Well, I went ahead and set up my Taro with a Race Face 32 NW chainring and it was AWESOME!!!
No problems running the stock chain length with the entire chainguard removed. I did manage to brake my chain on the trail, so I had to shorten the chain a full link and now it rides even better.
I think the chain needs to be run short on the non clutch derailleurs, like very short. In the largest cog I have maybe one or two extra links of cage "stretch", the cage is adjusted to be close to the large cog, so tight tolerances.
I am adding a bash guard to protect the chainring and to prevent an drops to the outside. I tried to add a "hook" on the inside top, but the seat tube weld at the down down tube kept the hook from dropping low enough to be effective. I'll probably make my own as someone has done on the NW thread.
Initial set up was stock except for:
RF NW 32t chainring
Fleegle 15deg sweep bars
RF 70mm stem
Ergo cork
WTB V
Nuke Proof Electron Pedals
Okay, so how does the bike ride? Well, the short CS and slacker head is a different kind of beast, so it should not be set up like an XC bike. I ran mine intially with a 70mm stem (stock is 55mm) and it just didn't handle well, felt akward and had a mind of it's own. Yesterday I went back to the stock stem and what a difference! Handling was awesome, so good that I am going to try a shorter stem 40-45mm this week
Changes to come:
The front Ardent 2.4 is kinda akward, likes to wag and can be a handful with the slacker head angle, but the rear Ardent 2.25 is just a little to skinny to get good grip, so I'm thinking of a lighter 2.2-2.4 tire on both ends, Ikon, new RR, ...
Shorten the stem and see how things change.
Seat, either get used to the WTB Kona braded Lazer (?) or get a Brooks C17 "rubber seat" (I have one on order)
Seat post, it's kinda short (350mm), so I have a 400mm on order, though I am contemplating a Thudbuster or a dropper. I don't think a dropper will help as I am riding terrain that chanes so quickly that a dropper would be useless, but I really want my seat out of the way... the 350mm post is long enough for most riding, but not for doing miles of climbing.
The Alivio Shifter is garbage! I'll be swapping to an XT 9sp or similar.
Also looking at changing brakes, the Avids Elixir 1 are fine, but I prefer the feel of mechanicals; hydros are so quick and don't modulate well.
Overall the Yaro is a reall nice bike, esp for the price, so I'd say skip the Honzo unless you need a slider and like the extra weight. The aluminum frame does not ride harsh in the least bit, and the slightly longer (10mm) CS still ride quite quick, perhaps better than the Honzo :eekster:
The 120mm Rockshox TK fork is not bad, at 200# I'm running 120psi with -2/3 to the slow side of rebound, works fine, lock out is decent, not a heavy fork, flex is not noticeable. The Revelation would be nicer, but it's a lot of $$ and really wouldn't be worthwhile for what is essentially a fancy BMXer
I'm under 30# as it sits, with lighter tires/tubeless I could easilly hit 28#, maybe 27", not bad for low end running gear and no CF stuff
If I were looking to build a short CS bike, this is a nice frame for not much $$
I am riding a medium, 6"/32" inseam, and other than needing ~20mm more in the seat post, this bike fits fine. Standover is not great, a large is 1" taller, TT is quite long and with the bike wantiing to ride with a shorter stem, I can't imagine getting a large. There's a guy riding the a medium Honzo who is 6'3", and though that's probably tight, it is more doable than you'd think.