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.

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

its fork and f@^k

A new CSU spotting additional 10mm travel and a refined crown, some weird colored lowers with the fork's original 2010 cartridges. That's my rebuilt '2010' Vengeance HLR. 

Interesting?  But really this was a result of one woe after another in what was supposed to be a simple part replacement +  normal rebuild event. Well the bonus is I now have a somewhat "80% brand new" fork and learnt a few other things about fork maintenance.

Creaky CSU after 1+ yr of usage warrantied, no questions asked.

Stanchions not moving smooth after reinstalling-- initially thought it might be some vacuum... Troubleshooting the rebuild,  seems like the old lower's alignment is off. 

Yup its probably a little crude but free the uppers,  drop the axle and see if it goes through both legs of the lowers for the alignment check.

Apparently not and the fact that I could then twist it by hand until things align wasn't very reassuring.
Actually at that point I was mumbling to meself.. "Yea this is pretty much f^%ked". Leaves me wondering if the creak was really due to the fork uppers.....

Luckily somebody have spare lowers hanging around. Hell yea its good to have friends, save me more waiting time to order from the factory.. and this one probably meant to go with a  Specialized Status.

Well, here we go again.. *disassembly* >>> *assembly*  for probably the 50th bloody time within a week...

Yup, previously mentioned on how stiff and all the fork is ... so what could have happened?...  Given how the bike gets thrown when I bail plus a few really hard falls taken with the front bearing most of the brunt... I still say it is pretty strong after all my crash-test-dummy antics spanning from Singapore to Thailand in the past ~2 years. Wouldn't blame the design or manufacturer for the multiple bendosis state of the lowers.. 

Fate of the old lowers?...hmmm maybe some "light saber" stanchions in there and hang up in the bike room as functional art providing some extra lumens when wrenching.

Things noted...

The sealed cartridge damper can take between 70-85ml of fork fluid. Recommended factory oil change is 70-75 ml with 7.5wt oil. But last week Dirty had his paws all over the damper and put in 10wt filled to the max 85ml. The verdict now from compressing the fork is that its over damped and feeling rather progressive. That wouldnt be too much of a problem as intended build of bike would run great with a stiffer front.

But oil weight/ volume probably are affecting the rebound rate... too slow even when ramped to fastest setting. The reported squishing/cavitation as some users has mentioned is likely caused by the oil volume..if it isnt filled to the max then probably that's where it comes from as the damper rod is cycled.

Going by all things observed, less oil would probably means stroke action is likely more linear but starting stroke might need to add a little more low comp to offset. Ok all these just means more mucking around with the damper unit next time.

Frankly when the old oil was first poured, I didn't think it needed to be changed but of course one can't tell how much the oil would have degraded from just the eyeball-o-meter.

The fastest way to drop the number of max clicks ~15 of your hi-comp is to install the gold ano knob in reverse. Stupid me.. luckily no damage done to this rather delicate portion of the fork. Easily rectified once you realize what's the problem.

If some black plastic washer drops out along the way (~10mm diameter) seemingly out of nowhere -- fret not, check the 2 respective nuts (as pointed by red arrows in pic below) meant to tighten down and hold down each end of your fork.

In both, underside of the nuts has a  recess for this black spacer. Just press it back in. BTW a rebuild kit should come with these new spacers... these I think are meant to be replaced and seal the hole area on the bottom end of lowers to prevent fluids (~15-20ml) in the open bath from dripping out. My old ones looks ok -- so being cheap I'm saving the new ones for future rebuilds.

DON'T skim on the 15-20ml oil to be poured into the lowers. The fork is not going to work right without it (update on 4 Oct 2012)

Wrenching Therapy

Try fighting failing eyesight and achieve Zen-ness without cursing through a hot sweltering humid evening at the same time. And DON"T drop those fekking nano sized bearings cocked upon the equally tiny springs right under the rebound cap....

To be frank, the fork is way past what should have been regular servicing time and the last year plus hasn't exactly been rides on the pavements. Internally its still pretty uncontaminated.

