AM Forbidden Dreadnought Pimp Spec
- Thread starter EsPeGe
- Start date
ozzybmx
taking a shit with my boobs out
ozzybmx
taking a shit with my boobs out
Good to hear, I will never buy a fork that is not USD.
You missed his posts over on MTBR chasing Cyclinic since the first teaser images appeared.Was expecting @kten to have that fork first
Awesome build.
EsPeGe
Likes Bikes and Dirt
I've been a Push fanboy for a long time now!!!!You missed his posts over on MTBR chasing Cyclinic since the first teaser images appeared.
Awesome build.
EsPeGe
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Thanks man. Lots of work went into it all but I love it so it’s good to hear that.
EsPeGe
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Hi everyone, below is a short review of the Push NineOne fork that I dropped on MTBR. I don't want to start a full review thread until I've got more time on them but I thought it might be of interest to folks here too.
Ok guys I've now had a few days here and there on these and then 2 1/2 days of constant riding at a bike park. I've got some feedback on the fork but I want to give everyone some context first.
I've been riding mountain bikes since 2007 but have been what I'd consider serious since 2015 when I started racing and building my own bikes. I've owned/own bikes from Spec, Pivot (x3), Giant, Canyon, Evil and Forbidden. I build my own wheels, service my own suspension as far as is possible without the specialised tools and have used suspension products from Fox, Rockshox, Push and Avalanche on my various bikes. I'm saying this to provide some context for my comments. What follows are my observations and opinions, your mileage may vary.
Also I've installed the fork on a brand new Forbidden Dreadnought. I've been riding my Evil Wreckoning since 2018. It has an ElevenSix and an ACS3 converted Fox 36. Whilst I think my observations of the NineOne are generally unbiased, given I haven't put them on the same bike I've been riding for the last 6 years it's possible I'm missing something or picking up something different due to the new set up.
Installation and Set up.
As far as install goes there was nothing really new in these apart from the handy brake mounts. I measured up and cut the steerer normally. The brake mounts can accommodate 180-203mm rotors from memory and all you have to do is use the spacers Push supply. Then once the brake hose is mounted you are good to move on to the set up.
Normally Push send out a card with their shocks that give you the complete set up. I didn't get that with the forks. I don't know if it was an oversight by Push or Cyclinic here in Australia but it's no big deal. I emailed Push and they got back to me within hours with their settings. I found them very easy to set to my liking and was pleased to find that the settings I had worked out were pretty close to the Push suggested settings
First Rides
Off the shelf the fork felt pretty much the same as my ACS3 converted Fox 36's. This is not surprising given that's pretty much what it is. I loved the feeling of the 36's with the coil so it was great to feel pretty much right at home. As I got more time on the bike the NineOne just got better and better. It retained that ACS3 feel but felt like a super refined version of it. I find the NineOne sits nice and high in its travel without feeling like a pogo stick. It seems to break away really nicely when it hits something a little bigger and smoothes it out well.
The one criticism of my 36's was how they coped with braking bumps. The coil felt better to me in every respect except in really bad braking bumps where it just felt really "stuttery" for lack of better (and actual) word. To be fair most forks struggle in this situation but I suspect this was due to the fact that it was a Frankenstein set up of aftermarket coil and OEM damper. The NineOne's on the other hand are so good at smoothing out those terrible braking bumps that I felt like I could enter corners significantly faster and with serious confidence. That's not to say the bumps cease to exist, but I can say that the NineOne smooths them out better than anything I've ridden to date.
Rock gardens and Tech
As a policy I try to avoid tech trails. I like a good burly downhill trail but the slow tech stuff doesn't interest me in the least, either climbing or descending. During my few days at the bike park I hit a couple of rock gardens at high speed to give the forks a test. These were on sections of the Cannonball downhill track in Thredbo for anyone in Australia. I deliberately chose crap lines to see what would happen. Predictably I almost crashed. Thankfully I didn't and it had nothing to do with the fork. I found the NineOne to handle the rowdy stuff very well. I was able to point the bike where I wanted it to go and it went there. Often I've found on the same trail I had to accept the line I was in until I made it out the other side. I didn't experience that this time and was able to get out of the crap lines I'd chosen when the fear of eating it took hold. To be clear I did not hit the really gnarly sections of this trail. It is a DH trail and these forks are not DH forks. But I did give them a solid and deliberate test and was very happy with how they performed.
