Bike Nirvana
Yet another cycling blog
Full suspension ahead
May 26 , 2016
I've been wanting to have a full suspension experience and was planning deliberately on how to get there. It wasn't as straightforward as I thought it would be and at least half a dozen options grabbed my attention. Those that made it in the short-list was Canyon's Nerve built bike, and a custom-assembled Giant Anthem.
The Anthem has its appeal of "DIY" and the aluminum frame is what I am focused on as the composite version being hybrid, offers less in weight savings compared to the cost.
The thought of a Niner sweeps me from time to time but I won't be able to use my Rockshox Reba RL with it, so I had to dismiss the option.
The Canyon Nerve offers a price that's hard to beat even if I include shipping and taxes. And I'm about to pull the trigger.
Then out of the blue, I was offered something really worth considering. Taking a pre-owned unit wasn't in the plan at all and I shrugged off other hints from friends.
Tonight, I took it home.
But allow me to step back. I asked my friend who recommended it to me to send a photo. This is what he sent...
My first reaction was, "what the hell!"
Nevertheless, I was curious as I was lusting for a Niner but the price of a brand new unit is out of my reach and this could be an opportunity. I was informed that the bike has been cleand up and tuned by Gran Trail Cycles, where it was originally built, and is ready for viewing.
The bike is indeed clean and the parts recognizable, so I took a couple of photos for reference. I did a bike fit and the seatpost is too high for me, but what struck me was the weight, it is light and I was dying inside to ride it.
At home, I encoded the parts into Excel Mobile and calculated how much I will spend if I'd build this today using the same parts.
Expensive. The due dilligence suggests that I'm getting a good deal. I did have concerns, like the state of the carbon frame, the effectiveness of the Fox shock absorbers, and there are signs of wear pretty evident on the chainring, pedals and the grips' ends. The owner mentioned that the bike is always cleaned and checked at Gran Trail Cycles, but the suspension were never serviced. Dan's, the distributor of Fox quoted me P2,700 and P3,500 for the full service of the rear and front shocks, respectively.
I can see from the components that it was carefully thought after. The execution is well played that even the theme of the bike is delightful. A lot of money has been thrown into this build and righfully so, resulting in a well done craft. It wasn't perfect though, as there's a compromise made - the front derailleur is Shimano XT. At the first opprtunity, it has to go together with the KCNC pedal.
Here's the final configuration.
I was so excited to take my Niner to the trail so on the weekend, I headed to Heroes Bike Trail and set personal records in two consecutive days.
After the ride, I washed the bike with MicroMagic car shampoo from Blade and polished it with Pledge Lemon. After all these years, the bike is still in pretty good condition and there's no scratch at all on the frame. I'm so happy with this acquisition.