As I'm getting a new CSU (Crown Steerer Unit) to replace this current creaky one fork is given a total dismembering. Damper cartridge left intact till oil change tomorrow.

Tools-- just size 13 and 28 (or was it a 30) socket wrench bits and hex keys and a pin wrench.

• Remove red rebound dial... tiny screw holding it can get easily rounded
• Uber careful not drop the 2 tiny springs and detent bearings for the rebound.
• Remove compression knobs (blue and gold) from the damper tail end. Exercise care not to hit or dent this part, else you're pretty much f**ked.
• Remove damper cartridge by pulling out from the TOP .. if its been left too long, lubricant might have more or less dried up and requires a bit of effort to pull out.
• Purge air chamber fully before removing spring side air valve capping unit. Depress Schraeder valve, compress stanchions fully, press to release residual air. Repeat before putting a size 28 socket wrench to open up 

These are the points that you need to be aware of and exercise caution

Where is the step by step pictorial instructions??? Not tonight... sweating globs with the usual gunked up fingers, I'm not gonna muck around with the phone-cam every few secs. If you cant dismember without having a full pictorial laid out in front of you... no offense but this level of maintenance is probably not for you now... 

To be continued....

Broken Bolts

Guess no matter how much caution is exercised.. some things will break after awhile.

Always dread the popping sound whenever removing the alu bolts from the bike's rocker. That hollow alu-alu release fills up the whole room with a resounding *crack* when each one is loosen even though its never over torqued. Was just thinking how long before the original ones will hold... luckily gotten some spares recently.

Decided to change out the old worn bearings and finally tonight 2 of the 4 alu bolts that came on the EG gave way. Nightmare... was prepping the bike for next week's trip to Penang. WTF!

Ok settled the new bearings first while thinking what to do next...

Drill it out like stuck bolts of SPD cleats?
More careful drilling and slowly increase bit size and hope it s thin enuf to be loose an finger the remaining bits out?
Buy a reverse tap tomorrow and then go about it...

Nah... things like that just irks me... Ok who else to call but John and we just went thru the scenarios of how badly each of the above I can screw up and his experience dealing with such things in the shop.

Drill's battery fully charged....ok so its a do or die moment...
Checking the bolts that came out-- the material seems pretty soft and the drilling method might work... I have one shot with one of them-- the one that broke off on the screwthreads on the rear triangle. The other had 2 positions and in the worst case scenario I could use the other position for the rocker pemanently.

As I was drilling.. struck me that since rounded hex bolts can be removed by jamming a bigger torx key-- if i drill small and deep enough--that might work. Provided the threads parts were not seized tight. Doesnt seem to be as I detect just that wee bit of wiggling when nudging a blunt punch in the hole i just drilled.

Ok long story short, 1hr of cold sweat, 2 cups of my favourite Jasmine Tea and 50 F-words later-- the hex key method worked. Luckily!

Repeated with the other broken piece and refined the torx key method using a mini screwdriver instead. Even easier this time around....

Whew... no need to cannibalize my spare EG for next week..........


From top left: (1) How much bushing wear from 2 years of riding, used ones sandwiched between new bushing stack.  (2) Damnit! Drill damnit drill.

Bottom left: (3)..nice and easy, now come out baby...slooooowly
(4) Stuck and unstuck again! Hmmm and how did 2 of the bearing seals get a similar kind and size of crushing? Bushing wear causing play and compressed over time?

Monarch RT3- IFP adjustability

Back to my forlorn forgotten blog now that the running event is finally over (at least for this year).

From the default RP23 to my first coil shock, an 08 DHX to the Diverse Dueler, plus a couple of loaners in between and now a Monarch RT3, I have learned a little more about suspension stuff. Those compressed neurons in the head thansks to the dense online reading is finally getting some rebound. I wonder if  a change in viscosity of brain fluid might also do wonders to my understanding as they can sometimes do with fork oil.

The problem with knowing more as we learn is to demand more out of the component or parts on the bike. Nothing is worse than suspensions with its myraid of parts. Any one of which could be a potential source of tweak to give that elusive "perfect" feel and function. As if that is not complicated enough, one will tend to DIY and tinker. Ok, maybe not for everyone but definitely applies in my case.

