Now THAT Was a Bike: Psycle Werks Wild Hare

Apr 27, 2020 at 10:40
by Daniel Sapp  

2001 Psycle Werks Wild Hare
Now THAT Was a Bike
Psycle Werks Wild Hare
Photography by Andy Vathis


Psycle Werks was a Southern California company that first entered the mountain bike world by machining swingarm yokes, bottom bracket pivots, and other suspension parts before they began building complete frames, like the Wild Hare. With 26" wheels and between 4"-4.5" of travel, the aluminum Wild Hare was designed for XC / trail riding, and weighed in the low- to mid 20 lbs, depending on the build.

The bike featured here was owned by Vincent Damphousse. Damphousse was captain for the Montreal Canadiens and led them to a Stanley Cup in 1993 before being traded to the San Jose Sharks, where he acquired the bike in 2000 or 2001 from a neighbor in Los Gatos that had built the bike up and then was unable to ride it due to an injury.

He's had the bike ever since and it has largely stayed the same, other than new tires and a new chain or two. Andy Vathis was able to track him down to get these photos as he's still an avid bike rider and a regular at a local Montreal bike shop.

The frame is complete with funky late 90 s early 2000 s branding.



The Wild Hare had two mounts for the shock on the swing-link that allowed riders to tune the bike for longer, more supple travel or shorter, more efficient travel. There are reinforcements at every frame junction, and it was by no means the lightest XC bike out there. A medium-size frame featured a 23.5" long top tube along with a tall head tube. Geometry was was fairly typical for the time, with a 71-degree head angle and 73-degree seat angle. Chainstays were 17.25" (438mm) long which was at that time considered progressive, offering up lots of straight line and high-speed stability.

Referencing an old MBA review out of the print archives, the Wild Hare's prowess came on the descents and in a straight line but, according to riders, it struggled to be quick in the steering department due to its long wheelbase. The bike managed technical and chundery sections of trail well.



2001 Psycle Werks Wild Hare Details

• Intended use: XC / trail
• Wheel size: 26"
• Continental Mountain King (modern)
• Fork/Travel: Marzocchi Bomber Coil - 5" travel
• Shock/Travel: Fox Vanilla RC, Eibach coil, 4.5" travel
• Brakes: Avid Arch Rival 50
• Drivetrain: Shimano XTR 3 x 9
• Wheels: Mavic F519, XTR Hubs
• Cockpit: Titec
Reviewers said, "As a cross country racer, it would not be inspirational, but as a trail bike, its stability through the rough stuff made it easy to struggle up steep singletracks. Out of the saddle, the Wild Hare's longish rear stays allowed the rear tire to spin if its pilot wasn't vigilant about weighting the back of the bike. In or out of the saddle, the Wild Hare would stay straight as an arrow when climbing fire road ascents."

Riders built the bike up in a number of different configurations depending on their intentions. The coil shock provided a better ride due to its small bump sensitivity and overall performance than the Cane Creek AD-10 air shock, which some riders used. The air shock did prove to be a good option for XC racers concerned with weight who would air the shock up to its maximum pressure to help with the efficiency of the bike.

2001 Psycle Werks - Lower linkage

2001 Psycle Werks
Hand built in Laguna Hills California.
Hand built in Laguna Hills, CA.

2001 Psycle Werks Wild Hare

2001 Psycle Werks
So sick to find an Eibach branded spring.
A Mountain Speed spring on a Fox Vanilla RC shock. Mountain Speed eventually changed owners and became MRP in the early 2000s.

A look at the classic Marzocchi Bomber fork.
The classic Marzocchi Bomber fork.

Details of the Bomber CR.
The top down look at the Marzocchi fork. The stanchions seem to be independently adjustable from left to right..
Oil and coil in each leg, with preload and rebound adjustments at the top.

2001 Psycle Werks
Shimano's XTR drivetrain with three rings up front.

It s a full XTR setup down to the front derailleur.
2001 Psycle Werks
Front to back XTR.

