New bike day... What, another one?!?!

[mboy]

Well... Yesterday...



Post first ride pic...



So by means of a PSA on singletrackworld, I ended up buying a new Canyon Neuron Onfly CF7 in their sale myself, and have subtly upgraded it with a few of my own existing parts... After fully ignoring Canyon's size recommendations (thank god, cos at 1m78 they have me firmly on a medium, and this is a Large and I wouldn't really want it any smaller!) I ordered the cheapest one knowing I was going to customise it. Got hold of a Merlin special "paint defect" Fox 36 knowing I already had the correct shorter air shaft to go on it, and resurrected my old X01 mechanical Eagle groupset and Mavic Deemax's etc... I had bought a cut price Ohlins TTX2 shock to go on it too, but sadly due to a peculiarity in Canyon's frame design the Ohlins shock doesn't fit (so if anybody wants a half price brand new 210x55 Ohlins TTX2 shock give me a shout!), but never mind...

So how does it ride...? Really rather bloody well actually! Being honest, it doesn't feel like a 140mm travel bike, probably more like a 120-130 bike, at least with that stock shock, but that's no bad thing for what I want anyway... I have a 150/160 full fat eBike too, and I wanted something lighter and more responsive for flatter more local trails, and the Bosch SX motor is awesome for that too. The geometry (at least after ignoring Canyon's sizing chart) is bang on, it's really well balanced with an almost perfect 1.8:1 Front to rear ratio (I've measured wheelbase myself @ 1275mm and chainstays @ 453mm, which gives 1.815:1 which ironically is identical to my Mondraker Crafty!) and a Head Angle a touch over 64deg.. The 200mm drop seatpost is a superb touch too, never had the clearance for anything longer than 175 on a bike before and really appreciating the full 200mm drop!

All up weight as is including pedals is 20.5kg (so under 20kg exc. pedals as everyone weighs their bikes)... It feels lighter I'll be honest. Definitely feels closer handling and weight wise to a conventional MTB than it does to a full fat, yet with 600W peak power still (accessed at a ludicrous 108rpm cadence!) it'll drop many full fat ebikes on the trails still (at least as long as they haven't been derestricted and before the 400Wh battery runs out!) and it's a lot less draggy above the 15.5mph cutoff too...

Oh, and as complete luck would have it... First ride out on it it ticked onto 0% range just as I arrived back at my car, after 24 miles and just over 1000m of climbing! And for anyone still in the "eBikes are for lazy people" persuasion, check out those HR zones...

[weeksy]

I would usually bite your arm off on the shock.... but not compatible with anything we own

I honestly think the 140mm spot and a lower weight eeb is the sweet spot for many and the way more and more people will go. It's where i'd end up if i went back to Eebing.

I'm still not convinced on the work-rate thing though in truth, but my logic is probably skewed by my own efforts and the fact i see how little Crust works on his... but then again, he is riding with me on a manual so has to work a lot lot less.

[Mr Moofo]

Any chance of buying a different size of Ohlins next time so it would fit my bikes?

[mboy]

I would usually bite your arm off on the shock.... but not compatible with anything we own

I honestly think the 140mm spot and a lower weight eeb is the sweet spot for many and the way more and more people will go. It's where i'd end up if i went back to Eebing.

I'm still not convinced on the work-rate thing though in truth, but my logic is probably skewed by my own efforts and the fact i see how little Crust works on his... but then again, he is riding with me on a manual so has to work a lot lot less.

It's same size as Levo's and countless other very popular bikes, I don't think I'll struggle to move it on to be fair...

The lower power shorter travel eBike thing is really rewarding for those of us who've been riding MTB for a long time, and used to lighter, shorter travel bikes. They were known for ages as an "industry bike"... As in, the only people that ride or understand them, seem to work in the industry themselves... Most people buy ebikes based upon marketing, headline stats, or their peers recommendations, which is why the Specialized Levo is still number 1 seller on the market by a country mile, and lightweight eBikes have, on the whole, absolutely flopped... But for those of us used to riding conventional MTB;s for decades, a lightweight eBike is to a full fat eBike what a "downcountry" (terrible marketing term still) MTB is to an Enduro MTB...And I decided, given that the price and the product was right, that I wanted to own both... And so far even though this Canyon's geometry has written a few cheques that the suspension can't (YET!) cash, I'm not regretting the purchase.

The work rate thing I will guarantee you are absolutely wrong about though... I've seen you post it many times about "ebikes make you lazy" or equivalent... I promise you that as an MTBer, you're either hard wired to go further and faster with some assistance, or you're hard wired to take it easier with said assistance... I am very much hard wired to go further and faster, and if I can't go further/faster because of social constraints, I'll knock the assist levels down until I get the workout I'm expecting at the sociable pace I am riding at. I spoke to Nick Craig at length a while back about his opinion on eBikes, and he said his Scott Lumen was his most ridden bike, doing as much as 80% of his training on it... I know most EWS racers and lots of downhillers ride eMTB predominantly for training... So, what else... Well aside from the being hardwired to either go further/faster or take it easier, there's the fact that it's far easier to get a consistent, structured training session on an eMTB than it is a regular MTB. Looking at my Garmin data post ride, an eMTB ride (SL eBikes are even better for this!) will give you more of a consistent aerobic workout for a given time period, and you will spend less time in the anaerobic heart rate zones... My HR is usually 40-50% zone 3 on an eBike ride, with 25% or so each in zone 2 and 4, and barely anything in zone 1 or zone 5... A similar distance/length MTB ride and my peak HR will be higher, my average will be lower, and I'll spend a lot more time in zone 1 and 2 (trying to recover, or simply not being able to turn the pedals fast enough), I'll spend a few % in zone 5 breathing through my eyeballs, and I'll spend a lot less time in zone 3 and 4 than on an eMTB, which is where I actually want to be for my fitness training...

