# Corsair Maelstrom build, pics...



## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

Got my frame back from the powder coat shop yesterday and started the assembly process. Frame is a Corsair Maelstrom (duh), size medium, finished in a custom red. I went with the Elka Stage 5 upgrade over the Rocco. The Elka is a full custom tune for the frame, meaning Elka has dynoed this shock on this frame and ships custom valved shocks for it. I'm also running the 1 deg headset option to really slack it out.

As she sits, the weight is 38.51 lbs on my Ultimate Digi scale. There's a few lightweight parts on it, but nothing crazy. I'll probably pickup another 1.5 lbs or so in tires and rims shortly as I beef this thing up to hand a full season of serious abuse. I suppose a bit of that will be offset by swapping for a Ti spring. All in, I expect to weigh in a hair under 40 lbs when the dust settles.

Geo is feeling really good right now. The standover is rediculously low. The BB is sitting at about 14.6", HTA is about dead on 65 deg and the wheel base comes in at 44 3/4". Rear travel is 7" of chunder devouring rearward axle path. A quick spin around the neighborhood and a few small jumps drops deliver nothing but confidence, but we'll see how it all comes together on the trails soon...

As I mentioned, the Elka is tuned for this frame. Even knowing this, I was pleasantly surprised to need 9 clicks of rebound and 5 clicks of compression to get a very active, DH race feel that I'm after. To put this into perspective, I'm a 170 lbs and this is a 2:1 leverage ratio. This means two things, 1. the Elka appears to be capable of flowing a ton of oil and 2. Lighter riders will be able to dial in very lively suspension action despite the low leverage ratio. I'm not going to say much more until I have more ride time but initial impressions are encouraging.

Ok, enough with reading, this thread's on track to be less than 50% pictures, which always sux.


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## xterrain (May 6, 2008)

Hey, is that thing full of cocaine?


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## Nagaredama (Aug 2, 2004)

Any reason why you went with Maelstrom over the Crown?


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

Nagaredama said:


> Any reason why you went with Maelstrom over the Crown?


Both are sweet frames. But, I'll not be racing and I'm not looking for the edge in speed down hill over a poppy/responsive feel. This bike will spend half it's live on flowy trails with polished trannies, places where bike that really sprints well through the flats and pops off the lip will be highly valued. The rest of the time, on the rough trails, the Maelstrom does a good job of feeling like a mini Crown, the reward axle path really soaks things up. I'd have bought the Crown if I had race aspirations.


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## Speedwa (Oct 30, 2005)

Nagaredama said:


> Any reason why you went with Maelstrom over the Crown?


Maybe because the Crown with shocks weighs near 13 pounds?


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## Uncle Cliffy (Jul 7, 2006)

Your builds never disappoint Tony... Well played sir, well played.


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## cyrix (Jan 29, 2008)

I love the chainguide design that's basically built right into the swingarm. Gorgeous bike.


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

yehaaaa! glad to see it built up Err and thanks for the reply to my PM. Still got a few days to decide. If I had a trail bike I would be all over the Maelstrom but the hartail is prefering the more DJ buid and the Wildcard will always be short in the Top Tube. I may just have to suck it up and go with the maelstrom and sell the WC then look into a Rune as a trail rat. The DT would be better all round but dam that Maelstrom is sick. 
Trouble is I took the dog for a walk in the mountain behind my house, basicaly a reccy mision to see if I could find some sort of foot path through the forest and I was reward the most insane trail potential. A basic trail exists and I will start work this weekend. Perfect forest floor soil conditions and a few open patches to put some gaps. Loads of log piles to build with too. It will end right in my back yard with all the goodies I have already set up. Just missing some rocks but it will be a seriously tight and flowing trail. Just need someone to enjoy it with and definately requires a new bike hehe!
Please give some feed back on ride feel. I think you are looking for the same sprinting and poppy feel I want only you have a dual where I will most likey go Totem. The WC sprint like a chap and just superb and I dont want to lose that. I guess you know what am looking for since you have already been rocking the SS.


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## kamikazee ideki (Jul 2, 2007)

Super nice bike, might just have to get one someday. 
Make sure you give us a detailed review on the elka!
BTW how did you mount the beer cap to the top of the steerer tube?