While it would be almost possible to pull apart most shocks on the market with the right tools, some are just not meant to be user-serviceable. On that count, Fox is notorious especially when it comes to things like their "inaccessible" IFP (Internal Floating Piston) and a lot of their special tools arent even available readily.

"Why bother?"
That's probably the question. The IFP if I describe it correctly is partly what resist the compression forces, loosely similar  to a negative spring in some of Rock Shox forks and hence affects small bump compliance characteristics.

To an extent the IFP relates to the bottoming out characteristics like how the tuning of shocks with a piggy resevoir would affect bottom out (Shocks with piggy resevoir also can have IFP, in fact most still do).

The problem with shocks like the RP23 is that there is no way to get to it until one gets into the inside most innards of the shock and expensive special tools are needed for the job. There are no guides provided on how to do it. In fact they don't recommend end users tinkering, everything is supposed to be done by a trained mech.

This is where the Monarch shines, with a little adapter that screws into a regular shock pump, now the IFP chamber can be fiddled to one's content... giving much more options when dialling in the shock. What's more there is even official video from SRAM/Rockshox that teaches how to  get to these parts online!

My RT3 is still pretty new and need a little more break-in time before fidgeting with the IFP (if its needed to). But first I really need to get back on the bike..

Diverse Dueler

The painstaking homework paid off for hunt of the front end suspension with the Vengeance HLR. So the last piece of the puzzle rest with replacing hopefully what is an almost 2 year old rear shock. In a market dominated by a few key brands, it's not easy to find a good product that withstand the rigors of modern day mountain biking. Pitting head on with the best or even outdo the performance of some of the Big Boys' models but yet remains well priced.

El Cheapo was adamant to find options to the "Cheaperest and Betterest" components; in line with one of the main intention behind this blog. A By Rider for Riders approach to help as many who are interested in this sports of ours but sometimes not knowing where to look.

From the pictures circulating around the web, frankly speaking the Diverse Dueler was not some love at first sight find.  But I do have to say that no others comes close when it narrows solely to just the "love" on the price tag.

For a coil shock under USD400 (then when I was looking), with one of the industry's best, Diverse own DSP Ti Spring, nothing comes close. The price is even lower now but recently it seems they are only selling to distributors and not to end customers anymore. As usual, with Dirty around, no worries, I always get my toys somehow. Now that I have gotten my hands on the actual thing, the odd mixture of "industrial-looking-slapped-with a la designer-cursive-fonts" actually looks quite good. No rainbow mix of colors on the knobs is a plus for me... adding to a no non-sense look if you are into that sort of scheme for your bike

Close Up and Specs

Shock finishing on close up looks nice with thick anodizing (those you know at first glance that would survive more than a few superficial knocks and still remains intact for the lifetime of the shock)

Very snug fit with the coil on both ends with the stopper and preload ring.  Stopper ring is machined with a recess that fits to the bottom out bumper, making everything more secure.

A rather long but soft bottom out bumper that makes a difference whenever you get to the bottom of a stroke. Probably contributes to the "bottomeless" feel I had while testing it out. Bumper end that comes into contact with the damper/seal area has some raised bits. This looks to prevents the bumper from slamming into and damaging the shaft/seal area. Nice touch!

Size of the piggy  resevoir is neither too small or overly fat like some others on the market-- any coil users would know the associated bane of a fat piggy that is too close to the coil or one too small and takes forever to fidget and dial the shock in properly.

PRC Adjustment, not available on this 8.5 x 2.5 size (only for the longer 9.5 and 10.5" sizes)
Hi & Low Compression involves separate Circuits. No clicks but with ~2.5 full turns for fine tuning
Adjustable Rebound. It is known that there are various rebound needles and I have asked for a slower one. Again non indented and has a total of 7 revolutions for tuning

Pedal platforming on the Dueler-- None, in any case my take has always been that if a shock is properly designed why bother with platforming! Compression adjustments would be more crucial and whether these works are more importantly than another dial to lock things back into "hardtail" mode which doesnt do squat for needed traction on the trail.

