Yeti SB-66

[ChopSticks]

Ever considered the KS XC dropper, believe it's 80mm worth?
Would save some weight too..

no interest in the carbon one (believe its 65mm drop not 80?)

despite the weigh... I was actually considering a new one with 150mm drop (hence why I sold the perfectly good old one in the first place)!!
But the price difference wasnt worth it IMO... hence stuck wit the 125 in the end

 

[ChopSticks]

So not much change between new and old then except for a few grams and the black stanchion! Let us know how it feels after a few rides. I am happy with the Giant Contact Switch except for the dropper will extend if you pull up on the saddle. This means if you sit right back and then move forward and your shorts catch on the saddle it will cause the height to rise. Very annoying and a bit dangerous.


Yeah not sure if I will go as wide as yours due to risk of rock strikes etc. 25 to 27 mm will be good I just want the extra stiffness and less tyre roll. I can hear the tyres rub on the frame sometimes.

yeppp, apart from a few grams...AFAIK internals are the same.

I have a mate that runs a Contact post and I know exactly what you mean. With the dropper maintaining height one pulled on.
There also seems to be serious left/right play? the other weakeness I read was the rail clamping design is really poor?
...def consider the Lev when its time for an upgrade, BUT CARBON WHEELS FIRST !


with a shock pump armed and ready, I took the bike out for a ride.
forks are PLUSH.... really plush. I see all the hype people speak now! far less stiction than the 34's.
fiddled abit with rebound and LSC... but need a knarlier track and more time to really dial it in... so far. I'm very happy.

also got to test out my new helmet!
I sold the super comfortable TLD A1 to Ev a few months back , as I found it wayyyyy too Hot !
My body simply doesn’t sweat (even on the hottest of days), consequently my body just cooks from the inside. So I needed a cooler helmet!
Enter the Met Parabellum !

​

Tried on both the M and the L... and ended up getting the Large(59-62) -335ggrams
Hopefully the weight means it sits lighter on the head/hair to give more air flow? (something the A1 really struggled with!).

Love the inbuilt ‘MOPOV’ adaptor (similar to the Bell Super), where it lets you attach a camera…. but a better use I have found is a light mount
after some playing around with mounts/adaptors/link. I came up with this!!! super low, and sleek!

​

Really happy with the helmet! Not as comfy as the A1 (not that its uncomfortable)… but much better airflow and much cooler which was what I was after!

 

[Gripo]

no interest in the carbon one (believe its 65mm drop not 80?)

despite the weigh... I was actually considering a new one with 150mm drop (hence why I sold the perfectly good old one in the first place)!!
But the price difference wasnt worth it IMO... hence stuck wit the 125 in the end

I'm a short arse......just did some test dropping around the backyard under floodlite stars....and my average post drop was 50mm to get it in my favorite thigh posi and to let me get over the back of the seat.....

ie. I see no real reason for me to drop the post all the way as I use the seat to manouver and stabilize the bike...

Might have to look at this Lev C?

 

[Klips]

I'm a short arse......just did some test dropping around the backyard under floodlite stars....and my average post drop was 50mm to get it in my favorite thigh posi and to let me get over the back of the seat.....

ie. I see no real reason for me to drop the post all the way as I use the seat to manouver and stabilize the bike...

Might have to look at this Lev C?

I started only dropping my reverb about 50mm, then I learned about proper bike separation, and now I frequently chuck it down the full 120mm. A lot of it for me was getting comfortable knowing where the bike was with just my hands, not my thighs; allowing faster, tighter turning. YMMV.

 

[madstace]

Chops, I see you're running the Yeti FD mount cover. This seems to go against your weight weenie beliefs, that thing would have to weigh at least.....5 grams! Not to mention the bolt...

Tell ya what, you send it to me and I'll carry the weight for you brother :tongue:

 

[Gripo]

I started only dropping my reverb about 50mm, then I learned about proper bike separation, and now I frequently chuck it down the full 120mm. A lot of it for me was getting comfortable knowing where the bike was with just my hands, not my thighs; allowing faster, tighter turning. YMMV.

Nah, not up for that......like to ride a bicycle like a dirt bike.

You will potentially have less control with the seat at full drop as your point of contact is now below the knees ie. calf muscles, rather than the larger muscles of your thighs.

But if it suits you I guess goog and well...

Been watching prices for a month and never saw jenson below about $1k on the pikes. What did I miss?

I usually take your bike advice as gospel, but I say you need to revisit RS forks, old bean :tsk:

Bugger if I know on the Jensons price, I see they are def $1k US.....

I've tried hard to resist all the good words on Pikes from all reviews and fanboi hype....don't know about RS longevity beyond 6mths, aaarrrghhh

Anyone want to buy a Fox fork :duck

 

[ChopSticks]

Chops, I see you're running the Yeti FD mount cover. This seems to go against your weight weenie beliefs, that thing would have to weigh at least.....5 grams! Not to mention the bolt...

Tell ya what, you send it to me and I'll carry the weight for you brother :tongue:

LOL, I'm already running a short lightweight Al bolt on there
but you do have me thinking.... the plastic Giant ones must be lighter than 15g~!
will hit you up if I ever do :thumb:

But if it suits you I guess goog and well...

before the days of a dropper I found just a few cm's made the world of difference, but since having 125mm I felt I could do with more!
the 1cm in height makes the world of difference on a long climb! and love having the saddle as far from the jewels as possible... the idea of getting snagged on the saddle during a dh section isnt too appealing lol. As Klips said... I think it comes down to knowing where your bike is? but youre not using all of the drop... then look into something with less?

