Took the SAM out for its first ride tonight at Manly Dam. The shakedown went off without a hitch. Only had to stop once to slow the rebound on the shock.
The SAM has all the classic faux bar/four bar characteristics. Suspension performance is highly dependant on the shock. It pedaled well with the Float X on firm and ate up the chunder with it open. I tried using the intermediate setting but it's really an unhappy compromise. This need to keep twiddling the shock is a bit awkward when the Fox36 was happy to be set with 20 clicks of lsc and 4 clicks of hsc and then forgotten about. I might send off the shock to Avalanche at some stage to get a better blowoff circuit between the lsc and hsc.
For those with sharp eyesight, they will notice I didn't use all the travel on the shock or the fork. I could soften hsc a bit, but I think when I take the bike out on Sunday for a training course I will push the bike harder and need the extra support.
The geometry screams mini dh bike, especially given that I'm running 20% sag up front and 30% at the rear. The bb is lower than I'm used to and I kept striking the pedals in spots I wasn't expecting. I even bottomed out the bashguard a few times on rollovers and corners.
The 2.3 Hans Dampf front and 2.2 Saguaro rear tyre combo was excellent. The Hans was a bit draggy but had grip everywhere. The Saguaro is a classic dry condition tyre that rolls well and breaks away predictably.
The brakes had a bit more free stroke than I like, but in a way its safer that way. The brakes have oodles of power when they bite, and I had a few 'oh shit' moments where I grabbed a handful of brake and the free stroke saved me.
All in all, very happy with the result.
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