X-Fusion: ????? shock

Ramping of up to 9  forks catering to every class of mtb out there.. X Fusion is definitely upping the Game of Boink big time...

Recently been getting "X" stuff so fast, both new and existing -- I don't even have enough time to mount everything and test them out... Ok Ok that's gonna get a lot of people  really hating me for this.

Wait, read on...

And a surprise pic in the mail yesterday just when I thought there couldn't be any more new products lined up....

Whaddaya know! Looks like yours truly is yet again destined to receive the first of some yet to be released boink.... a rear shock this time. With absolutely zero info online. Don't think I should spell out the name. But a couple of sneak pics ouldn't hurt eh!


Was gonna get a regular O2 RCX for the lite EG as the Vector Air HLR felt more at home with DH and gnarlier ride duties. Moreover it felt to be overpowering the lighter and crisp XF 34mm Slant up front.

The main thing was the lack of a stiffened up compression needed for the intended purpose of the light-strike build. Usually I don't bother about this but I want the best out of saddle climbing for the lite EG when the need arise.

So yup the Vector is gonna be mated to the RV1 in big EG and this goes to the smaller EG.


First pic probably looks normal... but that is a pretty fat damper, much like the Vector HLR.
Let's take a look at one pitted against its smaller brethen, the O2 RCX

So there is-
Vector HLR - Fat Damper + Piggy
O2 RCX- Normal Damper No Piggy
Mystery shock - Fat Damper no Piggy

where does it fit in the gazillion categories of MTB these days?

With the rising popularity of Enduros... (and maybe FR) it might just get its very own. Other brands are also talking about "enduro shocks" these days.  Its probably splitting hairs to push for another category with some overlap on where it can be used. The naming and calling it a whatever-class-shock is part marketing for sur, but what I think is that this is also a design to cover the short comings of many a piggy-less air shock out there....

...too stiff with small vol. can and too wallowy with big vol can-- sounds familiar? Yea we have all been down that fiddling road with various PITA shocks...Will this one make the cut and do what it's supposed to do without resorting to expensive aftermarket mods?

Whatever it is,  I'm not complaining, that's for sure... since an actual prototype should be in my grubby paws by next week and the world hasn't even heard much of a toot. Stay Tuned.

I'm sure all of ya are squinting real hard trying to make out the name...
STABE?
STADE?
STARE?............ oh yea stare real hard, you just might make it out.

and remember-- you saw this here first ;)

Initial Thoughts: X Fusion RV1 -ing the EG

RV1 - dual crown
EG -  6" frame

Can already hear the crescendo of "Noooo" in the background.... Yup, generally it wouldn't be wise to push frames this way but it this wouldn't be the first dual crowned EG.

Have to say it's totally unnecessary, having absolutely no complain with the Vengeance Coil so far. But its just tempting to see how it feels like (and maybe just maybe... to "justify a FR/DH frame in the months to come ;).

Probably not very useful for most folks but let's see what can be be discovered from X Fusion latest offering anyway.


Before launching into what's done for those that might be entertaining similar thoughts...

.... Most of the features have been covered to death by the various usual bike sites- Pinkbike, BikeRadar, Bikerumor and Vitalmtb and more..

Spec weight on official website is  2767gm which probably does not include the carbon lower guards and the axle. Bikeradar stated the claim weight by XFusion was 2902gm.

Mine came in @ 2988gm all in, uncut steerer. Minus the guard, bolts and axle its still 2833gm.

155 gm diff!  Spec weight doesn't include steerer? ... well whatever, still pretty impressive grammage for a coil dual crown.

Clockwise from top left: All in weight, carbon guards and screws
Weight with guards and axle. axle weight.

Stealth matte black with what look like an anodized finish. To be honest I just wasn't sure cause Mg anodizing certainly isn't common with parts used in the mtb industry. With the guards removed that should appeal to the no-frill camp.. But having been bashed on their earlier years graphics (remember the eagle on the gen one Vengeance?) I have to say their graphics department has come a long way. As much as an anti-carbon person.. I'm keeping those guards on if only just for the design on it.

Before & After: First thing first... getting all those numbers down

The RV1 is internally adjustable to 180 but if there is one XF fork that ran counter to the trend of  their lineup axle-to-crown measurement- the RV1 seemed to be on the short side (all others in my experience-- Vengeance, Slant and Velvet had been longer). Well of course A-C in DH fork can be adjusted somewhat by moving the lower crown, it came in with factory installed setting of 205mm, just 5mm over the full travel length.

Double method measurement for better A-C accuracy.
Vengeance 565mm. RV1 ~571mm (mfr spec @ 569mm). Diff = 6mm
Line of sight + caliper method = 6.5mm difference

I did wished for one little thing on the Vengeance Coil 170mm, just a smite more in the A-C department, with a corresponding increase in the bb center to front axle while trying to make various arm and torso reach remain the say,  or at least can be adjusted to be. Everything looks just "perfect" at least on paper without having to change travel or move the lower crown for now.

