A playful bike and a long distance race bike are usually thought of as two very different things, but you could do that latter on anything if your priority is the former. And, if you're considering a Honzo, it sounds like that's the case. I've yet to ride the Canfield's EPO, but I did spend way more time on the Honzo CR than I needed to during testing, simply because it's one of the most fun bikes that I've ever ridden. It is the perfect example of a hardtail that likes to party, and I also wouldn't hesitate to do some cross-country races aboard it. The steel Honzo ST frame is obviously heavier than the carbon CR version, but the geometry is what counts here, especially if you have some light-ish wheels to put on it. It also sounds like your build kit (with the carbon wheels) might be lighter than what came stock on that 25lb 3oz Honzo CR that I reviewed, so the weight might not be all that different. In US pricing, the steel Honzo ST frame is just $550, the lighter weight alloy frame is actually less expensive at $499, and the carbon CR frame goes for $1,599. If it were me, I'd scrounge up the extra for the carbon frame, or maybe try to find a used one. If that was a no-go, I'd save some money and weight by finding the aluminum model. - Mike Levy |
Think about it this way - which tire would you rather have losing traction and breaking free in a turn? It's much easier to regain control of a drifting rear wheel than it is a sliding front end, and running a slightly wider front tire helps keep you locked into the turns. That front tire is also the first portion of the bike to encounter an obstacle, so it makes sense to have a little bigger cushion for those initial impacts. It also wouldn't hurt to go with a stickier rubber compound up front for extra grip in the steeps - don't forget, the are multiple factors that go into choosing the right tire, and it can take a little experimentation to find the combination of width, tread design, and rubber compound that works best for your riding area. On a related note, you'll also see riders running a more aggressive tire up front paired with a semi-slick option on the back, something along the lines of a Specialized Slaughter or Schwalbe Rock Razor. The same reasoning applies to this scenario - in the right conditions, the front tire provides enough traction that it's possible to shed some rolling resistance by going with a lower profile rear tire. As to mixing and matching rim widths, I wouldn't say that that's necessary. Yes, Mavic does make wheelsets that come with a wider front rim than rear, and you will occasionally see racers running a wider front rim matched with a narrower rear, but for the vast majority of riders, there's not going to be a noticeable performance gain out on the trail. - Mike Kazimer |
Specialized's shock yoke uses a post-mount shock interface that limits your options, but there is no doubt that a piggyback shock will fit your 2016 Stumpjumper. Jared Graves and Troy Brosnan started the 2016 EWS season riding Stumpjumpers with Monarch reservoir dampers. You could try to scare one up by contacting RockShox directly, or you could purchase an alternative yoke that fits conventional shock eyelets from BikeYoke, which would allow you to pick and chose exactly which brand and type of shock suits your riding style best. I'd suggest the second option. - RC |
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For example, I am going to run my tires backwards, because my scientific studies have shown that it's simply better (by scientific, I mean I tried it a couple of times on the flat 3-mile asphalt loop near my place, and I swear it felt awesome). I also shave off every sixth knob off the driveside of my rear tire; I'm right-footed, so it helps me with my left turns.
Also, I run the following pad combinations on my brakes: Front-Left Pad: organic / Front-Right Pad: Semi-metallic / Rear-Left Pad: organic sintered sprinkled with titanium shavings / Rear-Right Pad: I leave this empty to save weight. This is much better than the default settings bike and component companies force on you. Who's smarter? Me or hundreds of engineers at Shimano/SRAM? It's a rigged system, so do your own thing.
I also run only two disc rotor bolts (instead of six), to save weight.
I add 12 drops of turpentine to my mineral oil when bleeding my Shimano brakes. I swear this helps with modulation (subjective; as you can tell, all of my conclusions are based on subjective opinions, since those can't be proven wrong by my bike buddies or cats on the bike forums).
Regarding the yoke on a Stumpjumper, you'll get much better results by using the wishbone link off a 1966 Ford Bronco's rear transaxle (I prefer the one on the driver side, since it's left-hand thread). The metal used in the 60's also provides better damping for your shock, especially off big jumps. For east coast riders, I recommend coating the yoke with Crisco (for west coast, use Wesson), as this allows the resonant frequency of the metal to minimize coil spring vibrations (if you're running an air shock, it keeps the shock temperature from rising too much on a long DH run).
