Ask the experts

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Originally Posted by beaterdit

If it were me I’d get it serviced locally at Suspension Syndicate down here in Salt Lake. Other thought on the current state of it: grease or other shit can clog the negative port in the air spring and prevent it from filling, or equalixing. Does it feel stiff off the top? A lower service will take dare of that. Clean, regrease, re-oil.

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I’ll give them a call, I’m not sure any Ogden shops do rebuilds. Was heading out of town this weekend and hoping to ride but that kind of turn around seems unlikely I guess. Doesn’t really feel stiff off the top, maybe a little more stiction, but getting normal sag.

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Originally Posted by zion zig zag

I’ll give them a call, I’m not sure any Ogden shops do rebuilds. Was heading out of town this weekend and hoping to ride but that kind of turn around seems unlikely I guess. Doesn’t really feel stiff off the top, maybe a little more stiction, but getting normal sag.

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Not sure about down that way, but getting a fork rebuilt locally within a few days isn't out of the question.

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Originally Posted by Spencer123

A friend of mine who is a somewhat casual rider is looking for a solid trail bike that can do some occasional light duty up at the Targhee bike park (blues and blacks, but not pushing it at all). He missed out on all the amazing deals on the nice builds of the stumpjumper EVO, alloy sentinal and others what were around. This Switchblade popped up on Jenson which seems like a pretty good deal. He rode and really enjoyed the Ripmo, the sizing is very similar on the chart, the major differnce I see is a steeper headtube angle, which should be ok for him. Has anybody ridden it, good reccommendation at this price? Does it feel relatively capable downhill compared to other bikes in the category ? Thanks!

https://www.jensonusa.com/Pivot-Swit...tion=sfdetails

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I demo'd a Switchblade along with a bunch of other Pivot models 5-6 years ago. May not be relevant now but the Switchblade was the only bike I liked out of the bunch. It climbed well but felt pretty plush descending. All the other pivots only seemed to climb well or descend well. Some did neither well. My only hangup with Pivots was the super boost rear hub.

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Originally Posted by evdog

My only hangup with Pivots was the super boost rear hub.

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Not really an issue anymore since pretty much all hub companies make them.

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Originally Posted by zion zig zag

So I opened up the air chamber and the oil inside looks congealed. Bits of it are clung to the inside chamber instead of flowing like liquid. I assume this isn’t normal? It seems like one of those chunks could be blocking a port damper like you suggested. When I let the air out and pressed the fork it seemed to go through its travel smoothly, didn’t notice any hangups.

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If you never cleaned out the 5 lbs of slickolium the Fox factory puts in the air side that's probably what your seeing.....

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Originally Posted by Roxtar

Not really an issue anymore since pretty much all hub companies make them.

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We have 12 bikes. 7 with boost 148. Introducing a new size to the fleet sucks ass, especially if you tend to get bikes as frame sets or whatever. .
Every single company might make them, but that sure doesn’t mean that I want to buy them.

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Originally Posted by rideit

We have 12 bikes. 7 with boost 148. Introducing a new size to the fleet sucks ass, especially if you tend to get bikes as frame sets or whatever. .
Every single company might make them, but that sure doesn’t mean that I want to buy them.

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Same. I have 4 (including 1 dumpster). Shar has 3. All are boost. All have Maguras. So much easier to maintain.

1 spare 650b, 1 spare 29er wheelset

Trying to repurpose some old cable-actuated disc brakes from the mid 2010's. "Promax". They feel janky as f**k and I have never seen a mechanism like this let alone pads for it. Actuating the brake causes the caliper to twist or screw closed to make contact with the rotor. On a scale of 1 to you-will-die, how inadvisable is it to run these? 160mm rotors stopping a 40lb gravel E-bike, 200lb rider, bike trailer and occupants. The alternative is plunking down $200 or so for a hydraulic Sora setup Question 2: Is rotor up-sizing on a gravel bike a thing and would it more effectively increase pure stopping power? I feel like I've only seen 160mm outside of mtb...

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Originally Posted by Huskier

Trying to repurpose some old cable-actuated disc brakes from the mid 2010's. "Promax". They feel janky as f**k and I have never seen a mechanism like this let alone pads for it. Actuating the brake causes the caliper to twist or screw closed to make contact with the rotor. On a scale of 1 to you-will-die, how inadvisable is it to run these? 160mm rotors stopping a 40lb gravel E-bike, 200lb rider, bike trailer and occupants. The alternative is plunking down $200 or so for a hydraulic Sora setup Question 2: Is rotor up-sizing on a gravel bike a thing and would it more effectively increase pure stopping power? I feel like I've only seen 160mm outside of mtb...