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## Flystagg (Nov 14, 2006)

Damn that Elka is huge, and your also running that 40 as tall as you can. That bike just looks beastly. I have to ask though, is there a reason you opted not to use any of the provided cable guides, and route the cables top tube to seatstay, instead of downtube to chainstay?


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## Speedwa (Oct 30, 2005)

Really nice looking bike/build.


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

Flystagg said:


> I have to ask though, is there a reason you opted not to use any of the provided cable guides, and route the cables top tube to seatstay, instead of downtube to chainstay?


My guess would be a cleaner run into the X9 rear mech...


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## climbingbubba (Jan 10, 2007)

man that thing just looks ghey......


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

Flystagg said:


> Damn that Elka is huge, and your also running that 40 as tall as you can. That bike just looks beastly. I have to ask though, is there a reason you opted not to use any of the provided cable guides, and route the cables top tube to seatstay, instead of downtube to chainstay?


Bit of an illusion on the beastly status of this build, it's really very manageable for a 5'8". You'll note that the shape of the down tube lets them shorten up the head tube a bit and still clear the big single crown forks. This means, I can run 40 all the way at the top and still have a very low overall height.

This frame does not have the final production cable routing (which is more like how mine are routed). I'm fairly certain that all frames shipping now have the new routing.


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

climbingbubba said:


> man that thing just looks ghey......


So you find it attractive? :thumbsup:


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

Just back from a morning ride. 15 minute climb to a couple minutes of rolling and then a fast descent full of berms and jumps. My seatpost is a little short to sit and spin efficiently but with pretty much zero pedal induced suspension movement, the climb wasn't bad at all. Through the short rolling section the bike felt lighter than the scale had registered. Out of the saddle and on the gas the Maelstrom accelerates with the urgency usually associated with efficient 6" AM bikes, not full blown huckers. On the way down I noticed a dual personality. Consistent with the snappy pedaling in the rolling section, when popping off of lips and pumping trannies the Maelstrom feels like a much smaller, lighter bike. However, when plowing through rough rocks or holding a line through a rutted corner, the rearward axle path allows the bike to behave more like a DH rig, settled and composed. I'm still fine tuning the settings on the Elka but initial results are impressive. I just need a few more runs on a variety of terrain to make sure it's dialed.


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## his dudeness (May 9, 2007)

I like


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## Prettym1k3 (Oct 11, 2005)

Very, VERY nice.


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

Err said:


> Just back from a morning ride. 15 minute climb to a couple minutes of rolling and then a fast descent full of berms and jumps. My seatpost is a little short to sit and spin efficiently but with much zero pedal induced suspension movement, the climb wasn't bad at all. Through the short rolling section the bike felt lighter than the scale had registered. Out of the saddle and on the gas the Maelstrom accelerates with the urgency usually associated with efficient 6" AM bikes, not full blown huckers. On the way down I noticed a duel personality. Consistent with the snappy pedaling in the rolling section, when popping off of lips and pumping trannies the Maelstrom feels like a much smaller, lighter bike. However, when plowing through rough rocks or holding a line through a rutted corner, the rearward axle path allows the bike to behave more like a DH rig, settled and composed. I'm still fine tuning the settings on the Elka but initial results are impressive. I just need a few more runs on a variety of terrain to make sure it's dialed.


Nice.

This makes the bike sound like its what AM should be :thumbsup:

(ps I'm jealous of your location too by the sounds of it.)


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## gruczniak (Jun 22, 2005)

Why such a path for cables?


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## One_Speed (Aug 3, 2007)

Nice. Sounds like an great ride.


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

gruczniak said:


> Why such a path for cables?


This routing allows for very short cables and almost no movement as the suspension tracks through it's path. No binding, very minimal opportunity for cable rub. If you look closely at the suspension design or checkout the animation on Corsair's website this will make more sense.


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

Can it catch on your shoe when pedaling? looks like its in the right spot to...


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

essenmeinstuff said:


> Can it catch on your shoe when pedaling? looks like its in the right spot to...


No, with it sitting on top of the swingarm the way it is (may be difficult to get a sense of depth from the photo) it is completely out of the way of your heel. In person it is one of the cleanest routing methods that I have seen.