2001 Psycle Werks - XTR Shifters
Shimano XTR Triple ring crank.

Beautifully machined brake levers.

Titec bull horns to go with the 620mm bars and carbon seat post.
Titec bull horns to go with the 620mm bars and carbon seat post.
A look at the rear triangle s bridge.
A brake arch for boosting performance and keeping pads perfectly in line.

Avid Arch Rival 50 Brake Arches for the ultimate V-brake experience minus the Magura hydrolics . Apparently these had more modulation that the disc brakes offered at the time.
Avid Arch Rival 50 Brake Arches.
Avid Arch Rival 50 brakes provided the ultimate V-brake experience. These brakes had more modulation and arguably better performance than the disc brakes offered at the time.

Shimano XTR hubs front and back.
XTR hubs front and back.

2001 Psycle Werks
The Shimano XTR hubs are laced to Mavic F519 rims.
The Shimano XTR hubs are laced to Mavic F519 rims.

2001 Psycle Werks Wild Hare


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138 Comments
  • 47 2
 The arch in the avid arch rival v brakes is not stiffener or booster at all. Just a gimmicky way of keeping the brake pads moving parallel like xtr v brakes. Funny as I just installed arch rival v brakes on my kids bike last week.
  • 7 0
 Yeah brake boosters were solid, these have the pivot in the middle. Brake booster was solid to stop the fleys fkexing The arch on these supposedly helped with modulation, by keeping them aligned Dunno if it worked but they were great brakes in the day
  • 5 1
 came here to say the same thing. not a brake booster
  • 4 0
 +1 this is not a brake booster, just a pad alignment contraption
  • 6 3
 Hey, that's not a brake booster, both angry and disappointed Pinkbike.
  • 7 1
 I was going to write the same thing at first but looking again, I think he is referring to the welded gusset between the seatstays as the brake booster. Not exactly the right terminology. I still have a pair of arch rivals on my trials bike with a Salsa carbon brake booster. Great brakes. The more parallel movement of the pads worked well with the wide rims.
  • 1 0
 I wonder what RC would say if he saw those "brake booster" captions on what are clearly not brake boosters.
  • 2 1
 @nathanawebster: Yeah, I also was thinking that the photo referred to the welded gusset. I sold a lot of those horseshoe shaped brake boosters back in the golden days of V brakes! Sold a few Aftermarket fork arches for the Marzocchis too!
  • 8 1
 It boosts the performance. Obviously.
  • 2 0
 Had them on my LTS 1 and thought I was the man. They also made the bike heavier so it tracked better?
  • 1 0
 @nathanawebster: Its been edited now, so it seems that wasn’t the case.

Had ArchRivals on one of my old bikes. They were very good, but no quite up to XT/XTR standard
  • 1 0
 @timbud: Yup. Tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. Wink

Those XTR vees were drool worthy. I always wanted a set but they were a little too spendy for me. Same with Avid Ultimates...
  • 1 0
 Gimmicky like to way disc pads move?

I'm old.
  • 1 0
 I currently have sets of both-of-the-same-era Arch Rivals and XTR V's and I declare nonsense on claims of Avid's brake arch being a 'gimmick'. Like the XTR it's a parallelogram braking system and I'm pretty sure Avid would've been in deep didgery dogshit if they ripped Shimanos design.

