Boutique-fulldemper - Valgets kvaler.

Ventana El Ciclon Medium: my current daily ride. I have it outfitted with EX 5.1 wheels/DT 240 wheels, TALAS 36 fork, XT/XTR kit, Formula Pruo brakes, and 7.875x2.25 stroke shock RP23 XY on the 5” rocker, which provides 5.6” of travel. Weight is 28.6lbs. I started out with the stock 5” rocker, which was plush and very active, then tried the 5/6 rockers, which brought the BB up and caused the bike to lose it’s stellar balance. I decided on the longer stroke shock with the 5” rockers, and have set it up at only 20% sag, which gives me the same ride height, but will go deeper into the travel when I need it. I have to say that the Ciclon was a bit better than any of the other bikes I rode in the 5/6” category. It might be due to the personalized setup I have on there, but the Ciclon is so balanced when climbing, I feel I can conquer any rocky gradient and almost any angle. This bike feels like it has at least 6” of travel, but pedals very well, like a good trailbike should. When going up, the bike feels like it has 5” of active travel, but descending on this bike would have you convinced you are on a 6+ inch trailbike. It is laterally stiffer than any bike I tested, and at a reasonable weight. Kudos should go to Sherwood for putting together such a sturdy bike at a fairly light weight of 6.3lbs for frame and shock. The rear end is extremely plush and very linear. The bike seems to have a perfect balance of plushness without blowing through the travel too quickly. Descending on this bike is simply as good as it gets on a trailbike, as it can hang with any 6” bike I tried. It begs to be pushed harder, and really starts to blur the line between do-it-all trailbike and save-your-ass aggressive rig. Setting the fork at 160mm of travel doesn’t hinder it too much, although climbing with the fork at 130mm is a better option. I have ridden it on some long rides (up to 5 hours) with tons of climbing, and it does just as well here as it does on technical, slow-speed singletrack. Is plusher, a bit grippier and more laterally stiff than the Trance X, and every bit as good of descender as the Norco Fluid LT

Turner Spot:
I own one of these (an 03 updated with 5.3 rockers), so the ride characteristics were no huge surprise. The cool thing was hopping on one after riding a phalanx of other ~5" bikes and being just as satisfied as ever. KRob (currently a HH100X and 6.6 owner) also thought it was the best 5" trailbike we rode. It just took the edge off rock gardens a hair better than the other mid-range travel bikes we rode with the possible exception of the Knolly. It didn't hurt that this bike had a Float fork that was a bit less lame than the other ones we rode. The sizing Turner moved to recently shrank all the sizes a bit and the top tube on this Spot made the whole package feel a bit more more nimble and zippy than mine. I would say the ride characteristics have crept a bit in the direction of more xc-feeling rigs like the Motolite. The rear end was rock solid and the bike tracks through the rough magnificenty. It was noticeably better in the rough than the Pivot, Covert, and a number of other rigs, and roughly comparable to the Motolite and Knolly. Carrying speed into and out of corners and blasting right up rock faces is this bike's specialty. I felt that the suspension compressed a bit less under power than the Motolite's did. Perhaps comparable to the Knolly. The climbing is excellent and the suppleness offers a leg up over the Pivot. It comes together wonderfully as a package and rides like a Turner in every way. Those that know what that means, know what I mean.

Den sendes i morgen tror jeg, vi har holdt igjen pga push industries som skulle kose litt med bakdemperen. En del stæsj er allerede på vei.

Vi har ventet lenge på gafler fra WB, og noen lovord om at disse var på plass for en god stund siden. Det har vist seg å være feil, og akkurat nå har de ikke engang stemplene inne for å bygge neste batch.

Dette fikk vi vite i dag... aargh

men, vi (jeg og Espen) er triggerhappy - så vi har bedt om penga tilbake fra WB-dealen og har allerede bestilt to stk Manitou Minute 29 fra CRC De kommer enten i morgen eller på mandag. Håper og tror at sykkelen er klar helgen 13-14.

Dette blir spennende. Minute-opplegget også, som jeg gjerne vil ha tilbakemeldinger om, siden jeg har lyst på Nixon, men at har blitt advart om at de kanskje ikke er så driftsikre.

Så gjenstår det å se da, om 2008 er året hvor alt blir så mye bedre

En flott Eriksen hvor bare dekkene kan poffes

%/$£€$£)%¤%¤#! DNBNOR FW!

men, vi (jeg og Espen) er triggerhappy - så vi har bedt om penga tilbake fra WB-dealen og har allerede bestilt to stk Manitou Minute 29 fra CRC De kommer enten i morgen eller på mandag. Håper og tror at sykkelen er klar helgen 13-14.

Håper dere ta manger bilder!

det er vel nå til helgen?