Macbeth
05-31-2007, 05:44 AM
Hi Guys,
Sorry for the delay in answering a whole bunch of questions about my bike. Here's a bit of a rundown on how I feel about the bike, and the brakes.
Just to give perspective, the bikes I have had sincew I started riding are Planet X Zebdi, Zoo Pitbull, Koxx Vinco (version 1), Koxx Vinco Derangboy, Echo Pure.... And now BT 7.0.
Of all the bikes I have had, the BT is by far the most predictable and stable bike I have owned. The stiffness of the frame was immediately apparent, and my confidence with moves that intimidated me on other bikes (such as steep wheelswitches and taps) is now WAY higher. It's obvious from the first ride that none of the power you are laying down is going anywhere except into the move you are trying to pull. Zero flex, and very neutral handling.
You can see it from the pics I know, but the production quality is first rate. Rear end is exactly aligned (I even checked it with frame alignment tools), and everything went onto the frame with no annoying hassles. Little things like there being no paint on the bottom bracket threads was a nice change from some of the other bikes I have had too.
Chain tensioning is seriously a 1 minute job. I have found my Koolchain stretched like a biatch in the first two weeks, but it hasn't really bothered me at all as the rear is so easy to adjust. Props to Rav for coming up with such a rad design. Changing tires is also SO much easier with this setup than it was when I was running a tensioner and magura.
The brakeset I am running (Avid Juict Ultimate levers to Code caliper rear and Juicy Carbon front) was a bit of a gamble, but I am pleased to say that for the most part I am stoked with it.
It took a while to bed in but now that it has, the rear brake has much more power than my magura ever had (on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give magura a 7 and the Code a 10) and unbelievably precise modulation. The only issue I have had with it is that there is quite a noticeable pad knock when the wheel tries to roll backward. You cannot feel it through the lever, and the rear wheel does not move, but there was a metallic cracking sound as the pad hit the internal part of the caliper body.
I played around this week with coating the back of the pads with silastic, and it has made the noise barely noticeable. On the whole, the bike is SILENT, which also helps confidence a lot.
Someone asked about the Goodridge hose kit I am running. Goodridge still don't make a Code specific kit, but the regular Avid kit works just fine. I missed a sidehop yesterday and landed right on the Ultimate lever and was very happy to find it scratched, but totally intact and the Goodridge hose was roughed up a bit, but nothing serious - a regular hose would have been toast I'm sure.
If anyone has any other questions, just ask.....
Adam
Sorry for the delay in answering a whole bunch of questions about my bike. Here's a bit of a rundown on how I feel about the bike, and the brakes.
Just to give perspective, the bikes I have had sincew I started riding are Planet X Zebdi, Zoo Pitbull, Koxx Vinco (version 1), Koxx Vinco Derangboy, Echo Pure.... And now BT 7.0.
Of all the bikes I have had, the BT is by far the most predictable and stable bike I have owned. The stiffness of the frame was immediately apparent, and my confidence with moves that intimidated me on other bikes (such as steep wheelswitches and taps) is now WAY higher. It's obvious from the first ride that none of the power you are laying down is going anywhere except into the move you are trying to pull. Zero flex, and very neutral handling.
You can see it from the pics I know, but the production quality is first rate. Rear end is exactly aligned (I even checked it with frame alignment tools), and everything went onto the frame with no annoying hassles. Little things like there being no paint on the bottom bracket threads was a nice change from some of the other bikes I have had too.
Chain tensioning is seriously a 1 minute job. I have found my Koolchain stretched like a biatch in the first two weeks, but it hasn't really bothered me at all as the rear is so easy to adjust. Props to Rav for coming up with such a rad design. Changing tires is also SO much easier with this setup than it was when I was running a tensioner and magura.
The brakeset I am running (Avid Juict Ultimate levers to Code caliper rear and Juicy Carbon front) was a bit of a gamble, but I am pleased to say that for the most part I am stoked with it.
It took a while to bed in but now that it has, the rear brake has much more power than my magura ever had (on a scale of 1 to 10 I'd give magura a 7 and the Code a 10) and unbelievably precise modulation. The only issue I have had with it is that there is quite a noticeable pad knock when the wheel tries to roll backward. You cannot feel it through the lever, and the rear wheel does not move, but there was a metallic cracking sound as the pad hit the internal part of the caliper body.
I played around this week with coating the back of the pads with silastic, and it has made the noise barely noticeable. On the whole, the bike is SILENT, which also helps confidence a lot.
Someone asked about the Goodridge hose kit I am running. Goodridge still don't make a Code specific kit, but the regular Avid kit works just fine. I missed a sidehop yesterday and landed right on the Ultimate lever and was very happy to find it scratched, but totally intact and the Goodridge hose was roughed up a bit, but nothing serious - a regular hose would have been toast I'm sure.
If anyone has any other questions, just ask.....
Adam