Brake boooooooster? Dunno, kinda looks like one but isn't one so who cares.
  • 2 0
 not gimmicky, they worked well and developed less play than the tiny links on XTR/XT
  • 41 0
 That’ll always be my favorite version of the XTR logo. So clean.
  • 32 0
 Those XTR components still give me the horn
  • 5 0
 That xtr setup was a dream at the time
  • 13 0
 I would love Shimano to give the next XTR some throw back styling/colour cues from the XTR m950 group set.
  • 7 0
 Still waiting for modern components in that XTR grey... What a beauty!
  • 2 0
 @Tamasz: That matte grey and the anodizing they used on the chainrings almost had a platinum/gold hue mixed in under certain light. Looked premo.
  • 2 0
 Agreed. Ironically looks more modern then their current '80's hair metal bubble logo.
  • 6 0
 Hands down best looking groupset of all time. MTB hall of fame.
  • 2 0
 I'm glad someone said it. That line was so far ahead of anything else at the time.
  • 1 0
 @thom: agreed. I scored a near full group (minus hubs) on clear out and at cost at the first shop I ever worked at back in 98 for I think around 5-$600 buck. Was a steal so I made sure I found the money despite being broke those days.
  • 2 0
 I still have (almost) the entire XTR group. In mildly used shape. Have the brake/shift combo, but my friends were on the ground floor of Hayes, so when I got the hook up, I went with XT shifters, derailleur and Raceface cranks. Have all the XTR, except for the rear hub. Still, the smoothest working brakes and shifters I've ever had. My daughter has it on her old school, built up Trek 8900 now. She's not into riding, so she has no clue as to what that bike or group is...
  • 28 0
 I worked there one summer back in the day! Those little dots in the rabbit feet under the “US Crafted” decal were such a PITA as they’d always get stuck on the transfer paper.

Fun fact: the AD-10 was spec’d on the “SL” model. Other weight savings features were Ti pivots and a polished (rather than powdercoated) frame. Yeah, vs. the coil shock, I’d say the air shock was most of your weight savings there.
  • 1 0
 Ha, awesome!
  • 1 0
 Neat!
  • 1 0
 I owned three Wildhares (one broke (warranty) and the other "wore-out" as Chuck Densford said (I got a crash discount for that frame)). I still have the last (Obviously, I don't ride it anymore). My first was polished with the AD-10. I think I still have some decals. I also still have a very nicely machined bushing press.

