Specialized Pitch Pro

codfather

Hello and welcome ladies, gentleman and children of all ages to my current trail/"enduro" bike; a 2008 Pitch Pro.
Recently rebuilt Mavic Crosslines front and rear, but plenty of mechanical work needed before it's perfect.
Currently running 1x9 with a Stinger, but suffering chain dropping issues over rough ground, so trying to DIY fix that in the coming weeks.











Curent spec as follows:

Frame; 2008 Pitch Pro FSR 150mm travel, size M
Headset; Cane Creek 40
Shock: Fox Float RP2
Fork; Magura Wotan
Wheelset; Mavic Crossline, 20mm front, QR rear
Tyres; Spesh Eskar Control 2.3"
Crank; Shimano Deore triple, Hope 33t single ring, integral bashring
Mech; Shimano XTR
Shifter; Shimano XTR
Brakes; Shimano SLX, 203mm rotors fore and aft
Seatpost; Rockshox Reverb, 125mm travel, 30.9 dia, left hand
Saddle; Charge Spoon
Stem; Planet X Fly, brown 45mm
Bars; Funn Flat Out 750mm, 30mm rise (too narrow for my taste)
Grips; Uberbike Half Waffle
Pedals; DMR V12

Thanks for looking, peace and safe trails all.

codfather

Hmmmm.... today has taken a rather somber turn. I'm house sitting at a friend's while they're away and had my bike stood up against a table, one of the dogs managed to topple it over and it landed half in the hot tub (alright for some). the damage didn't seem that bad initially, but on closer inspection it could be a bit more severe. Scratches all down the drive side of the down tube, but also one rather deep looking gouge , that's lost no paint but looks as though it could be a crack in the frame. Furthermore, my lovely XTR shifter bore the brunt of the impact and the lever has been bent round behind the bars, so that may take some straightening, or may snap off if not careful. It's a sad day for the Pitch.

darmelabi

Ouch, that looks painful! Bad luck

rockmonkeysc

It'll be fine. They don't crack that easily!
I like these bikes, nice ride but strangely never sold as well as it should. I have seen some BIG freeride lines ridden on one of these and it took it well.
Shame the new Pitch is a piece of bargain basement rubbish, just a renamed Hardrock.

codfather

I hope so, it's a cracking bike and even at 160/150mm it feels much more capable on big roots, doubles, drops, flights of stairs than my old Atomik (185/203mm) ever previously did. There aren't too many of them around, which is surprising given how well priced they were for the excellent spec they were given. Don't get me started on the new one; tarnishes the name, has a more outdated gearing setup (3x8) than it's namesake (3x9) released 7 years earlier and does away with the superb performance and value for money. End rant.

rockmonkeysc

I got excited when I heard Specialized were re-launching the Pitch, I even held off ordering my Transition because I thought the Pitch could potentially be as good. I also heard that they were dropping the Stumpjumper Evo so it made sense that the Pitch would replace it. It was so disappointing when they finally launched it.

codfather

I really don't understand the need for three different (mediocre) hardtail ranges, covering all three wheel sizes. I suppose the new Stumpy FSR has picked up where the old pitch left off, now that the Stumpjumper has grown some more travel and the Camber has moved into the short travel bracket, at the expense of the Pitch. It's a shame that none of the Stumpys offer the same value the Pitch once did though, even though they're a lot better priced (despite being Specializeds) than similar bikes.

Herdwick

nice bike indeed, a friend owns one and rides the rough well. I like the colour as well, looks better in real, shame it can't take a tapered fork though...

codfather

Brown doesn't do much for a lot of people, but I really like the occasional undamaged patches I have. I shan't lose much sleep over the lack of tapered head tube; the Maguras are excellent forks and super stiff due to 36mm stanchions, 20mm axle and a brace of arches. Pay a hefty weight penalty though...

