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covert 29er

78K views 371 replies 64 participants last post by  weezerfan84 
#1 ·
Hey Transitionairs :)

Does any of you know if theres going to be a covert two 9? by looking at the current lineup only a 29er covert is missing.

BTW

I allways tell my covert riding buddy of mine.. that the only bike to replace my nomad are the 29er covert... Maybe they will ;)

Happy trail rockin' :rockon:
 
#96 ·
First ride report: Denver edition

Location: Green Mountain 1 hr loop (Hayden to Rooney Valley)

First, the not awesome. Amazingly enough this bike does not make hauling my fat ass up mountains any less painful. Bummer. Aside from that revelation the ascending was pretty standard. The one issue was keeping the front end down for steep segments, probably just need to adjust to the shorter stem and additional travel, no biggie.

Second, the awesome. This bike does not make climbing any more painful, so that's good. The descending is ridiculous. The slack ht makes me just lean back and floor it. So fun. I tried to keep it some what reined in on account of testing the waters with both the bike and the rubber, but even so I managed to tie my personal top speed for the descent.

Overall I'm pumped. Once I get everything dialed in and put some hours in she should be a force to be reckoned with!:thumbsup:
 

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#98 · (Edited)
Thx, they are 26/39, actually wanted lower gearing but will go with this for now. I think a 24/36 combo would be ideal for our terrain here.

jmontroy- nice ride review lol, yeah mine's no featherweight either. I noticed right off the front end stays planted better while climbing compared to my Sultan, think it's the shorter top tube and more neutral position on bike. Aside from the little extra weight, I think this bike is gonna climb better. Hey I had a question about your frame, sent ya PM.
 
#106 ·
My TrailStars weighed 888g and 863g, so a burly ~1,000g tire sounds fine. You can get them for less than MSRP now, at least. I think my last pair was $75/each. They really area fantastic all-rounder, but I'd like sidewalls more protective than SnakeSkin.

It'll come down to what lands first- the Minions or the Black Chili Trail Kings. I'm sure I'll try both eventually, but the order will be determined by availability.
 
#109 · (Edited)
My TrailStars weighed 888g and 863g, so a burly ~1,000g tire sounds fine. You can get them for less than MSRP now, at least. I think my last pair was $75/each. They really area fantastic all-rounder, but I'd like sidewalls more protective than SnakeSkin.

It'll come down to what lands first- the Minions or the Black Chili Trail Kings. I'm sure I'll try both eventually, but the order will be determined by availability.
All of the three MTB wheel diameter HD's were supposed be available in a stouter Super Gravity casing version for 2013. Now I'm hearing that only 26 & 27.5 will feature the SG casing. Dang, more waiting for a tough 29er tire.
 
#113 ·
I'm 191 pounds and run 170 in the shock and 80 in the fork and it made the bike so much better than the 160/70 i started off with.

I do all my climbing in trail mode on the shock and fork and in number 2 on the little black dial. If I'm doing smooth dirt I just leave the fork in trail and put the rear shock in climb mode and I've got no problems doing 30 minute climbs on it. Like any new bike you just have to spend some time getting to know it.

I got it as my play/AM bike and its perfect for that and will do a few DH races on it aswell.
 
#115 · (Edited)
I've done a few rides on mine and it's freakin home run in my book. The compact geo and short wheelbase makes it very playful for a long travel 29er, and it climbs nicely given the intended use.

I'm at 210 and setup the susp with 130psi in the Rev fork and 180 on the shock, the susp feels great. The 3 settings for compression front/rear are a nice feature, with both ends fully open the bike is super plush, too plush almost. I liked the middle settings for some jumps and drops I tried cause I was getting a tad bit of fork dive and using all the travel even tho is was smaller stuff. On a rock garden descent I opened up both ends and it felt like butter, just stayed glued to the trail. Also, the controls on this bike are soooo nice, went with an XO/X9 drivetrain and the new gripshift, XT brakes.

Arin- will get with you guys soon, you and Jay can both check it out, it's a sweet ride. Yeah I survived that stupid crash and the shoulder if fine.
 
#116 · (Edited)
OK...over two and a half months after I placed my preorder, I have a Covert 29 built and ready to roll. I should get two rides in this weekend so I will add initial impressions next week.

Stats:

Me - 6'3" 225 lb. Just came from a Yeti ASR 7
Bike - Size XL. Frame wt. 7.95 lb (HS cups pressed in, axle nut installed (no axle), seatpost collar installed). BB height 13.75". Build wt. 33.2 lb (lots of Stans). Right where my last 3 trail bikes have been.
Build - Transition kit # 2. Changes: Reverb, Easton Havoc 35 bar and stem, Shimano rear axle, LM29 wheels (King-Flow EX), 24/36 front rings, XT cassette, Phenom saddle, 200mm front rotor.
 