I liked the bike, but it made me swear-off bushing bikes. The plastic bushings would slowly eat away the frame and cause perma-slop. In later models, I think Chuck added steel inserts at the frame/bushing contact points. I doubt any manufacturer uses bushings at the main pivots anymore.
  • 29 3
 "Wild Hare would stay straight as an arrow when climbing fire road ascents".
That's the first thing I look for in a bike these days. That fire road tracking.
  • 2 0
 MBA tests back then were basically fire roads up, wide buff singletrack down.
  • 1 0
 @alexsin: or loose fire road blasting back down, too!
  • 2 0
 Yeah a lot of bikes these days don't go straight on fire roads. Maybe cause I drink too much.
  • 11 0
 Head angle = seat angle. BB height = wheel diameter. Cogs in front = rear cogs/2 or 3. Brakes = F@@#kin scary. I am old enough to remember when I would have lusted after this bike after an MTB action test. Shame on me.
  • 1 0
 i remember wanting one of these!
  • 1 0
 I owned one. It was a good bike at the time. IIRC it broke under the guy who bought it from me.
  • 3 0
 Wheel *radius* but yeah.Wink
  • 2 2
 @sngltrkmnd: I originally typed radius but did not want to sound too much like an engineer....... Thanks for the chuckle!!!!
  • 11 0
 Guy Carbonneau was Captain that year.
  • 6 0
 Lots of hockey history brushed over very quickly in those couple of sentences.
  • 4 0
 Third team in three years in ‘93 of which he led each of those teams in scoring. (MTL/EDM/TOR)
  • 4 0
 and they havent won a cup since
  • 1 0
 @RoverDover: Yes, but that win was a good one! That playoffs in 93 was overtime excitement at its best.
  • 1 0
 I scrolled down to post this. Glad someone beat me to it. Damphousse was the team's best skater but, let's face it, Roy was the real captain in those years.
  • 8 0
 Pretty cool it is Vincent’s bike!! That guy is an awesome hockey player.
  • 4 0
 He's was my grandma's favourite player.She liked that he was less violent than the others Smile
  • 5 2
 Hahaha, pbuser2299 is "angry" and "disappointed " about the brake booster. That's hilarious. I wish I had so few problems in life that I had some anger left over for something so insignificant.
  • 5 0
 Here's me realising I am so old I just consider this a modern bike. Would probably ride just fine.
  • 1 1
 Looks like it would work great. I'd take the bullhorns off tho
  • 5 1
 This has more character than half the bikes on the market today, Id be glad to own one of these. More of these articles please Pinkbike!
  • 3 1
 Spring is in the air and more specifically in the nose so it's triggering interesting nostalgic memories. Smell is weird. Seeing this bike and spec - it's really taking me back I wanted one of these - categorized as a 'west coast bike'.. semi tribal identification, semi accurate as those tended to cater to S.Cal terrain and typically had lower BB than we were running on the rocky east coast. The bomber - yeah had one. The xtr groupo -yup - still have 519ss/219 laced to those very hubs and never serviced, run perfect and live outside on a mtb turned townie Same bike has those avids too. They were special times kids - all these America bikes - hand built, full suspension - each with their own special sauce suspension design. We were creaming ourselves over the idea of trying them all and seeing what was next.
  • 2 0
 Oh man I lusted after one of these so hard after seeing a black-and-white ad in the back of Bike magazine as a teenager. Never got one, but did eventually own one of those Z1 CRs. The compression side was so overdamped that Marzocchi US advised me to drill a hole in the damper wall.
  • 2 0
 Drillium....oh, those were the days.
  • 2 0
 Mine's drilled out too! Still one of my favorite forks ever. Bought it new the instant they came out, then over the years changed out the lowers for QR20, and cut/ground the canti mounts off. If I could find a crown with a longer steerer, it would be pulled off the wall and stuck on my old-school freeride HT build.
  • 1 0
 @delta5: I knew many guys that would be like "yep, too much aluminum in that 5mm chunk of chainring.....get me mah drill" (odd note, I knew more than one that would only use metric drill bits, not SAE, just to "be sure it was safe" - well, it wasn't).
  • 1 0
 @delta5: best forks!
  • 2 0
 I managed a local shop within a few miles from their office. We sold a bunch of the Wild Hare's. They were fun bikes. You could get a modified linkage to get even more travel out of that frame but the seatstay brace would come up so far it would cut your front derailleur cable on the back of the seat tube. The Mad Dog was pretty cool if you needed that downhill travel. I think I still have the Psycle Werks branded tool kit to change all the bushings. There's still a bunch of these bikes around, mostly teens riding them after getting it handed down from their dad most likely.' ...and if anyone can find a copy, Psycle Werks made a promo video with one of their guys riding the local trails in a PINK BUNNY SUIT. Absolute Classic.
  • 2 0
 @danielsapp The epitome of V-brakes, near the XTR, has always been the CNC-machined Arch SUPREME, not the Arch Rival, which were cheaper versions of the Arch Supreme. The Arch Supreme had sealed bearings all over the place, was super stiff and gave discs a run for the money, while it was similarly expensive.

Interestingly, this bike comes with the Avid Speed Dial Ultimate levers, which were the match to the Arch Supreme, but not the actual brakes. I'm wondering why, as cost couldn't have been the issue here. Avid later ditched the parallel-push system of the ”Arch” line and for a small period of time their top-end rim brake was the Single Digit Ultimate, which also featured bearings and was matched to the Ultimate lever, but this time in a murdered-out full-black look. I have a set of these, but can't decide if I should put them on my Serotta CMS or my Klein Attitude.

By the way, I have seen the first Psycle Werks Wild Hare (in red guise) in the first Mountain Bike Action I ever bought. It was a October 1997 issue from the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv. and I still have it.