Herdwick

well in reality no matter how stiff the stanctions and bridge are, the weak point of any conventional fork design is where the steerer meet the forks crown. either way is still a great ride and straight or taper alone won't dictate a bikes caracter.

codfather

I'm afraid I must respectfully disagree. In my experience, the differences between straight and tapered steerers are pretty much imperceptible. I have no doubt that they do offer greater stiffness to some degree, but for the bikes I've ridden, I've found that axles and especially stanchion diameter make a more noticeable difference in perceived stiffness. In short, I'd rather ride a straight 36mm fork than an otherwise identical tapered 32mm.

Herdwick

Codfather wrote:

In short, I'd rather ride a straight 36mm fork than an otherwise identical tapered 32mm.

I will agree with you here, but these days you don't see many straight steerers around any more, let alone a straight 36er.

rockmonkeysc

Plenty of old straight steerer Lyriks and 36's still around and spares available for them. I still think the Lyrik RC2DH coil is a better performing (but heavier) fork than the Pike

codfather

Aye, there's plenty of options around, but I'm in no hurry to do away with the Wotans. They may be a tad weighty, but they're plush, composed and plenty stiff.

Spoiled the Pitch a bit with some online cash splashing this week. Decided to complete my experience of Shimano groupsets by delving into the two I've not yet owned. A nice, sturdy Zee RD paired with an XT I-spec B shifter. I'll be slowly fitting these as best I can over the weekend to keep my mind off not being able to use them. Initial impressions are good, I usually like to provide a little unboxing review upon receiving shiny new parts in the post.

Mech; usual Shimano quality, feels plenty substantial without paying a weight penalty. I may be wrong, but the clutch spring feels stiffer than that of my SLX, so may do a etter job of chain movement modulation, especially with the super short cage. My favourite thing about the Zee so far is how it deals with my main gripe about the SLX; the clutch lever. Still plastic (I think), but feels far more robust. The only downside is the funky smelling goo that Shimano insist on smearing upon derailleurs when they package them.

Shifter; crisp, short-throw down shifting movement. Sharp, positive cable release, added bonus of double release is nice. Supplied with a nice full sack of odds and sods for fixing and cable trimming. Favourite featurre so far is the full length cable outer included in the box, bonus points to Shimano for appreciating customer requirements of this groupset. I was nervous about replacing the XTR unit as it has a fantastic feel and movement, but the XT retains the most important characteristics: Aluminium lever (although the particular alloy and finish are not as aesthetically pleasing), crisp, positive movement and mounted on rails as I have my controls in bizarre positions, or so I'm told.

codfather

I got bored of sitting around with shiny new parts on my desk, so I decided to lug the bike out and inspect for damage. It seems that luckily, I bore the brunt of the impact and the Pitch is left with nothing more than a scuffed lockring on the left grip. Removal of the SLX ande installation of the new parts was a breeze, the only difficult bit was separating the chain powerlink with pliers as its a bit knackered.

After reading product review and forum discussions elsewhere, I was led to believe that mating I spec brake levers and shifters is fiddly and difficult. For the life of, I cannot deduce what must be wrong with the people who write such things. There's a nut and two bolts, all inserted individually. One can (and I did) install it one handed if necessary.

Dialing the shifting was a doddle after a few frustrated minutes of not realising the limiting screws were wound in. Shifting seems swift and precise, but it's hard to tell without actually riding it. Taking pictures proved challenging and I don't like using other people's cameras even if they're identical to mine. Anyway, here are some amateurish pictures to be going along with. More as it happens.

Herdwick

just to remind you, did you cycle the suspension to full compression because the rear mech looks a bit stretched, don't let a short chain ruin every bit the shiny rear mech!

