tspearin

SilverStar loves you Tom. C'mon back & heal up well.

Results are online at www.live-timing.com

If anyone's interested in this bike Nov 2018 or later, this is my 2 cents: Foundation Medium frame, all stock, w/MEC flats, new 3.0" front tire PROs: Climbs; Traction; 6" Dropper; Cheap & quiet brake pads; 40mm rims Surprisingly great climber. Have always had Specialized Enduro & Stumpjumpers w/Horst Link mountain goats, but this VPP really works for climbing. Once you perfect your balance of F/R pressures, the machine grips, tracks and rails like mad. It's the fine line compromise of: 1. enough pressure for no sidewall fold; 2. not bouncy and spinning out on roots. Once you get pressures right, you have traction on wet diagonal roots that your buddies can't rival. 6" Rockshox Reverb has a ton of travel to drop out of the way for descents. You may think you'd never need that much travel, I didn't, but it's nice once you have it. Action is smooth once it was serviced at the LBS for initial sponginess. The Shimano brakes are not the top quality, but modulate as well as my various Avid Elixers, Hayes & Hope brakes, and seem bombproof. The nice thing is cheap $12 brake pads at the LBS (up to $35 elsewhere!). Although the rims are heavy, the 40mm width really allows for you to push them, and they perform. CONs: Crap Tires; Heavy Tubes; Heavy wheels; Attention to Tire Pressure; Rear Hub; Fork suppleness The Maxxis tires are minimal in knob grip and sidewall strength. Prepare to wear them out fast. My new Specialized Purgatory 3.0 front tire has stronger sidewalls and bigger knobs. Noisy at speed on the street to/from home, which means high rolling resistance, but our singletrack is mostly steep up/down, so low speeds. Each 27.5" x 3.0" innertube weighs 15 oz, so going tubless w/4oz of Stans made a very noticeable difference in rotational inertia, helping acceleration and nimbleness. Light carbon hoops & rubber would really make this bike fly. As said above, tire pressure takes some time to dial. It also depends on the tire you choose and if the ride may encompass a considerable section on road. You definitely want to pump them harder for longer road or rail trail sections. You have to pedal pretty far to engage the rear hub after coasting. Not a nice quick positive engagement of the gears. Upgrade the hub when get a new wheelset. The Pike fork just can't quite dial in for me. To get the suppleness I'm used to with Totems or Lyriks, I need to run too low of pressure which tops out too often. Background: 150 lbs; 5'-10"; big BC mtn climbs & techy drops; SilverStar bike park flowy jumps; 33 yrs serious singletrack since 1985 Norco Bigfoot Other bikes: 2012 Giant Faith for freeride; 2007 Devinci Ollie 1 for DH