Bleed Valves
Push suggest dumping the built up air from the NineOne every run or two. I can say they really do make a difference. I tested them by doing 3 runs without dumping air. These were 4km gravity trails with lots of braking bumps, some medium sized jumps and some short tech sections. The fork performed great and I was happy. I then dumped the air (each time you do, there's a noticeable puff especially from the damper side) and went back and did the same trail. Wow, there was a very clear difference and the fork felt even better.
Jumps
I like to do big jumps. If I were able to, I'd pretty much ride jump lines exclusively so how the fork handled them was really important to me, particularly how they handled my frequent cock ups. Herein lies the only minor issue I have so far and it's not really with the fork. I feel Push's spring rates to be on the soft side. I found it with the ACS3 conversion and have found it here with the NineOne's. I am 80kg/176lbs in riding gear and pre dump. This puts me very slightly above the middle of the range of the blue coil for the travel (170mm) I have set. I blow through this frequently. With the ACS3 I had to go up a coil and it's the same with the NineOne, I've already been in touch with Push to get a heavier coil.
I'm not sure why this is. I definitely attack jumps with vigour but mass is mass. Even an aggressive riding style (if that's what I have????) I shouldn't be so under sprung. I have bottomed the NineOne on small jumps and even a couple of times on take off!!! I have increased the air in the ABS to stop it and have still gone through the travel. If I land 2 wheels perfectly then it's no issue but if I land slightly front heavy as we all do on occasion, clunk!
I'm not overly worried about this and pass it on as information only. I am confident that once I get the heavier spring everything will be sweet as it was with the ACS3. And I'm curious to hear if others have found the same.
Conclusion
If you've been following the other thread on (MTBR) the NineOne you'll know that I built my bike based on Push suspension. I also wanted to try a high pivot bike. So I checked the Push site and found the Dreadnought fit the bill. I bought the frame in September a week after getting home from Whistler. I had to wait until March to build the bike as I was waiting for the NineOne to become available. I hounded Cyclinic here in Australia, I hounded Push and even hounded Darren (Push owner) on Facebook. I wanted these forks bad and I wasn't willing to go with something else until they were available. I would wait.
So was it worth the wait? For me, yes it was. The NineOne is definitely a premium bit of kit both in price and performance in my opinion. I am very happy with how they perform and I'm looking forward to getting more time on them soon. Feel free to ask questions you may have and I'll try answer them as quickly as I can.
Cheers all, Scott.
Ok guys I've now had a few days here and there on these and then 2 1/2 days of constant riding at a bike park. I've got some feedback on the fork but I want to give everyone some context first.
I've been riding mountain bikes since 2007 but have been what I'd consider serious since 2015 when I started racing and building my own bikes. I've owned/own bikes from Spec, Pivot (x3), Giant, Canyon, Evil and Forbidden. I build my own wheels, service my own suspension as far as is possible without the specialised tools and have used suspension products from Fox, Rockshox, Push and Avalanche on my various bikes. I'm saying this to provide some context for my comments. What follows are my observations and opinions, your mileage may vary.
Also I've installed the fork on a brand new Forbidden Dreadnought. I've been riding my Evil Wreckoning since 2018. It has an ElevenSix and an ACS3 converted Fox 36. Whilst I think my observations of the NineOne are generally unbiased, given I haven't put them on the same bike I've been riding for the last 6 years it's possible I'm missing something or picking up something different due to the new set up.
Installation and Set up.
