Grandfather's (Pole) Axe

[Oddjob]

I've had my Pole Evolink since May 2018 and over that time it's had a fair few changes, to the point that the only original part is pretty much the frame; and even that's changed in a way.

The suspension hasn't really been upgraded so much as stretched. The 160mm Avalanched Lyric and 216x63mm Vivid air has been replaced by a 180mm Manitou Mezzer and a 222x70mm Bos Kirk. The longer shock gives 164mm of rear travel.

The wheels have been upgraded to Praxis asymmetric C32 rims laced to I9 Torch hubs. The spokes are 1.7mm butted Sapim D-light spokes laced 2x.

The brakes have become even more badass than before, but rather than a stick in the spokes, the 6 pots have excellent modulation. My Cura 4s are much more aggressive, but the Navigators have deeper reserves of power and heat management.

I took it for its first test run today and its even more of a monster truck then before. The Mezzer is very stiff, so much so that I've really had to wind back the compression damping to give my arms a break. Otherwise it's super fast in a straight line as you would expect, it also works well in the air but the massive wheel base makes tight turns a chore.

Frame - Pole Evolink 150 stretched to 164mm
Rear shock - Bos Kirk 222x70
Front shock/fork - Manitou Mezzer 180mm 29er
Handlebars - Spank Vibrocore 50mm rise
Stem - Thomson 50mm stem
Headset - Cane Creek
Grips - Uberbike
Saddle - Selle SMP Hybrid
Seatpost - Fox Transfer 150mm external
Front brake - Saint m810 lever, Goodridge lines, Navigator 6 pot caliper, Goodridge sintered pads, Hope V2 203mm rotor
Rear brake - Saint m810 lever, Goodridge lines, Navigator 6 pot caliper, Goodridge sintered pads, Hope V2 203mm rotor
Cranks - Racface Aeffect 175mm, 28t Wolftooth oval chainring
Chainguide - Fourier
Chain - Kmc X10
Pedals - Time ATAC MX6
Front derailleur -
Rear derailleur - XT m786 with Oneup radcage
Front shifter -
Rear shifter - XTR m980
Cassette - ZTTO 10 speed 11-46
Front hub - I9 Torch
Rear hub - I9 Torch
Front rim - Praxis c32 29er
Rear rim - Praxis c32 29er
Spokes - Sapim D-light
Nipples - Sapim
Tyres - Specialized Butcher, Maxxis Aggressor
Tubes - Rimpact inserts
Total weight - 15kg

 

[wkkie]

This doesn't count as a PYR... Where's the photos??

 

[hifiandmtb]

Pardon the question, but more info on the calipers? They look determined.

 

[wkkie]

Nice rig, but not sure on the frame protection. Looks a little like the sticky tape didn't quite take.

 

[Oddjob]

Pardon the question, but more info on the calipers? They look determined.

Navigator 6 pots, also marketed as Gatorbrake and Clarks clim8. Been out of production for 15? years. Run on mineral oil and are compatible with Shimano banjo fittings. Huge brake pads, almost double the size of Saint pads. The only rotors that have a big enough sweep area are Hope V2 rotors. There's a distro in Germany that has NOS and spares including crazy carbon ceramic pads.

Surprisingly, Cura 4s are more aggressive, but the physics dictate that nothing can match them for power and heat management.

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[Oddjob]

Nice rig, but not sure on the frame protection. Looks a little like the sticky tape didn't quite take.

Its just helicopter tape. I can't be assed applying it super carefully, so the edges often lift.

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[Ultra Lord]

I feel like that mezzer should be on the liteville........

It was already such a beast pointed downhill.
I have a love hate relationship with this thing. I loved the ride quality it has (not half as bargey as you think It will be) but hate the fact I hopped off and had to re-evaluated my stance on 29’s.

 

[moorey]

I’m a little dubious on the weigh in, I have to say....some burly parts there on a big alloy bike.

 

[Mr Crudley]

Its just helicopter tape. I can't be assed applying it super carefully, so the edges often lift.

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It kicks in my OCD.
Go on, you know you want to.

 

[Oddjob]

I’m a little dubious on the weigh in, I have to say....some burly parts there on a big alloy bike.

I think it was 15.6kg with the old build, but the Mezzer, wheels and cassette are a little bit lighter. I'll get the bathroom scales out to check next week.

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[Oddjob]

I feel like that mezzer should be on the liteville........

It was already such a beast pointed downhill.
I have a love hate relationship with this thing. I loved the ride quality it has (not half as bargey as you think It will be) but hate the fact I hopped off and had to re-evaluated my stance on 29’s.

Wait till you get a proper ride on the Liteville, I just whacked a 160mm Revive on there for just that little bit more perfection.

Nah the Mezzer is too much fork for the Liteville. I'm sure I will get used to it, but it's border line too stiff for me on first exposure.

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[peanut]

interested to see how you compare the mezzer & lyrik in regards to stiffness & ride quality.
I have a mezzer & agree it is a stiff fork, initially I thought it was too stiff, but once you find your happy place with the setup the stiffness is an asset at speed, It certainly amplifies through your hands when the setup isn't quite right so actively encourages you to experiment.

