Ok... So I was being all coy about the plans for this bike, but I don't have anything better to do but pontificate about hardware at the moment. Lots of time to think about bikes while stretching and doing PT. So I digress.
The vision I have for this bike is to have a few different parts to swap in/out to change it's personality a bit. I had zero intention of buying this bike with the 650+, or even keeping the 650+ wheels. What I knew was that I really really wanted this matte black and mint color and that this was the last one in stock at the path in a Large and that SC had zero more in stock at the facility. That's really why the trigger got pulled quickly.
When I bought the bike, Tani suggested that this thing really comes alive with a very light wheelset. At this point I was dead set on the bike being delivered with the 29r setup and without the + setup being in the picture. I placed the order for some Speedtuned Exile Carbon wheels. They seemed pretty promising at 1700 grams for a 29mm ID, 32 spoke setup.
http://speedtunedwheels.com/wheels/exile-carbon/ That wheelset is on order and should be here within the next day or so.
That's when Tani and I got around to talking about my surgery, progress and recovery plan. We both sort-of came to the conclusion at the same time, that maybe 650+ would be a great way for me to ease back into riding on dirt, and minimize the impact trama to my spine through recovery. I have to be honest, I'm overall very meh and turned off by 650+ setups. Making tech easier to ride isn't really what I'm after, but the idea of minimizing the most worrisome aspect of my recovery (impact trauma too soon) seemed like a good one. So I decided to just bite the bullet, and buy the bike with both wheelsets right off the bat. I'll definitely ride them a bit and see how I like it. If it's not my cup of tea, I'll sell the set after recovery, however Tani is pretty sure I'm going to be surprised by the setup and that I'll enjoy it quite a bit. I'll reserve my judgement on that one for now... but I have to admit, the idea of blasting kitty litter at mammoth with 2.8" tires is enticing. Only time will tell.
The plan all along for this bike was to have varying wheel, tire and suspension setups depending on the intended usage for the bike. Originally I was going to get some 30mm ID aluminum wheels and keep a 2.3-2.5 DHF/DHR2 combo on them for chunk and tech. I was then going to build up a set of crest wheels and keep an IKON setup on them for XC days. The other part of that plan was to be able to switch back and forth between style and stroke length of rear shock. With a change out from 200x51 rear shock to 200x57 rear shock, this bike ends up with 150mm of rear travel and a completely different feel.
That plan is still in place... but is changing slightly as things come more into focus. I just so happen to have a 200x57 Monarch Plus, Debonair RT3 shock that I am going to try out for park days. I'll end up keeping the OEM Monarch RT Debonair for XC rides, but that shock will get sent to craig at avalanche for an XC style version of his custom shock internals. Once I get a chance to try the bike with the long shock rear shock, I will either tear that shock down for rebuild and re-shim or I will sell it, and get a fox float X2 or DHX2.
There's a bit more to this plan such as potentially swapping out my hardtail bike so that it can share wheelsets with the hightower, but that is all pending at the moment.
For now, I swapped my Renthal Fatbar carbon bars onto the bike, ordered some new grips and XTR trail pedals and I'm awaiting the 29r wheelset to come in. I actually think that I'm going to go ahead and buy an additional cassette and set of rotors so I can swap back and forth between wheelsets at will for the first few months of owning the bike.
Overall it's an exciting platform because it allows so much stuff to play and tinker with.