As far as install goes there was nothing really new in these apart from the handy brake mounts. I measured up and cut the steerer normally. The brake mounts can accommodate 180-203mm rotors from memory and all you have to do is use the spacers Push supply. Then once the brake hose is mounted you are good to move on to the set up.
Normally Push send out a card with their shocks that give you the complete set up. I didn't get that with the forks. I don't know if it was an oversight by Push or Cyclinic here in Australia but it's no big deal. I emailed Push and they got back to me within hours with their settings. I found them very easy to set to my liking and was pleased to find that the settings I had worked out were pretty close to the Push suggested settings
First Rides
Off the shelf the fork felt pretty much the same as my ACS3 converted Fox 36's. This is not surprising given that's pretty much what it is. I loved the feeling of the 36's with the coil so it was great to feel pretty much right at home. As I got more time on the bike the NineOne just got better and better. It retained that ACS3 feel but felt like a super refined version of it. I find the NineOne sits nice and high in its travel without feeling like a pogo stick. It seems to break away really nicely when it hits something a little bigger and smoothes it out well.
The one criticism of my 36's was how they coped with braking bumps. The coil felt better to me in every respect except in really bad braking bumps where it just felt really "stuttery" for lack of better (and actual) word. To be fair most forks struggle in this situation but I suspect this was due to the fact that it was a Frankenstein set up of aftermarket coil and OEM damper. The NineOne's on the other hand are so good at smoothing out those terrible braking bumps that I felt like I could enter corners significantly faster and with serious confidence. That's not to say the bumps cease to exist, but I can say that the NineOne smooths them out better than anything I've ridden to date.
Rock gardens and Tech
As a policy I try to avoid tech trails. I like a good burly downhill trail but the slow tech stuff doesn't interest me in the least, either climbing or descending. During my few days at the bike park I hit a couple of rock gardens at high speed to give the forks a test. These were on sections of the Cannonball downhill track in Thredbo for anyone in Australia. I deliberately chose crap lines to see what would happen. Predictably I almost crashed. Thankfully I didn't and it had nothing to do with the fork. I found the NineOne to handle the rowdy stuff very well. I was able to point the bike where I wanted it to go and it went there. Often I've found on the same trail I had to accept the line I was in until I made it out the other side. I didn't experience that this time and was able to get out of the crap lines I'd chosen when the fear of eating it took hold. To be clear I did not hit the really gnarly sections of this trail. It is a DH trail and these forks are not DH forks. But I did give them a solid and deliberate test and was very happy with how they performed.
Bleed Valves
Push suggest dumping the built up air from the NineOne every run or two. I can say they really do make a difference. I tested them by doing 3 runs without dumping air. These were 4km gravity trails with lots of braking bumps, some medium sized jumps and some short tech sections. The fork performed great and I was happy. I then dumped the air (each time you do, there's a noticeable puff especially from the damper side) and went back and did the same trail. Wow, there was a very clear difference and the fork felt even better.
Jumps
I like to do big jumps. If I were able to, I'd pretty much ride jump lines exclusively so how the fork handled them was really important to me, particularly how they handled my frequent cock ups. Herein lies the only minor issue I have so far and it's not really with the fork. I feel Push's spring rates to be on the soft side. I found it with the ACS3 conversion and have found it here with the NineOne's. I am 80kg/176lbs in riding gear and pre dump. This puts me very slightly above the middle of the range of the blue coil for the travel (170mm) I have set. I blow through this frequently. With the ACS3 I had to go up a coil and it's the same with the NineOne, I've already been in touch with Push to get a heavier coil.
I'm not sure why this is. I definitely attack jumps with vigour but mass is mass. Even an aggressive riding style (if that's what I have????) I shouldn't be so under sprung. I have bottomed the NineOne on small jumps and even a couple of times on take off!!! I have increased the air in the ABS to stop it and have still gone through the travel. If I land 2 wheels perfectly then it's no issue but if I land slightly front heavy as we all do on occasion, clunk!
