Saturday, November 12, 2011

100mm Travel and Disk Brake

Just back from the garage, where a mis-labelled fork (Manitou R-Seven Pro with cantis that did not have cantis) led to a mechanical disk brake upgrade (Avid BB7 Mechanical, XT lever compatible) and a little shop project. Keeping the white fork and buying more stuff was easier than returning it for a black model with cantis. I had the Neuvation MTB wheelset kicking around anyway, so why not enter 2001?

Too lazy to get the headset redone, I found the same WTB Momentum Comp ST I put on the frame in 2005 and kept the races in place using new bearings. I suspect that is a no-no.

The last item was a new Michelin XTC Extreme 2.0 tire, to match the rear. It doesn't, again a 5 year delta will do that, but its close enough, should be more reliable than the 12-13 year old Green Silica Michelin of the old wheel.

Took it for a spin in the dark of midnight, in the rain. Feels like 1/2 a new bike,
I notice the front is raised significantly, the travel is huge and super adjustable, the new tire is noisy, and the brake modulates nicely/fine with the rear V-Brake.
Bunny hopping damped severly, have to find some curbs to hit with this fork.

Thinking about all this, I wonder if I tightened the stem to the steerer enough, better leave a note for myself in case I do ride in the sloppy hills tomorrow am.

1 comment:

  1. Careful measurement showed I only gained a bit over 40 mm of height with the new shock. Hence the new tire and plush travel might be a bigger change.

    Flipping the handlebar returned 20+mm, and going with a flatter bar (got a DH riser on it now) would flatten too. Adjusting seat angle and rotation also helped.

    Time to go hit some curbs - nice!

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