Got out for an hour yesterday morning
Short story: Holy hell, couldn't wipe the smile off my face
Got out at the crack of dawn up to Kalamunda to do a fairly easy familiar loop to get a feel for the bike and wear everything in. Around 200m elevation, which is a good starting point.
Started out with a green to get across to the up, which undulates a bit, but drops down enough for me to get a feel for how the bike'll descend.
After that I went up to the top of Mt Gunjin, which I really hate and down via Muffin Tops and Horny Devil, two of my favourite trails.
Understanding that this is the first time I've ridden a dualie for more than 2 minutes, here are my comments:
The Set-up:
When I dropped it off on Wednesday, I had a chat to Phill about set-up and he suggested that we set it up fairly neutrally, and then we could tweak it when I take it in for a service - I get 2 free over the next 6 months - and he's offered to meet me on the trail with some of the other guys who ride Banshees here in Perth and tweak the suspension live.
The rear DPX2 is running ~240psi with no tokens (I forget what it is exactly, have it written down at home) and 80 in the Z2s with 3 tokens, as well as being up to 140mm from 120mm.
Other stuff is as per the OP
The Up:
This bike climbs as well as if not better than my hardtail. I didn't notice the extra weight at all. While this sounds counter-intuitive, a lot of the up is rooty and rocky crap and the hardtail didn't cope with it that well with the gearing or my set-up. Having the rear suspension helps to keep the bike grounded and allows me to keep traction heading up the hill. This meant I was in the saddle rather than out of the saddle on the hardtail
Having a 30t/50t granny gear really helped here too, especially coming from the previous almost 1:1 gear ratio I was working with...
One notable aspect was that the front end is a lot lighter than I am used to. This is good when trying to get up and over roots and rocks but going around switchbacks caught me out a few times heading up and I ran off the track and had to catch myself. Not an issue, just something to get used to.
I was also surprised to find this is the fastest I'd gotten up to the top of Gunjin, so stoked with that!
The Down:
Holy shit, this thing puts a smile on my face.
I was pretty tentative at first as the rear on my hardtail tended to skip around a bit, and not lend me much confidence to tip it in. This things is the complete opposite. Even heading down my first green, I could feel the suspension taking the edge off, and going round corners it hunkers down and corners like its on rails round the few berms there. I'd never understood that phrase before but I definitely do now. I could also feel the extra rear wheel stiffness coming to Boost from Boost QR. Less squirmy on the rear with the same wheels and tyres.
Coming down from the top of Mt Gunjin (after a 10 minute breather because I'm super unfit atm) I hit Goldilocks, Muffin Tops and Horny Devil, 3 trails I'm pretty familiar that would let me wind my way back the car.
I instantly felt comfortable at a higher speed, I had so much confidence in the bike even after riding it for such a short period of time, hitting rocks I'd normally slow down and tiptoe around.
I'm not big on the jumps either, tending to roll them rather than attack them. Not today - I hit them all and went looking for more. Anything I could get some air time on. This thing is so confidence inspiring.
It was only a short ride, but it put a real grin on my face, and really helped my headspace yesterday. It wasn't the quickest I've done this particular loop - that was May 2020 when I was doing a lot of riding on the trainer at home and was generally much fitter, but it was the most fun I've had on a bike. I'm hooked again.
Whats next?
At the minute, I'm just planning on riding it. I may roll the bars back a fraction, tweak the position of the dropper lever and bring the seatpost up slightly - my legs need to be a bit straighter but thats it. All the components are great too, I even found the screen on the shifter useful, so not rushing to change that out.
I don't have a benchmark to compare to, so I want to spend more time on it before I start playing with settings too much. The forks felt a little harsh so I may adjust the rebound a touch and see if that help. It's livable though.
Outside that, probably a few accessories I don't want to carry in my pack, pump and the like.