The Elephant in the room...? Well obviously, you don't need to push the pedals as hard on an eMTB as on a regular MTB, unless you've turned the motor off. So eMTB's aren't as good for strength training as a regular MTB, but MTB's aren't great for strength training anyway compared to the gym... If you were only concerned about building muscle when riding MTB, you'd be riding a rigid singlespeed everywhere, not a multi geared full suspension bike!

I've lost 2 inches off my waist in the last 2 months just from upping the amount of time riding eMTB's... I haven't lost more than about a kilo in that time (so have built some muscle back too, albeit not as much as I want to), and my cardio fitness is better than its been in years! A friend who was massively overweight by her own admission bought an eMTB about 3yrs ago after realising she literally couldn't ride her normal MTB any more unless it was on an uplift day... She started riding the wheels off that thing! She lost about 10kg, joined a proper gym that gave her structure to her training (but crucially didn't start telling her to count calories or anything) and how to fit riding eMTB's into her training regime, and 3yrs later she's now 33kg lighter, fitter and stronger than ever, and ironically is now able to enjoy riding her normal MTB again as and when she wants to!!!

So if Crust isn't getting enough of a workout when he's riding his eMTB with your on your regular MTB... That's cos he needs to turn the assistance down, or you need to be on an eMTB too!

[mboy]

Any chance of buying a different size of Ohlins next time so it would fit my bikes?

I can only apologise...

Bloody annoying mind, as I've offered it to loads of mates now all with 210x55 shocks on their bikes, and not a sniff... Yet you and @weeksy both want it, and it won't fit your bikes!

[mboy]

Went down FoD on it yesterday, quick hour and a half session...



BIG stack on Murdocks (a trail I have ridden hundreds of times) wrapping myself around a tree, and woke up very sore today as a result! A few cuts and bruises will keep me off the bike for a week or so but thankfully nothing major...

Long and the short of it is that the geometry on this bike is writing cheques that the suspension can't cash... I figured this would be the case, hence changing from a 140mm base model Pike to a 150mm Fox 36 before even riding it. Put my Diaz Runt air cart in it too, and degreased the air shaft, but it's definitely spiking under compression and/or the bushings are too tight... Next step with the fork is to hone the bushings, and then maybe play with a lighter oil weight in the GRIP damper... I don't want to spend money on a new damper as this is supposed to be a cheap 2nd bike, but if needs be will go to a GRIP2 with 2.5 or 3W oil, as I know this has worked for me in the past on a 36...

As for the shock... Well it's making the bike feel like a 120mm "downcountry" bike not a 140mm trail bike. No room for a piggyback or even a higher volume air can in-line air shock as previously discussed... Research reveals that a 2024on Fox Float (not DPS as they dropped this moniker I have just learnt) should yield a little more suppleness and control hopefully, and as luck would have it, Merlin have one in the right size @ 1/2 price right now... So will get that ordered, tested, then see what can be done regarding custom tune to make it better... At least i'll put some money back in my pocket selling the Ohlins that didn't fit!



Proof again for @weeksy what I was saying about ebikes, quality of training and HR Zones...

[weeksy]

LOL i don't get to see the pics anyway as i'm on VPN and we block it

I like the way you're prepared to play and test and fiddle.. I don't really bother as i have a minor issue that the boy has the same bike as me and i've seen him do things i can't even imagine so i know the bike CAN..

[crust]

So if Crust isn't getting enough of a workout when he's riding his eMTB with your on your regular MTB... That's cos he needs to turn the assistance down, or you need to be on an eMTB too!

Can't push the old boy too hard

I do turn it down from time to time when riding with him but mostly I'm just enjoying a nice social ride having a chat with a mate, out on my bike.

When I'm on my own I'll do longer, harder rides. My lack of fitness is purely down to having/had a desk job and only riding once a week or so. Now I'm part time the plan is to ride more.

[mboy]

Upgraded the rear shock to a current Fox Float Performance and have stripped and rebuilt the fork with a new NA3 "Glidecore" airshaft and 2.5W oil in the GRIP damper (even at 95kg rtr, the stock GRIP damper was spiking harshly with the stock 4W oil in)... This bike was the most extreme take on "Geometry writing cheques that the suspension can't cash" that I've experienced probably since my 2015 Whyte T-129, so hopefully these upgrades will make the difference required...

[mboy]

OK so the tuned forks and the upgraded shock have made a significant amount of difference... The bike still doesn't feel like a long travel enduro sled, but it definitely now has more of the suspension performance to match its geometry... 3rd ride done now, 990m climbing over 24km and 99% battery used (keeping up with guys on full fat ebikes to be fair!)... Loving the symmetry of those numbers!

[weeksy]

I'd love to be able to feel and take advantage of changes.