Deviate Guide, ready to go!

tom_howard

The Gearbox one by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

So this arrived the other day... Deviate Guide. 160mm, 27.5” pinion C1.12 gearbox, Fox DPX2. Frame inc GB, cranks, shifter, shock weighs prettty much bang on 15lbs, so anything else I hang off it is damage limitation on the weight front!

Followed shortly by this....

Four candles by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

Fox 36 Factory 180mm Grip2

Other, not photo’ed, bits that have arrived are a 170mm reverb, WTB Volt Carbon, 2x 203mm rotors and an Intend Corona seat clamp.

Stuff that’s ordered/being built/on back order is:

Santa Cruz Reserve 30mm rims, built onto Chris King hubs, Maxxis DHF 2.5WT/DHR2 2.4WT

Invisiframe + frame graphics to match the forks (I know, I’m a tart…)

King Headset, Enve M7 35x35mm stem + 25mm rise 800mm wide bars (will give them a go, might trim to 780/760ish) Ergon GA2 gripshift grips.

Trickstuff Direttissima brakes, though these are on a 6 month (!) lead time, so might pick up something cheap to use in the mean time.

That’s it I think, general idea is to build a mini DH smasher, that can be winched back to the top if no uplift.

Will post more as more stuff arrives, can’t wait

CitizenLee

Nice, I remember seeing the press release for this on Pinkbike last year and thinking it looked awesome!

Cant wait to see your final build!

eric_draven

I rode in the alps with the guy who designed this a few years back,defo seemed to know what's what on the engineering side of stuff,look an interesting concept and would like to try one,won't be owning one though few to many pennies for me

02gf74

Any progress with this, something very unusual.

tom_howard

Not at the moment really, rims, bars and stem have arrived at the shop, hubs and headset were meant to be with the distributor on the 3rd but haven't heard anything.

I've been following Invsiframes Instagram in the hope they put something up when they do the decals etc, but no joy yet.

Decided I can't wait 6 months (well, 5 now) for the brakes to arrive, so I've got some 4 pot deores for the interim, only slight worry is they'll be ace, and show up the direttissimas when they eventually arrive...

02gf74

Re. direttissimas brakes, f&&& me, €800 .

Why do you need lightweight brakes on a downhill bike. The lever looks like it will snap on the first angry use. You will not notice the weight savings.

Check out wiggle, sram guide ultimate for £99, massively discounted, 4 pot.

Or get blingy 6 pot hopes.

BTW don't mean to sound critical, it's your bike and money so do what makes you happy.

I too like lightweight components but rarely pay full whack, by doing a regular search eventually the items I'm after turns up either on ebay or on online shops. It's just a matter of waiting.

I got my sram level ultimate brakes after about 6 months, bike was fitted with lesser TL so was rideable, just a matter off selling them on now.

tom_howard

TBH I've spent the most time deliberating what brakes to use more than any other parts.

From all the reviews and group tests I've read these come out on top of power and feel tests against others which is what I'm looking for, the fact they a really light (300gish less than saints) is a bonus, and every little helps given the extra heft of the GB

I've got some Guide Ultimates on my Pivot, and Guide RSs on my Levo, and while they are fairly reliable, the bite point is a bit of an unknown from time to time...

As for Hope, I've used tons of their stuff, both now and over the years and the brakes are pretty much the only thing they make that I don't get on with, I just don't like the way the lever feels. I prefer the immediacy of Shimano brakes, rather than the gradual feel of the Hopes building power.

That said, the reliability of Shimano brakes of late seems to have been a bit hit and miss, and I fancied something different.

The Direttissima is actually Trickstuff's Enduro/Trail brake, the Maxima is the DH race brake athough is pro only ATM. While the bike is definitely gravity focused, is certainly not a full on DH bike,

As for the £££, I've made plenty of savings elsewhere, so I'm not worried about paying full whack to a small manufacturer, making very fine things.

tom_howard

Bit of an update, though little progress has been made

Everything is in the shop now for the wheel build, save for the rims (they were never there, I misread an email saying they were) and looking at at least another coupe of weeks for SC to send them out...

