Long Time Coming - The Slingshot Farmboy Review

In mid summer, Slingshot saw fit to send me a frame to test. I am always grateful for the opportunity to try something new, but my dance card was pretty full this summer, so I asked them to send a medium frame size that I could get under more people.

People who may not get the opportunity to test many bikes.

People who haven't necessarily ridden everything under the sun.
Ordinary folks who just like to ride bikes.


Folks that had no idea that they were even riding a 29er.

Folks that pointed to it wondering "what the heck is that?" that got a chance to ride it, and still came away smiling.

Folks that knew what it was and came away smiling after a ride.

Here is an unedited first ride report from my friend Scott. For those of you who don't know him, he is an engineer for a prestigious "active sports" company, has won several industiral design awards, has a dog that eats the inside of cars, a man who loves Iron Maiden, beer and riding bikes.

He is also a pretty good bike rider, and has crashed enough to know what he is talking about.

***When I woke up Sunday morning, I was fighting a good-sized hangover from two straight nights of partying like I was still in college. At the ripe old age of 34, it takes me a bit more time to recover than it used to. So after I called George to confirm that our prearranged afternoon ride was still on, it was with a sense of mild apprehension and slight nausea that I headed out the door to meet up. As I drove bleary-eyed to the shop, little did I know I’d be adding to the fun by popping my 29er cherry too, by demoing the Slingshot Farmboy at George’s suggestion.


As we rode from the parking lot to the trailhead, I noticed two things. First, that my cold-weather riding gear is woefully inadequate. And second, that the front derailleur was adjusted a little off, so I couldn’t get down into the small chainring. Unfamiliar equipment, cold limbs, no small chainring, and oh yeah, that hangover - things were adding up to make it a less-than-pleasurable ride. However, I’m here to tell you that the Slingshot put those worries to rest.


Like I said, this was my first ride on a 29er. I’ve been listening to George sing their praises for years now, and I have to say, after just one ride, I might finally be a convert. So I’m not exactly sure how much the following impressions were due to the Slingshot itself, and how much they’re due to the big wheels under it.

Anyway, here goes. It was a really fun ride. It climbed easily, even without access to the small chainring, and that’s saying something for me, because I hate climbing. Granted, the trails we were on don’t feature any of the extended brutal climbs that I’ve come to know and despise here in VT, but still, I had no problem getting up even the trickiest sections this ride had to offer. It felt solid when getting up out of the saddle, and was light enough to really make use of the big tires’ ability to roll over roots and rocks. In other words, it seemed to roll over stuff really easily. Not a huge difference from my normal ride (a 26”-wheeled Heckler), but enough to notice. It handled surprisingly nimbly. It adjusted course without any backtalk or fuss, and held onto a line nicely when I was on-track.


The bike really came into its own when descending through a series of slightly bermed switchbacks. It was then that the Slingshot really felt like... well, like a slingshot. The bike really felt like it was loading up into the turns and getting shot out of them. Good fun. Really the only issue I had on the ride was a couple of instances when riding over obstacles on flat terrain where it felt like I was about to go over the handlebars when I wouldn’t normally expect to. I felt like I could have used another inch or so of wheelbase towards the front of the bike. However, as mentioned before, this was a demo bike, so it certainly wasn’t set up optimally for my body geometry. A different stem or fork might have gone a long way to eliminate that issue.


Overall, it was really fun, and I have to say I enjoyed the ride a lot, even if there were a few moments where I thought I might have to hurl up all of the previous night’s vodka and wedding cake all over the trail. For a first time, the Slingshot sure was gentle on me.***

I value an unbiased opinion more than anything else. and the feedback I got from this frame was very interesting. It certainly is an odd duck, but that doesnt make it bad. In fact, the Farmboy could be the exact thing you are looking for.

5.5.1

So, here it is.

The finale.

It looks like this will unfortunately be the last time I get to ride this bike, as it needs to go back home so it can be ridden by those that created it. I will say though, I had a blast riding it. My first ride, definitely made me want more, and after I had made some necessary component switches to get the riding position I needed, I was a lot more in tune with what it was capable of.

