That doesn't work for most forks.
  • 2 0
 @Freakyjon:
Or for people who use imperial measurements
  • 2 0
 Didn’t know the boxxer takes coil springs!!

Shock settings are swapped.
  • 2 1
 Intense wants their paint job back.
  • 1 0
 Great Post!
  • 1 0
 Great looking bike!
  • 1 0
 Tidy butt.
  • 1 3
 I just don't understand running the damping wide open. Without LSC you lose a lot of support and fork wallows a lot more.
  • 2 3
 I’m with you. Why not one less token and some compression dampening instead?
  • 2 0
 apperently he's a pro and he knows better or he just thinks he does
  • 2 0
 He's probably had the fork tuned specifically for him?
  • 2 0
 Dude's gotten telemetry tuning done on the fork. There are other ways you can get that support.
  • 2 0
 @noodlewitnosteeze: like what? friction?
  • 1 0
 @m40sniper: that’s the point. Can someone explain it. Pro. Must be good (highly likely). Okay but why?
  • 2 1
 @baca262: uh, the air spring?
  • 1 0
 I'm not a DH racer but I run LSC wide open because I've found it to offer the most small bump sensitivity. Yes I am aware of some brake dive, but it's the compromise I've landed on. If I had to speculate, the progressive setup with all the spacers makes a pretty supportive midstroke, such that wallow may not be a problem at all.
  • 1 0
 @m40sniper: dude's literally not a pro.

He was and may still ride like one though.
  • 1 0
 @adamstraus: dude says 130psi, so it ain't it. 3 tokens to compensate.







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