I run a zee mech and swaped the jockey wheels with some from an old wrecked xt one I had laying around that run on bearings instead of bushings, works quite smooth and last much longer

codfather

I'm currently toying around with different setups, will probably go down to a 34t at the front when I'm back riding. Odd that that short cage Zee sits like that when the long cage SLX I had on previously was much more relaxed

ilovedirt

Are you running a narrow wide ring on the front? You're going to get problems dropping your chain still if not.
The reason you were having problems before is because the stinger is designed for use with a front mech. If the chain comes off a bit at the top, when you pedal it just chucks the rest of it off. The bare minimum you need is a top guide, bottom guides are superfluous really, especially with a clutch mech. Something like the superstar top only guide would do the job, that's pretty much what I run. Even n/w rings with clutch mechs aren't fool proof.

codfather

I've been chopping and changing with different setups recently with my collarbone still mending. Having taken the XTR off, I couldn't bring myself to sell it; it's just too nice, so I've flung it all back on. I've sold the silly gold Hope ring and decided to try a new N/W. The Superstar I/O worked fine, but I like to try as many components and brands as possible and since On One have super cheap brake pads at the moment, I decided to stock up for the SLXs and treat myself to a Ringmaster for £20 at the same time. First impressions; it's very thick and 40% heavier than the Superstar, despite being smaller, but it runs silently and seems to hold the chain well over rough, choppy, rooty ground, though my testing was brief.

I wasn't sure the original rotors were desperately true, so I added in these Selcof dealies for £3 a piece to the order. At the end of the day a rotor is a plate of steel and there's no real reason to spend £30 per brake on them. Lastly, I was going to get some High Roller 2s, but I was offered these Trail Kings in 2.4" guise for next to nothing so I snapped them up. They're not the folding bead, EXO protection, Black Chili rubber I was expecting, which has mildly ticked me off, since they're substantially heavier than the Eskars, but the important thing is having tread on them. They seem to grip nicely, but again, short test period so far. My only current gripe with the bike is the bars; 750mm feels too narrow on a big bruiser like this, so I may end up flogging these and putting some 780s on. For the mean time though, focus shifts to the big bike build for a while. In any event, some average photos....

Chris/spec/77

Nice bike, I've got one myself but blue, how do you find the dropper post works with it? Toying with the idea of getting one for mine. Only issue is I don't like the cable run so 1x10 conversion to free up up cable mounts then stealth reverb and take the drill to the frame...... Ouch!!

Thewaylander

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732711#p19732711]Chris/spec/77[/url] wrote:

Nice bike, I've got one myself but blue, how do you find the dropper post works with it? Toying with the idea of getting one for mine. Only issue is I don't like the cable run so 1x10 conversion to free up up cable mounts then stealth reverb and take the drill to the frame...... Ouch!!

seriously going to drill your frame??

rockmonkeysc

With a bit of knowledge about stress analysis it will be fine. Get it wrong though and it will be cracking.
Front of the down tube, half way between the suspension mount in the seat tube and the bottom bracket, lower rather than higher if central isn't an option. Hole needs to be properly de-burred.

codfather

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19732711#p19732711]Chris/spec/77[/url] wrote:

Nice bike, I've got one myself but blue, how do you find the dropper post works with it? Toying with the idea of getting one for mine. Only issue is I don't like the cable run so 1x10 conversion to free up up cable mounts then stealth reverb and take the drill to the frame...... Ouch!!

My frame is a medium and I should really be on a large, so the hose sits a little taughter than it really ought to at full extension. Someone on the correct size frame would not suffer this problem...
With the Reverb hose guide and a couple of cable ties, the routing is really not a hassle and it doesn't get in the way of anything.
More recent pictures to follow soon.

codfather

Realised I've been absent for a while and not updated this. Not a lot has changed bar a few crashes and mechanicals. A couple of months ago I dropped a set of half a dozen stairs as a hundred times before, only this time, the cranks gave out. End cap was in, pinch bolts were tightened, but I managed to strip the non-drive side splines somehow. Eventually pried it off and replaced with another Deore (probably) unit in the same setup, for the grand total of £13 posted second hand.
My luck that week went from bad to worse with the death of the Commencal and then a small crash on a table that, once again, I've never had an issue with. Landed in some wet roots, lost the bike from under me and hit the ground. Shifter met shin and both lost. Took several deep gouges, but more importantly the shifter was mangled for the second time this year. At the time, I thought it was dead, but have since managed to bodge it back into operation and it more or less works as before.