Probably going to cancel the Direttissima order. Not because I'm having second thoughts, but because they are releasing the Maxima brake on kickstarter in a couple of weeks and fingers crossed I'll get some before they sell out. will still have to wait till April for them though...

Then all my riding will take the form of a permanent stoppie

tom_howard

Had my crayons out

Untitled by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

Everything has now arrived, wheels are getting built on weds, so hopefully will have a full, working bike by this time next week

tom_howard

Progress...

Untitled by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

Untitled by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

The bars come with orange stickers to go over the silver ones, should I, or too much OJ?

steve_sordy

I have already expressed a preference for a stealth bike, ie matt black for everything, so DO NOT accept my taste as the arbiter when it comes to bling. But as you seem to have orange on every single component, then having a silver logo on the bar looks like carelessness. So cover it up!

Personally, I think you have overdone the orange match-matchy, but as I said, my taste is not to be trusted. :roll:

Danny1920

Watched BKXC ride this bike in the Alps over 6 days.From what he said he felt
the back end to be really plush,something to do with that high pivot.Which meant
the back end tracked really well.The other thing was that it was a bit tricky getting
into the 1st 3 gears.Said he had to back pedal to sort this.I must admit I do like the
idea of bikes without mechs

tom_howard

I'm with you Steve but my last bike was matte black everything and, while it looked ace, new bike, new look etc. My thinking on going matchy matchy on logos etc means it it looks like a factory build, not the mish mash of parts it actually is. standard would be Red logos on the rims, silver on the frame, i couldn't let myself get black king hubs\HS (because shiny shiny...) so had to pick a colour there, then the big orange fork, so seemed to be the way to go, as nothing goes well with orange IMO. I could have gone black on the fork, but then we are back at an all black bike again. I did look into a few custom painters, but all the folk I'd want to use are booked up 10-12 months in advance so stickers it is for now.

@Danny, yeah the sus feels ace (I demoed it back in May), basically the suspension works really well due to the rear end being really light, what with the lack of cassette/mech hanging off the back so doesn't take as much energy to move it. The high pivot is ace as it give the rear wheel a rearward axle path, so when you hit a square edge, the axle moves away slightly, rather than into the hit. Due to the way they routed the chain, it doesn't affect the pedalling, so you can pedal through rock gardens etc

SMASH!!!!

tom_howard

So, here she is!






Quick shakedown ride in the park with dog, pretty extreme, there were 2 stairs in a row at one point….















for those interested, the all up weight was 36lbs flat, slightly more than the stock builds, I guess due to the beefy forks, the solid, if not super svelte wheels, and the brakes, but they will be changed in due course, hopefully pinion will ge round to making carbon cranks too, as there is a lot of weight to be saved there!

Danny1920

Very nice ….…..How much weight do you think you could save without spending 3 grand

tom_howard

Well, the stock builds are 2-3lbs lighter, and they cost a fair chunk less than my specs did.

The wheels are 1800g ish, so there's plenty of room for a diet there, even if you don't go silly on cost. Might have to forego strength/reliability though

If you were chasing grams you could save a tonne of weight from the tyres. I don't like carrying a load of kit to fix punctures...

The 36 isn't a light fork, you could run a 34 and still get 160mm travel, to match the rear saving a bit, plus I'm sure other brands might have something lighter, if a little flexier/shorter travel.

The brakes are budget, and will do until my trickstuff ones arrive, which will save a pound or so I think.

170mm Reverb weighs as much as a moon, but I know where I am with them, never had any real problems with them.

The cranks are crazy heavy, given they don't have a spider or anything on the driveside, so I reckon if they (or anyone!) did a carbon version, it would sell like hot cakes, saving a pound plus.