Old measurements on the Veng:
Bar Height,
BBH with Minion DHf 2.5,
Crown-stem,
BB center-front axle

Have no way to really get the HTA and STA changes accurately beyond those crude apps on the phone... so gonna leave it at that for now. Certainly the front was raking out a little more during rides. The change is perceptible each time with each A-C increment from 36Talas - Veng Air - Veng Coil and now finally the RV1.

While there is always the second lighter EG for general trailing purposes but if there are things that can be pedaled on this tank wherever its taken to... I'll rather crank it out than to push, hence the tolerance and range of the few crucial measurements are rather tight for me as to how much I can slack it out

Can only measure so much before taking the bike out and actually ride it...

Yup, made it on all the dirty loose rocky switch back ups on pedal power..

Still have to test out the various dials and coordinate with the rear shock. All I can say now is the compression and rebound damping circuits are very different from any single crown fork I ever had.
To keep the front end from running out away from me.. rebound speed is a lot slower than norm...

Screwed up shoulder says no airtime for now but the speed drops taken is a lot more confidence inspiring on this fork.

Since it was still ok getting up-- just playing with the idea of slacking it out with an angleset another 1-2 deg so as not to slacken the STA and increase bar height...

Just for comparison

And the overall weight now? Its just a number.........

More to come later.

26 Oct
After today, I'm really contemplating an angleset on this setup, if only I can be sure to keep the RV1  the EG for a while... cos the climbing was really no different from the Vengeance Coil 170mm.. pretty much is pedal power all the way on the ups. Restrictive movement of dual crown takes a little getting used to but any would have been the same.

The one thing to keep the front and rear boinks in sync was to down my rear spring now to a 350lb instead of the usual 400 that has been on the bike for the last 3 years. Still the rear is tying hard to catch up to the front that simply butter out entire root stretches and on rock gardens. But I guess a poor man DH rig like this will have to live with a little less than optimal performance. Still trying to find a sweet spot in the rebound but have a feeling I'll have to dial in the rebound on different trails more often now...

X Fusion RV1 - Sneak Preview

Dirty has pulled it off again!
Sneak preview ... 1 of  the2 actual production pieces that has gotten out from the factory so far ;)


Long granny post to follow.....


    ok maybe just one more for those that can't wait

Vector HLR Air initial review (+updates)

Almost always too excited when it comes to new suspension parts... but decided to just hold back this time on both the X-fusion Vector Air HLR and the 34mm Slant.

Ok the Slant came earlier and had more trail time but I can't wait to describe the Vector Air first...

Vector HLR Air
First ride--if anything can be described as plush yet firm (because with all previous air shocks-- firm means getting that wet cardboard-ish feel). I attribute a portion of it after eye-balling to at least that massive (diameter-wise) looking damper !

Halfway thru the second ride after some higher speed run, seals seem to have broken in nicely but just felt that something on the inside would need a bit more mileage to get it really working.. Just a gut feel.

This is the closest to a coil comparing across all air shocks I had till date.. Hmmmm.. Yup linear in the first 2/3 of the stroke. Pretty much the same bottomless feel like my DSP Dueler Coil setup. However the shock never seem to use beyond 2ish" of its 2.5" stroke (total damper length is actually 2.75"). Might have been the 250psi loaded piggy but then for now this setting is sweet for normal trailing with lots of pedaling.

Riding over anything up to 3-4" root patches was plush but more importantly the rear tracks pretty much perfectly.
Rebound set @  is ~67% (22 of 33 clicks), a little higher than my usual on shocks but...

0 lo-comp as usual for me and hi comp at ~2/3 (10 clicks of 14-15)


Suspect that current rebound setting which is  ~2/3 to the fastest is a little too fast. But everything is manageable so far without the feel of getting bucked around on a bronco.

On the mid-stroke there is an unmistakable slow bounce (for lack of better words, think controlled+ feedback, not kick) over loose and rough. Something I like when sometimes trying out other people's bikes. Never seem to be able to replicate that feel with all the air shocks I had until now. With the Monarch RT3 and the RP2- they all have that dead wet cardboard feel.

Balancing bottom out with proper sag at best was a very narrow range on the RT3 and never felt optimal... impossible with the RP2 until at least some mod on it. Objectively I'm looking for a plusher tracking feel...

Definitely more breaking in needed at this point but  have a gut feeling the Vector Air might just get plugged into the bigger EG for more gravity oriented riding.... hmmm..



Update:  Mar 30th 2014

Well since XF sent over a new prototype shock which looks better suited for the small EG.. I gotten the Vector plugged in place of the Dueler on the bigger EG. No better time as I just jigged it the new RV1 during last month's trip for my annual biking pilgrimage.

