Okay, so the bike has undergone some big changes of late and it has largely transformed it into a completely different beast. LOTS of text warning, this is going to be a fairly detailed rundown of the changes and effects it's had on the bike.
Current setup:
Stumpjumper FSR 29er S-works 2016
Fox Float 36
Cane Creek Double Barrel Coil
Chromag BZA Carbon Bars
Charge Saddle
ODI Grips
Shimano XTR trail brakes
Shimano XTR Drivetrain
S-Works Cranks
Specialized Command Post IR
DT Swiss EX471/350 wheels
Maxxis Tires
Bikeyoke shock mount
Rider
189cm / 6'2"
92kg / 200lbs suited up
Riding style - Drive from the center of the bike, tree trunk legs that like to drop watt bombs, try to be smooth
Frame size - Large
Tyres - Minion DHF 3C EXO 2.5 / Minion DHR 2.3 3C EXO
Tyre Pressures - 25PSI front / 28PSI Rear
Suspension
- Travel 150mm/140mm
- Pressures 82PSI / 550lbs
- Damper settings: 10 clicks HSC, 8 Clicks LSC, 8 Clicks out Rebound
- Rear: 2.75 turns HSC, 1.5 turns HSR, 12 clicks LSC, 18 clicks LSR
- Volume adjust: 2x front / Standard bumper rear
Cockpit
Handlebars
- Bar Height - Zero stacked headset (proper flat!!)15mm Spacers, 30mm rise
- Roll - Neutral, marker lines match up with stem clamp line
- Bar Width - 800mm
- Stem Length - 50mm
Saddle
- Saddle Position - Mid to slid forward on rail (Command post has offset rearward)
- Tilt - Flat to slightly forward when not sagged
Brakes
- Lever position - flatter and raised, reach extended to first knuckle line of index finger
- Lever throw - 5mm longer throw on the rear but general fast engagement on both, stopping 10mm before the bar
- Rotor size - 203mm front / 180mm rear
- Chainring/Cranks - 32t Garbaruk Oval ring with 175mm arms. Clearance to stays limits anything larger.
Custom stuff
The clear standout is the Bikeyoke link to mount shocks with a standard eyelet. Enduro Guard for the forks, mainly to protect operating surfaces against rock strike damage, same goes for the AMS frame guards. An thin layer of foam and then electrical tape has been used on the driveside seat stay, as well as placed under the chainstay guard for further noise dampening. Shovel carbon chainguide keeps everything where it should be. SWAT Box stashes a spare tube, 2xC02 cannisters, 60mL Stans sealant, spare derailleur hanger whilst the frame has the SWAT EMT mount above the shock and a chainbreaker in the steerer tube.
Ride report
The Fox 36 was upgraded onto the bike around mid Feb, although the Bikeyoke and Cane Creek shock were bought at the same time, AusPost losing my item and then waiting for an investigation to run its course and insurance costs to be re-imbursed to BikeYoke delayed the replacement coming. That said, dealing with Bikeyoke was beyond amazing, Sacki is a great guy and was prioritising me as a customer at every step of the way; can only recommend them for anyone purchasing their products because of it. The Yoke itself is beautifully engineered and very simple in installation as well.
The 36's made a BIG change to the bike, they do sit high, so even though it's only a slight increase in axle to crown between them and the Pikes they replaced, the bike feels a little more raked out. I generally don't hang off the back of my bike, I do drive in from the center of it, the line point on the bike with the extra travel up front was noticeable, and it definitely likes being ridden that way.
I've only had a little bit of a ride with the CCDB Coil installed, but it's been quite a profound change as well. The pedalling performance on it is amazing, even with what i'd consider to be a lower spring pressure than I feel is ideal (looking at sourcing a 600lbs spring). There was no noticeable bob even with out of the saddle efforts, but extremely supple; the traction delivery is astounding. On climbs the square edges just disappear underneath it; there's is noticeably less hangup in speed as it hits them and allows the wheel to just roll up and over it, and on the downs, the tyre makes an extremely satisfying single "thud" as it just rolls and sticks to the terrain. I didn't hear it skip at all tonight, which is noteworthy because of how skatey and loose the terrain generally is out here, it just plants in and follows the terrain.
There is also a nice level of feedback from the rear, you can notice the bumps as the wheel hits them, but you don't feel the impact of them. This level of conformity to the terrain makes the entire bike hold speed better in the chundery terrain. I am mostly happy with the tune on the shock, it was extremely controlled and supple, there were also no harsh bottom outs.
My only complaint so far is that it lost a bit of liveliness when pushing into a G-out or pump dip. There were two little run ins to a little g-out/kicker on my loop tonight, and both lacked that "boost out" effect you usually feel from a nice big compression. It may be the shock simply needs a more exaggerated input to get the desired effect, but tonight it really didn't want to lose contact with the ground. I'm hoping a higher spring rate may also return a little bit of this behaviour, hopefully not at any cost to the increased traction and suppleness from the lighter spring.
Also, do note that the bike still has a rather high leverage ratio, even with the longer stroke and the new linkage, which is why the rear spring pressures are so high. When you have have to achieve 140mm of travel off just 50mm of shaft it can't be avoided.
I'll ride the bike a bit more and play around with the rear shock a bit over the coming months, but initial impressions are extremely positive.
Future upgrades
I might as well mention here. I'm probably planning to get a Bikeyoke Revive 160mm dropper in the near future (my only concern being that without the offset that the Specialized Command Post has I may not find my ideal cockpit position), and there is a plan to replace the S-works cranks with a praxis PF30 conversion kit and mount some XTR 175mm cranks there instead.
