Video: Slashing Perth Trails on a Gearbox Bike

 Currently living in Perth. Can confirm.

 very small hills though

 @TimBigHitFSRII: yeah, well, we can't have everything can we?

 Oh aye it is, Stay safe, stay Tayside!

 terrible sports teams over in oz tho

 @rockyj: yeah and everything wants to kill you!!!

 Covid free as well. Touchwood.

 Lovely in winter but how does 5 weeks straight of 40 degrees in summer sound?

 @freeriderayward: Sounds fantastic (Melbournian)

 @freeriderayward: Presumably you've never lived here as that never happens

 @SoddenDeath: Love Perth!! Havn't been in almost 20 years though, and i do not remember trails like that being there. Are these in the Kalamunda Hills?

 @bngr8fl: not far from Kalamunda, but there are a wealth of other trail riding areas in Perth and the southwest now. Lots of government funding for trail network development too. Exciting times.

 Would be better covering that chain, as would last way longer?

 @aljoburr: or get the belt option?

 I think its more about his posture, his elbows are tucked in very much.. i wonder how he doesnt go otb

 He’s got some big shoulders but only 760mm bars because he has hit a lot of trees (our trails can be tight)

 T-Rex

 I'm convinced you could pull this off with a D1x and rubber band puling the second cable.

 Are you currently in Ireland? If so, where did you get one? Stif?

 @stoo61: Yes, got mine from Stif.

 Definitely. High single pivot and all

 I’d love to own a Forbidden/Zerode love child frame.

 Derailleurs aren’t THAT loud so an onyx hub will get you most of the way there. Not cheap, but in line with other high end hubs and cheaper than a gearbox frame.

 Imo the grip shift is more suitable for a gearbox because you can shift a lot more gears in a quick action than with a trigger

 This is the exact reason why I got an Effigear bike instead (Cavalerie Anakin). It uses a standard 9-speed trigger shifter and no chain tensioner required. The Taniwha was a very close second for me though, if I was not able to get the Cavalerie in the US.

 Honestly man once you get the technique for gripshift it's actually better than a trigger/derrailleur setup.

You can change through as many gears as you want almost instantly with a twist of your wrist. This requires a lot of clicking on a trigger.

Mess up a corner? Bang it down 2-3 gears instantly and get straight on the power.

Enter a climb in the wrong gear? Slip it into the right gear instantly and get on the power. No gear crunching through gears required.

Set off in a heavy gear from a standing stop? Nope, just dump it into the right gear and go.

Can you shift under heavy load? No. Honestly though, when do you need to do this in DH/Enduro?

Can you shift under light load? Yes. Changing gear when coasting along trails or fireroads is no problem.

Brands like Instinctiv are developing a proprietary e-shifting system for their new M-Series bikes, but I honestly think it will be hard to top the grip shift/Pinion gearbox combo.

www.instinctiv.bike

 @excavator666: I think you're spot on with the advantages of grip shift vs trigger shifters, honestly the only thing that matters to me is the fact that I have to alter my hand position to shift gears...this is a non-starter for some people. Both of my current bikes are grip shift, and after 5 years I've never gotten used to it and still prefer trigger shifters.

 @kaiseiken: fair enough man. Different strokes for different folks. Can I ask what your current gripshift bikes are?

 @kaiseiken: i just recently bought ergon gs1 grips for my marathon bike with gripshift.. and right grip has a spacer that you can remove and have a shorter grip, meaning the shifter is now always there without the need to move my hand... the stock ergon grips did not have spacer so i guess it depends on the model.. obvsly gs1 is not for everybody haha

 @excavator666: Sram GX 11 speed and nuvinci n360.

 @GZMS: I was talking about the necessity to rotate your hand position around the grip to shift. I have the same grips on both my bikes actually. For example, have you ever tried braking and shifting at the same time? I find this extremely difficult with a grip shifter.

 @excavator666: You're talking about two different things. Shifting without pedalling comes from the gearbox. For all the rest, a trigger shifter works just as well or better. It can shift 3-4 gears up, or two down, in a single movement. With a derailleur, you have to wait for the chain to move, with this system the shift would be instantaneous. Can't the Pinion gearbox be actuated by a trigger shifter? Isn't it cable-actuated?

