Moto Lite first ride report/50 year trail test/pics
Took new Moto Lite out for first ride today. Set up with 125# in rear shock, and swapped out stock Vanilla R spring for next softest(purple) This gave me a half inch at the shock for sag, and an inch and an eighth at the fork.
Wow!!!This bike feels great. I really like the handling!! Neutral is the best word for it. It goes exactly where you point it. Just the right amount of stability and quickness. Very precise. You never seem to over correct when cornering. Some bikes are too quick and dart around too much, and others are too slow and you have to force them. But the Moto Lite is juuuust right!!
Climbing was great. Again, neutral is the word. The suspension does not rob any power, and really gets great traction. I cleaned some really nasty sections today. If you got the power, it will climb it.
Downhills were very smooth. I used 5 inches front, and 4.3 inches in the rear dropping off drops a couple feet high at speed. The frame is laterally stiff, and goes in a straight line over rocks.
Sidenote on the tires here. The Panaracer Rampage 2.3 tires set up with Stans, and 30psi felt great everywhere. They floated sand well, and cornered excellent. I ran the rear backwards for the climbing traction, and lost a little rear braking. They held air really well. I may do like I have done to Nevegals and cut the ramps off the rear tire so that they climb and also brake well. I don't like ramps on rear tires. Front tires only need braking traction, but rear tires need braking and climbing traction.
Took a couple pictures of my girlfriend climbing up a rocky face. She stopped to look at the spot she fell over and gashed her elbow on a previous ride. Before we got some armor.
One pic of her holding our his/her Moto Lites.
In the last pic she is restarting at the top of a nasty pitch. I got so excited about cleaning this uphill, so I ran down to try to get a picture of her on it. I have made this one before, but it seemed even easier on the Moto Lite.
It is cool having 2 matching Moto Lites!! Now the girlfriend is bugging me to give mine a name. Hers is "Tiger".
I got in a little trouble with the pics. She said all I got was her with her feet down, and made her look lame. She said she needs to approve any future pics of her, so I promised to take some pics of her on a gnarly downhill on the Moto Lite.
"Good on you" if you cleaned that rock about half way up the Middle Gate loop. At least that looks like where the GF is standing.
I haven't seen too many folks clean that one as it takes a pretty good run at it when you are already hurting from the climb up the hill.
Thats where it is. We rode the high loop first, then dropped down to the Middle Gate loop, and then took it back around to the end of Golder Rd.
You have to go against your instincts to make that one. You do a granny gear climb just before, and flatten for a moment, and as you approach the left turn, you can see it pitch upwards again, and you have to resist the urge to stay in low gear. You need to shift up to 3rd to have the speed. I have also made it in the middle up front/low rear. If you don't get any speed on the uphill approach, you are done!!
You guys parked next to me this afternoon, white civic. I tried hard not to stare too much at your amazing bikes. Hope you guys had a good ride.
Thanks, same to you. If you see us up there again, come over and say hi.
We had a nice long ride today. We went in the Middle Gate trail, and then at the top of the climb there is a trail that goes off to the left and goes north. It wraps around that round butte to the north, through a pass, and wraps back around to come out on the High Loop trail. I don't think it gets a lot of use, but it makes for a really fun, epic ride.
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This bike feels great. I really like the handling!! Neutral is the best word for it. It goes exactly where you point it. Just the right amount of stability and quickness. Very precise. You never seem to over correct when cornering. Some bikes are too quick and dart around too much, and others are too slow and you have to force them. But the Moto Lite is juuuust right!!
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She said she needs to approve any future pics of her, so I promised to take some pics of her on a gnarly downhill on the Moto Lite.
Originally Posted by Mountain_Man
