Salsa Horsethief

The 1X10 was fine though I'll probably go down to a 30t ring. I reckon 32 would be fine for 26 but just a teeny bit tall for 29.

How did the bike handle the Enduo at the weekend?


I'm really really happy with how it rode. I spent a fair bit of time on the Friday 'dialling' in the suspension and I think it paid off. Soaked up everything without any drama, the 4th stage was quite technical and I never felt the bike held me back at all. The position on the bike inspired a fair bit of confidence and I tackled things I might have thought twice about before. I'm definitely looking forward to taking on some more gnarrly stuff and finding out what it can do. Again I never felt the bike was too big or too long which is what I was fearing, if anything slow speed drop offs kind of leave you hanging soa bit of commitment is needed.

My only problem was I shipped the chain 3 times and all in timed sections :x I blame myself, I should have popped for a chain device but hoped the non ramped ring and clutch mech would hold it, alas it was not to be and I'll need to get a fix in. The problem being I don't want to sheel out for a chain device whilst I'm waiting for the XX1 chainset, I could run both as belt and braces but they all look fugly. I'll maybe try one of the Pauls BB mounted ones which are rather neat and I can run this with the XX1 anyway.
 
I'm waiting on the 32t Works Components 'XX1' inspired chainring for my Haro Mary. Interesting to read your comments re: going to 30t. Hopefully it will work well enough in conjunction with the clutch mech to do away with the need for a guide.
 
zigzag":2o7ijget said:
I'm waiting on the 32t Works Components 'XX1' inspired chainring for my Haro Mary. Interesting to read your comments re: going to 30t. Hopefully it will work well enough in conjunction with the clutch mech to do away with the need for a guide.


You'll be fine with the 32 I reckon, are you using 36 out back? At the enduro there was one section that was a very long climb that kept getting steeper and steeper, I reckon we'd have been all off walking beforehand anyway, I'm looking at the 30 because where I've been riding recently (as you know) its a big drag up the hill the 30 should make it that wee bit easier. What I will say is that I never found myself cursing the 1X10 set up, as I say when I got off to walk if I'd had a granny it would only have been a few hundred feet further and I'd have been off, with the 1X10 it was nice that it was a simple case of shifting up for easier and down for faster.

Got some nice news in a mail yesterday that the XX1 chainset I ordered should be with me anytime :) The site I'd ordered it from changed the status from 6-8 day delivery to possible June, fortunately I got one that had been stocked.


Pics from the Dunkeld Enduro.
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Bit of an update on the Horsethief, done quiite a bit of riding now including a week in Molini in Italy. It was quite a test of bike and rider and I'm glad to say the bike handled it with aplomb, I was a wee bit underbiked on some of the stuff but the terrain was the hardest and steepest stuff I've ridden. Still only a ding to the rear wheel and rotor after a weeks hard biking. Before the trip I had been waiting for a SRAM XX1 chainset, after a load of BS from a shop it never materialised so I lumped for a Zee chainset and Race Face ring (32T), I'd been having a few pedal strikes with the Salsa and the Zee allowed me to try a 165mm set of crank arms and they have been great. Theres a wee bit of info floating around the net about using shorter arms and I can say they are working, spinning them faster and more consistently than I would a longer set (the 175's I had fitted before for instance). You do loose a bit of leverage when the going goes up but the 1X10 is as much a limiter in this as the arm length.

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What I have found though is that the bike whilst very very fast I'm still not too confident getting airborne. Something I'll need to work on.
 
I've fitted the short cage Zee mech with an XT shifter and its been perfect, no complaints. THIS review convinced me to go for the Zee over the XT.
 
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