The Dueler even after trying out with different spring rates. 350, 400 and 450-- was forever trying to play "catch-up" to the fork while I was trying to get the suspension to "talk" to each other... Not good. Still, out of paranoia since for the last 3 years I have always been using the Dueler during these trips.. brought it along in case I didn't like the Vector slashing down trails like Crazy Dust.

Plugged up the Vector HLR, drop the rebound click by click until it was at 45-50% out from fastest sealed the deal. Always steep and gnarly but this time of year in Chiang Mai was super dry and fast. Left the compression as it is .. All working well in the rear-- it was the front end I had to make some pretty drastic adjustment after day 1... down to 1 click of rebound!






Shock setting: remains at 33-35% sag(~85 psi @ my weight)
Piggy: dropped from my "Trail setting" of 250 psi to "DH setting" here @ - 235psi>SWEET SPOT
Rebound 45-50% out from slowest
Lo Comp: 2
Hi Comp: 10 ( I could have fidgeted a bit and so might be 8-11 during all the trying out)

(Note: for a shock with a max piggy rating @ 300psi-- going 250 for my weight is pretty high, other shocks in the past with the same max rating, usually my setting is between 180-200 at most)

Don't think there has been a better combination. Given that no matter what I do, the front will always be over-forked since the EG technically is a 6" bike but at least now it won't try to "run away" before the rear can recover even with a relatively slow rebound out back.. And if it is the case here then there really shouldn't be anything back home to worry about since the trails are way milder...

Apr 2014
Makes no sense to keep a DH fork up front on local trails so it was swapped back to me fav, Vengeance Coil. But the Vector stays.. convinced by now and probably might even sell of the Dueler if it ain't for nostalgic reasons. Damn the sentimental me arrghhh...

SHock is now finally finally well broken in with all the trial by fire riding in Thailand..

Back to local trail setting.. need no change with the new BT trail where everything is smooth and "park-like" But for the older more rooty jungle trails.. its just a matter of halving the hi-comp to get the whole bike to flow over those finger roots with ease with the seasoned shock by now.

-------------------
Vector HLR (2014 model)-- This shock works. Period. Once at proper sag. Experiment with minor psi change in the piggy to get the shock to really come alive. Its really sensitive to minor changes.

Realistically I would not use this as a "climbing shock" when there are all those out there to stiffen up the compression settings on the fly. But for a descending oriented application and general trailing-- it will still get you up there but won't win an xc race for sure. Of course can always ramp up the main chamber to stiffen things up..  but frankly I wouldn't bother with most of the roller-coaster riding locally.

Another Pugs Day- a review of sort

Sand and mud... mountain bikers all over have been coming up with the best combo of tires to ride through these as quick and smooth possible.

Came to the realization that when it gets all caked up axle deep... suspension is a liability rather than an aid. As it proves time and again this morning, it was hilarious as I turn around at each squeal to see one or more behind me go ankle/knee deep in the goo. From all the washing off at the end point... apparently I missed a couple of the folks face planting too.

Me? Never had to even so much as put my foot down, the Pugs simply roll away on everything.

Yes, big tires definitely roll better. One up against normal 29er.. contact patch on the 3.8 Larries made a huge difference. There was a couple of close ones but these fatties allowed me to trackstand long enough in the goo to muscle the front out and torque the rear up and away in time... The suprremacy of the almost 10cm of stability literally left everyone else in the mud and of course all they made were squiggly lines in the sand as tormented suspension get sucked down while trying to follow the Pugs railroading a straght line in front.

Spanning between the now retired Endormorph 3.7 to the new aggressive Nates 3.8... think I like the 3.8 Larry as a good in-between. Not sure how much more the Nates will grip the rear end but as I like running pretty low pressure on fatties, can't help thinking too much bite from the knobs might actually be another hindrance. It also looks to add on a fair bit of bumpy-rolling resistance from the profile. Meantime the Larry lets me slide out enough before it finds back proper grip and I like the playful manner in which the bike steers as a result. Might have a go with a Nates up front if one comes along cheap though... There's a whole long article on the Nates here but comparing the terrain differences in there and here I'm just of a little different thought. Moreover rear end of the Pugs is on the heavy side of things with the Large Marge now.

Well well,  again its gravitating towards spending moolahs on the bike even if its just "another" tire. Truth is.. the Pugs has cost me the least amount of dollar upgrades. Everything that didn't come on it the day it was brought home from WarVirus place were all parts and bits lying around.. and right down to the recently donated Fleegle bar, courtesy of Peke. Last change up was my hybrid XT brakes ported over from another bike.

Snapping Jo dropping down the chute in style. 