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## Uncle Cliffy (Jul 7, 2006)

kamikazee ideki said:


> BTW how did you mount the beer cap to the top of the steerer tube?


Probably one of these... At least that's what I have.


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## ryan_daugherty (Oct 8, 2006)

my buddy called me at work to check out this build and I had to look at it on my phone .. now I get to check it out on my machine and it still looks great.

Corsair makes cool bikes, I did a parking lot test on a Konig at Blackrock when some guy was taking off and we were going in.. very fun snappy bike.. he had his Konig down to 31lbs..


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## Flystagg (Nov 14, 2006)

Err said:


> Bit of an illusion on the beastly status of this build, it's really very manageable for a 5'8". You'll note that the shape of the down tube lets them shorten up the head tube a bit and still clear the big single crown forks. This means, I can run 40 all the way at the top and still have a very low overall height.


I definitely meant beastly in a good way, I love the way the bike looks, If I was going to get one though I would want a bit longer seat tube then they currently offer on the large. I'm definitely looking for a pedalable DH/fr bike for my next build, but with my height leg extension is much harder to come by then stand over height.


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## CaliforniaNicco (Oct 13, 2008)

awesome build. VERY nice!


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## gruczniak (Jun 22, 2005)

Err said:


> This routing allows for very short cables and almost no movement as the suspension tracks through it's path. No binding, very minimal opportunity for cable rub. If you look closely at the suspension design or checkout the animation on Corsair's website this will make more sense.


This makes sense: why it was not designed like that?
PS great frame. This bike makes me want to build one for myself.


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

Err

Decision time, money cleared 2 days ealy. Sent you a PM for some more info.


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## SHIVER ME TIMBERS (Jan 12, 2004)

sweet bike...I met one of the owners at Mt Baldy(Pablo??) and he has another one with 2 shocks......he really likes those elbas


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

Got another ride in last night, this time on on some looser terrain. Holy Crap the Elka is nice on there! Every Maelstrom I've ridden hooks up incredibly well, mostly due to the rearward axle path. With the Elka it is just so sensitive to small bumps, feels more like a 3:1 bike on the small stuff but still running very little compression and not bottoming out. This is the first 2:1 that I've felt that delivers on the small bumps as well as it does on the big stuff.

Oh and the rear end is STIFF!


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## Zak (Jul 12, 2004)

Looks hot Toni - I gotta take a pic of the Crown since I put the Elka on it. So much better than the Roco Air...


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## joshed (Jun 12, 2007)

How do you get the bottle cap to stay on? I want one...


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

joshed said:


> How do you get the bottle cap to stay on? I want one...


Turns out 29'er guys are pretty cool ->
http://www.ninerbikes.com/fly.aspx?layout=bikes&taxid=123&parts=true


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## joshed (Jun 12, 2007)

Nice one! Thanks man!


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## FreerideMonkey7 (Oct 12, 2007)

So where does the Maelstrom fit in between the SS and the Socom?? 
How do you like it compared to the Intenses?
Or did you get rid of one of your bikes?


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

FreerideMonkey7 said:


> So where does the Maelstrom fit in between the SS and the Socom??
> How do you like it compared to the Intenses?
> Or did you get rid of one of your bikes?


The Maelstrom is poised to replace the Socom. I have reconfigured the Socom for my wife who has been riding a Highline for the past couple seasons. So, the Maelstrom is ow my "Big" freeride bike. Replacing the Socom is a fairly tall order since, as a freeride bike, it really kills it. With the snappy feel of VPP and 8" of travel to bail you out, the Socom has done nothing but feed my confidence for the past year. It was a great frame and I've kept it around in case I want to switch back. So far though, the Maelstrom seems to be delivering quick handling and snappy sprinting on par with the Socom but with a bit more performance on the square edged hits (bailout on gaps come up short?). I've gained a couple pounds but don't feel it on the trails. Need a few more days on it to really lay down a verdict but it's looking like my permanent quiver will be the Maelstrom and my SS.

Probably worth mentioning that I had a CCDB on the Socom and went with the Elka on the Maelstrom so I'm comparing them with fully setup suspension.


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

I havent been able to dig up any info on the rear suspension being isolated from braking. Corsair's design is still stated as SP with rearward travel. The idler assists with pedal peformance etc but is there any issue with braking through the ruff?

