Well, it's time for a report on my Switchblade, which I've ridden about
10 times.
All my bikes have their own names. This one is the Reverend Father
Titus, named for the book of Titus in the New Testament.
It's a 4-bar Horst link suspension, with a Manitou Minute on front
(130mm, adjustable), and Fox Talas on the rear (also adjustable), with
travel settings at roughly 4, 5, or 6 inches (I think). New Race Face
crankset and rings, Shimano grip shifts and xt rr derraileur. Avid
mechanicals. Next is to switch shifters & derr to SRAM, probably x9.
Vuelte Freeride wheels, kinda heavy, but seem pretty stout. Overall
weight is 32lbs. Could shave a little off with lighter wheels and to
drop the scoper seatpost for a Thomson elite. Maybe next month. Got a
Nevegal 2.3 on front and Motoraptor 2.4 on back.
Weighs in at 32lbs right now. Can probably get it down to 28-30 with a
few planned upgrades in the future.
With all that verbal diahrrea out of the way, the one word that
describes this bike is solid. It handles extremely well, doing
precisely what I tell it to, and not letting the terrain dictate how
the bike behaves or where it goes. I'm used to letting the terrain
chart my course on the light, fully rigid singlespeed, or on my light,
steel hardtail. This hombre, though, has me fully in control. Like it
or hate it, I have no one to blame but myself, since this bike will do
whatever I ask it to do, with panache and no [censored] or whining.
Climbing. An important subject around here. The geometry is designed
to place the rider over the rear wheel, so seated climbing appears most
efficient. Takes a little getting used to, as I've always done a lot
of my climbing standing up. I still stand from time to time when I get
tired of sitting on the long climbs or to pull myself up and over
something irregular like a rock or log. On a couple climbs, I've
dialed the front suspension down to about 80mm, but it doesn't make any
difference to me. It might help keep the front on track, though on
longer, steeper climbs. More to come on this, as I like a good, long
gutbusting climb.
Cornering. Probably more a function of the tires and rider, but again,
this bike does what I tell it, and it seems to read my mind most of the
time. No matter what I throw at it, and I'm not a very aggressive
rider, it just handles like it was nothing. No doubt a much better
rider could find the limits of this bike, but they're nowhere in sight
to me yet. Cornering as hard as I can, as fast as I can, there's no
hesitation, no skittering, no looking over its shoulder as if to ask,
"is that really what you want to do?" It just does what I tell it in
such a solid, confidence inspiring way, it has made me a believer that
a good frame is worth paying for. I come out of s-turns and j-turns and
switchbacks with a big ole grin.
Handling. It's a bit clunky compared to the bikes I've come from. I
can't quite get the knack of whipping the rear wheel around switchbacks
like I could on the lighter, rigid bikes, and I'm like a brand new
beginner learning how to bunny hop on this boing-boing. Did a little
better tonight, when all cylinders were hitting pretty well. However,
the fact that the terrain DOES NOT intimidate this bike in the
slightest, that makes up for the lightning-bug quick handling I'm used
to. The balance is immaculate, and track-stands are easier, but I'm
still learning this. The heavier, cushier handling will likely grow
on me. An acceptable trade-off, I would bet.
Descending. This bike really shines when you point it downhill with
lots of garbage to negotiate. With the rear end linkage set to long
travel, the 4-bar linkage is really plush. I can just point and
shoot, with the slack head angle forgiving the obstacles, and it really
is a joy to rock and roll down fairly steep, relatively technical
stuff. My short Thomson Elite stem keeps my center of gravity back,
where I can easily get my weight back, and still be in good control.
The Fox Talas hasn't bottomed out (yet) on its long-travel setting, and
I've dropped this bike about 4 feet, rock to rock, and it's PLUSH. I'm
170lbs, so this seems pretty good. Catching air is getting easier and
definitely fun, if I load the suspension and launch appropriately.
Still learning how to do this, and looking forward to more "freeride"
type opportunities.
Overall. This will be a good all-mountain, all-day epic bike that I
know will grow with me. Can't wait to haul it up to Sun Valley or
McCall next summer. Jim and Carla, Geedub [hint,hint]. I might not
ever find the limits to the Rev. Father, it's just that good. 30lbs
is not too heavy, when it comes with this much quality and confidence
inspiring construction and geometry. I'm still getting used to the
"freeride"-type geometry, the heavier weight, the slower handling,
having come from aggressive xc geometry on my other two regular steel
stable mates.
But who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? I have to learn to
shift sooner, as the heavier bike loses momentum quicker than my
lighter steel bikes. I also need to learn how to bunny hop better, and
see if I can get the tail whips and other mediocre tricks down that I
learned over years of trial and error on the xc bikes.
Otherwise, we've got a keeper. That's all.
CDB