Author Topic: Blue Crush 1st real ride (Read 4445 times)

Dennis · « **on:** July 01, 2003, 09:11:56 am »

well, just came back from my first real ride on Blue Crush. currently, it has the Fox Talas fork (pics soon), Hopey dampener, Rev-X wheels, Precision Billet v-brakes.
reviews:
brakes - awesome!! I should have ridden with them before getting Avid discs for future upgrade. these things are amazingly powerful!!
wheels - really cool, soak up small bumps well, bummed that the rear one (used) on my road bike broke.
Hopey dampener - taking some time to get used to, started with it all the way on, quickly turned it all the way up, now gradually turning it back on again. really helps through rocky and rooted sections.
Fox fork - I cannot believe how plush this thing is. of course, the only other suspension forks I have ridden are crosslinks. this thing seems to be just as precise in steering as a crosslink. took a while to get comfortable with changing travel. more comfortable now, but still need more time to get familiar with it.

Oz - I have waited sooo long to really ride this thing. It is incredible!! (compared to my hardtail, first ride with full suspension). even tho bike is heavier than my hardtail (29 lbs vs about 26 lbs) I find it much easier to climb, esp. on those rough climbs. I still have a hardtail mindset in that I find myself searching for the smoothest path, but I am sure that will diminish with time.
have already gotten some compliments on Blue Crush, even though it got pretty dusty today.
I absolutely love this bike, except for the front der. Had a little trouble shifting from granny to middle ring, and guess what, the front der is the only Shimano thing on the bike. it is XTR but perhaps it is not quited compatible with Sachs shifters.
part of final upgrade is to go with precision billet shifters. rear der. (precision billet) and SRAM cassette work wonderfully.
well, I am another Oz lover!!
Dennis [smiley=groucho.gif]

ToNYC · « **Reply #1 on:** July 01, 2003, 01:53:22 pm »

..Dennis, I've been riding at Blue Mountain almost every Sunday. Just an hour from the city and w/ great trails. How about hitting 'stillwell' one of this sundays b4 it gets too humid? I'd like to see 'blue crush' in 3D.

Scott · « **Reply #2 on:** July 01, 2003, 02:09:55 pm »

Glad to see you've had your first ride-the billet r.d. is on sale for $29!!! at CBO-better run...

Thunderchild · « **Reply #3 on:** July 01, 2003, 06:07:09 pm »

Possible front derailleur fix. Mount the FD higher than the instructions indicate. The outside cage of mine is 9mm above the large chainring. I am running 8-speed 46tooth 32tooth 20tooth up front and a 11-32 sram in the back. This set up has worked better then any other set-up I have tried. I have no problem dropping into my 20t granny. Good luck!

Dennis · « **Reply #4 on:** July 02, 2003, 03:07:15 am »

toNYC,
ive heard much about Blue Mountain, just talking to a guy yesterday on the trail about it. he says its real good, maybe I'll meet you up there. I'll be away this weekend, but next weekend might be good. btw, this guy had a Talas fork also on his SC superlight. he raved about the fork too.
Scott, thanks for the info. I have two others but one can never have too many spares!!
Thunderchild, thanks for the info. I'll try that.
Dennis [smiley=groucho.gif]

Carbon_Angus · « **Reply #5 on:** July 02, 2003, 05:11:04 am »

woah! don't wear that bike out! [smiley=laughing.gif]

for what it's worth, i'd leave the Hopey in the off position until you can get familiar with the suspension and steering of a fs bike. get into what the fork can and can't do first and also the rear..get things dialed in before you add the benefit of the Hopey. it will make you an even better rider that way. monkey with tire pressures, ie 5 #'s makes a huge difference depending on terrain.

my 2cents

i am jealous of that TALAS! ...you are still running an Nr2 rear???

jimbo · « **Reply #6 on:** July 02, 2003, 08:33:39 am »

Quote

except for the front der. Had a little trouble shifting from granny to middle ring, and guess what, the front der is the only Shimano thing on the bike. it is XTR but perhaps it is not quited compatible with Sachs shifters. [smiley=groucho.gif]

What kind of crankset do you have? The XTR front derailleur was optimized for the XTR type crankset. If you got a compact crankset, it might not be as smooth.

