Mountain Biking - Cyclo-gasm

Well my frame finally came in... then I had to wait almost a week for the LBS to put it together, but I finally have my new mountain bike. It's a Seven Verve (2004).

Chris King Nothreadset
Thomson Mountain stem
Easton EA70 Alloy XC Bar
ODI Rogue Lock-on grips
LP Composites Team Bar Ends
SRAM X.9 Trigger shifters
Avid Speed Dial 7 Brake Levers
XT Front Derailleur
SRAM X.9 Rear Derailleur
Avid Mechanical Disc Brakes (160mm rear, 185mm front)
Thomson Elite Seatpost
SRAM PC-99 Chain
XT Cassettee (11-32)
Salsa Skewers
Panaracer Fire XC Pro Tires
Shimano M424 Pedals
RaceFace Deus XC X-type Crankset (integrated BB)
Wheelset (Velocity Deep V Mountain Rims/Chris King ISO Disc Hubs/DT Swiss Champion Spokes, 36h, 3 cross)
Fox F80X Fork
Fizik Aliante Saddle

I can't wait to ride it. I think I'll get up early and be late to work. LOL.

Nice.

Nice.

Thanks. It's going to be very hard to actually sleep tonight with that sitting in my living room, just itching to be ridden.

Wow... :)

Simply gorgeous. And that's a big looking frame! Can you write up your impressions on the wheels and cranks too when you get a chance?

My friends brother has that bike. He loves it. Do you like yours?

Simply gorgeous. And that's a big looking frame! Can you write up your impressions on the wheels and cranks too when you get a chance?

I was gonna say the same thing. gorgeous bike! are you like 6'5"? I have noticed a few members of this board getting sevens becuse they are really tall...I guess they are good at making really big frames.

I think the thread title says it all:D

BTW Im also interested in a write up on the cranks. When and if you have the time of course.

Simply gorgeous. And that's a big looking frame! Can you write up your impressions on the wheels and cranks too when you get a chance?


Thanks. I'm definitely in love with it.

Took it for the maiden ride this morning. OMG. It handles so much better than my old circa early 90's GT Outpost. And so light. And that fork is simply amazing. Brakes darn near stop on a dime... with almost no force. I could use 1 finger to stop.

The hubs are still getting broken in and I could tell they were a big sluggish, but from what I've read about them and been told about them, that's perfectly normal.

Yeah, it's on the big side for a frame. I'm only 6'2", but I have long legs and a short torso, or at least that's what the LBS guy that measured me said. I've always had a very hard time getting a good fit for any bike (especially the standard bikes). That's the main reason I went with a Seven... custom fitted to me. And titanium doesn't hurt since I'm a big guy. I've got some of the dimensions of the frame from Seven if anyone is interested. I also got alot of the perks put on it.. chain hanger, rack mounts, fender mounts, personalized name on it, plus cable routing on the top tube for all the difference cables (shifters and brakes).

I was actually going to try and do a review of the fork, wheelset, crankset, and maybe the SRAM X.9 Shifter/rear derailleur/XT cassette combo.

I'm planning on trying to get in about 600 miles on it before 9/11. On 9/11-12 I'm doing a 185 mile off-road charity ride (Tour de Canal). So by 9/13, I should have a pretty solid impression of everything on the bike.

My friends brother has that bike. He loves it. Do you like yours?


I'm loving it so far... but only done one ride. But I can't imagine my impression going down too much. And if anything does go wrong, I doubt it will be the frame. The only parts I'm sort of worried about are the crankset, wheelset, and fork.

I was gonna say the same thing. gorgeous bike! are you like 6'5"? I have noticed a few members of this board getting sevens becuse they are really tall...I guess they are good at making really big frames.

That and they customize it perfectly to your size, riding style, and how you want the bike to feel (stiff, compliant, etc). I actually had to fill out a pretty detailed application, and then had to do a phone interview with someone from Seven so they could find out all the necessary information to make the frame fit me perfectly.

If you have an odd sized body and rarely get a good fit on the standard factory build bikes, then a custom job is the way to go. Plus, you get to pick the exact equipment you want. I've never seen a off the shelf bike come with equipment I wanted. There's always something I'd replace immediately.

And, with something like Seven ... it's warrantied for life.

Downside: $$$$ (ouch). But it'll be the last bike you ever have to buy. I fully expect to be riding this bike 20 years from now.

Umm...

How do hubs break in? Are the bearings in the hub?

Enjoy your new sweet ride!

Very sparkly. :)

Maybe you'll blow by me on a climb sometime. Do you know how much it weighs?

Very sparkly. :)

Maybe you'll blow by me on a climb sometime. Do you know how much it weighs?


Going by the weights of the components and frame, I think roughly 26 lbs. But I haven't measured it to be exact.

Let me know what you think of the X.9 components.

Let me know what you think of the X.9 components.

So far the X.9 combo has been shifting like a dream, but I've only got about 185 miles on the bike so far. I've had 2 or 3 misshifts with the XT front derailleur. Other than that, the bike is working like a dream. Still tuning the fork in on how I like it. Overall the fork is just awesome. No problems with the X-type crankset/BB combo either. I did have to move the shifters just a bit so that my thumb could reach the inner most shifter, but once I moved them, they've been working fine. The brake levers are great... I've basically been doing 1 or 2 finger stops the whole time.

And the wheels are even holding up. Only had a few times where the disc brakes were rubbing, but I think they've mostly gotten broken in now.

Still breaking in the Chris King hubs though.

Bet you didn't know that Titanium is heavier than Aluminum....

Nice lookin' BIG framed bike, for a hardtail anyway....

RE breaking in hubs..

yes bearings are in the hubs and they are packed with grease from the factory and a bit of riding will loosen up the grease and seat all the bearings and stuff in the hub body and everything will eventually roll a bit smoother... I dont know how much one feels all of this but it does go on to some extent..
~Steve