 @excavator666: Okay, probably not because there is no cable tension, but the gearbox manufacturers could easily make this happen... Or even a aftermarket adaptation...

 @excavator666:
"Can you shift under heavy load? No. Honestly though, when do you need to do this in DH/Enduro?"

It's the grinding up a long and difficult climb where this matters.

I love the concept of gearbox bikes.

Why can't they make them smaller and lighter so there isn't such a weight penalty?

Could they include a clutch type mechanism so when you initiate a shift it engages and thus allows you to shift under load?

Probably expensive but it needs to be lighter and shift better to get wider market adoption.

 @Ktron: in terms of weight, other locals who run a beefy set up ie. heavy/strong wheels, Dh casing tyres, inserts etc, have bikes the same weight as cam and my Zerodes. Few regular bikes like giant reigns that are reaching 17kgs

 Bumped into a gentleman with a Deviate Pinion bike and took it for a spin around the car park, he had trigger shifters...so its possible.

 @stoo61: were they the Cinq shifters? If so then no thanks.

 @Ktron: My Taniwha weighs 15.3kg with heavy casing tyres on and I consider that to be pretty average for an enduro bike.

Long and difficult climbs are no problem on a gripshift Pinion, you just have to learn the technique.


Same way you have to learn the technique for trigger/derrailleur. You can mash a derrailleur into gear under load, but tbh it's bad technique.

 @kaiseiken: i cant brake and shift because i twist the shifter with my thumb and index finger instead of the palm.. but given that you can drop 5 gears in a split of a second it is fine to do breaking and shifting separately.. imo

 You can demo them...check out zerodebikes.com/world

 @coney: thats a great idea. Thanks

 He did not like derailleurs because they broke. He likes the current setup bc it's quiet.

 I was thinking the same thing... is this a video showcasing the drivetrain, or just some nice riding? The riding is nice, though.

 @mackaymunz: the idea was sorta both. Exposure for Zerode as they showed how the bike works really well, especially on one of the states best riders

 Derailleurs function just fine, so long as you don't bend em or break em. We don't love em cuz they're vulnerable. Play stupid games; win stupid prizes. Like new derailleurs. But doing stupid things is part of the fun.

 The sanctioned trails in the hills are limited true but there is heaps of other trails to choose from as you can see in this video and numerous others. It's hot but definitely ridable in summer especially if you go earlier in the mornings more often than not it's less than 25 degrees when I finish a ride in the summer.

 I do ride during summer. The temp could go up to 50s. I only ride early morning or night time, also the risk of getting bush fire every summer is dangerous. Perth hills mth trails are boring.....

 @elimadden I thought the engagement was supposed to be near instant with Onyx hubs. ?

 @pdxkid: it is. Something must be wrong with his if it’s mushy

 There is no mush, it's just instant so there is no engagement clunk like other hubs. I have owned Hadley, King, I9, and DT Swiss 54, there is nothing like the Onyx engagement.

 The cams have to rotate to engage. That causes the engagement to feel mushy. It’s especially noticeable in low gears. I have it on my fattest fat bike that I destroyed the stock rear hub on and it’s often used to crawl in deep snow. There’s plenty of other comments around about it, it’s not just me.

 I have an Onyx as well on my Zerode. It’s starting to creak and not sound so nice. I was told by Onyx that the Besper hub is not designed to handle to torque created by the gearbox. Waiting for it to fail and move onto something else.
There is definitely some wind up felt in certain gears and it’s not the catch up from the gear box I feel.

 @byfordbogan you’re an influencer

 760. A lot of our trails are very tight and it’s easy to clip trees. He found 760 to be comfy and not too skinny

 He’s also a big dude haha

 Agreed. It's only the subtitle. Haha

 Looks like the correck spellin’ too mee.

 Another 35-55MM of reach on that thing would probably fit him great.....

 @downhillnews: he’s about 6ft with 475 reach. No way he needs a 500+ reach bike

 @vandenr2: I’m 1.75m riding 502mm Reach.

Level up!

 @gonecoastal: Doesn't look like it holding him back

 They were. Looked promising. Hopefully they still are