Recently took the Explosif out in its current guise...
...as I shall shortly be changing it somewhat and wanted to see how it went as is;
So: Having been a life-long rigid fan I can now safely say that I am a convert to suspension!
The combination of short travel front fork and decent sus. seatpost means I can maintain my favoured *rse up/head down riding
position for a few more years yet without crippling myself...
...I still love my rigid bikes, but they may find themselves limited to more benign trails and sympathetic single track from now on
Being, as I currently am, a lardy 17stn I wasn't sure what to expect from the Manitou; I've rebuilt it with a 1/2" extra travel and
firm elastomers and it seemed to cope admirably on my regular 10 mile loop.
The brake levers are another matter entirely though; the Dia-Compe Gold Finger single-digit levers may look the dogs b*ll*ocks
aesthetically but when it comes to actual braking performance I'm afraid they're
total b*ll*cks!
They may be fine for poncing around your local skate park on a BMX but try hauling yourself up when a little dog darts out of the
undergrowth when you're doing 25mph and you soon find out what colour adrenaline is! :shock:
Needless to say I'm looking forward to getting my Grimeca-equipped disc wheels bolted on...
The drivetrain was faultless once the new cables had bedded in a bit; the combination of SJS/Dura Ace 'Thumbies,' Race Face
chainset, XTR mech's and fancy hollow-pin chain worked like the proverbial sewing machine (clockwork??)...
...I never even missed a gear with the Rapid Rise rear mech!
I shall be changing the front end completely; in its place will be going a 100mm travel Mozo Pro fork, matching Race face stem
and a NOS Zoom Brahma Bar. The wheels will go so that I can fit my Grimeca discs, and I already had a bit of luck with the U.S.E
seat post; I prefer to match Stem and seat post, and the new stem is black. Looking at the U.S.E post in SWMBO's little Stumpy...
...I couldn't remember which model I'd fitted?? As luck would have it, when I filched it out, it turned out to be a 27.2 carbon post!
The silver post in the photo' above is a 25.4 with a 27.2 shim, the Stumpy seat tube is a 29.4; one straight swap later and we're
in business...
I'm even swapping the CK headset for an Onza Mongo; needs must, and the expensive kit will shortly find its way into a 'For Sale'
thread in an effort to stave off yet another case of Retrobike-induced financial ruin!
Now I can hardly wait to see how different it feels/rides with the replacment kit in place - even after my 5-mile-walk yesterday!...