Plastic sleeve on shock body included. Nice little touch as coils tend to knock on the shock body creating ugly marks and indentations. Many of us have DIY with heat shrink or inner tubes to protect this area in the past. Nothing needed to be done here. With mounting hardware pressed in.. its plug n play without further ado.

Weight: Pretty impressive. Under 700gm with a 400lb x 2.5" DSP Ti Coil (including eyelet bushing but no mounting hardware). Complete shock alone including hardware but without spring is 413gm. The few extra grams on the stopper ring with the machined feature to seat the bumper thus helping to secure the ring. Something gladly welcome to reduce any unwanted movement as the bike starts pounding away.

 

First impression after examining is that being a supplier of coil spring for other makes of shock--I guess they have the benefit of making everything fit nicely and working out the little nuances as opposed to just most shocks fitting on an aftermarket spring only worrying if the OD matches their shock.

"Static" Impression

First few words that came to mind is reactive, stictionless and lots of sag which actually led me to an "Uh Oh" moment.. I  used an old Diverse 400 lb spring from my existing shock (and kept the shiny new one...err shiny?)... it felt distinctively softer and I was wondering if I should have gone one up to a 450lb spring in the first place.  Seems like the degree of valving is definitely very different. Having gotten used to the firmer feel of the DHX, it was worrying with the new found plushness on the Dueler... "How will it corner? Will it lose speed as it sucks the living daylight out of my 6 inch rear travel?..." are just some of the things that comes to mind. All of these were just the initial impression of sitting on the bike with the new shock and already feeling a whole load of differences without a pedal stroke.

These worries are valid, While not rocking a full DH bike but a 36lb 6x6 full sus is no weenie skinny either and if there is too much wallow, any chance to keep up with some of the XC boys on my usual rides would be next to impossible.


Initial dialling-in and ride impressions
after checking up the Diverse site for the shock setup, I decided to forgo those guidelines as it seems to be geared towards the bigger DH sized shocks by starting with Hi Comp dialling. Picked our favorite local rooty trail as the day's testbed, the initial Hi and Lo comp were set to 50/50% and rebound at a slower 40% from full out for my 76kg geared up weight.

While the shock is very reactive in the first half, the small bump compliance at this setting was nothing to rave about..in fact much like the old DHX it just replaced, Or thats what I initially thought.... a kilometer in and a few tweaks later everything transformed.

Try stepping out of a Cessna into a F15 fighter jet (ok fine fine, I'll admit, have never flew a plane in my life). Reduced the Lo comp and drop the rebound further to ~35% from max. The bike now eats up every piece of root, small rocks and trail irregularities. This despite tire pressure being higher than what I would normally ride (from the night before when hopping on concrete flats and not remembering to dial down to the usual trail riding pressure).

Not quite believing how different the bike feels, I kept going back after a few particularly nasty sections and pedal through them again and again. It was always the same, foot not missing a pedal and on a few bigger fast hits, there were no sudden spike that throws the bike off. This would be attributed to the Hi Compression doing its bit.

The internals of suspension are still a mystery to me just as I have said a few months back with a fork review. But at least after some reading up now, its not too hard to guess what went right or wrong when testing these components out. Certainly a lighter valving relative to my old shock is producing wonders with the Dueler on the EG. As to whether a thicker (12mm diameter) and lighter alu damper rod helps to make that difference is really beyond me. After checking the factory piggy shock setting, I pump it back up to 150 psi, close the cap and didnt fiddle anymore on the trail.

While resting in the shades after three run on the same trail that got progressively faster... it dawned on me that the initial "Uh Oh" worries had not manifested. Sure there is more sag on the same spring used. But my pedals have not sunk any lower on power strokes. Otherwise those dreaded pedal strikes will be apparent on a few particular spots on this trail.

