Re:
Well, it's finally finished
The gears are still slipping a tad, perhaps because I stuck a new chain on a used cassette. If the chain doesn't stretch to match the cassette in a week or so to fix the issue I'll pop a new cassette on the back. Also need to get a cable end cap on the two gear cables, but I think that's it. Took a bit longer than expected and (as always!) cost a bit more too, but I'm pleased with the end result.
How does it ride, then?
The first thing that struck me is that it feels very long (even though I'm using a 100mm stem instead of the 120mm that would have been originally specced). With the seat up at my usual height (an inch shy of full pedalling efficiency height) there's only an inch or so drop down from the saddle to the bars, but I was still pretty stretched out with a nice closed hip angle.
This makes it feel awesome putting the hammer down when seated pedalling over non-technical off-road trails
It does also mean when I take it on more challenging downhill sections I reckon it will involve a fair bit of hanging off behind the back of the saddle to stop that OTB feeling... I guess that's late 90s MTBs for you though!
As well as being long, it also feels quite tall. Even when sagged, the BB still feels a smidge high to me - great for avoiding pedal strike, but the feeling of being perched that much higher up will take a bit of getting used to. Handling and cornering feels pretty neutral - it's not as snappy and responsive as my '97 rigid Marin Hawk Hill, but it goes where you point it without any fuss and feels a bit less boat-like than some of the modern MTBs I've ridden.
I moved the bar ends and grips inboard around 1.5cm each, giving a bar width of 600mm, which feels good. Although it's only a small difference in length, the bar ends just didn't feel quite right set up at 630mm. In an ideal world I'd move the brake levers and shifters in board another 5mm-10mm, but the profile of the bars won't allow this and it actually feels better than I thought it would like this anyway. Will ride it like this for a bit and trim the bars once I've settled on a final position.
The suspension feels pretty good at each end. There's not a lot of "pop" at the rear (maybe this is because the frame was designed around a linear coil shock rather than a progressive air one?). The feeling is more one of being stuck to the floor over terrain that would have you pinging around a bit on a rigid bike.
The shock now holds air in both +ve and -ve air chambers, and with 165psi feels about right. The fork has a tiny bit of top-out clunk on the rebound, and the stanchions have a bit of play in the lowers, but in spite of that they feel spot-on over chattery roots and rough stuff.
Looking forward to taking it out on my regular after work ride this week