Saddle, stem, bars and seatclamp are as light as I dare though, and the pedals are ti axles, but I like.the grip, so no changes needed there

Overall I'm pretty happy with the weight, it was secondary to outright performance anyway as its main use will be pointing down, though it's lighter than all the DH bikes I've had and 15lbs less than the last gearbox bike I had!

Danny1920

Tom Howard wrote:

Well, the stock builds are 2-3lbs lighter, and they cost a fair chunk less than my specs did.

The wheels are 1800g ish, so there's plenty of room for a diet there, even if you don't go silly on cost. Might have to forego strength/reliability though

If you were chasing grams you could save a tonne of weight from the tyres. I don't like carrying a load of kit to fix punctures...

The 36 isn't a light fork, you could run a 34 and still get 160mm travel, to match the rear saving a bit, plus I'm sure other brands might have something lighter, if a little flexier/shorter travel.

The brakes are budget, and will do until my trickstuff ones arrive, which will save a pound or so I think.

170mm Reverb weighs as much as a moon, but I know where I am with them, never had any real problems with them.

The cranks are crazy heavy, given they don't have a spider or anything on the driveside, so I reckon if they (or anyone!) did a carbon version, it would sell like hot cakes, saving a pound plus.

Saddle, stem, bars and seatclamp are as light as I dare though, and the pedals are ti axles, but I like.the grip, so no changes needed there

Overall I'm pretty happy with the weight, it was secondary to outright performance anyway as its main use will be pointing down, though it's lighter than all the DH bikes I've had and 15lbs less than the last gearbox bike I had!

& with the weight centred i'd imagine it must be a blast descending 8)

tom_howard

Yup, and a high pivot/rearward axle path too. Should be ace though rock gardens!

tom_howard

And this is what will be replacing the brakes, assuming it gets funded

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/18 ... =user_menu

tom_howard

Right, after months of waiting, due to a knackered foot, I've finally managed to ride the thing! Not quite the alpine epic it was designed for, but a loop round Leeds Urban Bike Park red route. (that was plenty, as the last time I rode more than a mile in one go was 4 months ago, and then 3 months before that for any great distance...)

Riding the gearbox took about 10 mins to get used to. What I've found is you have to properly back off to switch to easier gears, but if you are going to the harder/faster ones, not so much. very much like shifting in a car with no clutch. I've not suddenly become a gripshift convert overnight either, as you have to concentrate on your hand position, both for where it is on the grip, and where you move it to when shifting. Basically, as soon as a trigger option becomes available, this is going in the bin. There does feel to be a little drag in the system, for a given speed i guess you feel like you are in a gear higher than you speed indicates for the effort you are putting in, but once the GB has bedded in, I can see this easing up. what did feel good was the shifting performance was the same at the end of the ride as it was at the start, despite the bike looking like this at the end...

1st ride by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

One thing to note re the scuffs on the the swingarm. The crank gets VERY close to it, so they are from heel rub, so am looking at getting some cranks made to increase the Q-factor, as well as drop a good bit of weight off too.

There aren't a whole lot of rocky, techy descents at the park either, but what there was it seemed to get through without fuss, but the main observation was how planted it is in corners, especially given how sloppy it is at the moment (a thin layer of mud over hardpack that is getting looser by the day) it didn't matter how quickly I hit them, it just gripped. I'm sure this is in part due to the weight being low in the frame, but also further forward, giving the front tyre more grip than a more conventional set up. due to the weight distribution change, my usual jump technique needs a little tweaking i think, as was nosing a lot of jumps, though could just be in my head.

Speaking of weight, I know its no lightweight, and will never win a hillclimb but once up to speed on trail, its not a consideration, it doesn't feel lumpen, you just plough through stuff.

Forks felt good too, again, this was no real test for them so will keep an eye on them, but standard settings seem pretty good so will see how they do on rougher stuff (gonna do a proper test at Stainburn I think)

Brakes did the job, squealed a bit to begin with, but after a couple of big stops quietened down. Again not a huge effort for them, but they seem comparable to XT 785 and XTR 985 in terms of power and feel. My only niggle is that the levers are a touch short for use with gripshift imo (or the gripshifter is too long...) the new brakes have a longer lever though, so I'm not too concerned.

