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View Full Version : Patriot FR - first impressions


jon
02-03-2003, 07:12 PM
Ok,

I christened my new bike at the weekend in spectacular (read exhausting) 22-mile 'yomp' across the moorland of west-yorks, just west of Keighley

The bike is without doubt a better climber than the old bullit - it feels much lighter when you're on it, and the 5th element helps to channel more of your pedal power to the rear wheel.

*However* those manitou shermans are not marzocchi z1s.. I'm not sure I like the progressive action of the forks, especially as you can't set the preload :roll: They don't feel too bad overall - i'll not be rushing to change them, but because they're so soft at the beginning of their travel, they're not overly inspiring in extra steep descents, of which there are plenty on the route i undertook on Saturday!

The Maxxis Hi-Roller tyres are quite easily the worst tyre i've tried in mud - i was all over the shop in places, which with the forks behaving as mentioned above, left me feeling far from confident on more than one occasion. The Wildgripper DH and IRC Kujo DH tyres i've tried previously both gripped better, and clogged up far less readily. I'll be changing these just as soon as i can get some pennies together...

Not wanting to finish on a low note, other than the forks not being world-beaters and the tyres feeling sketchy, the job's a goodun :D oh, and that WTB Cr-Mo Rocket V saddle is simply the most comfortable saddle i've sat on in a long time!

stevie
03-03-2003, 06:55 AM
Are the forks diving a bit? That tends to be my problem. I tend to end up with either a very stiff front end that doesn't get anywhere near using up its travel or a soft front end that's nice and smooth over bumps, but which dives on steep descents, at the bottom of drop-offs or if I use too much front brake.

Is the front end okay for pedalling? Or does it bounce a bit if you're a stamping kind of rider?

jon
03-03-2003, 08:19 AM
Yeah, they're far too soft in the initial stroke, so diving is a problem and they do bob a lot under pedalling, although that's more of a distraction than a performance issue.

I prefer more linear damping i think.. these are too soft at the start and too hard at the end. I'll get used to them eventually i suppose :roll:

I might try a bit more damping to see what happens.. they didn't bottom out once on saturday though!

jon
05-03-2003, 07:44 AM
After nearly getting catapulted off again last night thanks to the forks, i dropped them down to 110mm (they have a travel adjuster) and the bike instantly felt much more predictable :D

stevie
05-03-2003, 08:39 AM
Are you becoming a short travel guy? You'll have to make your vote for XC Full Sus in the main poll :wink:

jon
05-03-2003, 08:46 AM
actually i think i did :lol:

It's a shame i've had to take it down to 110, but if it's going to keep me off the floor, it's a compromise worth taking :D

stevie
05-03-2003, 08:48 AM
Is there no way of adjusting the preload? New springs perhaps?

jon
05-03-2003, 08:49 AM
new springs is the only way to do it.