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'02 Switchblade upgrade(s) ?

5K views 12 replies 9 participants last post by  fonseca 
#1 ·
I have the stock rear susp, thinking of upgrading to the (5.75?) longer travel shock and swingarm, Currently I have a '02 Z1 (130mm) on the front and it does have issues with tight uhill singletrack turns, but I love the DH response. So this 5" front and 4.5 rear seems a little out-of balance.
Question(s) are:

Is the $300 for another inch+ worth it?
Will it balance the bike out more?
How much will the increased rear height affect the cornering?
Is there another option other than the standard fox shock for the upgrade?
 

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#2 ·
ET_SoCal said:
I have the stock rear susp, thinking of upgrading to the (5.75?) longer travel shock and swingarm, Currently I have a '02 Z1 (130mm) on the front and it does have issues with tight uhill singletrack turns, but I love the DH response. So this 5" front and 4.5 rear seems a little out-of balance.
Question(s) are:

Is the $300 for another inch+ worth it?
Will it balance the bike out more?
How much will the increased rear height affect the cornering?
Is there another option other than the standard fox shock for the upgrade?
Well, the bike will feel more balanced but it will slow the bike down in cornering. It will raise the ride height and it will increase the wheelbase by bringing the tire farther from the frame.

I had an 02 switchblade and played with the long travel kit for a couple of months. I just felt it slowed the bike way down for tight singletrack. It was better for bombing downhill runs but with the design and the air shock, it didn't feel like a great freeride bike either. I think the bike is best as a great FS XC frame. The ideal front shock for it is the 3-5 inch Talas fox air shock.

regards,
francois
 
#3 ·
Good questions

I hear Titus is coming out with a 5" link with a 5th Element shock retrokit for older Switchblades. I bet you could throw a 5" fork on it and be in great shape; however, I bet Francois' comments regarding slowing the bike down would still apply. Nonetheless, it would be a great trailbike. I like the Talas fork but the Vanilla is plusher and more durable for my purposes.

Jaybo

PS I've never thought the 5.7" link seemed all that cool due to the air shock situation and light frame. However, others love it.
 
#4 ·
Got one for you to try

I have nearly the same set up, a 2002 switchblade with a 2003 marzocchi Z-1 FR, but with the 5.7" kit. I definately prefer it over 4.5" set-up, especially for horse-chop and rooty trails. The main thing is, with a 5" fork I think you really need the long travel kit in back to keep your angles steep enough. Especially with a marzocchi, as they are almost an inch longer than a 5" fox fork. with 4.5" in back and a Z-1, you must have something like a 68d head angle!

It's funny, I tried that LT kit with a 4" fork in front and THAT felt horrible. TOO STEEP!

As for Francois's comments; I have noticed a few things about the long travel that are a little weird, but the positives definately outweigh the negatives. Thats why my 4.5" set-up has been in the box since I got my 5.7" set-up! What are the negatives? 1. angles gets pretty slack when you are climbing and all your weight ends up over your rear wheel.( Lock-out fixes this.) 2. LT linkage makes the lock-out lever lever & air valve hard to reach. I use a fox remote lever, fixes the lock-out. 3.with an air shock, you really don't get the full 5.7", it's more like 5.25" or so.

Now here's the spam part: I'm planning on selling my switchblade soon. I would be willing to sell you my long travel kit, then I would just sell the frame with the stock 4.5" set-up. It comes with a float RL shock, and the remote lock-out kit. The shock is a few years old, but I recently re-built it with all new seals so it's like new. I'd say $175 without the lock-out or $225 with it. I'd really suggest the lock-out. Let me know if you're interested, if not no big, I'll put it on ebay as an option B.

FWIW, why am I selling the switchblade? It's a great bike but I can only afford one FS bike, and I'd like something I can take to BC. So, for me it's going to be keeping my steel hardtail and a buying a 9lb+ free-ride frame to replace the switchblade for BC adventures. Can't afford to own something in between, which really would be best for most of my riding. So it goes.

Happy hodilays!
/FM
 
#5 ·
Hey FM,

FM said:
FWIW, why am I selling the switchblade? It's a great bike but I can only afford one FS bike, and I'd like something I can take to BC. So, for me it's going to be keeping my steel hardtail and a buying a 9lb+ free-ride frame to replace the switchblade for BC adventures. Can't afford to own something in between, which really would be best for most of my riding. So it goes.
You might want to look into a new Titus Super-Moto. You can run anywhere from 3.6 to 7 inches in the rear, this and a different linkage and shock and maybe a different fork would still be cheaper than two bikes and would accompolish the same thing.



Just a thought. :)

Tucker
 
#6 ·
Titus Switch Blade- Long Travel/Z1

YO ET!

I'm riding an 02' Switch with the long travel shock and rocker & 02 Z1. That's 5" coil up front and 5.7' air in back, here in SOCAL..