 

[ChopSticks]

Afternoon ride with 2 mates at H20. Both of them on HT SS's and as usual.... got thrashed :tsk:
..... really need to lift my fitness. :faint:

​

Shifting has improved immensely after installed some new inner/outter gear cables (back to hot pink) :behindsofa:
Internal routing on the alloy rear chainstay + 142 axle nut, makes for a very tight kink in the cable, so it doesnt take long before the liner wears and takes shifting with it.

Pikes feel good.... still playing around with the adjustments, but they def dont dive under braking (something I'm getting use to) unlike the old 2013 34's.
I'm happy with the rebound, but LSC still needs some playing around.
I've found I'm more confident plowing through rougher stuff more so than before (maybe a combination of carbon wheels and forks/knowing it will hold up).
Will open up the pikes soon for a quick oil change/service, as theres been accounts where the Pikes ship out with near zero oil in the lowers. Make sure theres plenty of grease under the seals and confirm oil levels (15 & 5ml)

Cable tension on the Black KS dropper + shifter is set to perfection.... drops on a dime, and can't recommend one enough!

I wasn't sure about the whole black look initially..... but is really growing on me! Hopefully ditch the gold chain, for an equivalent silver one or better still ...black!!


​

 

[Kczar01]

Saw this bad boy out there yesterday! Very nice indeed!

 

[maxpowers]

Hi mate,

Can I ask how many clicks of rebound and LSC you dial into the pikes? Just wondered as a guide of course cause we probably weight differently and ride differently. I had the first run on the pikes on the weekend at OMV and seems pretty happy with them. Def felt alot more stiffness than the 32s.

Dan.

 

[ChopSticks]

Saw this bad boy out there yesterday! Very nice indeed!

Ey man,
you should've said HI lol
how do you find h2o?

Hi mate,

Can I ask how many clicks of rebound and LSC you dial into the pikes? Just wondered as a guide of course cause we probably weight differently and ride differently.

Hey Dan,

I weigh 85kg/187lbs~ kitted. According to the air guide, I should be running 75-85psi... but I found that only gave me 10-15% of sag. :noidea: (new seal/not bedded in?)
But bare in mind it is only a guide, so forget the psi and get the 'correct' sag which is more important. Pressure for me atm is set to 62~psi just to get 22%~ (might run abit more sag?)
I currently have LSC set at 5 clicks from full open? (ie wind knob fully clockwise and rewind 4-5 clicks anti clockwise)
as for rebound, I have it 8 clicks from the turtle/tortoise (slow)..... ride pretty slow, so can afford to run it abit slower
no tokens (dont ride hard enough)

I hope I've help.... but be warned... I really should be the last person to ask re suspension, as I got NFI lol

 

[maxpowers]

Thanx mate,

That helps heaps, just thought I'd see what other people are setting their Pikes to. I'll see what mine is set at and compare. Im under 70kgs fully kitted.

Cheers,

Dan.

 

[ChopSticks]

Dropper Lever/Shifter Hack

Finally got the courage to gut the x0 shifter despite all the horror stories of people never being able to reassemble them once opened...

Read alot online, but all I could find were Shimano shifters getting the treatment... nothing on sram.
So I took the plunge and started taking covers, springs, pins, bit and pieces out. Theres more I could gut, but wasnt comfortable going any further...
its now a free shifting lever (doesnt click into gear), so I dremel'd the plastic upshift paddle flush with the body.... (kinda regret doing that lol)
All up.... -15g's :bounce: (=12.79kg)

​

 

[Nautonier]

Finally got the courage to gut the x0 shifter despite all the horror stories of people never being able to reassemble them once opened...

Read alot online, but all I could find were Shimano shifters getting the treatment... nothing on sram.
So I took the plunge and started taking covers, springs, pins, bit and pieces out. Theres more I could gut, but wasnt comfortable going any further...
its now a free shifting lever (doesnt click into gear), so I dremel'd the plastic upshift paddle flush with the body.... (kinda regret doing that lol)
All up.... -15g's :bounce: (=12.79kg)

​

Whatever you do don't dismantle the bottom part of the shifter! As mentioned in a thread months ago, you need to be a swiss watch maker to put these things back together. I've done it, but it took me a long time and if asked how to repeat the process I really don't think I could explain it as I didn't think to take pics at the time. This was with XX shifters, but I think the problematic parts of the mech are the same as X0.

Step away from the shifter.

 

[ChopSticks]

Whatever you do don't dismantle the bottom part of the shifter!

Yehhh, thats what I read too. Never undo/touch the bottom bolt. Hence why I stopped...
I know theres more to gut, but its enough for now. Satisfied my curiosity/inner weenie

(happy to donate those springs/bits if anyone needs them for whatever reason... wont be using them again)

 

[blacksp20]

What purpose did this serve, may I ask?

 

[ChopSticks]

What purpose did this serve, may I ask?

Its hooked up to my KS Lev,
As I disliked the position of KS remote (including the southpaw)
So I found a super cheap x0 shifter, and banged it on.

Removed the bits mainly for weight and curiousity , and to avoid it clicking into gear.
works a treat now!

 

[Knuckles]

What purpose did this serve, may I ask?

Lost at least 0.0172g from stock :noidea:

 

[blacksp20]

Lost at least 0.0172g from stock :noidea:

I guess it's a win then.

 

[ChopSticks]

I guess it's a win then.

Yeppp! Also took off the Jagwire S-hooks.
the hoses and wires have held their shape over the months, so no longer need them.
-2 grams .... Bi-Winning :target: