AM Beware the Raileans! It’s a cult.

moorey

moorey

with a big stick
So, it’s taken me a while to get the parts together without spending any more money on parts. This is the frame that Felix had a huge digger onto rocks and damaged the TT. @russthedog and @Nerf Herder at ORBO/Link offered a generous crash replacement on the frame, but I opted to grab Felix an identical new frame and pretend nothing had ever happened, and look at repairing the damaged one. I’ve long been jealous of the Rail but not in a position to put myself on one. Local bloke I know works magic on carbon repairs and did a beautiful job on it. I’d never put Felix on a repaired frame, but my candy arse is going to be fine.

Mission was to make it very different from Felix’s (as much as you can with an identical frame), because let’s be honest, matching bikes is pretty lame. I had the Ohlins gear sitting around for a while, and had offered it to Felix, but he opted to stick with his RS kit. Lucky me.

Renthal bars are mainly to make it look a bit different to his, and don’t look too out of place with the Ohlins gold and yellow. Feel free to hate on the Frame Skin. While the bike looks absolutely stunning with just a clear skin, I wanted it to look different from Felix’s. Pretty much any patterned skin looks a bit average to me, but the Geo Deco Groundkeeper was subtle enough, and still looks different to Felix’s. Jog on if you don’t like it.

Bike is a mix of horded new parts and well used spares. Unless the event is cancelled due to weather, which wouldn’t surprise me.My first dip into 12sp, and its mainly because I’m taking this to GE Nationals on the weekend, and having all 27.5, boost, 12sp makes spares easier to carry. Changes to come over time.

Other than all that, can’t wait to give it a quick test tonight. Quick home loop and drops off the deck confirms why Felix loves the Rail so much.

Frame: Revel Rail 27.5. Medium. 165mm travel.

Fork: Ohlins RFX36 air. 170mm

Shock: Ohlins TTX air

Wheels: Hope4 on Raceface AR40’s. Because on sale.

Tyres: Maxxis DHF 2.5wt front/DHR2 2.4wt rear. I don’t think my trusty Wild Enduro’s will like the 40mm wide rims.

Rotors: Icetech 203f/180r

Cranks: FR Turbine 170mm with Blackspire 32t ring.

Derailleur: XT M8100 SGS

Shifter: XT M8100 12sp

Chain: M8100

Cassette: GX Eagle 11-50. Don’t have a spare microspline driver or Shimano cassette.

Brakes: XT M8000

Dropper: PNW Ranier 170mm

Bar: Renthal Fatbar

Stem: Ragley Stubbing

Pedals: DMR Vault magnesium.


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Mr Crudley

Mr Crudley

Wheel size expert
Ohhh, very nice. Make sure you beat that young whippersnapper and if you can't then let him know that your bike is heavier.

A very clean oven too.
 
K

kten

understands stuff moorey doesn't
Noice. That shock is going to work very well with that back end. Great result from the repair and rebuild mate.
 
moorey

moorey

with a big stick
kten said:
Noice. That shock is going to work very well with that back end. Great result from the repair and rebuild mate.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I’m pretty stoked. Felix loved the Ohlins, but then we got a custom tune on the ultimate, and he was happy with its performance and preferred the look.
Can’t thank the ORBO crew enough for letting me fix this (or maybe too polite to tell me not to). They look after Felix, but don’t owe me any favours, so I’ll try not to embarrass them.
 
Live2DieTrying

Live2DieTrying

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Nice bike! I think you will like the ohlins suspension. 3 chamber air forks are the way to go,
all 27.5 boost... Care to sell on some 26" flow mk3's?? My DH bike could do with some nicer rims/wheels
 
moorey

moorey

with a big stick
Live2DieTrying said:
Nice bike! I think you will like the ohlins suspension. 3 chamber air forks are the way to go,
all 27.5 boost... Care to sell on some 26" flow mk3's?? My DH bike could do with some nicer rims/wheels
Click to expand...
Only got one set of 26 flow mk3 and one set of arch mk3. Most are ZTR EX sorry.
 
moorey

moorey

with a big stick
slowmick said:
Looks tops. You're spoiled for choice now. Interested to know how it rides.
Click to expand...
Spent an hour on it tonight at Black Hill. It’s definitely a bit different to ride than anything in my stable. Noticed a little bit of kickback on sharp hits, nothing serious, and not an issue. Got a minor internal cable rattle that will do my head in if I don’t fix it. Was never there for Felix on this or his new frame. It has fully tubes internal guides, making it more difficult to stop.
Other than that, pedals and climbs incredibly well for 165mm travel with soft compound tyres. Corners really well, bur haven’t had a chance to hit any chunder with it or get it up to speed.
The Ohlins is really doing the job, but nothing to compare apples with apples. It’s a great suspension platform, so probably any suspension would feel sweet on there to a gronk like me.
Taking the Crafty along as a spare bike. It’s probably a smarter bike to ride in those conditions and tracks, but keen to get acquainted with this.
 
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