To be honest I wasn't so sure about attempting it on a rigid at first, Fat rubbers or not, this is steep, leave-litter-loose and a fair bit more eroded than the pic shows but yea its doable... Just follow the usual procedure.. Commit, GO... and leave those brakes at home.

End of ride... we saw a couple with a cam-mounted RC quadcopter. Couldn't resist asking to take a look at the remote viewer... Wow! Think I want my new toy now ;)

Hauled more than usual in me latest trail gear pack to test things out as well. Could have easily doubled the water ration with more gears too if it was ever needed. Yup... look like I'm ready for my  planned adventure... and next week is a super long weekend.

No, chancing and checking out the hover-cam incidentally has nothing to do with my thoughts here.. Just  enjoying my resurrected sense of exploring and "recon trips".... always on the lookout to exploit even the smallest bits, find an obstacle/ challenge, natural or man-made all around my area.

Maybe its the impending doom of the little free space left as ugly apartment blocks from all the new development start  rearing their ugly torso high above the ground by now...

Guess there really isn't much choice... with the influx of immigrants here, living density is just gonna start getting more like Hong Kong. Targetted for 6.9 million by 2030 (excuse me but that's just fucking madness for an island of 700 sq km if you ask me) in Feb this year.. the construction frenzy just gone into total overdrive around here... Oh they are gonna put another 21 000 units right  in front of my main door in the next 2 yrs.

Doesn't leave much to the imagination eh and of course I won't be viewng any more green open space for sure. Just wonder if those new "neigbours" prefer curry or tofu? Pretty sure I won't be needing binos to see into their dining table.. Oh wait.. rather not and hopefully I'll be back in Canada by then... Yea.

Vector HLR Air

Finally... my first ever air shock with a piggy.

Since I'm pretty much bias against Fox these days, consideration for any of their latest offering with , Kashischmucks or whatever C.atered T.o D.ummies technology just didn't cross my mind. The Monarch Plus look good but given the experience now with RS shocks in the last 1.5 yrs... I didn't want to chance it.  Seems like RS through the years are still having all sorts of seal and funny little issues with their rear units.
 
Even with my affinity for X-Fusion, the choice wasn't easy to make.. Having tested an early Vector Air can-- quite frankly I didn't like it. There is a  "staggered" feel as it moves into the travel.. kinda like pulling or shortening a triple sectioned telescope and so I waited for it to be improved.. Been guinea pig and sending feedback to companies on how to improve their first generations components too many times. Besides this one isn't something I get to play for free...

Again when it comes to finishes, X-Fusion is impressive. No change in my take on this aspect for the Vector HLR Air. Very nicely machined bits. Nothing flimsy externally. Everything is clearly marked, no confusion as to whether turning it left or right is firm or soft.

33 clicks for the rebound and from a static "sit-down" test you can tell it has a very wide usable rebound damping range.

16 clicks of LSC and same for the HSC.

All's good and positive except for the HSC clicks.. rather faint and while adjusting, I can't help feeling like some safecracker. Almost needed a stethoscope. But then I'm used to the "no-click-dial-style" knobs on my DSP Duelers so it wouldn't be a problem for me. But for those fastidious folks who have to stick by exactly X no of clicks to swear by their perfect setting and needed a fast tune on the trail- this won't make you a happy camper.

Its a big shock. The piggy package and where all the dials are may make this a tight fit on some frames... mine had only 6-8mm clearance after installation

Thankfully LSC is still easily enough to access with just fingernails. A 2.5 hex from your multitool  makes access to rebound and HSC a lot easier than by hand

Oh for the weight conscious... ok it comes in at a whopping 24gm more than advertised. Big deal!

 Im really more concerned now how it rides...tinkering with setting and air pressure on the main and the piggy, my initial thoughts is to run it high (relative to other shocks) on the piggy, 250 psi, as that seems to really bring out the reactive-ness. However that was just a sit-N-bounce assessment so corrections at the trail is highly likely.

Another reason for the higher pressure on the piggy is the stated range is between 180-300 psi. Unlike some shocks where the minimum is ~120 psi. Also in the Xfusion site-- they explicitly stated that emulsification due to under pressuring of the piggy will not be warrantied... Im no engineer but given all the information I would say its probaby safe to stay at a pressure that is ~ mid range of the 2 extremes 240psi +/- 10   psi.

Main chamber is ~102 psi giving ~30% sag-- the "default" for Guapie frames...
But I have a strong feeling I might go with ~25% sag with this shock eventually... somehow at that sag it gave a better "feel good" factor... it was almost like a snappy coil like feel for those that like to use coil for trail riding... Well anyway there are always more way than one to achieve a particular feel... there's also a second option where the rocker can mount to give a different feel to the shock on this frame, so...let's see what goes later on.
(update: when shock has broken in 30% sag was at 95ish psi. Strange.. would have thought when seals break in it should go softer. Any the movement of the shock is even more linear with the break in)


And yes it pays to wait, didn't have that "telescopic" feel on this one after doing some bounce test.