In other news, I've fitted some generic 785mm Funn bars and cable tied a sponge to the rocker link. It's rather unsightly but serves a purpose; with the recent degradation of the weather and the trails getting much slipperier, I seem to have adopted a much looser riding style, which results in bashing my right knee on the rocker link in certain turn. The sponge combats this reasonably well.

codfather

I'm ill, so I decided to service my forks as they've been feeling like shoot, but I haven't had a service manual. I still don't have one, but I was bored, so I decided they couldn't be that different to any other set of air forks. They aren't. Stripping them was easy, but sadly, the oil in them was immaculate. The same cannot be said for the stanchions, which are a disgrace, but since the wear is smooth, the seals are fine and I can't afford a replacement even if they were available, they're going back in. When I have some money, the Wotans will probably be replaced by some Lyrik RC2 DH airs.

On a cheerier note, I've solved the issue of the broken compression adjustment. Previous owner/ape had assembled the compression damper in the wrong order, leaving the needle/cone backwards and hence inoperative. Having remedied this, a bench test confirms it's correct operation. Oddly, the massive weight of the forks is not in the bulky lowers; they are surprisingly light. The CSU is very heavy, as the stanchion walls are super thick (very beneficial in my case) and the negative spring assy and the compression damper/lockout is also fairly portly.

Placeholder

The freehub body chewed itself to pieces on the last ride and I was dreading having to order a replacement ITS4, but a trip to the LBS solved everything. One of the chaps in there had just removed one from his own wheels and just gave it to me, along with some superb lemon cake while we slated Mavic's website and tech docs. Just goes to show how nice some folks can be. Since my old cassette was firmly stuck to the previous body, a new one was in order.

Being the only member of the club with a comprehensive workshop means people come to me to help them service/repair things, but a blessing in disguise, this means I get paid in components, so a nearly new SLX cassette, a WTB saddle and some Mallets found their way into my paws for servicing some Lyriks. New chain to accompany, but it'll have to sit looking pretty in the parts fridge until new oil arrives, as I wasn't expecting the existing oil to be reusable, so did not use a clean pan.

With multiple parts coming off, I decided to do a strip and full clean (out of boredom more than necessity) so hopefully everything should be peachy for when the man flu passes.

Obligatory pictures when Photobucket is back online

codfather

I'm ill, so I decided to service my forks as they've been feeling like shoot, but I haven't had a service manual. I still don't have one, but I was bored, so I decided they couldn't be that different to any other set of air forks. They aren't. Stripping them was easy, but sadly, the oil in them was immaculate. The same cannot be said for the stanchions, which are a disgrace, but since the wear is smooth, the seals are fine and I can't afford a replacement even if they were available, they're going back in. When I have some money, the Wotans will probably be replaced by some Lyrik RC2 DH airs.

On a cheerier note, I've solved the issue of the broken compression adjustment. Previous owner/ape had assembled the compression damper in the wrong order, leaving the needle/cone backwards and hence inoperative. Having remedied this, a bench test confirms it's correct operation. Oddly, the massive weight of the forks is not in the bulky lowers; they are surprisingly light. The CSU is very heavy, as the stanchion walls are super thick (very beneficial in my case) and the negative spring assy and the compression damper/lockout is also fairly portly.





The freehub body chewed itself to pieces on the last ride and I was dreading having to order a replacement ITS4, but a trip to the LBS solved everything. One of the chaps in there had just removed one from his own wheels and just gave it to me, along with some superb lemon cake while we slated Mavic's website and tech docs. Just goes to show how nice some folks can be. Since my old cassette was firmly stuck to the previous body, a new one was in order.

Being the only member of the club with a comprehensive workshop means people come to me to help them service/repair things, but a blessing in disguise, this means I get paid in components, so a nearly new SLX cassette, a WTB saddle and some Mallets found their way into my paws for servicing some Lyriks. New chain to accompany, but it'll have to sit looking pretty in the parts fridge until new oil arrives, as I wasn't expecting the existing oil to be reusable, so did not use a clean pan.

With multiple parts coming off, I decided to do a strip and full clean (out of boredom more than necessity) so hopefully everything should be peachy for when the man flu passes.

posterboyj

Impressive, nice bike