I'm not overly worried about this and pass it on as information only. I am confident that once I get the heavier spring everything will be sweet as it was with the ACS3. And I'm curious to hear if others have found the same.
Conclusion
If you've been following the other thread on (MTBR) the NineOne you'll know that I built my bike based on Push suspension. I also wanted to try a high pivot bike. So I checked the Push site and found the Dreadnought fit the bill. I bought the frame in September a week after getting home from Whistler. I had to wait until March to build the bike as I was waiting for the NineOne to become available. I hounded Cyclinic here in Australia, I hounded Push and even hounded Darren (Push owner) on Facebook. I wanted these forks bad and I wasn't willing to go with something else until they were available. I would wait.
So was it worth the wait? For me, yes it was. The NineOne is definitely a premium bit of kit both in price and performance in my opinion. I am very happy with how they perform and I'm looking forward to getting more time on them soon. Feel free to ask questions you may have and I'll try answer them as quickly as I can.
Cheers all, Scott.
Braking bumps are really felt when the fork chassis doesn't have enough fore aft stiffness imo. That would have been the biggest weakness of your coiled 36. The fore aft stiffness of an USD fork is huge in comparison.
Interesting you are blowing thru the stroke on the fork, I had the same issue with the 11.6 shock..something that never really got solved. Have you cranked on more damping to try and reduce how deep it's going into the travel?
I've just bought a Dreadnought too. Currently running the new DVO 38 Onyx (my custom damper on my Intend is hitting the frame...trying to find a solution) and the standard super deluxe air. Gotta say, I'm super impressed with the bike so far!
Interesting you are blowing thru the stroke on the fork, I had the same issue with the 11.6 shock..something that never really got solved. Have you cranked on more damping to try and reduce how deep it's going into the travel?
I've just bought a Dreadnought too. Currently running the new DVO 38 Onyx (my custom damper on my Intend is hitting the frame...trying to find a solution) and the standard super deluxe air. Gotta say, I'm super impressed with the bike so far!
Last edited:
EsPeGe
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Ahh that make sense. Thanks man. I had read that somewhere else but couldn't quite wrap my brain around what the engineer speak was saying. Could've used what you said and saved everyone a load of time.
I haven't. It's very obvious I'm on the wrong spring as it was with the ACS3 for my style of riding. I could bump that stuff up more as a bandaid fix until the new spring arrives I suppose. I'll have a play.
Dude I F$%KEN love this bike. With the Push suspension and the rearward axle path the thing just goes. Personally I didn't find any issues with getting used to that like many reviews have said. I got on the thing and 3 turns later it was like I was home. I think the sizing being so close to my Evil had a lot to do with that. Apart from some of the angles being different, most of the main measurements of both bikes are within 1-2mm of each other, wheel base being the main exception. And I am loving the mullet. I am a convert!
EsPeGe
Likes Bikes and Dirt
If only they’d work with transmission. In fact they might but I’ve not done the research. Yet.
Eewings and Wolftooth chainring as follows:
Boost: 0mm offset for 55mm chainline required for SRAM Transmission
Good to go.
EsPeGe
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Holy crap. $1800 bucks. For cranks…….Eewings and Wolftooth chainring as follows:
Boost: 0mm offset for 55mm chainline required for SRAM Transmission
Good to go.
EsPeGe
Likes Bikes and Dirt
Actofive though…… hmmmmmm.Eewings and Wolftooth chainring as follows:
Boost: 0mm offset for 55mm chainline required for SRAM Transmission
Good to go.
Mmm. Another good option and uses the SRAM 3 bolt interface so as long as the chainring is 0mm offset for the 55mm chainline should be all sweet. Don’t quote me on that and if the cranks don't work I am happy to accept as a gift.
Well let me help with that.
The Actofive appreciation thread
F*** it. This is probably warranted. The premise of this thread is quite complex. Post picture of Actofives and / or talk about them. That's it. I'll go first: Sometimes they come in different colours. These are okay too:
www.rotorburn.com