All ready to rock but with the bloody haze condition in SG now there is just nowhere to go..

X-Fusion Slant

Perfect timing! Yet another instance of a new major piece of toy arriving, only that I have a flight to catch in a few hours. It always happen to me!

Been waiting for this to drop ~550gm off the front of EG2.

Just like all my other X-Fusion forks-- I always get more travel than bargained for. The 160mm Slant came out to be.................................. 175mm!

First thing that came to mind is that A-C is farked!

Wait.... Put it against my Vengeance Air 160mm  (which actually measured out to be 165mm)
Almost the same A-C!  ???? WTF...  The stanchion is definitely longer... looked again-- but the lowers on the Slant is apparently shorter by almost the same amount "gained" in the travel.

Ok -- now its just a matter of the fork's stiffness as the total exposed stanchions are close approaching the 180mm level. ..

Got to pack. Red eye flight coming up so just a couple of pics of the new fork. Full review to follow next week

15 May 2013

Vengeance (rear) vs Slant, A-C +/-2mm

Review: DSP Dueler FR 7.875 x 2.25

Once again the good folks from DSP dropped off a package last week. This time around its one of the new, smaller boinks aka Dueler FR shocks. Prior to this the smallest available was the 8.5 x 2.5"

These new available ones comes in:
7.5 × 2.0  (E to E 190mm, Travel 51mm) 
7.875 × 2.0  (E to E 200mm, Travel 51mm) 
7.875 × 2.25  (E to E 200mm, Travel 57mm)
 with either a 400 or 500lb Kronos Ti Coil.

Being popular sizes on many  frames in the market, this would surely open up the option for those who may want to find something a little different from the few usual brands.

Externals
Spotting the same quality finishing as their bigger cousins, there is the lasting hard coat anodizing. Something my oldest Dueler can bear witness to after 2+ years of abuse with just minor fading. Usual attention to details for their shock are pretty much the same. What's done right all along are applied to these new shocks as well. The long of it, has already been covered in my earlier review of the 8.5" x 2.5"

Of course, just looking at the new graphics on this one would you make you 0.5 seconds faster.
In addition all the Kronos Ti coils now receives an anti-UV lacquered surface. While I'm not really a big fan of glossy things.. but the easy cleaning and keeping the spring stain-free  is something that can be appreciated.

It is comparatively light when pitted to other similar sized coil shocks out there. Running an air shock with piggy will probably set you back by 430-480gm. For the 7.875" x 2.25" here with a 400lb coil at 642gm, this would be less than ~150-200gm difference (that's less than 1/2 lb for all ya metric-challenged readers).

If you are looking for that coil performance with the "lively" ti spring feel, just  stop right here and  just go look for the nearest distributor. Pricewise, its not about being competitive. They just sweep the table up from the competition if its only based on this one factor at ~60-70% for what you have to shell out with other big brands...

More importantly is whether it works.. So far from using the bigger ones, it I'll just summarize it as  "Simple shock mechanisms with easy operation of adjustments that has actual usable range and pretty much fuss free" (at least for me).

It would seem like a repeat of what has been reviewed previously. However the time it has taken for these smaller shocks to be tested  and made available only recently says something else. The internals probably received some tweaks as innards like shimming and seals etc would obviously have to be fitted into a smaller volume of shock body and the respective sizing of the internal bits have been reduced?

Wouldn't be to hard to think how changes are needed to overcome some of the constraints and the mechanics as space within shock body, x-sectional areas diminishes.

It is easier to make a bigger shock work well but as size diminishes, it gets harder to cram and tune everything within yet still suit a broad range of riders with varying weights.

Size comparison between the 7.875" (top) and a 8.5" (bottom)

Compression knobs are the familiar, non-indented ones. ~2.333 turns of adjustment on both the hi and lo comp.

The only noticeable difference vs the bigger Duelers is the rebound range. Apart from being stamped  with the letters "FR", it is 1 full revolution less (max 2 turns on my piece) compared to 3 on the bigger size shocks. Spec data indicates info for force/loads up to 1.5 turns of the rebound.  Maybe something to counter/offset with the workings of others internals within?

Left: Dueler FR 7.875 x 2.5" Right: Dueler 8.5" x 2.5

Quite frankly those numbers are like reading off a weather chart for me. All I can gather is that this shock probably runs a different rebound needle..as to whether things work-- well that's what the real life test riding is for eh!

 
The Ride
'Nuff with the maybes and e.theorizing... time to break out the my nerve-ending enriched butt for some test and calibration of the shock.

Nothing big and adventurous as its just the first ride to set things up for a long term review.. 

