Plan de Corones ITT
Incredible backdrop in today’s Giro stage, the Plan de Corones ITT.
Archive for Sports
RMB Altitude Ride Review
Today I had the chance to demo a Rocky Mountain Altitude. The sales/marketing crew from rmb dropped the bike off for me at a local shop and I took it for a spin on Mt. Seymour. The particular model I rode was the Altitude 70, which includes a Fox 32 Float RL fork (15qr thru axel), Fox RP23 shock and Formula R1 brakes. I think the shifters and drivetrain were XT.
The Altitude is marketed as having “straight up technology.” For Rocky, this means that the seat tube angle is very steep when relaxes under load and is great for climbing. For me, prior to riding this meant nothing. I’m typically just doing my best to ride up steep fireroads and that’s that. However, a strange thing happened on my way up the trail. I hit a particularly steep section so I hunkered forward on the seat and leaned into the bars in order to keep traction on the rear wheel while not pulling a wheelie. It didn’t feel right though, so I went back into my regular position and voila! the altitude continued to climb with no slippage and no problems tracking with the front wheel. It was pretty cool. Further on the trail flattened out but there were a lot of rocks and roots to contend with. I had the Altitude flying along the trail, it was really fun.
When it came to the downhill I had mixed feelings. First off I should clarify my technical downhill capabilities. I don’t really have any. Even after practicing on the North Shore lately I’m still in awe of riders that fly down the black diamond trails. I figure my balance is actually quite okay, it’s my cahones that need work. Anyways, I still had to walk several sections of the downhill. Compared to the Norco Fluid LT, the Altitude was definitely not as confident descender, and that shouldn’t surprise anyone. The Fluid is an AM bike that leans more towards freeride, so it’s head angle is more slack and has plusher suspension. However, I wouldn’t say that I had problems with the Altitude. Compared to my RMB ETSX it was improved and did not have the feeling of pitching me over the bars. The Altitude was solid in the drops but its lighter front end made it less stable than the Norco. In other words, the hit and feel were okay while the directional stability was less. As you can tell, I’m no expert but I will say that the tires on the Altitude suck. Suck big time. I think they were very XC orientated and felt extremely slippery on the downhill. They really didn’t grip the soil and gravel very good. I guess that’s another compromise between the flats and uphill vs the downhill.
I’d like to say a few things about comparing the Altitude to my ETSX. First of all, the bb and pedal clearance on the ETSX is outstanding compared to the Altitude. I don’t think this is a fault of the Altitude but more of a characteristic of all-mountain bikes. I’ve read that people think the ETSX can feel tippy but that’s not really something that I’ve noticed. I think the main problem with the ETSX is that it’s suspension and geometry really limit what it can do on drops. And there are a lot of drops in Vancouver and the NS. While I really like the ETSX, the Altitude was easily the better descender. What I think is really special about the Altitude is that while it goes down better, it also goes up and around better too. It truly is a big improvement on the ETSX which I think is a good bike in it’s own right. The ETSX is definitely left in the xc category whereas the Altitude makes good strides into the All Mountain category. Going along rocky/rooty trails on the NS such as the Baden-Powell was a true pleasure on the Altitude and while the ETSX is fun too, the Altitude takes it to the next level.
Aside from the tires I have one more complaint about the Altitude. It’s an expensive bike. I wouldn’t want to go lower than the Altitude 50 because I really like the idea of 15qr thru axel on bikes here in Vancouver. Unfortunately while the Altitude 30 comes with decent shock (RP2) and components, the fork is not what is required in our neighbourhood. It’s okay, but I think most people would agree that the thru axel is much better suited. To get an Altitude 50, I’m looking at $3600 or so. Even the Altitude 30 is steep at $3100+. When you compare these to something offered by Specialized or Giant, I think the Altitude is priced $500 above the others. So the question is whether the frame is worth the extra $500, and in the long run I think that it is. Unfortunately not everyone can increase their budget by $500 and it’s difficult to rationalize $500 for a bike that I assume has a production cost similar to its rivals.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get an Altitude because of finances. I must admit that I’m partial to RMB, for good or bad. My RMB habit started in ’92 with a Summit RL (awesome bike). My next rmb was an Element and I bought a Fusion for my girlfriend at the time (now my wife). The Element was replaced with the ETSX and the Summit was replaced with an RC50 (nice bike). Due to an unfortunate theft incident, the RC50 was replaced with the Metropolis NRT, which is a very cool bike. BTW, the picture of the Summit was taken during a trip along the Continental Divide route in Colorado (before there were maps and guide books, I might add).