When running through the straights at some point..I can't recall any squelchy squiggly feeling. If anything at all the pedaling was harder and going faster as small obstacles were "obliterated" underneath the shock. Being that reactive, "floating" the bike became much easier, rocking bodyweight fore and aft with alot less effort to get a good flow. With the rear having a mind of its own and doing it right, I had to up the compression on the fork while downing the rebound there by a tad. After that the suspensions were "talking" to each other again.

Did I mention that the rain decided to follow me on this day and with higher than usual tire pressure...I experience much lesser slipping and sliding around. All in all, could only say that form follows function for this shock and it does what it was designed to do. Traction... but not at the expense of bleeding speed in the turn as it compresses further into the travel. If anything, it pops out to  give a boost of speed but not with a quite sudden feel as to throw me off the bike. Still cannot figure how it gets so plush yet does not bob and bounce even when standing to mash up all the irritating short but steep rooty climbs around here.

Its a known fact that one of the chief complain on the Horst Link design is the kick going over square edges. Experiencing this on the climbs even at slow speed means throwing the traction off and could mean the end of a climb with a foot down on terra firma. This is something I have adjusted to on the DHX with quick weight shift when judging one is about to get me and overcompensates with a rather slow rebound.

With the Dueler.. there were deliberate and of course those rider-skills-really-sucks moments when I took bad lines ramping over rocks. The bike behavour with the Dueler exceeded expectation....clearing all but one really bad line taken. Even that didnt have that dreaded rear kicking up. Just too steep for my quads to overcome the jutting rock in a fatigued state.

Coming down? Yes, this is a 6" bomber build after all and so its important the shock has to be good on the descends. Despite all the "where is the bobbing and wallowing?"  I can't help but feel like wanting to just pull out a loaner 450lb shock, one up from what is in use and swap it there and then. As it turns out, it wasn't needed. just like on the straights and up...everything was just floating and throughout the higher speed descending sections with small drops, there wasn't a feeling of bottoming out or at least no sick end-of-travel- thud. On this last point, would have to add that it complements the slightly progressive aka rising-rate linkage curve of the EG's towards the end--much less harsher than the DHX or the original RP23 air shock.

Bunny hops from flats, and I mean the real thing, not bump hops or pulling up over an obstacle while  swishing through narrow windy tails  is something I thought wasnt very applicable during rides. Most time it requires a slow down and perfect execution. Good if your friend is snapping away so you can post up on facebook later with some "Yea that was me" smug pic to show off to the world. But after getting used to this new found reactivity and float with the shock, it was much easier to just air and let fly over foot high stuff that's usually just rolled over. So yes it rides faster better and sure is hell of a lot more fun on the trail. If I havent borrowed the term a "magic carpet ride", will  just add a twist to that because each landing (small ones, <3' so far) has this magic carpet landing feel to it as well. One last thing not tested out would be the popping off purpose built jumps and drops...something that would soon be done though.

Overall, I only have 2 niggles. The 2 compression knobs are a little small and tight to twist. While there is no frost bite to worry about taking off gloves to tweak those on the trails here, still, wet sweaty fingers trying to pinch a little knob is a bit of a pain. Secondly, it wouldnt be too difficult or costly to have the PRC adjustment on the piggy for all sizes. As pictures of it show, it is something that could be quite easily twisted by hand with more contact points to grab..it could be the ticket to a fast tweak on the trail with minimal fuss and makes for alot more happy riders with what I personally feel is an otherwise incredible component by today's standard of rear shock technology.

Simple and actually works.

X-Fusion Vengeance HLR

Disclaimer: This could sound like a real bias piece and I am having a hard time trying to be objective here. The often drawn comparison to an 09 TALAS is simply because this is the other fork that I am really familiar with and apart from swapping the adjustable travel for a fixed air cartridge, its essentially like a Float.. In my usual overzealous fashion, this probably covers more, making it another epic long post and lullaby read.


Apart from frames, forks usually represent the next biggest investment on a bike, The search for a new fork to replace the aging 36 TALAS had taken awhile.  Like most, I was sucked into the "longer the better" travel vortex. A 36 TALAS or FLOAT 180mm  seemed to be the most obvious choice for awhile...

