After spending a long weekend at Mammoth I’m getting to know the new bike and the way she handles pretty good. The first time looking at the front end I was worried the rake seemed so much more relaxed than my ol trusty FXR. While this bike is truly an ultra trail bike more so than the FXR, I didn’t find the climbs to be more difficult, but you do have to be a bit more careful when climbing up a very steep climb and you almost stall. The FXR is certainly more forgiving at this particular point. Other than that I can’t say I missed the FXR at Mammoth…I’ll go as far as I’ll more than likely never bring the FXR to Mammoth again with the Shaver in the lineup. I’ve ridden the FXR w/o fail for 9 yrs at Mammoth and it is certainly capable and had a great time, but the Shaver just ups the ante and….wow let her rip. The 66 degree head tube angle is just about perfect to have an ultra trail bike than can still be used for epic xc rides and climbs.
After reviewing my Garmin for trail times I upped the speed and reduced time down the mountain. In fact I got 7 full runs from the top to the village and 2 from McCoy Station (one to the village and the other to the main lodge). The best I managed on the FXR was 5 full runs with the life lines being the same.
I went w/ 2x10 drive train, which is new to me, and can say I didn’t miss the triple crank at all. I had to dig deeper at times with my low gear higher than on my FXR but not enough to make me think 2x10 was a bad choice.
I wasn’t quite happy with the Talas settings and need more time to get it where I like it. I may just change out the Talas cartridges for floats. The float seems so much smoother than the Talas does…more plush.
The wider handle bar also makes descending easier and keeps the body position more positive. The steering is slower than my FXR but didn’t seem to bother me after awhile of riding. I did find corners a bit more difficult to turn sharply at a decent speed compared to the FXR but that could be just me getting used to a new bike, slacker head tube angle and wide bars.
I can say without a doubt that the Shimano XTR brakes are the best, the modulation is superb and saved my arse more than I can count this weekend.
Last but not least the gravity dropper…daum love this thing to just drop it from xc position into a downhill position and rip.
The setup
Havoc carbon bars
Thomson Stem 90mm no rise
Gravity Dropper seatpost
XTR brakes
XT Ice rotors 180mm
XT cranks 2x10
XT rear cog
XT front/rear derailleur
XTR Shifter pods
Mavic CrossMax ST’s
Chris King headset
Fox Talas 160mm forks
WTB Team Bronson tires
ODI Ruffion grips
After spending a long weekend at Mammoth I’m getting to know the new bike and the way she handles pretty good. The first time looking at the front end I was worried the rake seemed so much more relaxed than my ol trusty FXR. While this bike is truly an ultra trail bike more so than the FXR, I didn’t find the climbs to be more difficult, but you do have to be a bit more careful when climbing up a very steep climb and you almost stall. The FXR is certainly more forgiving at this particular point. Other than that I can’t say I missed the FXR at Mammoth…I’ll go as far as I’ll more than likely never bring the FXR to Mammoth again with the Shaver in the lineup. I’ve ridden the FXR w/o fail for 9 yrs at Mammoth and it is certainly capable and had a great time, but the Shaver just ups the ante and….wow let her rip. The 66 degree head tube angle is just about perfect to have an ultra trail bike than can still be used for epic xc rides and climbs.
After reviewing my Garmin for trail times I upped the speed and reduced time down the mountain. In fact I got 7 full runs from the top to the village and 2 from McCoy Station (one to the village and the other to the main lodge). The best I managed on the FXR was 5 full runs with the life lines being the same.
I went w/ 2x10 drive train, which is new to me, and can say I didn’t miss the triple crank at all. I had to dig deeper at times with my low gear higher than on my FXR but not enough to make me think 2x10 was a bad choice.
I wasn’t quite happy with the Talas settings and need more time to get it where I like it. I may just change out the Talas cartridges for floats. The float seems so much smoother than the Talas does…more plush.
The wider handle bar also makes descending easier and keeps the body position more positive. The steering is slower than my FXR but didn’t seem to bother me after awhile of riding. I did find corners a bit more difficult to turn sharply at a decent speed compared to the FXR but that could be just me getting used to a new bike, slacker head tube angle and wide bars.
I can say without a doubt that the Shimano XTR brakes are the best, the modulation is superb and saved my arse more than I can count this weekend.
Last but not least the gravity dropper…daum love this thing to just drop it from xc position into a downhill position and rip.
The setup
Havoc carbon bars
Thomson Stem 90mm no rise
Gravity Dropper seatpost
XTR brakes
XT Ice rotors 180mm
XT cranks 2x10
XT rear cog
XT front/rear derailleur
XTR Shifter pods
Mavic CrossMax ST’s
Chris King headset
Fox Talas 160mm forks
WTB Team Bronson tires
ODI Ruffion grips
very nice. great build. whats the weight?
Stupid, but sometimes witty. Occasionally brilliant. Slow and fat though.
You know I haven’t had a chance to weight it yet….riding was more important…lol The ol butt dyno test by holding up my FXR and Shaver in each arm that it’s a hair lighter, I’m going to say ok guess 30lbs. I’ll try to get it more precise soon. Are you thinking of getting one? DO IT!!!!
Oh I decided against the flows just too much for the riding I’d be doing, wanted the Arch’s but they were out of stock everywhere I looked and time was running out to get it built for my trip to Mammoth. I even considered the WTB Stryker as the wheel seemed to weighted evenly great UST sidewall construction and seemed to have great hubs, but again time was my enemy. The CrossMax St’s ’09;s haven’t failed me on my FXR and actually quite happy with the ST’s though I really wanted black.
You know I haven’t had a chance to weight it yet….riding was more important…lol The ol butt dyno test by holding up my FXR and Shaver in each arm that it’s a hair lighter, I’m going to say ok guess 30lbs. I’ll try to get it more precise soon. Are you thinking of getting one? DO IT!!!!
Oh I decided against the flows just too much for the riding I’d be doing, wanted the Arch’s but they were out of stock everywhere I looked and time was running out to get it built for my trip to Mammoth. I even considered the WTB Stryker as the wheel seemed to weighted evenly great UST sidewall construction and seemed to have great hubs, but again time was my enemy. The CrossMax St’s ’09;s haven’t failed me on my FXR and actually quite happy with the ST’s though I really wanted black.
No. I have a pretty new FXR. it's sitting right at 30 pounds.
Stupid, but sometimes witty. Occasionally brilliant. Slow and fat though.
Great posts X-FXR. I opened e-mail saying this new FXR is out of pre-production being readied for a soon release -- I had seen these posts though... was wondering if I had done the best by choosing to wait all season for it. As in 'No Riding'!!! I've felt like a cheap-date whenever a trailbike would pass me!!
Really stout, really fun bike you have got here. Keep it coming!!
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Originally Posted by X-FXR