As luck would have it the sky decided to pour half the Pacific over our head just before the start. Well , that just puts things back in my favorite element--  Wet-"n"-Wild roller coaster ride. Nothing better to test traction...

The setup
Riding weight 170lb
The Dueler tag-team with a Vengeance Coil 170mm up front on a small De Vinci Dixon running the Spivot design.  2.5 Minion DhF upfront and a death grip 2.35 Hans Dampf pulling rear duty completes the essential things that would interact and relate to the shock's performance.

Initial Shock Setting
Lo comp --fully open
High Comp -- 3/4 turn from minimum
Rebound -- half a turn from minimum

Comparative feel with other shocks
A quick word... some bikes are optimized to run on air shock and coil may not always feel as good. This is supposedly one of those where an air shock coupled to the design is said to have a very firm and efficient pedaling platform.

However having rode this bike with its stock air shock and another brand of coil shock, it certainly felt ok for both air a nd coil. The other coil shock left a lot to be desired though. With fully open compression settings, the damping still felt too stiff for the bike and no matter how the rebound is tweaked in relation to the compression-- the bike just keeps kicking up in the rear.
 
All of these gives a good idea for comparison when swapped out for the Dueler FR. Objectively it could also be attributed to just the coil itself. The 400lb steel coil of the last shock might not have been all that close to 400. Definitely felt a lot harder compared to the Kronos 400lb on the Dueler now.

As far as various brands of coils goes, be it steel or titanium.. the DSP Kronos has always felt to be the most accurate. I say "felt" because I have no access to actually test these things, so will have to let it rest at that. But given their published data of +/- 1.5% tolerance its the tightest range in all brands I have seen.


Difference was immediately noticeable. No "dead" feel. My earlier concern that the 400lb coil might be too stiff quickly dissolved. In fact with the Dueler, it actually sag  more than expected (~40%) giving rise to a new concern-- Bottoming Out.

Only 400lb or 500 lb option--where's the rest?
Based on the feel of the previous coil shock and some calculation I had originally requested a 350lb spring but was t/old only 400 and 500lb are available with the Dueler FRs...not too sure why as the bigger Duelers can be ordered with a ti coil range from 250-500lb. 

40% is a lot of sag on a 5.7" trail bike but with an efficient pedaling platform design there was no noticeable squatting even when gunning hard on the pedal. And hard it was, because it was practically a non-stop pedaling the entire time, catching a break only in corners and small jumps.

The test and thoughts...

Down and Popping
Great traction by the Dueler in combination with the 2.35 Schwalbe Hans Dampf even in the entirely wet ride. So much so that it was actually the front that washed out a couple of times. Firm spring on the fork isn't exactly what I normally use so not gonna fault anything here...a little more time to set up the front and things would certainly have been a lot better.

The trails had some small features, when taken at speed it gives a couple feet drop with one to 1.5 bike lengths going forward. Nothing big but enough to test impact on landing...

No hard bottoming out of the shock. Given the significant rear sag, a couple of hard thuds was expected. Granted the huge signature rubber bumper on Duelers would have helped slow things down quite a bit towards the end of the travel, still it is not very common to get this amount of rear plush compliance without having to worry on heavier hits. Can't entirely say if it one or the other but it wouldnt be too much to say the tuning on the Dueler on this particular suspension design is a perfect wet dream ride comes true.

What I think is a signature and central piece in all Dueler shocks that at first sight seems to take away a good portion of travel on the damper rod.... Rather understated but in all my ride experience with them-- a very crucial piece that helps control the last inch or so of travel on the bike. Not some uber hard rubber meant to simply stop the travel preventing shock body and lock ring knocking into each other. This actually compresses all the way down to ~0.25" which in the process helps to ramp things up nicely at end of travel to prevent harsh bottoming out.

One thing omitted was to check pressure in the piggy resevoir. It should come default from the factory at 150psi though. If it is, then for the first time I actually have a shock that is literally "plug-"n"-play" right off the start.

Up
Taking it through the climb, like any coil shock vs an air can between the legs, that quick snap to propel up and over obstacles are normally lacking in coils. While that is true but this is where the traction mediated in part by the shock shows up positively. Supple enough to bite down, enabling the bike to claw up and forward but not too much of that "sucked down" feel that's energy sapping. The rear was munching up square edges and rocky clumps with nary a kick. Something that otherwise my sit bones will be in vehement protest. Overall climbing feel was significantly light and surprisingly easy on this 15.5kg rig running coils on both ends.

One other thing to note.. The low-speed compression was set to fully open during the entire ride... On another drier day will try cranking up some lo-comp to see if there is enough firmness to gun through the slopes a la singlespeed mode.

