First trip out on upgraded Felt...

[sof]

Redemption 3 2009 - the black and red one on the right. Felt massively different to how it was pre-upgrade, though that was also in 3 year old worn out condition, so a lot of the difference might simply be from being *new* again. Rode the blacks and reds at hamsterley forest, an hours drive away. There's nothing too hardcore there, but it's my favourite set of trails in the northeast of england.

Swapped the brakes from avid juicy 3 to hope tech m4 evo's. The difference was insane, actual modulation through braking, I could feather the brake and it actually did something. Plus I could drive into turns and brake way later without worry of going over the burm. Swapped the rotors too, for hope saw's, I'll tie performance increase in with the brake as I couldn't tell you which part did the job.

Switched out the Shimano SLX RD-M662 with a SRAM X0 Type 2. I run 3 rings so didn't really need the clutch, but it was on offer cheaper than the X0. Again, the difference was pretty astounding, in that even caked in british mud, it shifted flawlessly. Was an arse to set up though. 10Speed makes absolutely no odds to me, I use about 3 gears when I'm riding off road, would have stuck with 9 if the mech was available for it at the time -- the X0 shifter is great too, it kind of feels like shifting in a landrover, there's a definite mechanical clunk as it shifts which just makes it feel solid.

Swapped the DMR v12's for some Deity LT decoys, felt no performance difference at all, but hey, they look prettier than my 3 year old battered dmr's.

And a complete overhaul of all the suspension cage bearings and the rear shock. For the first time in months the shock held all it's air, and didn't start bottoming out half way round.

One of the most major differences though, I switched a couple spacers from below my stem to above it. And wow, I felt so much more control on the bike, and being pulled over more meant the uphills were more stable. REALLY enjoyed the new feel from that.

Swapped the tyres too. Maxxis minion dhr on the back which gripped like a monster, even in the really wet mud. While my mate was slipping all over the place mine just stuck. Same with the front, HR 2, but the mud stopped us going fast enough to really give that a thrashing. Will see next time when it's hopefully less wet.

So yeah, thoroughly enjoyable day out, really happy with the bike and the way it's handling now. Looking forward to an awesome year of trails Dolby next week.