Passion Trail Bikes, Belmont, CA - specialists in quality bike service and custom-built mountain bikes: Category BOTM

Build of the Month - 2008 Maverick Durance

PeterD — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 21:25:00 +0000

This customer was riding a 4 year old Maverick ML-7 that was sized larger than ideal for his riding style. He liked the way the suspension worked, but not the bike’s handling characteristics. He bought a new Durance in the smaller size which allows him to be a better marksman on the trail. And the extra travel, combined with the stiffer, more efficient frame construction allow him to ride faster, with greater confidence than before.

You probably remember from a prior post that Maverick bikes do not have serial numbers, but are instead individually named. This bike is named “Equity”.

Here are some comments from the owner:

1) The bike handles sooo nicely. It carves corners like a knife through a turkey dinner. It climbs like a goat blasting through the Alps. The traction for climbing must be due to the claws I do not see! This is a Porsche of bikes

2) The down hills are incredible. The bumps, jumps, and lumps are all smoothed out by the suspension. I have no fear on any obstacle that gets in my way. It leaps like a Mt Lion (ask that dude from Foothill Park about that capability) and lands like a feather from a down pillow.

I am very happy with this bike. I have yet to really get the full pleasures from it as I am still learning on how to ride this sweet machine. Equity and I are in for a long time friendship, and many adventures to come.

Thanks Charles and Passion Trails for introducing us!

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Maverick Durance Hard Anodized
Fork	Maverick DUC-32, Hard Anodized
Headset	Cane Creek IS-8i
Stem	Maverick Adjustable
Handlebar	Easton Carbon Hi Rise
Front Brake	Formula ORO Puro 100cm
Rear Brake	Formula ORO Puro 165cm
Front Rotor	Formula 180 Front IS
Rear Rotor	Formula 160 Rear ISO
Shifters	SRAM XO Triggers
Grips	Oury Lock On, red clamps
Saddle	WTB Silverado Team Ti
Seatpost	Thomson Elite
Crankset	XTR M970
Pedals	XTR M970
Chain	Dura Ace 9
Front Derailer	Shimano R773
Rear Derailer	SRAM XO Long
Cassette	XTR 12 – 34
Rims	Mavic 819 Disc
Spokes	DT 14/15 Black
Nipples	Red 16mm
Rear Hub	XTR M975
Front Hub	Maverick 24/7 Black
Tires	Specialized Captain Control
Tubes	Nope
Brake Pads	Sinterized Metallic

Build of the Month - Ibis Mojo

PeterD — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:10:00 +0000

After many high speed assaults on the Canyon, the Demo, and Downieville, this customer upgraded his old Enduro, swapping out the Maverick DUC-32 fork for a Fox Van 36, triple crankset for a double with bash ring, etc. We did all that, and he is stoked at the results. What do to with the old parts? Didn’t take more than a moment to suggest building a light weight bike around them.

We started with an Ibis Mojo Classic frame, keeping with the long travel, light weight theme of the fork. The older black anodized finish on the DUC didn’t look its best, and the early Maverick graphics were difficult to match with the new shine and carbon on the frame, so we turned it over to Spectrum Powderworks for the full aesthetic treatment. They shot the fork with a slightly metallic silver, and redid the current Maverick graphic in a complementary black with black carbon treatment. The fork internals got our FNR tune and stack, some fresh oil, and a new set of wipers.

We moved the rest of the front end over to the new frame, carbon Easton bar, Maverick stem, custom stem spacer, and the front wheel. We then built up a matching Mavic 819 with USA Ti spokes for the rear end, this time with an XTR centerlock hub. We continued going Shimano throughout the rest of the brakes by spec’ing XT Servo Wave calipers and levers, an XT front derailer and cassette, and an XTR chain to ensure maximum life out of these parts. We did deviate from Shimano in the appropriate places, though, by installing a set of X9 trigger shifters and the old SRAM XO rear derailer off the Enduro.

The Specialized Eskar tires went on without tubes, and it rolled out of here under a Thomson seatpost and a WTB saddle. The rider reports its just superfast, with sports car like handling compared to the Russian tank approach of the Enduro.

Oh, it’s a 27 pound sports car, with 6” travel up front and 5.5” in the back…

More photos follow the build list:

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Ibis Mojo Large Carbon
Fork	Maverick DUC-32, custom powder coated
Headset	Cane Creek IS-8
Brake Levers	Shimano XT M775
Stem	Maverick
Front Brake	XT M775 7” ISO
Rear Brake	XT M775 6” CL
Grips	Oury Lock Ons
Shifters	SRAM X9 Triggers
Front Derailer	Shimano XT M7761
Rear Derailer	SRAM X0
Cassette	Shimano XT 11 – 34
Crank	Shimano XTR M-960
Tires	Specialized S-Works Eskar 2.3
Rim Strips	Stan’s Sealant

October Build of the Month - 29er Specialized Stumpjumper

PeterD — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:22:00 +0000

This customer brought some parts in for Charles to build up a 29er bike around (and yes, he only brought one derailer in, though I don’t think that is he reason this bike ended up as a 1 by 9).

