Here she is, with some last minute tweaking all that's left to do. Thanks again to Justin at JB Mountain Bikes for being patient and getting every little part I ordered right the first time...

Saaaaweeet!

Let us know how she rides.

You going this weekend, or is that a stupid question?

Those are some killer looking parts attached to that beauty frame.

L8R

Wow - super sweet looking scoot Mike!!!

Mike... you should make a Pilgramidge up to KC and come huck with us brotha!



N O I C E

SAAAAWEEEET! nice ride man!

I don't see a pic of it rollin'.

Looks sweet. Like the color too. So when we going to see it in action?

Slainte

Everything is dialed in now. Only one tiny bug- the rear tire rubs my chain a little when I'm in granny, but nothing I can't live with. I'm really impressed with this bike so far, it's the closest thing to an MX bike feel you can get without the motor. I really like the slack head angle, fits my riding style much better than an XC bike. And those 8" discs, man! just grab a handful of brake and instant stoppie!! I plan to take it down to the hill that ate my ribs a couple weeks ago, see how much better it is than the one I've been riding. I might even try to learn a little "huckin" so I can go "huckin' wit da brotha's"

ride report

Took the new ride out on a 8 mile loop close to home. It is sweet, in fact I like it better than I thought I would. I was even able to climb a couple things I could never make on my xc rig. The extra weight was definately noticable but that'll just beef me up more The 5th element performed at least as well as advertised, very plush. Lots of cool knobs and buttons on that dude too that I am still tweaking on, but it's close now. I don't think I'll win any xc races on this thing but it will be an excellent all around bike.

One small complaint. The Super T has no compression damping adjustment. What's up with that? I will get over it but a huckin' brotha like me can never have too many knobs on his bike to twirl and twiddle with

you trail ride with that? it seems like it'd tip over backwards if pointed uphill

I thought the same thing. Trust me, this is not the best for traveling, but it will do. And it's worth the extra weight when you do get to go downhill. As for climbs, the rear suspension really digs in, especially in the real steep rocky stuff. I'm going to give it a real test tomorrow...

Nice looking bike. What's the story concerning the trophies on the window? Is that your workshop? If it is, it looks nicely organised and equipped.

One other thing. What was the total build cost?

It cost me the price of a good used Yugo

Direct cost was about $2800, plus I used a few things I already had that would probly be another $400-500. This high tech gadgetry aint cheap but I've heard of people spending more than that for an XC ride. I pretty much blew all my play money for the year on this thing lol.

you got a full ride report for that puppy yet?

Ride report- pretty simple, this thing is WAY more capable than I am. Solid as a rock. The only thing I haven't gotten used to yet is the rear suspension is more supple than the front. I'm comparing it to my YZ426, which soaks up landings fairly evenly between the front and rear, this bike seems to be softer in the rear. And I've tweaked about as much as I can. No complaints, it's just different than what I was expecting. And I've only done some moderate jumps and real rocky rough downhills on it so far, no mondo drops off big cliffs and rocks for me yet. Maybe never

Climbing is way better than I expected, except the weight is noticable in a strangely satisfying way. Gradual climbs make me notice the weight even more but I always hated gradual climbs anyway. I really think this thing could be trimmed down to a decent XC bike. One thing about it that I love is the slack head angle. IMHO they should make XC bikes this slack. There's no feeling like you're headed over the bars when you confront a big rock on a downhill, you just give it the gas and hang on.

So... I've owned 6 mountain bikes, 3 of which were duallies. This one will probably be my favorite by far, I just need to give it a few more rides. But it's cool...

About how much does she weigh?

I would guess around 36 - 38 lb's. I will go try to get a more scientific answer to that, I'm curious too. It is heavy though.

edit: I weighed it using bathroom scales and it weighs 39 lb's. I'm really gonna have to eat my wheaties to win any races on this thing

You start racing on that baby and you're going to be as buff as a brick man... go for it. I mean you may not be in the front pack, but landing xc jumps and crossing terrain on that thing would be damn fun.