Sent from my moto g(7) optimo (XT1952DL) using Tapatalk

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I REALLY hope this is a joke.

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Originally Posted by Huskier

Trying to repurpose some old cable-actuated disc brakes from the mid 2010's. "Promax". They feel janky as f**k and I have never seen a mechanism like this let alone pads for it. Actuating the brake causes the caliper to twist or screw closed to make contact with the rotor. On a scale of 1 to you-will-die, how inadvisable is it to run these? 160mm rotors stopping a 40lb gravel E-bike, 200lb rider, bike trailer and occupants. The alternative is plunking down $200 or so for a hydraulic Sora setup Question 2: Is rotor up-sizing on a gravel bike a thing and would it more effectively increase pure stopping power? I feel like I've only seen 160mm outside of mtb...

Sent from my moto g(7) optimo (XT1952DL) using Tapatalk

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That's more or less how most of the cable actuated discs worked. Same mechanism on an Avid BB7, which were the most common mechanical calipers and actually worked pretty well. I'd run them.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

That's more or less how most of the cable actuated discs worked. Same mechanism on an Avid BB7, which were the most common mechanical calipers and actually worked pretty well. I'd run them.

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After the hayes mags on which every thing fucked up I had PTSD for these new fangled disc brakes, but the BB7's which I ran for > 2yrs had zero problems just turn the red knobs a click to adj the padz in towards the disc. i liked the BB7 it had lots of power with big rotors even > the hayes mags but they didn't really modulate very well, I ran shifter housing for the extra stiffness which was not recommended but no problem

I am going to assume a gravel bike will have dorp bars and roady levers ???

so if they are mtb brakes getting the right amount of cable pull with a road lever might be a problem ??

I know the BB7 came in both mtn bike and road model which is why I ask and i tend towards forget the pro-max don't do this

I'm not feeling the faith that others are.
Janky (his description, not mine), off-brand BB7 clones with short cable pull road levers to control a 40lb ebike with 200lb rider.
How bad could it be?

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Originally Posted by Spencer123

A friend of mine who is a somewhat casual rider is looking for a solid trail bike that can do some occasional light duty up at the Targhee bike park (blues and blacks, but not pushing it at all). He missed out on all the amazing deals on the nice builds of the stumpjumper EVO, alloy sentinal and others what were around. This Switchblade popped up on Jenson which seems like a pretty good deal. He rode and really enjoyed the Ripmo, the sizing is very similar on the chart, the major differnce I see is a steeper headtube angle, which should be ok for him. Has anybody ridden it, good reccommendation at this price? Does it feel relatively capable downhill compared to other bikes in the category ? Thanks!

https://www.jensonusa.com/Pivot-Swit...tion=sfdetails

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That's a great deal.

I owned one for a bit. Personally, I'd say it's a "longer-travel trail bike" rather than an enduro bike. I sold mine because I kept trying to make it "more" and push it away from my Epic Evo. Cascade Link, Float X2 rear shock, angleset, etc. The more I tried to make it a "bigger" bike, the less I liked it.
It's amazing in its original role. It's fun, corners great. It's not a plow-bike, but it's fun to hop around the trail. It'll do great as a trail / light duty & Occasional park bike.

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Originally Posted by XtrPickels

That's a great deal.

I owned one for a bit. Personally, I'd say it's a "longer-travel trail bike" rather than an enduro bike. I sold mine because I kept trying to make it "more" and push it away from my Epic Evo. Cascade Link, Float X2 rear shock, angleset, etc. The more I tried to make it a "bigger" bike, the less I liked it.
It's amazing in its original role. It's fun, corners great. It's not a plow-bike, but it's fun to hop around the trail. It'll do great as a trail / light duty & Occasional park bike.

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Spent some time on the new switchblade, which is pretty similar to the prior version. Agreed with this assessment.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by Roxtar

I'm not feeling the faith that others are.
Janky (his description, not mine), off-brand BB7 clones with short cable pull road levers to control a 40lb ebike with 200lb rider.
How bad could it be?

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I think bigger rotors are definitely warranted.

Agreed. I currently have the generation of Switchblade that’s listed in the link.

My use is someone who likes fast XC bikes but wants a “bigger bike” that’s still good for all day epics. I’ll go ride what I call “mag 8” which is just Mag 7 without a shuttle and riding back up the Jug Handle road and it’s perfect for that.

Could by shorter travel bike handle the descents? Sure but the extra bit of suspension makes me a bit less likely to crash and reduces fatigue.

I spent some time on a SB150 prior to buying the switchblade which was fundamentally different. Just a lot more bike but not something I’d want to pedal 40-50 miles.

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Originally Posted by XtrPickels

That's a great deal.