 

[Oddjob]

interested to see how you compare the mezzer & lyrik in regards to stiffness & ride quality.
I have a mezzer & agree it is a stiff fork, initially I thought it was too stiff, but once you find your happy place with the setup the stiffness is an asset at speed, It certainly amplifies through your hands when the setup isn't quite right so actively encourages you to experiment.

I've only had one proper ride, but these are my thoughts so far.

The Mezzer is easily the stiffest single crown fork I've got and that includes a DVO Onyx sc, Diamond, Lyrik, F36 and Durolux.

The damping circuit on first blush in the car park seems a bit weak, but once on the track I realised that the shaft speeds expected by the Mezzer just seem to be higher. I.e. the lsc on the Mezzer is more like a mid to high speed on a Lyrik or F36. On my first run on my regular enduro test track I ran 6 from open lsc and 2 from open hsc (the midpoint settings), but the feedback through the hands was intense. On my second run, I ran the hsc open and had the lsc 4 from open, and this was better but nor perfect.

The IRT system is brilliant and superior to tokens and the MRP ramp control. I'm running 100psi in the main chamber and 150psi in chamber 2, but it feels a bit too linear will probably up chamber 2 and reduce chamber 1 for a softer ride.


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[Wake Jake]

I've only had one proper ride, but these are my thoughts so far.

The Mezzer is easily the stiffest single crown fork I've got and that includes a DVO Onyx sc, Diamond, Lyrik, F36 and Durolux.

The damping circuit on first blush in the car park seems a bit weak, but once on the track I realised that the shaft speeds expected by the Mezzer just seem to be higher. I.e. the lsc on the Mezzer is more like a mid to high speed on a Lyrik or F36. On my first run on my regular enduro test track I ran 6 from open lsc and 2 from open hsc (the midpoint settings), but the feedback through the hands was intense. On my second run, I ran the hsc open and had the lsc 4 from open, and this was better but nor perfect.

The IRT system is brilliant and superior to tokens and the MRP ramp control. I'm running 100psi in the main chamber and 150psi in chamber 2, but it feels a bit too linear will probably up chamber 2 and reduce chamber 1 for a softer ride.


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I found the same thing coming off a Mattoc onto them. I have 2x pairs 1x 140mm and 1x 180mm. The pair at 140mm has taken some time to get used to the feedback. Running more than 2x HSC kills the hands. I rely on the HBO a bit more. I now have the sweet spot which has mostly eliminated it. That is a hell of a alot of pressure in them if they are at 180mm.

 

[peanut]

I've only had one proper ride, but these are my thoughts so far.

The Mezzer is easily the stiffest single crown fork I've got and that includes a DVO Onyx sc, Diamond, Lyrik, F36 and Durolux.

The damping circuit on first blush in the car park seems a bit weak, but once on the track I realised that the shaft speeds expected by the Mezzer just seem to be higher. I.e. the lsc on the Mezzer is more like a mid to high speed on a Lyrik or F36. On my first run on my regular enduro test track I ran 6 from open lsc and 2 from open hsc (the midpoint settings), but the feedback through the hands was intense. On my second run, I ran the hsc open and had the lsc 4 from open, and this was better but nor perfect.

The IRT system is brilliant and superior to tokens and the MRP ramp control. I'm running 100psi in the main chamber and 150psi in chamber 2, but it feels a bit too linear will probably up chamber 2 and reduce chamber 1 for a softer ride.


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Have to agree with wake jake, thats a lot of pressure, but if it suits your riding...

if you want to experiment there is a modified calculator & spreadsheet buried in the mezzer thread on mtbr I think its post 1830 ish, it kinda worked for me for little while, but I ended up with a bit too much sag which only worked on a certain style of track & made me hate the fork on others.

I found another starting point through dougal at shock craft buried In the same thread.
He worked out some spring rates based off spring curves from manitou. It's basically your weight in kg's in the irt, 60% of your weight kg's in the main.
That gave me about 25-26% sag but I noticed I prefer how the main spring feels about 22-23% standing sag when experimenting, so I upped the main to 63-64 with the irt at 100 (100kg), setup as 170mm 27.5. Hsc open, lsc+4 from open(+6 sometimes).

I then did the same loops while I upped the irt 2 psi at a time & then dropped it & have ended up at 96, seems to be working so far & my hands are thanking me for it. its' about 4-5psi less in main & irt than manitou suggests, but still keeps the same psi spread.

The good thing is if you want more mid & end stoke you just add a couple of psi to the irt & off you go, also when you find a spring curve feel you like, you can just maintain that psi spread & move the pressures up & down for the overall firmness.

you can also Ignore kazimers comments in the pinkbike review , you do feel a difference that 1-2 psi makes with this fork & it can be f****ing frustrating to setup ( I had a mattoc previously so i knew what I was in for), but when you find the sweet spot your hands will tell you.

 

[Oddjob]

That is a hell of a alot of pressure in them if they are at 180mm.

Those are my initial pressures for 25% sag while I'm sitting saddle up, it would be higher if I was in the attack position. What can I say? I'm a big fat slob and run a 50mm stem to keep a good weight balance on that raked out front wheel.

I'm planning to drop the main pressure to ~90 and play around with the IRT to get better small bump compliance.

For reference I run 92 psi on my 180mm Lyrik with 8 clicks from open on my MRP ramp control (equivalent to 2.5 tokens?)



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