Decision, which Whyte?

[weeksy]

I'm not sure if i'm pleased you all seem to have Ebikes that survive, or disappointed that i don't

36s are sweet though, i go just under 1kg > 1psi. In your shoes i'd be looking about 80psi.

[Couchy]

I'm not sure if i'm pleased you all seem to have Ebikes that survive, or disappointed that i don't

36s are sweet though, i go just under 1kg > 1psi. In your shoes i'd be looking about 80psi.

It’s cos you don’t buy a Bosch motor’d one

[Taff]

I'm not sure if i'm pleased you all seem to have Ebikes that survive, or disappointed that i don't

36s are sweet though, i go just under 1kg > 1psi. In your shoes i'd be looking about 80psi.

To be fair, the motor from my Cannondale is out of the bike and waiting to be sent off for overhaul as it's sized solid again.

Fox suggest just over 100 so I'll bear what you said in mind. I'll set the sag and go from there, it'll take a few rides for them to settle anyway

[Taff]

The 36s are fitted and I've had a couple of rides on them.

On the first ride was a mixed bag, they felt quite good on compression but the rebound felt like the pars were punching me in the hands, I had a few fiddles with the adjusters but they weren't quite there.
Back in the shed I got the book out and found that I'd cocked up the rebound setting and had them set at 3 clicks from open instead of 3 clicks from closed. FFS.

2nd ride at Barry Sidings (just outside of Pontypridd) and I didn't even notice what they were doing, so I'll take that as a good sign in so much as they must have been doing good things for me not to notice that they were doing bad things.

On a side note, Barry Sidings is way out of my comfort zone, it's steep, it's tech and non stop busy trails with no chance to relax. I had to stop after 6 runs because my head was blown to bits with the adrenaline from pure terror. I only went OTB once

[weeksy]

2nd ride at Barry Sidings (just outside of Pontypridd) and I didn't even notice what they were doing, so I'll take that as a good sign in so much as they must have been doing good things for me not to notice that they were doing bad things.

On a side note, Barry Sidings is way out of my comfort zone, it's steep, it's tech and non stop busy trails with no chance to relax. I had to stop after 6 runs because my head was blown to bits with the adrenaline from pure terror. I only went OTB once

I'm glad you said that, only been there once with the boy and me and wife were just walking, but looked at a fair few trail with a look of "oh, really "

So glad it's not just me

I assume him and Katy were hitting the techie stuff rather than the easy stuff, seemed to be some red based trails though.

[Taff]

yeah, we were aparently sticking mostly to what trailforks recon is blues and reds with at least one black thrown in, but frankly, I think the grading is bollox. I think that blues and reds just mean that everything is rollable or avoidable, but fckn steep.

can't wait to go back in a few months time

[mboy]

The 36s are fitted and I've had a couple of rides on them.

On the first ride was a mixed bag, they felt quite good on compression but the rebound felt like the pars were punching me in the hands, I had a few fiddles with the adjusters but they weren't quite there.
Back in the shed I got the book out and found that I'd cocked up the rebound setting and had them set at 3 clicks from open instead of 3 clicks from closed. FFS.

OK so best things you can do to a GRIP2 damper fork (36 or 38)...

Get the bushings resized... Of course 2-3yrs of riding will do this naturally, but they are sticky from the factory. Which effectively adds quite a lot of damping.

Drain the stock 5W oil out of the damper and refill with 3W, or even 2.5W if you're really light... It will move both the rebound and compression adjustments more into range for the average rider (funnily enough, this is basically what the new GRIP X2 damper fixes) rather than the overdamped feeling of stock unless almost no damping is dialled in...

Drop at least one volume spacer... I'd suggest if @ 160mm travel then run 0 volume spacers... 150mm travel then run 1 volume spacer... They usually ship with more in, and this will make them feel plush off the top, but give too much end stroke ramp up and a lack of midstroke support.

The good news is that with these minor mods, IMO the 36 and 38 with GRIP2 dampers are the best long travel trail/enduro forks on the market... Nothing beats them when setup correctly! The deals on Merlin right now are crazy, but then Fox really over egged the pudding during COVID (like a lot of people) and they had to dump their old stock cheaply somewhere to be able to sell the new 2025 range at all...

[Taff]

@mboy That's interesting stuff, thanks.

There's one volume spacer fitted and I was thinking about taking that out because I haven't used all of the travel. So that's coming out.

I'm not so sure about (and am interested in your thoughts) on changing the oil weight though, because I'm 110ish kg kitted up on a 25kg+ EBike.
Logic sort of points towards the heavier oil being better for my weight.

[mboy]

@mboy That's interesting stuff, thanks.

There's one volume spacer fitted and I was thinking about taking that out because I haven't used all of the travel. So that's coming out.