The conditions today were near perfect. Overcast, but very warm at 38°, with about 3" of crunchy snow on the ground. No one had ridden bikes out on the trails in quite some time, and I was amazed that I was able to guess where the trail actually was. Freshies are always fun, even more so when you are riding your bike.

There were certain times when the big guessing game of "what exactly is under all this snow" got ugly, but the 5.5 seemed up to task. There were only a couple of times when I spun out. I was pretty impressed actually. For low speed technical handling, (with my stuff on it) I'd give this bike a 9. Some of the situations where my bars were crossed up, with no forward speed, that should put a person on the ground in a hurry, simply vanished with a quick stomp on the pedals. Good stuff.


One of the things about it that made me wonder what they were thinking though, was the integrated headset. In an effort to keep the front end down, they incorporated the headset into the headtube. They did it in a rather crafty way, but I was pretty disappointed to learn that I would not be able to change the frame geometry in my favor. To me, this could be a deal breaker. I would not want to use this integrated headset on my $2K+ frame, I'd want a King, or at the very least, the option to use one.

So, what are the big changes with all my junk installed? Well, not much. After I figured out that I couldn't raise the front end by adding the lower cup of a headset, or change the geometry enough by adding 5 mm of (working) fork travel, I pretty much tried to mimic the cockpit configuration I was most comfortable with. I ended up with about a mile of spacers under the stem, and then some above to make up the difference.


Now that my riding position was more familiar, I felt I could judge what this bike was capable of. I still kept smacking my heels into the swingarm though, and with the sag set where it needed to be, I actually smacked the pedals into the ground more than I did with my RIP. I will go so far to say, that with a few inches of snow on the ground, it becomes harder to think ahead in the pedalling department. You have no idea what lays under that cold white blanket.

Oh how I wish I could have gotten this bike in August!


Now the riding position felt pretty upright, even more so than with the RIP because of the 73/74° HT/ST angles. While it wasn't necessarily the best conditions to be objective about a bike, the way it handled spoke volumes. I was pretty pumped on how it did. Is my RIP too slack? A back to back shoot out on 6 Flags would be the only way to tell.

I never got to go very fast, but I did get to put it in some precarious positions. And it did well. Lateral stiffness seemed like it might be a problem on the trail, but it wasn't apparent during the ride. In fact, there were a couple of fast switchbacks that were executed with two wheel steering at speed. I knew where those wheels were at all times, and was able to count on them being there once I was used to the sensation. Just goes to show you, what you think on the sales floor, and how it works in the wild, can sometimes be two very different things. Think about the feeling when carving a powder turn on a snowboard or skis , I was there today on two wheels. Sweet!


Would I buy this bike? I think so. I'd love to ride it on Perry Hill in the middle of summer, but from what I have learned about it, in less than perfect conditions, it can certainly get the job done. We'll see how production frames differ from this prototype, but as far as I'm concerned, it's just about there. It made me smile today, and any time you walk away from a ride with a big grin, it's a good thing.

The Season of Poor Bike Riding

Locals have a saying about our climate up here. We have two seasons, winter, and the season of poor sledding. In that context, I choose to look at it as, the season of poor bike riding, and riding bikes in what ever mother nature throws at you. I finished swapping the parts from my RIP9 over to the 5.5, took some measurements, and have everything ready for my next opportunity to ride. Bikes that is.

Today, I rode my snowboard. Here are some shots of the local bump.


Despite our frosty disposition, I'll be logging a couple of miles on the 5.5 tomorrow.
It will be cold.

Ridiculite

Every once in a while, you get to build up something so indulgent, that you can't believe your eyes when you see the finished product. And sometimes, what comes out is something that I classify as Ridiculite. The parameters are simple, it must be light, beautiful and functional. It doesn't even necessarily need to be the lightest thing in the world, it needs to work. Basically, it needs to function in a way that requires minimal maintenance down the road. There is a certain company that makes components that are some of the lightest bits out there, but they barely last a season, especially here in our wet New England climate. They do not fall under the category of Ridiculite.