I also swear by running my saddle backwards; since I've been doing this I have not had testicular cancer. If that's not causation (not correlation), I don't know what is. Prove to me that it doesn't work!
Regards,
That crazy mountain bike dude who thinks he knows more than the engineers who actually built and designed the thing!
P.S. Where were you when progressive middle aged radicals were putting 650B wheels into Blur TR. It was like Riley Reid on Blacked...
I think it would help on the downs while still keeping the bike playful.
SC says it voids the warantee, but they don't know what they are talking about.
I know better, you see, my dad owns this awesome set of tools...
Even better is to play with the time-space continuum and take future credit for decisions companies made in the past! Genius!
That's a good option but then it'll climb like sh*t. I tried it then just said f*ck it and got the bike yoke and monarch plus. The Avy tune's better than the stock fox shock if you don't mind losing a useful climb switch, and the monarch plus is better still.
Crazy! Glad it's working for you. I'm almost maxed out on spacers (with the M/M tune) but I'm over 200# kitted up and enjoy getting airborne on occasion.
rockshox monarch plus
When the rear is looking dodgy put the partly-worn front tire on the rear and put a new tire on the front. Repeat ad infinitum. If you ride hard it is always a good idea to have a spare in the garage, so now you only need to stock one tire instead of two.
Sure, it is true you want the front to grip better than the rear, but that is why you 1.) do the above, and 2.) run 3-4 psi less in the front.
Is running a skinny tire on the rear a good idea? Which rim cops the more abuse, the front or the rear? That's right, the rear! So don't put a skinny tire on that or say hello to periodic flat spots, pinch flats, punctured sidewalls and dented rims. Either that or run super-high pressure on your cheese-cutter tire and have worse grip and an uncomfortable ride.
Food for thought, is all.
"I really like the Kona Honzo ST, but the weight is scaring me away."
I have an On One 456 and a Production Privee Shan. The 456 is perfect for my riding style, pops and jumps, but the Shan isn't; which climbs like a goat and rides down fast, but doesn't get into the air very easily.
EPO = non-boost
Has non-boost carbon wheelset ready to go
What is issue?
I like the way steel rides and prefer the aesthetics of a simple steel frame (I have a Stanton too) but the EPO actually rides better. The geo on the Canfield is considerably more to my liking. I've not ridden the Honzo so I don't have a direct comparison but compared to my Slackline, the EPO is laterally a bit stiffer but significantly more vertically compliant. The shape was off-putting to me initially but now I appreciate the bow like design of the seat stays.
If your definition of "playful" is "likes to manual, and pop off every little feature on the trail", I think you'll be happy with an EPO. Not everyone likes short chainstays but I believe that's a big part of the recipe for playfulness. It's a comfortable ride but not flexy.I don't compete nor do I measure my time or speed, but surprise, this thing climbs like a hardtail, that is, very efficiently. Which is part of its drawback for me; as comfortable as it is, you won't forget you're on a HT. If you come up short on a gap, you're going to get bucked. But for really long days, I'd probably choose something even more forgiving, as I get sloppy when I'm tired and I have enough injuries already. Good luck!
+Very low breakaway force
+Good ramp up
+Nice tuning possibilities (low and high speed comp)
+Lighter than X2 and vivid
-Expensive
-Service Center?
Forget the Float or monarch, the STX22 plays in my view more on the level of an X2 and co.
So what are your trails you do like to ride with this bike?When considering a steeper HA there are so freaking many more lightweight frames options available.
You do not want a bigger front tyre - you want a big rear tyre too.
It's all subjective, I just don't think saying "less volume at the back is dead" is accurate. Depends on a ton of factors.
I just got a Minion SS, and its narrower than a RR, and the side nobs stick up much more centrally, I expect those to wear faster than on the RR.
if in doubt use the mullet ratio teenquest.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/mullet-ratio.jpg
You'd preferably have a 1.1 - 1.3 business to party ratio depending on how you swing.
I have shitloads of bikes and as i keep track on what bikes i ride, I can only tell you that since i have got the Kona, I have been riding it 70% of all my rides... and i ride almost every day, to be exact 331 days of the 365 in 2016
Hmm.. so whats the problem?
I have a Honzo CR and it is fun I agree, but I highly doubt I could even tell the difference those damn 6 extra millimeters make.
I believe youre the first ever on the internets saying that would change the EPO with something else