I ride all my local, epic and multi day MTB road trips with this setup. As with any bike you have to dial in the setup up until it does just about everything you want it to do. I agree with the other poster that the 5" front end and 4.5 " would yield too slack a head angle for all purpose duty.

With the LT linkage and Z1 up front, I can ride this puppy all day, bag the big climbs and blaze down the the roughest descents and even catch some pretty good air. Pinos, Gab, Mt Willie, Chilao, Tunnel Trail, etc., etc,

Let us know how it works out.
 
#8 ·
Hardtail in Georgia said:
You might want to look into a new Titus Super-Moto. You can run anywhere from 3.6 to 7 inches in the rear, this and a different linkage and shock and maybe a different fork would still be cheaper than two bikes and would accompolish the same thing.



Just a thought. :)

Tucker
Damn that Supermoto is so sweet! :)
 
#9 ·
CTRider said:
Damn that Supermoto is so sweet! :)
I really want one. I will get one sometime this year. Probably with the 6-7" rockers and a coilover. Maybe the Swinger 6-way if they really give you the choice of any shock. Not sure if I want to get a through-axle rear end though, that would mean yet another wheel, although the Hadley can switch between QR and TU though, but maybe not from 135mm to 150mm.

I wonder how much getting one with a 1.5" HT adds to the cost? Because that would be ideal for me, Sherman Breakout Plus with 170mm travel. :)

Anyway, I would keep the SB for trail riding. I'm on the 5.7" linkage, and had planned on getting the 5" linkage with a 5th, but now I'm thinking maybe I should just get the new linkage (3-piece = stiffer) and keep using my Float for now. I'm wondering if the AVA sleeve would fit with the 5" linkage, since the shock will be flipped around to the "normal" direction. There could be room.

If not, maybe there is room for the non-adjustable Big Air Float? Longer travel SBs should benefit from large volume moreso than standard travel, since the linkage is slightly progressive, vs the linear 4.5" mode.
 
#10 ·
I considered the supermoto when bike shopping recently. A local shop here had one built up, it was an employees bike, built up burly for the shore. It looks even better in person- he had the ano grey (which I see is an extra $1k according to titus's website-wtf?)

The super long chainstays were a no-go for me though, since i ride a lot of tight&twisty trails....
 
#11 ·
FM said:
I considered the supermoto when bike shopping recently. A local shop here had one built up, it was an employees bike, built up burly for the shore. It looks even better in person- he had the ano grey (which I see is an extra $1k according to titus's website-wtf?)

The super long chainstays were a no-go for me though, since i ride a lot of tight&twisty trails....
The Ano colors are only available on the Super-Moto DH. The DH also has the long chainstays.

The Super-Moto is only available in painted colors, red, blue and black. The Super-Moto also has 16.85" chainstays.
 
#12 ·
fonseca said:
I really want one. I will get one sometime this year. Probably with the 6-7" rockers and a coilover. Maybe the Swinger 6-way if they really give you the choice of any shock. Not sure if I want to get a through-axle rear end though, that would mean yet another wheel, although the Hadley can switch between QR and TU though, but maybe not from 135mm to 150mm.
The standard shock is a Swinger 4 way. Alan said he could probably spec a Swnger 6 way or 5th Element but he said they were having a hard time getting them. The thru-axle rear end is 135 mm. It costs something like $350 to convert after you have the frame. If it is purchased at the time of the frame purchase it is an additional $80-90.
 
#13 ·
Salami said:
The standard shock is a Swinger 4 way. Alan said he could probably spec a Swnger 6 way or 5th Element but he said they were having a hard time getting them. The thru-axle rear end is 135 mm. It costs something like $350 to convert after you have the frame. If it is purchased at the time of the frame purchase it is an additional $80-90.
Since the standard SM and the DH SM are the same frame with different rear ends (right?), I'm guessing you could get an anodized one for a reasonable upcharge.

So is the DH rear end 150mm spacing, or is it also 135mm? I'm not sure I would want to bother with a thru-axle unless it was 150mm spacing, to give me room for big tires and still have a granny ring on there. Although I guess that would be a good excuse to pick up a Hadley hub and build yet another wheel. From now on I'm only buying hubs that can switch between QR and TA.

I need to give Titus a call and find out more, especially what is compatible with what. I have seen pics of SMs with both the Racer-X/SB rear end, the Quasi rear end, and then of course the DH rear end. So both the QM and DH rear ends are available in standard or thru-axle?

It would be pretty easy to run this bike as a trail machine during the week, and a full on DH/FR bike on the weekends for some lift-assisted pleasure. Although I guess two bikes would end up being the same cost.

Separate adjustable high and low speed compression damping interests me, I'm the kind of person that enjoys fine tuning suspension setups. So I would want the Swinger 6-way or
 
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