Cheers!
  • 1 0
 I owned 2 of these through out the years. Worked with Roy Watson to have a smaller frame size made for myself and a few friends out of BC USA bike shop (in Redondo Beach). In fact, mine was one of the first 2 made in that frame size anodized blue. This bike was so far ahead of its time. Lightweight, a good amount of travel and the bike worked great going up hill and down hill.
  • 1 0
 Built one of these up about 8 years ago as a trail bike with a Z1 QR20. Didn't realize the orientation of the Cane Creek air shock was critical to not snapping off the rebound adjustment screws as the linkage compressed... Had a blast on the bike anyways until I had too much fun, and cracked the down tube right below the gusset. Still have it hanging in the shed the for good memories, and hopefully re-built as my "xc" bike someday.
  • 1 0
 Back when Avid made decent brakes.... Wink

Sorry, couldn't resist! Big Grin

Meanwhile, half of PB passes out after hearing that bike described as long wheelbase...

For the record, I am old enough to remember this bike and more, and thinking that this kind of geo and 2-3" forks were the shizz! Razz
  • 1 0
 "A brake arch for boosting performance and keeping pads perfectly in line."

Should read "boosting performance _by_ keeping the pads... in line."

Actual brake boosters linked the pivot posts together, helping flexy seat stays remain straight and giving some support to the relatively chintzy fork arches of the time. This arch only guides the pads, it's not going to do anything towards keeping the pivot posts from moving.
  • 1 0
 PB, I love these reviews of 'old' classic bikes. While not a classic classic, can I request you look at the Santa Cruz Blur 4X? It's got some racing history, a bit of slopestyle history and it could be argued it was one of the key bikes in the birth of 'all mountain / enduro'.
  • 3 0
 I used to see tons of those bikes on the trails in Aliso Canyon (Laguna Beach) back in the day.
  • 2 0
 My Ventana MPFS had the same kind of linkage joints, just bolts in plastic "self-greasing" bushings. A nightmare. Those were the days Wink .
  • 5 0
 The pivots were exactly the same because the machine shop that made Psycle Werks also machined parts for Ventana at one point in time.
  • 1 0
 @feldybikes: I miss riding my buddy's monster truck of an El Cuervo.
  • 1 0
 @feldybikes: you are correct, as well as turner and amp.
  • 1 0
 @feldybikes: the bike was also designed by the man who made Ventana, I forgot his name.
  • 1 0
 @Mattflanigan: Sherwood Gibson
  • 1 0
 @feldybikes: Ventana was the shop. Everything was in house except for powder coating. Earlier on, they contracted out heat treating but eventually moved that into their Rancho Cordova shop. Sherwood did a lot of work for Karpiel, Specialized, Ellsworth, and others too.
  • 1 0
 ????????@asf:
  • 1 0
 @asf: ????????
  • 1 0
 @asf: tryed to do a thumbs up but wouldn’t let me , Sherwood was his name, Sherman was on the tip of my tonge.
  • 1 0
 @asf: Back in 2011 when i worked there, they were transferring to the designs they are using now. The only things that weren't done in house was polishing the swingarms (although i had to hand polish a few for some rushed orders), anodizing the rockers, and the tapered head tubes. If im not mistaked they make the frames for Squid bikes now and still sell swingarms to many smaller shops.