...till one lazy afternoon over a bike chat session, things sidetracked to the Lyrik 170. Having tried last year's 160mm version and liking it, the 170mm looks to be a real contender.

However at the back of my mind another fork had been lurking. Having followed the development of the X-Fusion Vengeance HLR,  it looks right in just about every aspect.

By the time I was looking at the 170mm Lyrik, I reckon it wasnt really so much in the travel itself and has shaken myself out of the "longestest-possible-travel" stupor.

The TALAS had been a love hate affair. Travel adjust is a bonus on longer climbs yet the reduction throws the whole bike geometry off. Besides, 95% of the time I am on the full 160mm travel with the occasional drop to 130. So much so that the 100mm travel mode is never used. Like most, my TALAS exhibited the usual issues associated with this fork even after servicing and change of oil. The sensitivity of the dials and tracking of the fork was never stellar. Striking a balance between sensitivity and brake dive is a never ending affair.

What I really wanted apart from good tracking was a slightly slacker head angle than the 68 degrees on my bike, hence a longer A-C measurement. 170-180mm would make that slight change which is all that matters on the bigger descending charge or lofting over a big rock and have a more surefooted feel when the front falls over the other side.

Readied the bike for the change with a different bar/stem setup to achieve the same bar height in the event of a fork change. This way (hopefully) it doesn't displace my usual body positions but only have a slacker HA. The anality of this exercise is pinpoint to within ~3mm of all my other bike settings.

So why the Vengeance? As said the actual increase in 10-20mm in travel wasn't the key. Seriously if the whole 180mm travel gets dunked--its can get pretty scary. Furthermore 180mm would really test my bar-stem setup to the limit in trying to get the bar height back at the original 160mm level with the TALAS without the levers hitting the top tube as the front end turns. Things would have been much easier on this last aspect except that the sexy curve top tube on the EG also happens to be sitting pretty high compared to many other frames.


Axle-Crown Measurements
160mm Talas A-C of 545mm (as the benchmark for changes)
180mm Fox A-C of 565mm
170mm Lyrik A-C of 555mm
160mm Vengeance A-C of 557-8mm.

Last but not least, after weighing all the price : weight : performance (read) ratios-- The Vengance just puts a smile on my face. Other brands of overpriced forks just don't even come close. With a 5 day turnaround  time dealing direct with the factory...all that's left now is to check out the performance......








 Weight
Not something I ever give much thoughts to...

Left: Vengeance with uncut steerer @ 2298gm.   Center: Cut to 185mm @ 2270gm  Right: 09TALAS 2282 gm

Without stripping the fork and having a comparable model of other brand(s), there is no way to really tell where all the weight differences are accounted for. Except that the Vengeance runs a negative coil spring with a smaller top out coil nestled within the bigger negative spring. This no doubt would have accounted for a small amount of weight from within. But the fork in general runs alot less oil inside compared to most others in the market. The open bath isnt really "open" as the cartridge sits within another tube which according  to X-fusion also helps to keep contaminants out.

A cursory inspection however immediately yields some interesting observation. If any additional weight is on the outside, then its at all the right places shoring up and reinforcing where it matters most.

Still, what mine weighed in was 100gm lighter than some other much better written reviews (those probably were earlier protos sent out before actual production lots were refined further?)

"Beef"
Lowers are definitely burly starting right off the crown. Big and broad with stiffness written all over. Matches the 1.5 headtube well too. Sliding downwards on the lowers, a non-descript bulge much like some of the RS forks Power Bulge can be seen.  Where the stanchion uppers are pressed in, this is another significant area with more material.

 Measurement from top, width of crown on the Vengeance nearing steerer measured ~51 - 45mm (towards the dials). In comparison the TALAS is ~45mm tapering down to ~38mm. Where the stanchions are pressed in, its an additional 5mm more than the TALAS. Accounting for more stiffness? but no doubt surely contributed to part of the A-C increase

Trace it down further, the reinforcement at the dropout area is well thought out. Where the forces of impacts are great, lots of materials are in place to cater for those forces generated.