Charles worked with the customer on spec’ing the rest, aiming to build a solid trail bike for a very fit athlete, with a variety of durable, light weight components that work well and look great together.

The Selle SMP Evolution saddle is pretty unique, and was a special order. Some additional highlights are the transparent chain guard and chainstay guard, 1×9 drive train, and hand built wheels.

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Specialized Stumpjumper 29, Silver 19”, 08
Fork	Fox F100 RLC 29r 08 Disc
Headset	Chris King, 1-1/8” Navy
Brake Levers	Magura Marta SL Silver
Stem	Ritchey 90×6* Axis 44 Stem, WCS 31.8
Front Brake	Magura Marta-SL Silver, 180m
Rear Brake	Magura Marta-SL Silver, 160m
Grips	Rocca Locking Grip Blk
Shifters	SRAM XO Triggers
Rear Derailer	SRAM XO Short Cage
Cassette	SRAM 11-34 PG-990 “06 9sp
Crank	175m 32t 1Sp MegaExo V Drv Blk
Saddle	Selle SMP Evolution Blue
Pedals	Crank Brothers Egg Beater 2 Ti Blk
Wheels	Salsa rims w/ King hubs
Front Tire	Specialized The Captain 2.0 29r 2Bliss
Rear Tire	Specialized Roll X D2 UST

September Build of the Month - Specialized S-Works Stumpjumper Carbon Hardtail

PeterD — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 18:42:00 +0000

Yes, you are reading the scale correctly!

This bike was built for adventure race use. The growing sport of Adventure Racing combines several different outdoor challenges into one full day, or longer, event. A competitor needs to arrive geared up for known events like mountain bike racing and rock climbing, and then be prepared to have a couple surprise events like kayaking or orienteering thrown in to round out the race.

And these aren’t short sprints – the racer will usually be out there for multiple hours (and could be out there for days). A bike that will excel in an Adventure Race needs to be reliably solid and fast as lightening, but also light enough for portages, and other non riding passages.

This customer spec’d this one with years of experience to replace an older S-Works M4 Hardtail. He started with the 2008 Carbon Hardtail frame, and custom array of components including the Rock Shox SID Race fork and Mavic Crossmax SLR wheels. We didn’t stray very far from doing a complete XTR component group, but did decide to take advantage of SRAM’s 1:1 shifting benefit with an XO rear derailer and XO trigger shifters.

We topped things off with the Maxxis MaxxLite tires, FSA carbon bar and stem, and XTR pedals. The whole bike came in at just a touch under 20 pounds, with an Andrews Stainless King Cage, ready to race (yes, that means with pedals!). It has hit a couple of the local trails, and is getting rave reviews from rider as well as passers by.

A couple of close up photos are posted after the build list.

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Specialized S-Works Carbon Hardtail
Fork	Rock Shox SID Race 2007
Headset	Specialized Integrated
Brake Levers	XTR M975
Shifters	SRAM XO Triggers
Stem	FSA OS-99
Brakes	XTR M975 6” ISO
Grips	Specialized XC Locking
Seatpost	Specialized Carbon
Crank	XTR M970 170mm
Pedals	XTR M970
Front Derailers	XTR M971
Rear Derailers	SRAM XO Long
Cassette	XTR M960 11 – 34
Wheels	Mavic Crossmax SLR
Tires	Maxxis MaxxLite
Bottle Cage	King Stainless

August Build of the Month - Giant OCR

PeterD — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 04:56:00 +0000

Ok, we are going to try to confuse you this month. We sold 2 similar bikes to the same family, and are doing them both as this month’s Build of the Month.

Here is what Charles said about what they were looking for:

They were looking for comfortable, fast road bikes for quick workouts right out of the house. Their search centered on the Giant OCR line of carbon frame bikes because of their ride quality, light weight, and excellent value. They further narrowed things down to the OCR C2, but didn’t really want totally matching bikes.

I was able to get my hands on one each 2007 and 2008 OCR, which were spec’ed with very different parts groups and in two different colors. The 2008 model came equipped with SRAM’s new Rival 10 speed group, and we made a few minor component changes to get the best fit. The first change was replacing the stock saddle with a WTB Deva Gel. After much trial and error on prior bikes, both have found the Deva’s and Devo’s in their various incarnations to be the most comfortable.