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#118 ·
Super nice build, Bro! Just got back from a ride on mine, too:thumbsup:

Still dealing with a floaty front-end, though. You guys think the extra 10mm of fork is changing the geometry that much? Considering a longer stem and/or an angleset to slacken it back out a bit.

Thoughts?
 
#119 ·
I wouldn't think the front travel would be the issue. It sounds like you just need a bit more weight on the front end. A bit longer stem or dropping your current stem would be a place to start. Outside of that, moving the fork back to 140mm would also help but that's more involved. I'm very particular on my bike setup so I understand wanting to get it just right!

When does it get "floaty"?
 
#127 ·
First ride is in the books. Thoughts:

1) Top tube felt fine but I have gravitated toward a more compact and upright position. I would like to try a 70mm stem but at the moment the only stem for the 35mm bar is Easton's 50mm model.

2) Maneuverability was good. Stiffness was fine. Pedal and brake feedback wasn't noticed. The bike really disappeared under me...that's a very good thing. With the CTD shock the bike is firm in the initial travel and plush after that. I felt pedaling response was good and mashing the pedals moves the bike forward rather than compressing the suspension. The bike is incredible on drops. It uses travel generously and feels like landing on a pillow.

3) I still have some work to do on the suspension. Both the fork and shock seem to move through their travel fairly easily. I weigh 230-235 lb with gear and I have the shock at 205 psi which is only 20% sag. If I run over 30% sag it bottoms when I sneeze. Ran in the Trail setting on max firmness. Again, the initial travel is firm but not annoying even at this sag level. I am using RWS needle bearings at both ends so there is no external stiction. Once past that initial firmness you get really smooth travel that eats up anything in your path. I have the fork set at 115 psi. Also ran in Trail setting on max firmness. I was using all travel on the fork and shock. Never felt a "bottom" on the shock...felt it once on the fork. I suspect that at my weight I may need to just ship the bits off to Push which usually does the trick. I will run as-is and play with pressure and such to see how things go.

4) The firmness in the top of the travel makes it easy to make technical power moves. It really gives you something to "push" against to manual and such. I liken it to Yeti's ASR design in that it is firm and then plush once past that first bit...I really like this feature. That firmness probably explains why the pedaling is nicely responsive and doesn't wallow.

Other than having less travel it felt right at home coming from the ASR 7 which is exactly what I was looking for.

I wish the fork was 36mm with a 20mm axle. The current offering is merely adequate.

That's it for now. Should get more time in tomorrow.
 
#132 ·
Question, when your setting sag, do you have your fork/shock in the trail mode or fully open? I've always set sag with compression settings how I would ride but I'm getting less sag with the fork/shock in the middle settings compared to fully open.

I'm trying for 25% sag on the shock, anymore and it uses the travel too easily it seems
 
#134 ·
So I've done a handful of rides and have used the initial settings till the susp broke in some. I felt like the fork was a tad firm and I was using the rear travel too easily so I made some adj's to the settings. Thx for the input above btw

I'm 210 w/o gear and wanted 25% sag for the shock and 20% for the fork. I opened up the compression on both ends to set the sag this time. I bumped the rear psi up to 200 and got the right sag w/gear on, gonna keep the trail adjust dial at 2 for now. On the Rev. fork, I lowered the psi to 125 and changed the low speed comp setting, had it too high so probably why it was feeling firm.

Will see how it feels on the trail, bet it's dialed now.
 
#135 ·
I'm 186-ish all geared up with a full day pack. I used the iRD app Fox has available for Apple devices.

Much to my surprise, it had me at 204psi! I set it up as such and haven't changed it since; I'm very happy with the performance. I told myself, after going through the process, that I would make changes as I saw fit.

When the thought of how a component should be performing is absent from your mind when riding, then you know you've got it right!
 
#138 · (Edited)
Ok I'm a struggler! Just got my Covert built and can't post the pic. But have been reading the posts on suspension set up. Thanks for posting your work, it's definitely helping with setup. Wish Fox had the application for android. :madman:
Sorry new guy can't post pics. however the build is posted on my profile.
 
#142 ·
When I was doing a search for setting up the rear susp I found a thread on last years Bandit 29, Transition recommends 25% sag on that bike, or about your body weight in psi in the shock. I imagine this bike is similar, maybe a little less than body weight.

The middle trail settings are nice for smoother sections but kinda firm in the chunky stuff, still need to play with the trail adj dial and the LS comp on the fork to get it feeling just right. Nice to have tho and be able to adj easily depending on the trail your riding.
 
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