The Tanuki, It proved to be a great machine for me. I got the deluxe model so it stepped up a few parts on the bike that really needed it such as the fork brakes etc.... Before I even got the bike on the trail I loved the way it felt just sitting on it, the different frame geometry of new bikes seems to be getting better and better and that beautiful hydro formed tubing looks slick. It proved to ride as good as it looked, for the price which was 50% off and free shipping on chainlove.com, it could not be beat. I could have easily have dropped that much on suspension on the Dawg alone. The 17inch frame was sold out so I hesitantly went for the 18" and It seems to be no problem at all. When i got the bike to descend it really started to shine and show its true colors, it felt extremely good, I felt like I was back on my coil air with 7" of travel, it was screaming for me to go faster as I feathered the impressive Avid elixir 5's. That day on that bike brought back some fond memories of Utah when descending massive hills and having a mighty fun time doing it being in tune with the bike. The biggest thing for me about the bike is the suspension, it works, it super smooth and performs as I ask it to. I have a rock shox sektor tk air up front with lockout and rebound adjustments and Kona Fastrax AF2 for the rear with rebound and lockout. Now this fasttrax is Konas brand named Taiwainese shock that feels great and has been proving to be holding up great for riders. I have a little issue with it since I am a 180 pound rider that likes spending time in the air I find that it really doesn't want to hold the pressures I want to put in it, which is upwards of 130 psi. I think it is on 110 or so where it's happy for full and I have to fight it to take more air so I leave it at that which is still a little soft for my hang time needs......wheels work, not a great fancy wheelset but they work and if they are like my Dawg wheels which have taken 6 years of heavy abuse and not failed me yet I hope these can do the same. I am extremely happy, the price was too good to pass up and I believe I made a good choice and even at 130mm it will do most of all I ask it to.
By the way a Tanuki is : The Japanese raccoon dog, Statues of tanuki can be found outside many Japanese temples and restaurants, especially noodle shops. These statues often wear big, straw hats and carry bottles of sake in one hand, and a promissory note or empty purse in the other hand. Tanuki statues usually have large bellies. The statues also usually show humorously large testicles
No comments:
Post a Comment