Here are some pros and cons for people riding around Vancouver:
Pros
light
fast on the rocks and roots
very nice going up
can get down
Cons
expensive
poor tires
not a NS gnarl ride
RP2 Rebuild
Yesterday I went to tune the rear suspension sag on my mtn bike but when filling it with air I saw a bunch of oil leak out of the air valve. I quickly thought this meant that the shock was screwed and started looking into getting it repaired.
As it turns out, Fox has quite a bit of service information on their website including pdfs and videos on servicing their shocks. The RP2 service looked pretty straight forward so I thought I’d give it a try.
Removing the shock from the frame was simple. The next step required me to remove some reducer bushings with a 3/8″ bolt remover. Luckily I had one so I was well on my way.
After unscrewing the shock body by hand, I had a good look inside the shock. It then became obvious that oil leaking out of the air valve would be completely normal. The valve leads directly into the shock which has oil for lubrication. Now with everything disassembled all I had to do was get my hands on one of Fox’s Air Service Kits – a collection of replacement seals and pil. One phone call later and a 30min commute I was home with the kit. Different Bikes on Broadway stocked them with a price of $12.
Today I bought a $3 dental pick from Shoppers DrugMart to help remove the old seals. It only took a couple of minutes to replace the seals and a few more to re-assemble the shock on the bike. As I went to pump new air into the shock it became obvious what the real cause was for my initial problem: my Fox shock air pump was broken. The shock itself was probably ok. However, Fox recommends servicing the shock every 30 hours, so it was well overdo for some new seals. I could tell by feel that the seals were getting worn, as they were getting slightly brittle.
So far, so good. Now what to do about the Talus front shock…
Norco Fluid LT2 mini-review
This Saturday I demo’d a new mtb, Norco’s Fluid LT. Since most of the rides close to home are on the North Shore, I am interested in getting more of an All Mountain bike that works well there. My current mtb, a Rocky Mountain ETSX-30, is a nice bike but it gets kind of sketchy on steep trails. So after reading some reviews and checking out local prices, I saw that the Fluid can be bought from Different Bikes for a really good deal. They have the bike available for renting/demo’ing, so I took the opportunity to try before I buy. The bike that I would acutally buy is the LT2 model from 2009. Its original MSRP was around $3600 and DF is selling them for around $2100!
The Fluid actually climbed ok and it really helped with the 2′ drops coming down. The rear bobbed just a bit more than I’m used to but I was really impressed with the climbing. Coming down, whereas on the etsx I felt like I was really pitching forward (positioned with arms extended, way behind the seat), the Fluid took it all in stride no problems.
There were two things that I didn’t like on the Fluid, although I imagine they relate to all AM bikes. First, the Fluid was not as accurate as the etsx. Generally speaking I felt like I had more control on the etsx on the flatter sections. There’s no doubt that the etsx would be a lot better on xc trails. Mind you, the etsx isn’t as forgiving in sticky situations. Secondly, I don’t think I had nearly as much clearance with the Fluid as compared to my etsx. I’m sure bikes like the Pitch, Enduro, Slayer, etc, would all be the in the same boat, and maybe it doesn’t really matter all that much anyways.
While I felt that even though the Fluid made things easier on the NS, especially on the drops, I really think that I’m the biggest, weakest link. I guess that’s pretty obvious, as it’s the rider that matters most. But even with the Fluid I had a lot of problems going down trails like Pingu, Pangor and less so on Severed Dick. So even if the Fluid makes the ride better I’m still not sure that I can take advantage of it. The thought of wiping out on those steep rocky sections or falling off an 8″ wide log doesn’t appeal to me, I already have enough metal in my arm I don’t need any more!
I’m going to try and demo a Rocky Mountain Altitude 30. It was meant as a replacement for the ETSX, but it apparently is a lot better for descending, which is exactly what I need. It might end up costing a bit more than a Fluid but it’s more important that I get the bike that I can take the most advantage of.
Loading ...