The 2007 bike was spec’ed with a mixture of Shimano’s 105 and Compact componentry, and not to be outdone, we quickly went to work upgrading a lot of it to Shimano Ultegra 10 speed. This bike also has a WTB Deva saddle, but this time with Titanium rails and a leather cover. Other changes included a Ritchey adjustable stem to get the bar at a comfortable height, and a set of Shimano M525 pedals to match the one on the customer’s mountain bike.

Sorry, no build list for these bikes.

July Build of the Month - Ibis Mojo

PeterD — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 15:34:00 +0000

This month’s bike of the month is an Ibis Mojo, one of the new lines we are carrying.

I guess you could say that the owner of this bike is a connoisseur of bikes. He has a couple of other bikes (including the Maverick ML-8 we featured last year), and gets to choose the one that best suits the riding he is going to do. Below are some of his comments comparing the two bikes…

Compared to the ML-8, the Ibis feels lighter and rides like more of a race/XC bike. This may be due to the fact that I have a shorter fork on the Ibis (a 140mm 32 Vanilla RLC on the Ibis, versus a 160mm Fox 36 Van on the Maverick). Despite being a “Large” (like the Maverick), the Ibis is overall a smaller bike, with a shorter cockpit and lots of seat post, compared to the ML-8.

Handling wise, the Ibis is almost telepathic on twisty singletrack, effortlessly carving the exact line you select. When climbing, I feel I am going faster and working less hard on the Ibis compared to the ML-8. The rear suspension of the Ibis has less initial plushness compared to the ML-8.

The contrast in “feel” of these two bikes influence where I prefer to ride them: if I am going to UC or the demo with lots of jumps, I’ll pick the ML-8. But if I am going to ECDM or doing two loops at the Demo (i.e., a ride with lots of hard climbing), I’ll take the Ibis. Overall, however, they are both great bikes and either way you can’t go wrong.

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Ibis Mojo
Fork	Fox Vanilla 32 RLC
Headset	Cane Creek S-6
Stem	Thomson X4
Handlebar	Answer Pro Taper Alloy
Brake Levers	XTR M975 Dual Control
Shifters	XTR M975
Brakes	XTR M975 6”
Grips	Rougue Lock On
Saddle	WTB Laser V SLT
Seatpost	Easton EC70 Carbon
Crank & BB	XTR M975
Derailers	XTR M971
Cassette	XTR M970 12 – 34
Rims	Mavic XC 717 Disc
Spokes	DT 14/15 Black
Rear Hub	Chris King Black ISO
Front Hub	Chris King Black ISO QR
Skewers	Salsa Stainless Black
Front Tire	Kenda Nevegal 2.35 Stick-E
Rear Tire	Kenda Nevegal 2.35 DTC

June Build of the Month - Reign 0

PeterD — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 19:43:00 +0000

This month’s Build of the Month is a Giant Reign 0. The customer was upgrading from a well-ridden 4” bike, and wanted to take advantage of newer technologies to get both more travel and a little lighter bike.

Here’s what the customer had to say: â€œA few things drove my decision. Despite Berryâ€™s and Charlesâ€™ best efforts to have me not focus on weight, I did. I wanted a 30 +/- 1 lb bike with 6â€ of travel. Since I was upgrading from a 32 lb, 4â€ bike (Aeon/Ellsworth Isis SL), I wanted something lighter and with more travel for an â€œAll Mountainâ€ style of riding. So that narrowed it down to 3 or 4 models to choose from.

After that it came down to price and minimizing custom components that canâ€™t be replaced in eight years. Also, the Giant came as a complete bike, with a shock and fork perfect for my needs. So, to get another bike meeting my specs would have cost me easily a thousand or so more dollars.

In terms of the components I swapped out, I basically swapped out for high end components, when next to high-end came on the factory bike. I also opted for platform-like clipless pedals (Time) and the Maverick Speedball R seat post.

The top it all off, I tend to remove all possible stickers from my bike preferring a more â€œstealthyâ€ look, and the Reign 0â€™s paint job is about as stealthy as they come.â€

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Giant Reign 0
Fork	Fox Talas
Seatpost	Maverick Speedball Remote
Shifters	SRAM X0
Front Derailleur	Shimano XTR
Rear Derailleur	SRAM X0
Crankset	Shimano XTR
Pedals	Time ZXX
Bar	Easton EA70 HiRise
Tires	Kenda Nevagal

Most of the rest of the bike was the standard build that comes from Giant

May Build of the Month - Surly Karate Monkey

PeterD — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 02:33:00 +0000

This month’s build of the month is a Surly Karate Monkey. It is a cyclocross bike, but one of the “monster cross” versions which are made to fit 29 inch mountain bike width tires.