Loved working there, was a ton of fun. I was able to get about 9 years out of my El Bastardo before it was time to move on.
  • 1 0
 @Mattflanigan: hey man, do I know you? Forgive me, it was over 20 years ago. I had a broken wrist.
  • 3 0
 Sweet, to get here we had to go there, I prefer here but spent many years there. Ah, progression.
  • 3 0
 What a great looking bike for the time, amazed it's taken us so long to sort out decent cable routing though.
  • 2 0
 Top tube cable routing, anywhere other than the bottom of the tube was horrible, either ripped your leg or scrote open eventually.
  • 1 0
 I had a mongoose with a similar design frame as this. Big piggyback rockshox shock at the back. Beautiful raw finish. I wish I had held onto it just for the nostalgia . The bike itself was flexy and creaky lol.
  • 2 0
 Low to Mid 20lbs for weight??? I,d have to see proof . My old lightweight rigid fork HT was 22lbs. My 1st dual suspension bike (1996) was over 30lbs.
  • 3 0
 I work there, we made a one off with special tubing and light parts and it was just under 20lbs. Regular frame with light parts would come in around 25ish pounds.
  • 1 1
 Probably in the minority here, but I wish Shimano made optional rapidrise derailleurs again. They just shifted so much smoother when setup properly, because you could not force the chain up the cogs into a low gear...the spring action let the chain climb the ramps as it wanted.
  • 2 0
 Rapid rise= Rapid demise
  • 1 0
 @danielsapp: it did last nearly 10 years, over 3.5 generations of groupsets.

I think the real demise was lack of familiarization outside the dreaded M960 generation and all the negativity tied to that failure of a groupset...terrible shifters, terrible sticky piston calipers, bad outboard BBs, etc. In the previous 950/952/953 era, most people just didn't know RR existed. Manufacturers never spec'd them, people who ordered them largely did so in error, and people didn't want to relearn reversed shifting.

Not sure how probable RR would function in the clutch era.
  • 1 0
 Well, hot dang! I had that frame...with an orange Bomber Z1. Jumped it off a house and cracked the shock mount, because I then thought that lots of preload on the spring was a good idea. Age with dignity, kids. Shred on.
  • 1 1
 "between 4"-4.5" of travel, the aluminum Wild Hare was designed for XC / trail riding, and weighed in the low- to mid 20 lbs"

And the only carbon seems to be in the bar ends. Either it was a total noodle, or everyone is doing something wrong now...
  • 1 1
 "71 degree headtube"..."it struggled to be quick in the steering department due to its long wheelbase"

But, but, everyone says slack head angles make for slow steering bikes! How can it be slow with that steep of an angle! Wheelbase is a large factor in steering feel. Maybe reviewers can stop making assumptions about bikes based on the angles, since they don't always seem to understand everything, because the usual comment is "it's slacker than before so the steering is slow", without taking the wheelbase and both front- and rear-centers into account.
  • 1 0
 I still have my Wild Hare frame. The friction in the pivot bushings almost made for a pedaling platform. I ended up turning it into a dirt jumper for a couple years until the brake arch cracked. I still love this bike.
  • 2 0
 I did alot of RnD on these bikes up to the med downhill bikes, one of my funnest jobs I’ve ever had.
  • 1 0
 I had a Psycle Werks Maddog, it was a really good DH bike for the time. Super slack 67 degree head angle, 7 " of travel and bleached hair...Oh the '90's
  • 1 0
 Those Avid Ultimate brake levers were great. Still sought after today. I think I got $180 for mine on eBay a couple years ago.
  • 1 0
 Best brakes from that era we’re as ultimates or cane creek direct curves. Those arches never made the bike fee any different though.
  • 2 1
 Those avids don't have a brake booster The extra arm is to keep the pads aligned I had some on my 99 kona muni mula
  • 2 0
 2011 Scott Spark looks like 10year older Psycle Werks.
  • 1 0
 $$$ Curious to know what did that bike cost in 2001 ??? (either new or used when he bought it?)
  • 1 0
 4000-5000 usd would be my guess?
  • 1 0
 I don’t remember exactly $1200-$1500 frame sets and goes up on what you chose for components.
  • 2 0
 V-brakes were the biggest leap in braking power ever.
  • 2 0
 So what ever happened to the company?
  • 1 0
 Desolved in the midsts of manufacturing going over to chyna.
  • 1 0
 Blast from the past - the last time I saw one of these I was the one in the LBS selling it!
  • 1 0
 I liked the part where it says front to back xtr right anime the photo of the avid brakes.
  • 1 0
 NDS dust cap on the XTR hub hasn't cracked; truly a rare find.
  • 2 0
 Got one in my garage Smile
  • 1 0
 funny it didn't come with Hayes disc brakes.
  • 1 0
 That’s right when disc brakes were coming out, most were equipped with hayes.
  • 1 0
 @Mattflanigan: I'd say shimano m755
  • 1 0
 YES sweet ride , couple of my friend shad those from ON TOP BIKE SHOP!
  • 1 0
 Is this proto-downcountry?
  • 1 0
 The Diamondback DBR from late 90's was probably the first do-it-all bike (at least the most popular). All the mag reviewers loved that bike.
  • 1 0
 Damn that made me feel old
  • 1 0
 Hey, it's a modern day gravel bike!
  • 1 0
 Good times, thumbs up for more of this content - Thanks PB!
  • 1 0
 I have one of these! It is such a great bike!
  • 1 0
 ...no way that old 'zoke ever had 5 inches of travel...
  • 1 1
 Can’t believe we rode those brakes as the norm
  • 9 0
 V's were a massive improvement over the low-profile cantilevers that came before them (which were a massive step backwards from original wide cantilevers).
  • 14 0
 @azureblue: oh god I remember the absolute life changing stopping power of v brakes vs cantis. Especially with them kool stop pads
  • 6 0
 My wife's hybrid has Kool Stop reds on older Avid single digits and it stops really well, until there is any moisture on the rim, then it doesn't.

