This post still should be taken with a grain of salt since I've only been on the bike twice now since getting the replacement frame. I think I can say at least something about my initial impressions of the bike though. I'm trying to figure out frame geometry a bit and get an idea for what kind of set up in the end is going to be best for me so you'll have to bear with me through all that. Now, for my future reference for anyone else who cares.
One of the most notable things about the new set up is that the front end doesn't feel great. I told someone today I thought it felt twitchy but I'm not so sure that's what I actually meant. I'm not really sure I've ever really ridden a mountain bike that felt twitchy so I'll need to try that one of these days. The fork leaves a short wheelbase and so technically twitch-i-ness should be fairly minimal from what I've heard.
One thing I know leads me to my assessment of the front end is that my weight sits too much on the front wheel when I tend to prefer sitting back on the rear wheel and keeping the front light. As you can see in the banner picture the seat has some room to move back so before my next ride I'll be sure to do that. I actively tried to weight the rear end today though and still felt a bit uneasy with the front of the bike. In the long run when I get a suspension fork on the bike I'll likely look to get an offset fork similar to the Reba Race that came with the stock Dragon 29'er.
Hmm, I also told the guy today I thought the Dragon 29'er came with a Dart fork so I'm basically 0 for 2. Ah well.
You can't see it that well in the previous pictures but I finally went ahead and swapped out the stock WTB saddle and put on the one I bought nearly a year ago with the intention of using it on the mountain bike. The Specialized Avatar Gel saddle rode like a champ on it's inaugural trail ride. I was afraid the gel saddle might freeze up a bit and become very uncomfortable but it rode just as comfortably as the first time I ever rode on it. Nice.
That's all for now though I'm sure I'll at least comment after the adjustments to the saddle. Hopefully this week the Tuesday Rosaryville night ride will be a go.
2 comments:
I am under the weather right now, but we should SS sometime Maybe after the new year I haven't ridden much in a month.
I'm in. Jim mentioned something about some early morning weekend rides at Rosaryville that I'll probably hit up some in the coming weeks.
Just got over a cold myself so I feel ya on that one. Let me know when you're feeling better. I'll be doing the Tuesday night rosey rides whenever I can.
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