Since the comparason with intense has been made, how would the Maelstrom compare with the SS and Socom if you changed parts like a 66 up front etc. Seeing as you said the Maelstrom is nimble, pedals and jumps well could you build it more to the SS side. You have 40 up front and the spacer for running it even slacker. I am thinking more like a 66 with a spacer to go 67* since its super tight and techy here but with the original for 66* when I hit an open trail. 

All I want is a supple Wildcard, cant be so dam hard.


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

juan pablo said:


> I havent been able to dig up any info on the rear suspension being isolated from braking. Corsair's design is still stated as SP with rearward travel. The idler assists with pedal peformance etc but is there any issue with braking through the ruff?


I'm a heavy rear brake user. Rode a steep, traction limited trail last night. Suspension is slightly less active under braking but only a little, no significant squat or jack, very neutral. I found myself picking up so much traction with my fingers off the brakes that I was riding a little faster and relying on the brakes a little less. My points of reference on braking performance are my VPP Socom and SS, Knolly Endorphin 4x4 linkage, and Nicolai Helius-ST horst link.


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

Sweet. I was about to edit above postfor more info when I had to take care of some bidness, you replied too quick.

Most of the trails I have in mind for the Maelstrom are too steep and ruff to stay off the brakes. No run off or sections to brake and get setup. So good info.

Last Q. how is the bike on bottom out. The Delerium is reported to be eggcelent for bottom out resistance. I am way more orientated to shore style riding and love hitting drops. My WC has to suffer some Urban assault riding on the way to and from trails, the Maelstrom with suffer no less.

Cheers for the feedback, you still one of the select few on this bike.


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

juan pablo said:


> Sweet. I was about to edit above postfor more info when I had to take care of some bidness, you replied too quick.
> 
> Most of the trails I have in mind for the Maelstrom are too steep and ruff to stay off the brakes. No run off or sections to brake and get setup. So good info.
> 
> ...


I haven't hit enough drops to harsh trannies to really get a true sense of bottom-out resistance but so far I've not bottomed at all and I'm running the shock very soft. Actually headed out for a jump session now and there's a few clunky hits out there so we'll see if I can bottom it.


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

Then you can get some nasty bottom out photos, we lurve those hehe.


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

juan pablo said:


> Then you can get some nasty bottom out photos, we lurve those hehe.


Ended up riding at some local dirt jumps. No bottom out testers but man this beast pops off a lip for a big bike. Actually cleared a rather tight line that had been giving my trouble on my SS. Added one more click of rebound on the Elka, was bucking just a little.

One pretty cool test that I did on accident was roll into a double that I know very well. Typically you can just lazily roll down the hill before it, maybe a 1/2 pedal stroke. But, as I was approaching the lip, I noticed the lip was taller than last time and that the lander had been moved out about 5'. I pumped the take off and pushed out racer-style trying to reach the landing. Didn't quite make it, rear tire hooked behind the lip of the landing but the suspension just took it. The axle path really shined in letting the back tire roll over the lip on the landing with ZERO drama. It felt like I had barely cased it but when I walked back up to have a look, my rear tire track had started well behind the landing!

Reward axle path = bailout!


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## rep_1969 (Mar 25, 2004)

Wow, she's a beaut!! Nice build.


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## YoPawn (Mar 26, 2008)

Err said:


> Ended up riding at some local dirt jumps. No bottom out testers but man this beast pops off a lip for a big bike. Actually cleared a rather tight line that had been giving my trouble on my SS. Added one more click of rebound on the Elka, was bucking just a little.
> 
> One pretty cool test that I did on accident was roll into a double that I know very well. Typically you can just lazily roll down the hill before it, maybe a 1/2 pedal stroke. But, as I was approaching the lip, I noticed the lip was taller than last time and that the lander had been moved out about 5'. I pumped the take off and pushed out racer-style trying to reach the landing. Didn't quite make it, rear tire hooked behind the lip of the landing but the suspension just took it. The axle path really shined in letting the back tire roll over the lip on the landing with ZERO drama. It felt like I had barely cased it but when I walked back up to have a look, my rear tire track had started well behind the landing!
> 
> Reward axle path = bailout!


