My current surge frame had been looking rather tatty for quite some time, more of an eggshell white than a real white so I had decided to give it a make over. My first thoughts were to get it resprayed but after seeing the cost of resprays and then spotting a nearly new shiny black frame on ebay (cheaper than the respray) I bought that instead. The bonus of the new frame is that this one had the ISCG mounts that would make fitting a chain guide so much easier.
Once the new black frame arrived I happily built it up, with my new wider nukeproof bars and bling bling ns stem. This time I even bought some frame protection tape to help keep it looking fresher for longer, and protect the downtube from being chipped and dented from stray rocks. Since the frame and build was the same nothing felt anything different, it just looked newer. Unfortunately a week later the marzocchi 55 forks died on me a 2nd time (twice in one year) so off they went back to Windwave.
While they were away I splashed out on some new Rockshox Sektor forks, I wanted something more reliable, coil sprung and as it turned out less weighty. TF Tuned sorted me out with the fork and ensured they were in perfect working condition before arriving just 2 days later (they check oil levels and dial in the suspension for your weight before sending out, they also cut the steerer to the desired length and fit star nut). Great service!
Their first ride out was at Cwmcarn, Wales, a wicked trail that would give the new forks a good work out and give me a good idea how they feel. It was nice to have the adjustable travel again for the climbs, keeping the nose down helps on the climbs and stops it wandering too much. Once we reached the top, we did a few runs of the ‘freeride’ section where I wound them out to 130mm. They felt really nice and smooth and it was easier to pick up the front end on jumps and tight berms than it was previously (55′s had 160mm). The new wide bars felt great here too giving you that extra leverage to lean further into the corners.
The final descent down was as always a total blast, the only thing letting me down was my unfitness and a back tyre that really needed more air (every rock I hit sounded like it smashed against the rim). After a wee bit of food we got one run in of the downhill track, forks were set to 150mm and it was great. They felt good all the way down and combined with the new wide bars I felt way more stable on a run i’m usually cautious of first time down.
On a final note this is the first time I’ve really hit any rocky downhill sections at full speed after my broken shoulder and it felt great to be able to do that again.