Left: 36 TALAS  Right: Vengeance HLR

Overall from top to bottom I thought it was more like a 38mm stanchion fork if there ever was one and had to take out my calipers to phyiscally measure to get that thought out of my mind.

Knobs and Dials
Big and the clicks are very positive. Easily adjusted with gloved hands for all 3 from rebound on top to the high and low compressions below. Protective capping for the compression is the nicest I have seen on any fork. Some have commented that the adjustment between rebound clicks is too wide. Maybe it matters to the pros but with 21 clicks, its more than plenty for me to dial in the rebound.

I was simply awed by the finishing on the compression knobs and if you can call it the "ergonomics". The positive indentation of each click takes out any guesswork if you are ever sweating, puffing and making adjustments on the fly in the trail.

really need to get a real camera and not rely on the phone-cam!


First ride out... Sun 28 Nov

Settings
Time and again reviews have mentioned how the recommended air settings are pretty much spot on as printed on the lower left fork leg. It worked well enough for the first ride though some fine tuning will be done real soon. At 160-175lb its 60-67 psi for me

Pinned it to 63psi at my geared up weight of ~170lb. Lo-comp 5 out of 15 clicks and Hi comp at 7 out of 14. Rebound set at 15 of 21 clicks were adjusted to 17 on the trail.

(Tire pressure on the 2.4 Ardents at 20 and 23 psi front and rear respectively).

Time was short, by the time everything was set up it was late afternoon. Off I scooted to the nearest trail.. Tampines. Havent been back since it was re-opened. Though short, but was a little surprised as it's actually pretty smooth and flowy. Nice little berms to carve into and undulations that can test out if the suspension works well enough at speed to float off the top of the soil with the right momentum. Perfect.

No significant dive or excessive bob upfront where most of the ups were squared away with pedaling standing up in the roller coaster trail. None of those XC ass to the saddle spinning needed even with a big fork.

Passing mark with one of my initial concern- rounding a switchback climb. With long travel and burly bikes the last thing is to bleed speed to a crawl during the switchback turn and in turns loses all the momentum to roll up the climbing portion. Problem is the potential to approach too fast and unable to turn in time with a front that starts skipping. Key is the combination of right tire/pressure and good working suspensions to track as one leans the bike without excessive braking.

Next up the series of camel humps. Fork was nice with a firm feel, cresting each one, it takes no effort for the front to lift and put the entire bike into the air. After that it didnt take much for me to ride at the fastest and take every small little undulation to pop the bike into the air and dropping right into the wider berms instead of just riding through them.

In between, the little rock gardens was another good test. Bike goes through everything at speed without the slightest hesitation. Touchdown was surefooted and yes, the slight increase in the A-C making an ever small correction to the HA on the bike was definitely what I was looking for going down. Mentally extrapolating the feeling here to those km long rocky DH lines, reckon I just found my pot of gold boink in this fork.

Throughout, the front was feeling "bottomless" though like any air fork the degree of progressiveness can be felt as it eats into more of the travel. Launching off a rock drop during a descent that usually require more effort and mentally prepping the preloading to lift off was a no brainer here. The front has a mind of its own and just did everything right leaving me to focus ahead on landing. Was definitely going way smoother, akin to skipping rock on water surface. I dont remember having it so easy on the TALAS previously.

The closest in feel would be like Marz smoothness when those suckers don't get stuck down or start crapping oil all over. Comparing it to the Float or Lyrik "feel", somehow those forks while buttery smooth, do impart a somewhat hollow airiness. None of that here. I don't know if having a coil negative spring made things a little different and better. Fork internals are still a relatively complex subject for my understanding.

One thing noticed was the cavitation coming out of the fork. A little distracting but doesnt seem to be affecting performance in any way. I was deducing if the oil level was just that wee bit off and hence the noise. Later a check in a few forum threads shows that this was common and doesnt seem to be an issue in any way.

Overall I think I stumbled onto more of a jump setting although it does ride well enough. But this was a relatively smooth flowy trail with not much in terms of chatter bumps or technical climbs except on the few purpose built rock garden sections.