So what we have here is a Niner One 9, with a White Bros IMV fork and a LOT of carbon, including the new and ultra sexy Truvative Noir 1.1 crankset. Delicious!


The wheels are Royale SS clones, built by a competitor who shall remain nameless (for obvious reasons). Because I built the bike up, I had the opportunity do a thorough inspection of the wheels. And they needed it. They weren't as round as I thought they should be, and they weren't dished correctly. It kind of validated my own personal idiosyncratic competition for perfection a little, especially when I spend a lot of time battling one wheel to get it just right. I can literally loose my mind on some wheel builds, but I always win, no matter how late I have to stay up. And I was pleased to learn that these competitor's wheels cost more.

Anyway, the result is still the same. Lots of tongues hit the floor when I rolled this baby out.
Enjoy!

First Ride - Intense 5.5

After many weeks of waiting, I finally get to ride the bike that many folks are waiting for, the Intense 5.5 29er. While this bike is still in it's prototype phase, I would imagine that it is pretty close to production as is. Because Intense makes all their own bikes in house, small tweaks may be made, but we won't really know until the production bikes show up.

It was a balmy 30°, brilliant blue skies, with a few inches of freshly fallen snow. And the ride was fun.

Really fun. It was the type of ride that made you wish it wasn't Sunday, so you cold go out and do it all over again tomorrow.

Our location was Stowe's Town Loops, always the first place I like to take a new bike. I know this area very well, so I figure it's the best place to see what a new steed can do. It features a little of everything, without going to extremes (unless you know where to go) and is a good place to figure out if you forgot to tighten something.


So here are the numbers. I'm sure there are many that are waiting for this comparison. I'll give the numbers of the 5.5 followed by my own personal RIP9

Head Angle: 73°, 70°
Seat Angle: 74°, 70°
Effective Top Tube: 24.25"
Stand Over: 33.5", 34"
Wheelbase: 44.5"

From a numbers standpoint, you can see that for the most part, the bikes are pretty evenly matched, except for the frame angles. As I stated previously, it seems like Intense has gone out of it's way to keep the front end low on this bike. Why, I'm not quite sure. With a normal headset, the angles would be slacker. My RIP has a Fluid 135 on the front, the 5.5 has a coil sprung Fluid 130, again dropping the front end.
The bike set up has XC racer written all over it, but why would you race a 29lb 5" travel bike?

Yay!
The construction is top rate.
No noticeable feedback from the pedals at all.
I was able to ride things my partners in crime weren't able to.

Nay!
Low front end. I felt like I could go over the bars at any time, and often did.
Rapid Rise shifting, it is so counter intuitive, that I only stayed in a couple of gears.Who uses this stuff? So I only had a couple of gears I could use without skipping the chain all over the place. This is after all, a demo bike, and it came complete and beat. Even though the Rapid Rise deraillieur made me want to shift less, there were only a couple of gears that I could actually use. So maybe this is a positive. I didn't shift very much.
I think the fork was beat. There was no rebound adjustment, and no matter how much air I put in it, it always seemed to react the same way - like a pogo stick.
I kept clubbing my heels on the rear swingarm.

Say!
If I were to buy a bike like this, I certainly wouldn't build it up this way. But, based on this ride, if I were in the market for a long travel full suspension 29er, it could be a serious contender.
It did pedal very well in fact. Despite the goofy XC set up, I enjoyed the bike tremendously.
What seemed like an ungodly amount of flex in the rear end around the wheel's axle, it didn't come through in the ride. It tracked true.
I didn't notice the steeper angles so much as the lack of elevation at the bars. Still, it was responsive, and made last minute course corrections without any twitchy oversteer.
The "Works" finish is very cool, and all of the machined bits are anodized black to give it an air of seriousness.
I had to put my body weight in the rear shock to get the correct sag. Don't ask, it's a lot. I am willing to bet that my shock pump may not be that accurate, but it seemed excessive to get the recommended 20-30% sag.
Also falling under an anti-Shimano rant, are the XTR brakes. The 160mm rotors did an average job of slowing me down, but bigger rotors would be more apropos on a bike such as this, especially if you are in the Clydesdale range. Also the modulation seemed to vary throughout the ride.