I'm not so sure about (and am interested in your thoughts) on changing the oil weight though, because I'm 110ish kg kitted up on a 25kg+ EBike.
Logic sort of points towards the heavier oil being better for my weight.

I'm 95kg myself, and the 3W oil has made a major improvement...

Maybe try 4W oil...

These forks have a history of being overdamped, which when you see how the Fox development riders (Richie Rude et al) ride, it's no real surprise they ship as they do... I suspect even at your weight the stock damper will feel overdamped, and a slightly lighter oil in the damper will make the adjustments more useable and reduce hand fatigue.

[Mr Moofo]

@mboy That's interesting stuff, thanks.

There's one volume spacer fitted and I was thinking about taking that out because I haven't used all of the travel. So that's coming out.

I'm not so sure about (and am interested in your thoughts) on changing the oil weight though, because I'm 110ish kg kitted up on a 25kg+ EBike.
Logic sort of points towards the heavier oil being better for my weight.

I'm 95kg myself, and the 3W oil has made a major improvement...

Maybe try 4W oil...

These forks have a history of being overdamped, which when you see how the Fox development riders (Richie Rude et al) ride, it's no real surprise they ship as they do... I suspect even at your weight the stock damper will feel overdamped, and a slightly lighter oil in the damper will make the adjustments more useable and reduce hand fatigue.

@mboy
So what about Lyriks and Zebs?

[MingtheMerciless]

I’ve got Zebs in the EEB with a token and one of those “magic” carbon things. Very plush ride, I don’t run much compression damping

[Mr Moofo]

I’ve got Zebs in the EEB with a token and one of those “magic” carbon things. Very plush ride, I don’t run much compression damping

I don’t think I run any!
What is the magic carbon thing?

[MingtheMerciless]

I’ve got Zebs in the EEB with a token and one of those “magic” carbon things. Very plush ride, I don’t run much compression damping

I don’t think I run any!
What is the magic carbon thing?

One of these, it actually seems to help reduce trail buzz. https://trutune.co.uk/

[Mr Moofo]

I’ve got Zebs in the EEB with a token and one of those “magic” carbon things. Very plush ride, I don’t run much compression damping

I don’t think I run any!
What is the magic carbon thing?

One of these, it actually seems to help reduce trail buzz. https://trutune.co.uk/

That does seem to have an element of Snake oil about it. Does it work?

[Taff]

Time flies doesn't it, the Whyte is over 4 years old and the gear change got so stiff it was giving me RSI in the thumb.

changing the cable outer means dropping the motor out, and that ain't easy, no actually is a right pain in the arse which is why I haven't done it before today.
It took the best part of 5 hours to get the motor out, change the gear and dropper outers get the motor back in, cranks on, set up the mech, find a mounting bolt on the bench, strip it down again to find where it lived and then button it all back up again.

And big thanks to @weeksy for the tips on getting the cable through the outer, that bit went easy peasy.
All the gears seem to work again.

[MingtheMerciless]

AXS……..problem solved

[weeksy]

AXS……..problem solved

Apart from a hefty bit of expense, yeah it really is.

[Taff]

AXS……..problem solved

I'm not convinced tbh, the cost is one thing and my riding buddy has been running axs for years, his mech's have needed replacement under warranty due to wear in the pivots that couldn't be trimmed out, and then when out of warranty he's had to rebuild it with a 3rd party kit to take the same wear out of the pivots. So effectively he's worn out 3 mech's.

He's a bike mechanic so gets parts at trade and so the cost and ability to push for a warranty replacement is easier for him. A £50 SLX does the same job for me.

[MingtheMerciless]

Probably kibosh mine now but it’s 5 years old and still going strong with only the odd b tension adjustment when it randomly decides to wind itself in or out.

[mboy]

Time flies doesn't it, the Whyte is over 4 years old and the gear change got so stiff it was giving me RSI in the thumb.

changing the cable outer means dropping the motor out, and that ain't easy, no actually is a right pain in the arse which is why I haven't done it before today.
It took the best part of 5 hours to get the motor out, change the gear and dropper outers get the motor back in, cranks on, set up the mech, find a mounting bolt on the bench, strip it down again to find where it lived and then button it all back up again.

And big thanks to @weeksy for the tips on getting the cable through the outer, that bit went easy peasy.
All the gears seem to work again.

Bloody Hell!!!

I could have driven to you, dropped the motor, swapped the cable, then we could have gone for a ride for a couple of hours before I drove home, and still have time for a cup of tea left over inside a 5hr window!

That said, I understand how concerning it is dropping your first motor on an eBike... But once you've done it a few times, it's just a few bolts... Easy job...

Feel free to try to bribe me with things in future if you need any mechanical jobs doing...

Good to hear that otherwise, after 4yrs, the eBike is still in rude health though... Goes a long way to the justification of buying a bike with a Bosch motor... @weeksy take note!