XC Rocky Mountain Vertex 950RSL

ChopSticks said:
VERY nice pick up on the anthem !!!
been trying to look for one too... but none are within price range lol

do keep an eye on the top tube/ seat tube weld... they tend to crack there
and you could prob get away with shortening the rear gear cable on your RM's mech
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Yea, I'll watch out for that.

I see the rear cable on the RM, Ill shorten that a little after the next major race in 2 weeks. It might need a re-grease on some bearing depending on how wet it is during the race.
 
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I took a mate out yesterday and let him ride the anthem yesterday while i rode the rocky. He did pretty good getting to the summit but on the way down he didnt do to well.

So after all that I took the anthem out this afternoon. It was better than i had expected. It climbed ok and was more fun than the hardtail on the more hectic trails. Although it was wet and windy as farkkk.

On another note i painted the frame that i rawed earlier this week, all of it came out great except one part where there are some messy runs. went and got some more sandpaper and will sand it down in that spot tomorrow arvy and touch it up and give it a second coat.
 
Tubeless conversion

Finally went tubeless after getting yet another pinch flat on the exact same rock as i did last time, All up two tubeless ready maxxis ikons, sealant, tape and valves set me back $180.

I am yet to take them for a ride and will be racing the paluma push tomorrow doing the comp coarse, 70km long. Should be a good race if i can get rid of this flu thing ive caught. :mad2:

I rode it around the yard and it already feels different.

I ordered some XT pedals, shock pump, chain stay guard, and a 34t WTC chain ring. Ive been without a shock pump for about 8 months now and its getting pretty annoying using my mates one.

Anyways here are the new tyres.

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They even make the bike look 10 times better. But i cant wait for the wolf tooth ring to arrive, been waiting too long.

Sorry about the crap pics, I really should get a decent camera.
 
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I competed in the paluma push yesterday, had an excellent race. Came 4th in the 17-22yrs category, 3 minutes behind third. Overall im pretty happy with that considering I did it in 3hr 21min. Had a pretty massive crash and clipped a tree on a steep downhill section. It moved my brake levers on my bars so I had to re-allign then with a good hammerfist. My stem/bars also moved so i fixed that.

Was a very muddy race in some parts, there was an uphill section of about 300 metres of just slippery muddy crap.

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The latest changes on my race bike with a 1x10 conversion, XT pedals, tubeless tyres (got to fix rear wheel), a proper chainstay protector not a tube and cable ties.
I do say though, the WTC ring up front is amazing. no signs of dropping a chain at all. Makes the bike feel betterr to when riding.


My mate wants to buy the anthem i bought recently so i may sell that to him and will then upgrade to a set of better wheels. stans rims, on hope hubs with aerolite spokes. then will start upgrading the stem,bars, seat and seatpost. and will look out for some cheap XX or X0 cranks and drivetrain parts once i get the cockpit sorted.

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Also this is my bike that im making SS. Will use it to ride to the shop and school.

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A little bit of an update :)

So a few things have happened over the past 4 months since my last post.

The Vertex .
The vertex has served me well this race season as I continue to get better at certain things and gain confidence on some pretty decent trail features like the Meat Grinder up here in Townsville. I ended up getting 4 out of 6 race wins this year so I'm pretty happy with that effort.

So far this is the best XC race bike I've ridden and its pretty much the only one I've ridden. The 34t Narrow/wide ring from wolf tooth is easily the best upgrade I've made so far. Its kept the chain on throughout every ride so far.

The only one bad thing that's happened this year is my forks that came on the bike had a bit of a problem and would only use half the travel and the CTD cartridge was buggered (they weren't part of the recall to). Should have them back in a couple weeks if all goes well.



Dodgy SS
I finally finished the bike with some dodgy parts i had, (some worn out cranks, old xt middle rind, 8 speed chain).
The cranks had a fair bit of play in them but its all i had and the xt ring was fairly worn, but this was only a bike i would ride to the shops. I ended up taking it out for a longer ride and the chain slipped off and i hit the deck while riding up a hill. so chucked the chain back on and rode the remaining 25kms home in the rain with a sore and bloody knee. Wont be riding this bike till its set up safely. Also need to put some different bars on since i bent the other ones when i came off.



Giant Anthem
I ended up selling the giant to a mate at a mates rate price, he got a extremely good deal. I didn't have much use for the anthem at that point in time and needed money.