The next step, is for me to pull all the XC components off of it, and replace them with bits more becoming of a 5" travel trail machine from my RIP. Then we'll see how it really shines in a true apples to apples comparison...

Stay tuned!

BTW
The tires I opted for today were the Bontrager Jones ACX TLR. I ran about 32 psi (with tubes - not my wheels) and found plenty of grip in the wet, leaf strewn, semi frozen ground beneath the snow. I figured the Crossmarks that came with the bike may not have performed as well.

Intense 5.5 29er Prototype - Out of the Box

So here it sits.
Late, but here, on the eve of the first measurable snow of the season. It's all good though, I'm not afraid of riding it in the snow.

Out of the box, the bike weighs in at 28.1 lbs. It came fully equipped with XTR, (including my least favorite type of derailleur - the Rapid Rise), Salsa Delgado rims, Maxxis Crossmark tires and a White Fluid 130 fork. Very nicely done.

When sitting side by side with my RIP, it is immediately apparent that Intense did what they could to keep the front end down on the bike. The 5.5 has an FSA headset which essentially puts the bottom cup inside the head tube. My RIP9 sits a little over 2" higher in the front.

It just goes to show you how different folks interpret that way a bike should be built. To me, this seems a little too XC of a set up for me, I personally feel that a bike with this much travel should be a little more AM, but that is just an opinion.

The cool part about the way the bike is set up, is that I'll get a chance to ride it the way it came to me, and then when I put all my stuff on it, get to ride it the way I would build it. It will be interesting to see that comparison.

I'll get a chance to hop on it this weekend, and I'll report back right after the first ride

Can anyone guess what this is?

It just arrived today. It's actually pretty easy to guess what it is.
More details to follow soon.

Fox F-29...First Impressions

I'd be a liar if I told you I thought this fork was going to be "the answer". I've managed to survive this 29er world with everything we've had on the market all this time. I liked the Reba. The White came up as a serious contender. In fact, I really wanted to HATE this fork. I was almost desperate for it to fail, it is late to the party, and so expensive. I was hoping it would flop.

The truth, is that it is a really good fork. Really good? Yes. Really.

Stiff, plush and responsive. It's shiny and white. It has cool red and blue anodized bits just like an astronaut does. Astronauts are cool. Lots of folks will make the leap to 29erism just because of this fork.


While it works well, mine only got 85mm of travel. For a "100mm" fork, this is a little dissappointing. Despite the fact that in those 85mm, I did not notice the fork at all.
Am I that concerned? I would be if I had the fork mounted to something I was expecting the full 100 out of. But, performance is performance. I am willing to concede that it may not have been functioning as it should. It was a balmy 37° (that was in the sun). The ground was frozen. I've known Fox forks to not behave their best in the cold.

I figured, if a part were to misbehave, it would do so on a singlespeed, so I opted not to use the lockout, and still found the fork to do an adequate job. Despite my every attempt to stymie the fork, it was there, doing it's job. Went where pointed, sucked up every bump.

Of course this was only the first ride...


Speaking of first rides, Keller got a taste of 29erism, care of the Slingshot. Look for a review from him very soon.

East meets West

Unless you've been living on another planet or under a rock, it's no secret that I like beer.

I used to live in San Diego, not 3 miles from Stone Brewing's headquarters. Funnily enough, they liked to ride bikes. Needless to say, back then, I was in a position to help them out, and they were in a position to help me out. I can recall a big BBQ blow out, that dispensed some of the owrst hangovers on record, and the feeble attempt by a friend of mine and I, when we tried to "finish" the keg of Arrogant Bastard Ale that we had tapped the night before.
Sadly we were beaten. How foolish we were...

In subsequent trips to SD, we would always make a pilgrimage to the brewery. We'd hang out in the brewery during happy hour, and bring some swag back to the east coast. Back then, It was cool to bring a case or two of 22oz beers on a plane. Not so anymore.