Everything seems good with the Dueler FR at this point but I would like to find out if there are things that can be improved. The test so far might be on a suspension design that gels well with the particular tuning on the Dueler. Objectively it would be good to test it out again on other suspension designs, maybe a DW and some multi-link SP to reconfirm some of the thoughts so far. So stay tuned...

Twas actually more than just the Dueler FR shock testing on Sun.. A double bike test running  the same trails and sessioning various places on both bikes. Lots of good cross comparison data gathered.. but more of those thoughs on another write-up.

Exposure Spark: Let There Be Light..helmet Light that is...

Too little riding, too many gadgets accumulating... that's my problem these few months. However the need for a helmet light that would  fit my list of demands has been vegetating for too long. My LedLenser is good with its focusing lens to give a tuneable wide spread to tight bright spot beam as desired but the direct drive literally sucks-- the life out of 3AAA batt in about 40-50 mins even with good light discipline, ie dimming or shutting off when not needed.

I really need something bright but not too bright that lets me hit the trail for a couple of hours. My usual nite trailtime totals ~3.5- 4 hours including breaks and all. A light that could last a full 2 hours on high would be good as most time I don't max things out.. alternating between lo med to hi-- if its as what the specs says-- this would be just right.

"Not too bright?"-- yup that's right. LED technology is getting so bloody efficient these days I'm starting to see mobile stadium lights on wheels in the trails. It kinda defeats the whole purpose of night riding besides other issues like too much light reflecting off wet foliage causing temporary blindness. Besides most of the night riding spots actually requires us to be "tactical" if you get my drift...

Next--- No Wires.. Yup. that's the single most important condition apart from the right amount of light...so basically it got to be a torch-like thingie
Next--- Not too long but that  probably means a compromise on the battery type.. in this case on the Exposure Spark that would be 2 x CR123 with stated run time on high for ~2.5hr

The link to the Exposure site doesnt seem to be updated as it still list the Spark as driven by a Seoul P4 LED emitter packing 220 lumens ... Online retailers have a more updated description and this is what I should be getting : CREE XPG LED 255 lumens.


Havent really been impressed with all the Seoul P4 and P7 so far regardless of brands which was where I stopped back then... this is my  first XPG LED light, guess it  kinda speaks volume of how long I havent been getting updated on lighting stuffs.

Nothing techie here nor following those default light-shootout test "parameters". Just a quickie light up in the office conference room testing first with 1 and then 2 Sparks together after batteries were juiced up in the chargers.

Aimed at about 6m to the front, its a little brighter in the pic than what the eyes can see as it reflected off a glossy wooden door. In reality the white is not as harsh and there is no weird hot spot. Side spill is a little wide but not too big a distraction though. I would prefer the beam to be a tad tighter as my intended purpose for it is on on the head rather than as a bar light but then that's just me.



Pics taken on the right were of 2 Sparks here on the respective modes on both lights. Find that it works best in a combo of 1 hi + 1 lo. In this manner it gives a bigger and brighter center spot and while the side spill is still there, it actually becomes easier to focus and see with a "bigger center".

Well, only one of the Spark here is mine but given what I "tested" so far. I'm contemplating getting a second piece now. Apart from the better light pattern, weight and function wise it would make sense comparing:

1 Lite+2 batt  with 2 spare batt
            vs
2 lites+ 4batt, no spares:  totalling ~160-170 gm on the head but need not to get down, take out pack changing batteries in the nite. Should one be down there is always another unless Mr and Mrs Murphy have both been hitching a ride to get a double failure.


Ok all that leaves now is an actual ride and run time testing to be done.

A Tale of 2 Gauges

With another bike built scheduled for next week, the little parcel from UK arrived at the office today, including my needed replacement. A Topeak SmartGauge D2.

 The old Oxford gauge was good for almost 4+ years... just when I was about to replace the battery, it decided to stop working (nope it's not a weak battery issue). I must be one of those that plug a pressure gauge into a valve more than 99.999% of riders out there...its an almost religious affair before each ride. No, those shoddy excuse of a gauge on a floor pump would not suffice.

Had a few minor issues with it even when it was working. For one the Schrader valve head hasn't exactly been the most sensitive after a few months use but bearable. Display was a little tiny although it has a backlight and that helped. Has to be pressed in hard enough but not too hard...else it wont work accurately enough. A lot of time I have to take the reading twice or thrice times to be sure.

 A little bit of a "googling shootout"  pointed me to the SmartGauge2. Big display that must be good for my reader-glasses dependent eyes these days. Shape and profile almost look like some cool tactical weapon and the usual functions of a gauge are packed neatly and smaller as well.

The real thing look even better than what these crappy pictures here show.

Battery cover, nice and easy to take off and put back. Battery pop in with no fuss.
Buttons are intuitive even if you cannot read the small prints beside them.
On-off/ reset switch symbol is one most with be familiar with.. .same as that found in computers.
Still haven't found out what the "tune" button is for as there is a yellow one that allows the letting of excess air

Single head for Presta and Schrader valves with a yellow switch atop to change between using the two. Something I thought was pretty neat until .. a couple of flicks later and that itsy yellow bitsy dropped right off.