I also think you have to give the Avids disks a fair chance. I rode my V brake equipped HT the other day on a trail that required a lot of constant braking. I missed my Avids right away. My Avids has consistent one finger braking on the whole trail. My Vs were starting to fade so I had to switch from one finger braking to 2 fingers to generate enough squeezing power. My hands were really sore after that ride. I'm spoiled by my Avids.

Dennis · « **Reply #7 on:** July 02, 2003, 08:38:59 am »

Carbon, I hear ya. I am still playing with all settings. rode again today. playing with hopey on and off too. Its fun playing with all this stuff!!

Jimbo,
its not a compact setup. its an FSA carbon pro crank with blackspire superpro rings.
anyway, its obviously going to take a bit to sort everything out. but, I love this bike.
also, avids are still a planned upgrade for next winter.

Dennis [smiley=groucho.gif]

ToNYC · « **Reply #8 on:** July 02, 2003, 02:17:51 pm »

Dennis, It'll be great if you can make it to Blue Mountain. We normally go on Sundays on the 1053a Metro North. The fellas like to climb more than anything. We'll arrange it - you can email me. BTW, I love my avids, too. Thinking about upgrading to the Talas myself but the x-link is holding up good so far.

K2ozm99 · « **Reply #9 on:** July 04, 2003, 06:19:13 am »

I gots a question for Dennis? Where did you get a lizard skinz so big. ive been to some shops and none seem to have one that will wrap around my swingarm.

Ive got some drivetrain probs of my own right now. Going to ride around town today and make some adjustments. If i cant get her shifting right, im going to come scream at you guys.

Brief Prob Desc....

I have the XT Mega9 DT, XT rear and front ders, xt 9spd casette, xt crankset, xt integrated levers, just had my housing redone ... getting some suckage in the middle of the cogset and anytime im in tallest cog, the rear der's top roller is rubbing the cog...

numbnuts · « **Reply #10 on:** July 05, 2003, 03:25:05 am »

check Jenson for the lizard skins, they had em on sale in a variety of sizes including big swingarm, not sure if the deal is still on.

Phillip · « **Reply #11 on:** July 10, 2003, 06:54:49 am »

Be careful if these are the wheels you have on your bike.

http://home.interlynx.net/~pjdu/

numbnuts · « **Reply #12 on:** July 10, 2003, 09:09:59 am »

that spinergy stuff is pretty scary, i wouldnt ride those if you paid me to. [smiley=disbelief.gif]

Dennis · « **Reply #13 on:** July 12, 2003, 09:51:35 am »

Spinergys, all I can say is, don't believe everything you hear (or read), esp. on the internet, and try 'em before you dis 'em.
I have a fair amount of road and off-ride miles on the rev-x road and mountain wheels, and they are, in a word, amazing.
on the road, extra mile an hour or so both up and down hills, but the best part is how they really soak up bumps and vibration. Its feels like flying!!
off road, they do the same thing. you don't even feel the little bumps that suspension forks don't really react too.
they are stiff, and steering control is beyond compare with spoked wheels in tight singletrack.
there are some problems with their construction, I will admit. but I check my wheels regularly and have yet to see any problems.
thats my personal experience with these wheels, not 2nd or 3rd hand.

Carbon, still running the Nr2 rear, still waiting for a new set of bushings (hopefully the right ones this time) from Risse. called them two weeks ago to correct the sizing problem, said would ship them in a week. called yesterday, said they would send them middle of next week. Risse customer service? from my experience, pretty darn slow, and why couldn't they have sent the correct sizes with the original order?

Dennis [smiley=groucho.gif]

Phillip · « **Reply #14 on:** July 13, 2003, 10:15:13 am »

"wheels - really cool, soak up small bumps well, bummed that the rear one (used) on my road bike broke."

Dennis, you definately have more balls than me.

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Author Topic: Blue Crush 1st real ride (Read 4445 times)

jimbo