We met up with Pete and did a VERY fun ride in the Napa area. A couple of miles of climbing up out of the Napa Valley to a few thousand feet, then some rolling terrain through the hills with some fairly technical rock sections thrown in. The trail was about 1/2 pretty smooth packed dirt/crushed rock, 1/4 broken rock of various size (often pretty loose), and 1/4 very rough bedrock with cracks and gaps. No drops or real shelf-work. Nothing very steep. An old mining grade.

Pete and I traded bikes and I tried out his fork for a spell. We both ride larges, and comparably outfitted bikes. I have a Z1 SL and he, obviously, rides a mav. Both forks have about the same axle to crown. The Mav uses more sag though. I rode uphill a mile or two and the same distance down too on terrain representative of the rest of the ride.

The Mav honestly did not seem more stiff than the Z1, and Pete volunteered the same comment. The way my Z1 is set up, the Mav has a more compliant initial stroke. You feel this most when climbing on rough stuff and slow to medium cruising where the fork seems a little mushy relative to what I am used to now with the Z1 SL. His fork is well broken in, yet there is a definite stiction in the fork you feel when squishing it when standing next to the bike. Riding, you don't really feel the stiction. The lockdown reminded me of the ECC system, though there is only a single position of lockdown, as opposed to Zoke's stepped lockdown. The lockdown position is not dramatic. A little more wouldn't hurt imo. The Mav's topout is smooth and not noticeable which is one of the hardest things to tune out of the Z1 SL. The Mav's first 1-2" is nice and soft, but travel is otherwise well controlled without noticeable or hard ramp-up. The Z1 seems very linear by comparison. The brake hose being pushed up through the guides on the Mav reminded me of a coil rubbing the inside of a stanchion tube. The fork really felt like a coil to me. This rub was actually a little distracting and made the fork feel a little lacking in smooth action. Once my Z1 gets moving, I like the quality of the travel better. Very smooth and well dampened. The topout on the Z1 is an issue, and there seems to be quite a bit of preload even with high negative pressures, but the compression behavior is hard to beat and the Mav did not feel better. The Mav felt like it had a little more travel, and I liked the initial compliance shallow in travel, but otherwise it did not seem like a great leap forward, and actually fell a little short in some regards. An oil change after break in may loosen the Mav up and eliminate the stiction and using stick-on hose guides to run the hose up the stanchion guard and lubing the upper guide may get rid of the "coil tapping inside the stanchion" feel.

Again, take my comments with a grain of salt since he weighs less than I do so our forks were not dialed for the other, and I only put a few miles on the thing and these are my first impressions.

A huge thanks to Pete for showing a couple of ignorant out-of-towners one of the coolest trails we rode on our entire 2 month trip. A couple of big thumbs up :D.

tscheezy

So tscheezy, are you still planning on getting the Mav fork for your spot? Ventanarama dealt me a double blow today 4-6 week wait on the XL spot and the Mav wont fit an XL spot. They need to produce a larger crown stack. Maverick said maybe 3 months. I know its worth the wait for the spot but is it worth it for the Mav?

We met up with Pete and did a VERY fun ride in the Napa area. ...A huge thanks to Pete for showing a couple of ignorant out-of-towners one of the coolest trails we rode on our entire 2 month trip. A couple of big thumbs up :D.

I hope when you get back, you'll do a ride experience report in Passion about your trip...All those stops and rides sound very interesting!

Thanks for the 411 on the fork. Food for thought.

So tscheezy, are you still planning on getting the Mav fork for your spot?
Well, seeing as how I think Larry has a Mav fork for me laying around already, or will have shortly, I guess it is a go.

It honestly was not as earth shattering as I had hoped/expected. The simple fact is that improvements will generally come incrementally and I cannot hope for constant revolutions. That said, dropping weight while also increasing travel is hard to argue with. If you have the $$ to burn, of course it is nice getting more travel in a lighter package with no loss in stiffness, some increase in suppleness, and possibly the ability to match the dampening of your current favorite fork through oil weight and height adjustments. There is a price for all that, however.

There are other sweet looking forks on the horizon though. Manitou has the Nixon coming out with 140mm of air-sprung travel in a 1 1/8" single crown, supposedly improved SPV (if you want to pump it up and use it), 4.5#, with remote activated lockdown at any level of travel. Sounds good on paper anyway.

Do you know the tall Mav crown will not work? The large Spots take a medium crown. Is the XL Spot that much longer in the head tube? If you are dead set, just get the top of the head tube faced down like Go-Ride did to their Saber. They milled 1/4" off I think. Or see what new stuff has hit the market when the Spot ships. Perhaps get a used fork to tide you over while you wait for the new, best thing. Upgrading is fun.

tscheezy

I hope when you get back, you'll do a ride experience report in Passion about your trip...
I'll probably do it here. Passion sucks.