Have to say every other part of the construction is strong and good except for this one bit. While I don't usually check tire pressure mid ride but its definitely not going to be fun looking for it just as soon as u take it out of the pack ...in the mud. easy enough to snap back on, which means it will just pop back out as easily. If you ever lost it, a 1.5mm hex key in your multi tool would do the trick of moving to the desired valve head setting though.

One other little quirk after I test it on my tires... the "psi" reading, just about the only one I ever use has no decimal point.. so now my front tire is either set to 19 or 20 psi. In the "bar" and "kg/cm2" setting, the decimal place is there. Not a big deal but things like this irks science geeks like me to no end. I guess that extends to engineers too.

All these "smart" head pumps and gauges utilizing a single point for both types of valves has its pros and cons. Con here is that when used on a Presta, a larger amount of air will escape before its locked in to take a reading. Unless you have some real deft hand movements. Same on Schrader valves but not as much. Upon release it would also seep a lot more air than a shock pump. Not an issue for tires but definitely not something I would use to measure on small volume rear shocks or forks (that's what Topeak advertised it can be used for).

Display is the most positive feature. Easy to read and yes I will say again the looks wins it enough points for now that I will try to forget about that pathetic switch.

X-Fusion Vengeance HLR Coil 2012

Externally it spots a cleaner graphic than previously. Definitely something I can live with on the bike. Medium spring installed and spare light and heavy coils in the box.

Lower spots the much touted Syntace X-20 tool-less axle. Looks good. Solid piece with no gap beneath which means no freaking out about cracking due overtightening pinch bolts.

Weight is just a tad (24gm) above what's stated...  but measured with full length uncut steerer in pic.
Anyway this wouldnt be a fork for gram counters.
Specs indicate 170mm travel (10mm more than previous HLR Air) with an A-C of 565mm
Mine came out to be a little more at 178mm travel and A-C of 567mm and not a cause for complain as I have been moving up the A-C to avoid having to put an angle headset on the EG.

Left: 2012 Vengeance HLR                 Right: 2010/11 Vengeance HLR

There are definitely changes from this compared to my existing 2010 X-Fusion Vengeance HLR Air. Not the Air vs Coil as that is obvisous but the crown measurement has been reduced to accomodate for the extra travel.  Width wise it is still just as beefy compared to a couple of other major brands out there.

Dials for rebound and compression stays pretty much the same.Good call. Some of the best dials till date, imo, this area XFusion has it nailed... not that many other forks can match the quality and finishing in these areas. Number of clicks on the comp and rebound stays pretty much the same. Overall I guess not much has been done to change the internal sealed cartridge damper unit but let's see how the fork work once installed.
------------------------

Update: Busy and Lazy... but finally getting down to actually installing the fork now...
First some measurements so as to know how much steerer to leave and how much spacer change to get the bar height back to current measurement

	Vengeance HLR Coil, 170mm	Vengeance HLR Air, 160mm	Diff
Crown height	66	72	-6
Stanchion (mm)	178	163	+15
A - C (mm)	565	555	+10

Top: left-right Air Vengeance 160. actual travel 163mm, A-C 558mm
Middle: left-right Coil Vengeance170mm. Actual travel178mm, A-C 567mm
Bottom: left: 6mm lesser in new crown height and 15mm from axle to outer end. difference in actual A-C therefore only 9mm but gain in travel is 15mm over previous.

Final weight, steerer @ 180mm, with star nut, 2505gm. 235 gm increase over the Vengeance 160 Air
Taking off 23gm from the maxle lever for the TA-- 2482gm.



Hmmm..


Update... Jun 2012
With bike setup properly, wasnt a problem climbing up with the almost 180mm of front travel... Down! damn thing just fly... Will I go back to air with my beefed EG-- No frigging way.

Update.. not much riding these few months but I did brought it down to PJ for a fun weekend last month
Was broken in by then... med spring fits just fine and sync well with my lighter 350lb coil in the rear... Low comp needed a couple clicks more compared to using my old Veng Air..

No harsh topping out and travel could be used a little more than the Veng Air on the bigger hits.. (~3/8" diff). The old Vengeance Air no matter how I tweak the air travel and compressions-- have about 3/4 inch left unused.. On the new coil-- I was down to ~1/4-3/8" on a couple of G-outs.  Front tracking was noticeably better, objectively that could be due to the new tires put on though..

The syntace axle seems to get loose after awhile... but that could due to the slight tad of anti-seize i slapped on. Not a biggie as I do check on essential nuts and bolts on bike before moving off. Guess old military habits die hard.