Cockpit feels good, its the shortest stem/widest bar combo I've used, but I like it and don't think i'll trim them down, though this may change after riding on trails with more densely packed trees.... Was a bit worries by the reports of how stiff the bars were, but i wasn't getting that, yes the do feel stiff, but not jarring at all.

Wheels were pleasingly uneventful, roll beautifully, the CK buzz is more of a hum, and don't feel as stiff as Enve ones. This is A Good Thing. tyres were great too, despite the aforementioned slop, and only struggled when the mud was properly treaclesque.

So pretty happy really! Just waiting for the shiny brakes and lighter cranks and she'll be perfect!

tom_howard

Update on my carbon cranks, been down to the workshop today, seen an almost finished version and very happy. Got the extra 5mm of clearance desired and the weight saving is significant...

One of the challenges was attaching them to the axle without using the carbon to clamp them so as part of the metal insert that bonds into the crank there is an expander, so it clamps really well.

How much is significant I hear you cry? Well, I don’t have exact numbers, but not quite half the OEM ones

tom_howard

Gripshift be gone!

Untitled by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

Got an earlybird set of the Cinq Shift:r tour shifter from the kickstarter campaign, meaning I can ditch the grip shifter

All seems very well made, paddles feel really nice, and its a nice smooth action, will fit it tomorrow and report back!

The trickstuff brakes are allegedly getting shipped out this week, so fingers crossed there!

Bit of a setback with the cranks, they didn't pass ISO testing, so back to the drawing board a bit there, but still looking forward to them

tom_howard

Getting there...

Getting there by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

Just need to fine tune the cable tension a bit.

And the brakes are here! After first ordering in September. Worth it. CNC porn...

Ermagerrrrd by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

Ermagerrrrd by tom.howard.562, on Flickr

Ermagerrrrd

swod1

Are those even more powerful than the direttissima?

eric_draven

Jeez!! those brakes look sublime

JBA

For 1200 Euros I'd expect nothing less!
They are very sexy.

tom_howard

swod1 wrote:

Are those even more powerful than the direttissima?

25% more power supposedly. From a longer lever, and bigger pistons.

JBA wrote:

For 1200 Euros I'd expect nothing less!
They are very sexy.

Only €1100 with rotors & mounts thru kickstarter #bargain.

You'd think that would include a bleed kit wouldn't you? Nope, €29 extra. But at least that will include the (seemingly proprietary) hydraulic fluid, Bionol? Nope, €8 extra. Plus €13 delivery as I wasn't aware/told I needed it when I ordered the brakes and bleed kit, together...

Free t-shirt and bottle though... :roll:

swod1

wow, that's a lot to spend on some brakes.

I'm getting some hope tech 3 e4s for my bike in the next month should be an excellent upgrade on a few year old xt m785 brakes.

tom_howard

It is, but I figure that if you are going to throw money at something to get the best, brakes isn’t a bad shout...

I actually really like the Mx85 series brakes, got M785 on my mukluk and M985 on my 5010 (and another on a previous Nomad). They aren’t the most outright powerful or the best modulated, but most of the power comes in really quickly, which I like. Oddly, I’ve had pretty much everything Hope make over the years, and really like everything, except the brakes...

swod1

yes they have been great but now fancy something else, recently put hope discs on my bike and so might as well try the brakes out.

headsets and bottom brackets they are more renowned for.

eric_draven

swod1 wrote:

yes they have been great but now fancy something else, recently put hope discs on my bike and so might as well try the brakes out.

headsets and bottom brackets they are more renowned for.

I went from XT M8000 to Hope E4's,I find the Hope's have more feel and power than the XT's,I was going to try some Zee's but just fancied a change as I'd been using Shimano's for years,Hope are defo nicer to look at