I trust Larrys numbers, HT is 152.4mm (6"), tallest crown is 172mm, gives a difference of 19.6mm. A king is 31mm. Maybe I will wait on the spot till everything is available and build a 29er up instead. I guess that lets a few more guys get miles in on the Mavs to give longer term reviews. Upside is by then the King hub will be available.

Nixon does look good on paper but I just don't dig those post mounts.

Decisions decisions! :D

I love the prowlin' the Turner boards. I find some of the most useful info here.

I'm deciding between a Z1 & Mav for my expectant X-5 and unfortunately I'm no closer to a decision than when I started. I guess the deciding point will be whether I want the 6" setup in which case the Mav makes more sense. There's also some rumors from good sources that Fox may have something in '05 more FR-worthy.

Tscheezy, thought you'd want to know that I received the new performance pads from Magura and the wavy rotor stutterring is mostly gone. I only have 2 rides thus far since we're in full-blow mud season and the only time I felt it was after coming out of a big puddle so I'm hoping the moisture caused the stutter. If it returns then I'm going back to the round rotor.

You're right. Passion sucks. It makes me dizzy.

...You're right.[Tscheezy] Passion sucks. It makes me dizzy.
Kewl. I'm rarely there myself, I'd much rather read it here.

We met up with Pete and did a VERY fun ride in the Napa area. .


Lies, all lies.

I distinctly remember spending yesterday stuck at the office.

I love the prowlin' the Turner boards. I find some of the most useful info here... You're right. Passion sucks. It makes me dizzy.
I rarely leave the Turner area. It is a microcosm of the old boards and I can find most of what I want right here.

Tscheezy, thought you'd want to know that I received the new performance pads from Magura and the wavy rotor stutterring is mostly gone. I only have 2 rides thus far since we're in full-blow mud season and the only time I felt it was after coming out of a big puddle so I'm hoping the moisture caused the stutter. If it returns then I'm going back to the round rotor.
Mine don't stutter since I filed the sharp edge of the rotor down to a nice bevelled transition. The pads were not the issue or the solution in my case. Hope you get it sorted. It was annoying at first.

Thanks for the pics, Pete. I looked through mine and they turned out very nice. It will take me a bit to get home and work them over on the 'pooter. And thanks again for putting up with us ;)

tscheezy

I trust Larrys numbers, HT is 152.4mm (6"), tallest crown is 172mm, gives a difference of 19.6mm. A king is 31mm.

Nixon does look good on paper but I just don't dig those post mounts.

Looking at the recent post of the XL, I can see the head tube is wicked long. You may be SOL. There are other goodies on the horizon. Hang in there...

tscheezy

I know you once posted your solution, but please remind me again what exactly you beveled.
The lower brake track?
The rotor holes?

How much of an angle did you create?
I may try doing it with my Dremel if it recurs.

Do you have a pic?

thanks.

Well, seeing as how I think Larry has a Mav fork for me laying around already, or will have shortly, I guess it is a go.

tscheezy

Having second thoughts? To me it is an improvement over the Fox I was running. I haven't ridden the Z1 though. Perhaps you will see better results if you get it tuned to your liking with the air pressure and whatnot. Interesting observations though. I was on the fence with the Z1sl or the Fox for a few weeks while I was waiting for my frame.

The Mav isn't a very complex design, so there will probably be some aspects that will fall short for some. I'm definitely still in the break in period. The snow is melting like mad, been in the upper 40's this week so I've been out getting a feel for it. So far all smiles though. Smooth through the first part of the stroke, noticibly stiff and doesn't bottom harshly. Put the Swinger 4-way air on last night too, now I just have to figure out how to tune it. :o)

Later.

Lies, all lies.

I distinctly remember spending yesterday stuck at the office.
where can I apply for a job at YOUR office? ;)

sweet pics!

I know you once posted your solution, but please remind me again what exactly you beveled.
The lower brake track?
The rotor holes?
How much of an angle did you create?
I may try doing it with my Dremel if it recurs.
Do you have a pic?
I took a chain saw file and just took down any edge along the brake track which did not offer a smooth transitional face to the brake pad advancing along it. I ignored the holes which are very small.

Having second thoughts?
Nope. I think I mentioned that it was worth it if you have the $$ (I'm going back to work soon). I like new stuff too. My biggest hang-up was the hydraulic hose sawing through the guides, a minor point at most. I will have about a month to play with it before heading out to the field this summer, assuming I get it, build the wheel, and install it soon after hitting The Rock. You will all know how that goes.