The Fun Part
For the past 3 months I've really wanted a a bike with a bit more beef than the vertex.
I bought a 07 Mongoose Teocalli elite frame off here two years ago and had to pull it apart so i could use the parts on a different bike since I snapped some of the linkage bolts on it. I recently found it buried in a pile of stuff in the shed and have now got a urge to build it up and do a nice custom build with some used parts off this forum. I pretty much want to make a bike that will be fun and playful for a sorta budget price, pretty much why ill use used parts. I'm thinking of finding some saint cranks, some pikes or something with 160mm of travel with maybe 34mm stanchions.
And to top it off Ill get the frame painted a REALLY bright color like fluro pink, yellow, red, blue.

Anyway here's a pic of the frame as it is now. This is only an idea at the moment but it could be a fun little project. It would be good to have something playful to ride for once.

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I'm thinking about selling my vertex, i haven't been riding in 2 months because the forks have a warranty issue being fixed. And i hurt my knee when i was riding another bike and if i ever fall or bump a part of my knee it is extremely painful.

I'm thinking of selling it and buying a bike with 6 inches of travel to play on. This bike is just to "race like" to have fun on comfortably.


How much would i get for it with the forks just serviced?

I've put carbon bars, wolf tooth ring, and clutch mech on it.

Id think about swapping for a RM altitude, but only if its at lease got a carbon front triangle.
 
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knob scortcher said:
I'm thinking about selling my vertex, i haven't been riding in 2 months because the forks have a warranty issue being fixed. And i hurt my knee when i was riding another bike and if i ever fall or bump a part of my knee it is extremely painful.

I'm thinking of selling it and buying a bike with 6 inches of travel to play on. This bike is just to "race like" to have fun on comfortably.


How much would i get for it with the forks just serviced?

I've put carbon bars, wolf tooth ring, and clutch mech on it.

Id think about swapping for a RM altitude, but only if its at lease got a carbon front triangle.
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Not sure you will find anyone willing to swap a similar quality dually for a hardtail? I would think you would only get something of lesser quality or it would have something wrong with it..
 
I figured that would be the case, I'm just not sure what i could get for this price wise. I'm still not sure whether i should sell it and get something else anyway. Could sell it and put cash towards a new or used one. hmmmm decisions
 
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knob scortcher said:
I figured that would be the case, I'm just not sure what i could get for this price wise. I'm still not sure whether i should sell it and get something else anyway. Could sell it and put cash towards a new or used one. hmmmm decisions
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You will have to hand back your race team jersey but? ;)
 
outtacontrol said:
You will have to hand back your race team jersey but? ;)
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That's true :p the way i see it is i can either just have an easy year and see how i go and just cruise along. Or i could sell it and look for something I can have some fun on. Ill see what happens after xc1 and ill go from there i guess.
 
knob scortcher said:
That's true :p the way i see it is i can either just have an easy year and see how i go and just cruise along. Or i could sell it and look for something I can have some fun on. Ill see what happens after xc1 and ill go from there i guess.
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Enduro is where it's at anyway :)
 
Thread update

I went down to the shops to buy a Garmin edge 500 today, spent $295 getting it, including a heart rate monitor, and 2 extra year warranty.

While all this was happening I had my commuter locked up around a pole, the commuter had my rear mech, shifter, chain and cassette from my vertex on it (I need a new cassette and chain anyway). While doing all this that bike was stolen. So i walked for roughly 7km to get home.

The bikes a deathtrap anyway. I'm just bummed i lost my rear mech, But now i have a reason to possibly upgrade.

I have also decided that i'm going to upgrade my vertex and save up for some carbon wheels and possibly XX1 or X01. But i might stick with just the 1x10 setup. I want to try drop some weight on this bike and turn it into a real weapon for racing and get it and myself ready for the 2014 QLD xc states.

As for now im on the lookout for a 10spd clutch mech, medium cage. And a shifter to match. Sram is all i use
 
New bits and pieces, should have my forks back in a week or so like new again. Get my wheels retentioned, new brake pads and a bleed.

Then ill start saving for some new parts. (XX1, Carbon wheelset, Bars, stem, seatpost, brakes then upgrade the forks to some SID world cups and maybe buy a 2015 Vertex frame set for next year.

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Time to start to get back into it and try get fit enough and the abilities to race at a higher level than I currently am.
 
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