I remember setting up my rigid 26" back in the mid 90s with some Shimano V-brakes, what an immediate and awesome difference. My friend had Magura HS22s on his bike and he was everyone's envy.
  • 1 0
 They worked awesome in the dry, which is all I ever rode.
  • 2 0
 @BikesBoatsNJeeps: Still have my HS22's - and still powerful on my 1990 Diamond Apex.
  • 1 1
 @BikesBoatsNJeeps: I think moisture was a V-brake killer in general.
Well, moisture, dust, rocks.. pretty much anything to do with mtb killed V-brakes
  • 2 0
 @Ajorda: True, though replace v-brakes with rim brakes. My STX canties on my first bike were awful in all conditions, but an upgrade to XT vees when they came out were only awful in wet/dusty/whatever conditions. Dry and clean, they were actually pretty great.
  • 2 0
 The ceramic-coated rims helped a lot in the wet, as I recall.
  • 1 0
 @DavidSA: Oh yeah, those helped a lot. Remember when the difference between cheap and expensive rims was $30-40 extra for the ceramic-coated version?
  • 1 0
 @DavidSA: They did but the surface would wear away depending how much you rode in the mud.

It does make me miss the original CrossMax wheels. Those things seemed indestructible at the time for XC wheels...beefy box section rims and bulletproof hubs...yet incredibly light. Only weak spot was the eyelits pulling through the rim over time and ruining the wheel. The second generation Xmax was such a letdown compared to its predecessor.
  • 1 0
 @DavidSA: but those ceramic coated rims squealed like banshees when they got wet!
  • 1 0
 @Jamminator: I laced up some SUP ceramics back in the day and went and did a day at a local ski mountain that we could ride in the summer. This was pre-lift access days, so we would pedal for an hour or so up the cross-country ski trails and then use the off piste tracks down. It was a little wet and muddy and gritty, and by the end of the day I had smoked both the rims, especially the rear, which had to be replaced since it was wore almost all the way through. Didn't seem to be an advantage. Plus those Mavics were twice the cost of a Ritchey Rock, which lasted longer.
  • 6 0
 @Jamminator: I made a garden gate with my CrossRide rim.
m.pinkbike.com/photo/18618108
  • 1 0
 That's a sweet ride!
  • 1 0
 Yum yum!!!! Lovely.
  • 1 0
 Looks like an AMP
  • 1 0
 nice one
  • 1 0
 Looks great
  • 2 2
 Pscycle Twerks
  • 1 1
 Nice bike. HABS SUCK!!







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