Second ride out... Sun Dec 5
Everyone was bitching about the slickness in BT from a whole week of heavy rain. A climbing nightmare as usual on SG's oldest official MTB trail.

Observation from last ride says the most logical setting for today's trail is to back off both compressions.
Did that and tracking on slow tech climb was better. Added 2 clicks halfway in to the lap to the rebound making it 19 out of a max of 21 was the biggest positive change. "Lightens" up, making for more positive steering control. I was able to pump the fork more effectively on the faster down and stay in better control. Already mentioned was how positive the dials are but the difference in actual change to the rebound in  1-2 click on this fork is really night and day compared to similar changes on the TALAS.

Nothing negative to comment when the bike is pointed down. Met all my expectations and more. Easy to preload even when coming down fast and let fly on a couple of small drops that usually was just drop in when on the old TALAS.

On the up, the effect of that 1.5cm higher A-C meant having to adjust my weight a little more than usual even though bar height remained as before. Could partly be a case of again changing too many things at once. The 760mm flat bar had been mated to a 70mm stem before. Today its on the new Po1nt Split Sec stem. 20mm shorter.

My heavy overbuilt, low tire pressure setup, a curse when dry is the XC guy's nemesis in the wet.

Didnt meet too many spinning lycra boys today but all the ones I past heaving as their bikes probably went slipping and sliding on the way up probably wondered if there was a Gruber Assist in the EG. Overtaking some of the other bigger bikes in today's ride meant having to get out of the best line and just tear at whatever opening there is. Front tracking was great matching the dialled in rear but the increase A-C effect was really noticeable. More dialling in with the comp settings on next ride to see if that will help.

Let's see what happens 6 months down the road and a couple of trips on bigger course brings. Fork search ended for now.....until the need for a dual crown arise.

Update 23 May 2012: After 20 mths of of trashing around on this fork I have to say it has not really disappointed. From flattish xc in Singapore to mountains in Chiang Mai.. basically I never once had a thought of changing to another fork. As to things like tuning with a different weightof oil and things like that-- I guess this is best left to the home wrenching freaks to figure out what works for them. A change to10w was awesome for a friend but not for me which worked just fine with the stock oil of the damper cartridge. Slick Honeyed inside out was proabably the best thing I did to make everything work as smooth as possible could.

Just that since the new Vengeance Coil is out earlier this year,I decided to go for it and have a full rebuild on this Vengeance Air. Had a bit of a creaky problem (I wouldn't exactly pin it to manufacturing faults-- fact is with bigger stiffer fork, there is a great chance creaks will come along, sooner or later. TO be frank I have been smacking the fork pretty hard with my less than skilful riding)  Sent for a new CSU... waiting out for it to arrive and should finish the rebuld here.

DIY Time Again: Thrust Bearing for the Coil - Part II

Tiny my pal once said "Patience is a virtue when the sh!t is free....." Well ain't exactly free but its been a long wait. 5 months to be exact since Dirty, the poisonous mind bender toyed with the idea and me being the tester as usual. Finally the retainer for the thrust bearings were done... Some really nice milling work by Kenny. Very tight tolerance. Everything was snug fit.

Far cry from the initial slap-it-up when I simply slotted the spacers and thruster bearing and simply tightened the "ghetto unbinder" down with the shock's lock ring. It did work, at the end of travel on bigger hit, the usual "crackling" sound associated with the coil binding suddenly being released was noticeably gone. However without being seated in some sort of retainer, there was play coming from the interfaces of the coil to spacers and bearings. This resulted in the coil moving up and down and hitting onto the shock body and necessitated in having to wound more preload than I would like. Even then after some hard riding, the whole contraption can come loose as discovered a few times after washing down the bike.

Now with the closed end of the retainer snug against the coil and counter pressure from the lock ring, it renders only the spacers and the bearing inside movable. Most of which are translated to rotational movement as the tight tolerance after fitting the bearing/ spacers leaves very little room for lateral play.