“I have always wanted a â€œswiss army knifeâ€ bike that could do anything. The 29er movement had me curious, as did the tiny â€œmonster crossâ€ subculture. So, the Karate Monkey was a cost-effective way to experiment with all these things.“

“The Karate Monkey replaced a Soma Double Cross, which I loved, but it could barely take a 40c tire. I really wanted to be able to run any 700c tire… (note – 700c tires are the same diameter as 29” tires).

“Passion was really good about helping me with the parts pick. I tend toward B+ partsâ€¦.good value rather than ultimate performance. Iâ€™m not a racer, and my bike is never to blame for my riding! I gave the shop a price range, Charles made suggestions, I made substitutions, I had some used parts I wanted on the bikeâ€¦it was very easy.

One thing about a rigid bike with drop bars in the dirt, even when you are going slow, you feel like you are going fast! I find a new bike takes some adjustment time. This is my first bike with disc brakes, which are very powerful. I dig the big wheels, although Iâ€™m not sure the difference in feel over a 26â€ is revolutionary. I just put smooth 38c tires on, so I can take it on a mixed terrain ride with pavement, fire roads and single track. I think it meets my â€œswiss army knife goalâ€ and itâ€™s a ton oâ€™ fun. Special kudos to Passion for taking an interest in doing an odd-ball project, and for all the time spent planning and fitting the bike.“

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Surly Karate Monkey, HÃ¼sker BlÃ¼
Headset	Cane Creek threadless
Brakes	Avid BB7 Mechanical Disc
Shifters	Shimano Ultegra
Rear Derailleur	Shimano XT
Chain	Shimano Dura Ace
Pedals	Shimano M520
Wheels	Handbuilt w/ Mavic rims and Shimano XT hubs
Tires	Specialized 29×2.30 Resolution Pros (as sold)

As an aside – sometimes mountain biking goes in a full circle. For example, check out the bike that mountain bike hall of famer John Tomac was racing on back about 1990. Drop bars and mountain bike sized tires – much like today’s monster cross bikes…

April Build of the Month - Stumpjumper

PeterD — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 22:41:00 +0000

Charles said that we should make this the bike of the year, as it may be the best looking bike we have done all year. The green carbon frame sure is pretty, and will definitely blend in well with our beautiful Santa Cruz Mountains forest trails.

This bike was an upgrade for the customer from a trusty titanium hardtail that he had ridden for years. He has access to The Demo and wanted a bike that was better suited for there. This bike sure fit the bill, with 5”+ travel on a bike that weighs about 26.5 lbs.

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Stumpjumper
Fork	Fox Talas RLC
Shock	Specialized AFR Shock w/ Flow Control valve shock
Shifters	Shimano XTR
Front Derailleur	Shimano XTR
Rear Derailleur	SRAM X0
Pedals	Shimano M-970
Bar	Specialized Carbon Riser bars
Tires	F: Specialized Enduro Pro 2.3” R: Kenda Nevegal 2.35”
Brakes	Shimano M975 XTR Hydraulics

March Build of the Month - Versus Trigger

PeterD — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 03:09:00 +0000

This month’s bike is one meant more for DMC than for Waterdog (though I have ridden one at WaterDog) – a Versus Trigger.

Here is what our customer said:
“The Versus Trigger doesn’t disappoint. It has an ultra burly frame designed for Downhill/Freeride and is stiff in the rear. The bump absorption is great and the linkage is excellent for hitting berms at warp speed. It pedals decently without much pedal feedback. “

I have heard terms like “slope style” and flickable” used for this bike. The rear can be set at either 190 mm (7.5 inches) or 216 mm (8.5 inches) just by moving one bolt, so it definitely gets you down the hill in a fun way – this customer has tried both and is currently running it at 8.5”

“The Bomber 888 fork evens out the ride and absorbs jump landings like I hoped, and the Mavic Deemax wheels provide a secure feeling when hitting a big drop. “

“This bike is sweet and Charles and staff did a great job helping me make informed decisions and built me one solid bike! “

Watch for this bike on the DH course at the Sea Otter this year…

Highlights from the Build List
Frame	Versus Trigger
Fork	Marzocchi Bomber 888 – 8” travel
Shock	Manitou SW 6-Way Coil
Wheelset	Mavic Deemax
Tires	Front: Kenda Nevegal 2.5” Rear: Specialized Pinn’er 2.3”
Rear Derailleur	currently Shimano LX (upgrading soon to SRAM X0)
Brakes	Hayes 9