I was able to get a very nice ride in this am. This area of town is more pine forest with longer, steeper, sustained climbs. Not as loose. Not particularly technical, but very fun, narrow singletrack.
For the locals, we climbed 305 and 1/2 of Smith Ravine and came back down.
I changed the gearing down to 32X22 and I'm happy I did. I have taken to climbing with the "motion control" turned on and the floodgate at a minimum so the platform is relatively easily overwhelmed.
My riding partner observed that the fork bounced more than the frame.
The climb went fine.
These two bikes represent opposite ends of SS technology, but they share the same spirit for sure.
Sad thing is Dan can still put the hurt on me [I]downhill [/I]on that thing. Technology is still no substitute for skill and courage.
I did not notice at all the flex I commented on previously...at all? Who knows? I adapted to the bike? Different trails? Enjoying the ride instead of analyzing everything? Suffice it to say I bonded with this thing today and had a great time. At least one component of the squirrellyness on the front end was that the fork's air assist was gone, so I was using the spring alone on my prior ride. A few pumps into the air assist stabilized things markedly.
Here are a couple vids from the end of the ride screwing around in the parking lot. Nothing too fancy, but it helps explain my preference for short chainstays as these moves are significantly harder with a longer rear end.
One thing I like about the bike is that it is so quite on these moves, no derailleur or chain slap.
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