Enjoy break-up!

tscheezy

Have you tried the new SPV FireFly at all. I have ridden my 5spot with a Talas, Z1, and now a firefly. The firefly is incredible. This fork is earth shattering for me. It is smooth as butter, doesn't bob or brake dive, and you can tune it just how you want it. I haven't tried a Maverick, but I can say Manitou has their Sh$t together this year.

Have you tried the new SPV FireFly at all. I have ridden my 5spot with a Talas, Z1, and now a firefly. The firefly is incredible. This fork is earth shattering for me. It is smooth as butter, doesn't bob or brake dive, and you can tune it just how you want it. I haven't tried a Maverick, but I can say Manitou has their Sh$t together this year.
I have tried a Vanilla RLC (125mm coil), Z1 SL (130mm air), Minute 3:00 (130mm air), Black Elite (100mm coil), Breakout Plus (170mm coil) recently. The SPV Manitous were nice forks overall, but the SPV part of them did not impress me. The platform action did NOT remind me of the action of rear SPV shocks. DGC told me they are going to revamp SPV for forks next year and it should be greatly improved. Other than that, I liked both forks. Manitou is certainly making inroads in a lot of areas where they were weak in the past.

tscheezy

I got a Slider+ (for my Bullit) and Firefly this year and now you're telling me their gonna be revamped next year. Oh Well. I Still like the way these forks ride more than any I have had before. Maybe the improvements will be retrofitable. Thanks for the info. BTW, what rear shock are you settling on for tour 5Spot? Are you gonna stick with the Romic?

BTW, what rear shock are you settling on for tour 5Spot? Are you gonna stick with the Romic?
No idea as of yet. I am still on the road and have not gotten the Swinger from Larry yet. I will put a few miles on it and press the new Fox bushings and reducers into my Romic and then swap them back and forth a bit.

Totally counterintuitively but based on a lot of Romic miles and a short Swinger test ride, the Romic seems to climb better and the Swinger air seems better on the descents, but I won't be able to confirm that for a few weeks at best. Still a lot of snow at home I hear.

If the Fox hardware clears up my eyelet issues and the Romic does not puke its guts any more, I would be happy with it. One more problem, and that thing is history though. Maybe I'd try a Swinger coil in addition to the air, or a Vanilla adjustable Propedal when they come out, or a Pushed Vanilla. Lots of choices these days.

tscheezy

I have only had one ride so far and it wasn't a very aggressive ride, my previous fork was a Fox RLC125 a great fork. So far from what I can tell (still not enough time in the saddle) this fork feels very impressive. Very complaint and stiff, but again I thought the Fox was as well. This week I'll be in AZ doing South Mountain so I'll be able to give a better review.

I weight about 195lbs and use to be an Expert Downhill class racer until my son was born (no time for racing anymore). I have always had a downhill bike until recently. Know I have a very capable trail bike. 31lbs.

sho am's shinee! whoo lawdy lawdy!

[QUOTE=tscheezy]Well, seeing as how I think Larry has a Mav fork for me laying around already, or will have shortly, I guess it is a go.

Check the Mav. website

Have you tried the new SPV FireFly at all. I have ridden my 5spot with a Talas, Z1, and now a firefly. The firefly is incredible. This fork is earth shattering for me. It is smooth as butter, doesn't bob or brake dive, and you can tune it just how you want it. I haven't tried a Maverick, but I can say Manitou has their Sh$t together this year.


I'm currently riding a Talas, but due to lack of willpower and a great deal at Sierra Trading Post, I have a Firefly on it's way - how does it compare? Did you notice the weight gain much? Is your Firefly TA or QR? In what way is it better than the Z1?
Thnx!

Check the Mav. website
I don't get it. What am I looking up on the site? Pete retrofitted those clip things to his fork. Was that the point...? :confused:

tscheezy

I don't get it. What am I looking up on the site? Pete retrofitted those clip things to his fork. Was that the point...? :confused:

tscheezy
.................................................. .................

When I called Sierra, they relayed that the Firefly's are last years models without SPV. Let us know if you an SPV in cause that would be a deal...



I'm currently riding a Talas, but due to lack of willpower and a great deal at Sierra Trading Post, I have a Firefly on it's way - how does it compare? Did you notice the weight gain much? Is your Firefly TA or QR? In what way is it better than the Z1?
Thnx!

When I called Sierra, they relayed that the Firefly's are last years models without SPV. Let us know if you an SPV in cause that would be a deal...

Not thru Sierra anyway. But still a pretty good deal, I think. Still need a 20mm wheel so I can try it out yet...