- Joined
- Sep 17, 2013
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Again, I have to make something into something it's not. I can't ride single track well on anything except 26 inch wheels. I demoed everything I could this summer and couldn't keep my line on technical uphills. I kept banging pedals. Couldn't go around 3 corners that some people call "the impossible to get around corners". I can make these corners 100% of the time on my 26er. I have an even older Epic and I like the Cross country geometry. I can climb well and toss them around better than the new ones with the lazy low geometry. I looked for about 3 months for a small Epic or Top Fuel but there aren't that many out there. I wanted a 2009 small framed Epic but had to settle for a 2007. It made me feel a little better when a Specialized mechanic told me the older brain shock, where everything is alongside the rear wheel, works better than the 2009 one. That may not be true but I'm sticking with has story, it's gospel for me.
Here it is with the modifications.
No place for a seat bag with the added dropper post so my tools and spare tube are in a Camelbak wide mouth water jug.
Gearing is lowered by replacing the 9 speed cassette with an 11 x 36. These are getting hard to find as 9 speeds are considered obsolete, but it is my favorite drive train. Most 9 speed units seem to be 12 x 34 or 36. It also has the 22 tooth small chain wheel replaced with a 20 tooth titanium unit. I replaced the left SCRAM shifter with a Shimano unit as a replacement SRAM is no longer available unless you can find NOS. The original broke right away and a used one broke during it's first use on this bike. The Shimano unit works well. New chain as well.
Massive Hans Dampf 26 x 2.35 tires converted to tubeless. These are way bigger than my other 2.35 tires. My other 26 x 2.35 tires only measure 26 inches outside diameter. The Hans Dampf are almost 27.5. They just fit between the chain and seat stays. These tires are usually $90 each but I got them on line for $35. Probably because they are 26 inch tires and also obsolete. They are great tires and I keep going faster and faster around corners and still have not found their limit, pretty scary. I'll be sad if I need a replacement.
I replaced the short gooseneck stem with the old style long one. No need for it to be short as it is responsive with the tighter head angle and I can get my weight way over the front wheel for climbing. I feel the short ones are borrowed from downhill and the new mountain bikes have their geometry more like a downhill bike (low bottom bracket and slack head angle) then mine. A slack head angle plus lager diameter wheels makes it more difficult to steer and a short stem takes less of a movement to correct for the poor tracking I found on the modern bikes. I use a cell phone remote battery recharger for my headlight. The battery is mounted on an old cutdown plastic water bottle cage. The top part of the cage is cut down but enough remains to wrap excess wiring neatly out of the way. A rubber band made from an old heavy duty 26 inch inner tube keeps the wires in place. Part of the bottom of the cage remains to keep the battery from sliding down and becoming a gravity victim. I used heat to spread the plastic a little to better fit the flat battery. The battery is held in place with more inner tube rubber bands. It doesn't move on single track.
At this point I have no further changes planned, other than new flat pedals before spring. I was going to take off the big chain wheel and put on a bash guard but it shifts so well onto the big wheel now that it has the new Shimano shifter that I plan to leave it. The big wheel won't be used much but if it continues to work I won't do the modification. I am not going to put on carbon bars or seat as the bike is quite heavy and a few ounces won't matter. This bike rides amazing for an old guy like me. Low gearing, responsive, climbs like a dream, fast on the flats and goes around tight corners that others have problems with. I plan for this to be my last mountain bike. I'll keep this bike for 4 more years until I retire from mountain biking at 75 (thats the goal anyway). Who cares about going downhill fast, I'll leave that to the youngsters.
Here it is with the modifications.
No place for a seat bag with the added dropper post so my tools and spare tube are in a Camelbak wide mouth water jug.
Gearing is lowered by replacing the 9 speed cassette with an 11 x 36. These are getting hard to find as 9 speeds are considered obsolete, but it is my favorite drive train. Most 9 speed units seem to be 12 x 34 or 36. It also has the 22 tooth small chain wheel replaced with a 20 tooth titanium unit. I replaced the left SCRAM shifter with a Shimano unit as a replacement SRAM is no longer available unless you can find NOS. The original broke right away and a used one broke during it's first use on this bike. The Shimano unit works well. New chain as well.
Massive Hans Dampf 26 x 2.35 tires converted to tubeless. These are way bigger than my other 2.35 tires. My other 26 x 2.35 tires only measure 26 inches outside diameter. The Hans Dampf are almost 27.5. They just fit between the chain and seat stays. These tires are usually $90 each but I got them on line for $35. Probably because they are 26 inch tires and also obsolete. They are great tires and I keep going faster and faster around corners and still have not found their limit, pretty scary. I'll be sad if I need a replacement.
I replaced the short gooseneck stem with the old style long one. No need for it to be short as it is responsive with the tighter head angle and I can get my weight way over the front wheel for climbing. I feel the short ones are borrowed from downhill and the new mountain bikes have their geometry more like a downhill bike (low bottom bracket and slack head angle) then mine. A slack head angle plus lager diameter wheels makes it more difficult to steer and a short stem takes less of a movement to correct for the poor tracking I found on the modern bikes. I use a cell phone remote battery recharger for my headlight. The battery is mounted on an old cutdown plastic water bottle cage. The top part of the cage is cut down but enough remains to wrap excess wiring neatly out of the way. A rubber band made from an old heavy duty 26 inch inner tube keeps the wires in place. Part of the bottom of the cage remains to keep the battery from sliding down and becoming a gravity victim. I used heat to spread the plastic a little to better fit the flat battery. The battery is held in place with more inner tube rubber bands. It doesn't move on single track.
At this point I have no further changes planned, other than new flat pedals before spring. I was going to take off the big chain wheel and put on a bash guard but it shifts so well onto the big wheel now that it has the new Shimano shifter that I plan to leave it. The big wheel won't be used much but if it continues to work I won't do the modification. I am not going to put on carbon bars or seat as the bike is quite heavy and a few ounces won't matter. This bike rides amazing for an old guy like me. Low gearing, responsive, climbs like a dream, fast on the flats and goes around tight corners that others have problems with. I plan for this to be my last mountain bike. I'll keep this bike for 4 more years until I retire from mountain biking at 75 (thats the goal anyway). Who cares about going downhill fast, I'll leave that to the youngsters.
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