I owned one for a bit. Personally, I'd say it's a "longer-travel trail bike" rather than an enduro bike. I sold mine because I kept trying to make it "more" and push it away from my Epic Evo. Cascade Link, Float X2 rear shock, angleset, etc. The more I tried to make it a "bigger" bike, the less I liked it.
It's amazing in its original role. It's fun, corners great. It's not a plow-bike, but it's fun to hop around the trail. It'll do great as a trail / light duty & Occasional park bike.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by XtrPickels

I sold mine because I kept trying to make it "more" and push it away from my Epic Evo. Cascade Link, Float X2 rear shock, angleset, etc. The more I tried to make it a "bigger" bike, the less I liked it.

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You wanted a Firebird.

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Originally Posted by Huskier

Trying to repurpose some old cable-actuated disc brakes from the mid 2010's. "Promax". They feel janky as f**k and I have never seen a mechanism like this let alone pads for it. Actuating the brake causes the caliper to twist or screw closed to make contact with the rotor. On a scale of 1 to you-will-die, how inadvisable is it to run these? 160mm rotors stopping a 40lb gravel E-bike, 200lb rider, bike trailer and occupants. The alternative is plunking down $200 or so for a hydraulic Sora setup Question 2: Is rotor up-sizing on a gravel bike a thing and would it more effectively increase pure stopping power? I feel like I've only seen 160mm outside of mtb...

Sent from my moto g(7) optimo (XT1952DL) using Tapatalk

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I’m a hard no on this. Cable disc brakes have no business on e-bikes, especially if you’re hauling children. Those Promax brakes suck. They work more like a BB5, with an adjustable inboard pad position but outboard pad position is only adjusted by cable tension.


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A solid pair of Deore level 4 piston brakes will stop a Toyota Tacoma with a bed full of Taliban mercenaries and costs like $80 per side. It’s a no brainer if comparing with cable anything.


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Originally Posted by Roxtar

You wanted a Firebird.

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Its funny, at the time yes.

I bought the Stumpy Evo, Ran it slacker and longer with an X2 for a season.
Now I'm not riding anything too rowdy anymore so I'm back on the Float X with it shorter and steeper. Probably could've stuck with the Switchblade after all!

I will say, I sold the SB to a friend who rode it 4x harder than I ever did, so it's not about the bike - it's about the rider.

Broke my frame, so time for some new bike puzzling. I have a steel 150/140 bike that no longer has a triangular front triangle. Here are the options I'm seeing:

1. The frame builder has offered to make me a new front triangle for $1400, which is pretty generous given I got the frame used. He can beef it up a bit so it hopefully fares better than its predecessor.

1a. Alternatively, the builder will make me a new frame for around crash replacement price. Not totally sure what the cost is yet but I'd guess at least $2k without shock. This would let me go with a different rear travel and make some geo adjustments if I want.

2. I could get an aluminum Transition Spire frame, EXT coil shock and Cascade link for $2k used. Almost all the parts from my old bike will swap over; I have a Mezzer so I can adjust the fork up to 180mm travel. The rest of the build was similarly beefy so the parts should be a decent match.

3. My friend has offered to sell me a current generation Sentinel, either frame only or full bike. Sounds like the build would be fairly similar to the parts I have in terms of beef.

I ride at the standard northern NM spots: Santa Fe mountains, Glorieta, Sandia, Pajarito, etc. Mix of midweek pedaling and weekend shuttling/park. I like racing local enduros but am not particularly competitive yet. The old bike had similar geo to a size Large Spire, which feels pretty good.

Do I use this as an opportunity to build up two bikes, a trail bike and an enduro/park bike? Or should I stick with one ~140mm bike for everything?

Long shot…does anyone have a three pawl DT (370) microspline freehub sitting around ? I know a lot of people converted to ratchet. I’m having an issue, but I am not 100% sure that the FHB is the issue, so I’m leery of spending $90 to see.

Thought I would throw it out here first!

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Originally Posted by rideit

Long shot…does anyone have a three pawl DT (370) microspline freehub sitting around ? I know a lot of people converted to ratchet. I’m having an issue, but I am not 100% sure that the FHB is the issue, so I’m leery of spending $90 to see.

Thought I would throw it out here first!

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Not holding, but they come up cheap on fleabay alot: https://www.ebay.com/itm/395588004130

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Originally Posted by rideit

Long shot…does anyone have a three pawl DT (370) microspline freehub sitting around ? I know a lot of people converted to ratchet. I’m having an issue, but I am not 100% sure that the FHB is the issue, so I’m leery of spending $90 to see.

Thought I would throw it out here first!

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I think I've got one sitting in my shed. Let me check when I get home.

That would be rad.