(Actually, I have a good story about this. Ask me about the 3rd worst plane ride of my life)

Up until just recently, beer this good was only available locally, at the brew pub where it was made. We didn't have such beers available in 6 pack form in VT until just recently. Don't get me wrong, we have plenty of good beer, but not many that can give you "bitter beer face". I love IPAs. Full of hops and flavor, and completely undrinkable by many. An acquired taste for sure.
About a year ago, I found Smuttynose IPA, from our neighbors in New Hampshire. After a few years of de-tuning from Stone's brews, I found the Smutty to be pretty strong, both in character and flavor. Could this be a replacement? Can I stop thinking that the only good bottled beer came from the west coast?
Ponderous.

...Until one day a few weeks ago...
When I find a Stone Porter in the store across the street from my shop. Porter isn't my thing, but there it was, a west coast beer in the cold case not 100 yards from my work stand.
Well, there is only one place I know I can go for good IPA, or any obscure malted beverage for that matter. And what do you know? There are all of my old friends. Ruination, Arrogant Bastard Ale, and Stone IPA 6 packs.

WOW

Well now what?
I guess it's time for a shoot out.
East meets West.
Biggie meets Tupak.
I'm pretty sure I can find a way for both of them to get along...

In my belly!

It's Spiderific!

Just to satiate my curiosity, I decided to build up one of the Spiders.
The build is fairly typical for a trail bike, Reba fork, Royale wheels, SRAM X9 drivetrain, Easton bars and Magura Marta SL brakes. I really dig the blue on blue color combo


The total package is 27.3 lbs, and is priced at $4699. It seems spendy, but consider that this frame is made in house at Intense's manufacturing facility in Temecula CA. A premium is to be paid for US craftsmanship.

Look for a more "racey" version to be built in the coming weeks.

Epic

Epics are one of those funny things that can be really good, or really bad, or have elements of either. Epics can take a very long time.
The good version could be that epic day long mountain bike ride with friends where everything was perfect, or something like Iron Maiden's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" (March 14th!!!!!!).
A bad example would be something like the 45 mile ride that ended around midnight in Santa Cruz one summer (the last 3 hours were in pitch black).


In a true and classical sense just about sums up the completion of this bike.
8 weeks ago, it seemed that this should have been a snap. It's not exactly like we don't build these kinds of bikes all the time. Who could have foreseen the almost perfect storm that grew overhead as the build progressed?

First, the frames were not available.
Then the hubs.
Then the lost week of Interbike ensued.
Then the forks were delayed.
Then the forks were delayed again.
Then, the rear brake refused to cooperate.
Then the second replacement brake decided it was going to be a problem, but after many expletives and "one last try" , the nonsense suddenly stopped. Amazingly enough, I managed to keep my nerve through the whole mess.

Holy Cow!

But look at it! This is the first Atomic Blue RIP adorned with red bits. Coincidentally, the Easton logos on the handlebars are the same colors as the flames on the Terry saddle.
Pretty sharp.

Congrats Judy, and I'm really sorry it took so long.





Conditions at Stowe, not that epic.
Not quite yet...

Year in Review

I know it's not the end of the year, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm done with cycling for the time being. With colder weather more abundant, and it being November and all (Hunting Season up here) I feel it's a good month to take off. Of course, there will be more rides, but that drive to get out there and crank isn't as strong. All the trees have shed their canopy, making the ground about as slick as can be. I took an unexpected express trip to the ground last weekend, care of 6" of fallen maple leaves.

It was a very unexpected year for me, lots of goals accomplished, both professionally and personally.

Here is my personal list, in no particular order
Rode my first century (114 miles)
Rode the Vermont 50
Rode the Five Hills ride on my singlespeed
Have ridden every month of the year again! (3rd year)
Found some new and exciting trails in PA
Rode over Smuggler's Notch not once but twice (from the Stowe side, very hard, especially those last 2 turns)

And professionally
Growth!
Co-sponsoring Catamount's Wednesday Night race series
Bike 29 jerseys, second batch on it's way!
Bike 29 wool jerseys, still coming...
Being able to stock more, I9s, Fox Forx, RIPs, Spiders and much more in the house!
My little cameo in Dirt Rag

It's amazing what you can fit into a season. And as our seasons change, I'm getting amped up for snow!