:lol:
That totally reads like a bad marketing testimony. 

I was doing X like I always do, but then Y came into play, man did my Z ever help!

Glad you like the bike. I'm impressed by them just by holding on in my hand and looking at the quality work. There's isn't anything that can compare in that price range.


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

YoPawn said:


> :lol:
> That totally reads like a bad marketing testimony.
> 
> I was doing X like I always do, but then Y came into play, man did my Z ever help!
> ...


Heh, you're right, it does. Oh well. It was a pretty funny incident. Truth be told, I would have ridden it out either way, but the axle path seemed to make it more ho-hum than a fight for survival. Guess I'm just stoked at the moment...


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## YoPawn (Mar 26, 2008)

Err said:


> Heh, you're right, it does. Oh well. It was a pretty funny incident. Truth be told, I would have ridden it out either way, but the axle path seemed to make it more ho-hum than a fight for survival. Guess I'm just stoked at the moment...


Nice. Nothing counts more than stoke!

Has the idler pulley caused any issues?


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## DHidiot (Aug 5, 2004)

Err said:


> Heh, you're right, it does. Oh well. It was a pretty funny incident. Truth be told, I would have ridden it out either way, but the axle path seemed to make it more ho-hum than a fight for survival. Guess I'm just stoked at the moment...


That's pretty much it. Now try riding it in super fast rocks back-to-back with a super low pivot bike. Magic carpet ride vs. a total war with the rear wheel.


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

I was thinking bout the rearward travell running over mutiple obstacles and I got to wondering how the suspension copes with repeated hits. If the wheel travells rearward over the first obstacle and is rebounding back it will be travelling down but forward. In effect the wheel would be traveling into the obstacle or am I wrong. It seems wrong some how but I could be off the mark. Just thinking.

Glad to hear you stoked.


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

juan pablo said:


> I was thinking bout the rearward travell running over mutiple obstacles and I got to wondering how the suspension copes with repeated hits. If the wheel travells rearward over the first obstacle and is rebounding back it will be travelling down but forward. In effect the wheel would be traveling into the obstacle or am I wrong.


That is right, which is why reducing unsprung weight is so important in any suspension system


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## wasea04 (Apr 2, 2007)

Let me see if I can track your blinged rides.......Nicolai Heliust ST, Uzzi VPX, and now a Corsair......very nice pedigree of rides  Are you acquainted with the Corsair guys in SLC?


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

essenmeinstuff said:


> That is right, which is why reducing unsprung weight is so important in any suspension system


Sorry but you will have to expand on that. How do you reduce unsprung weight? 
I aint no suspension guru by a long way but I really dig it and I am really interested in understanding it more. The way I read it is the unsprung weight would be the rider and possibly the bike. I try to un weight my hardtail over ruff sections to allow the bike to float more. If you want me to reduce the unsprung weight I have to go on diet??


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## William42 (Oct 29, 2006)

juan pablo said:


> Sorry but you will have to expand on that. How do you reduce unsprung weight?
> I aint no suspension guru by a long way but I really dig it and I am really interested in understanding it more. The way I read it is the unsprung weight would be the rider and possibly the bike. I try to un weight my hardtail over ruff sections to allow the bike to float more. If you want me to reduce the unsprung weight I have to go on diet??


Note quite! in fact, pretty much the opposite. Unsprung weight means the stuff that doesn't have the suspension to help it move - specifically, think:

wheels, tires, fork lowers, brakes, swingarm, rear der., cassette, rotors, etc.

The idea, is that with a full suspension bike, when you hit a bump with the rear end, the wheel/cassette/rotor/brake/swingarm doesn't really move a whole lot. Its the frame and rider that are moving (sprung mass).

Fyckit, I'm really hungover right now and having a difficult time explaining.

Unsprung mass means your wheels, cassette, rotor, brakes, rotors, swingarm, fork lowers and so on.


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## Err (Mar 21, 2005)

wasea04 said:


> Let me see if I can track your blinged rides.......Nicolai Heliust ST, Uzzi VPX, and now a Corsair......very nice pedigree of rides  Are you acquainted with the Corsair guys in SLC?


Close. Recents are Uzzi SLX, Nicolai Helius-ST, Nicolai UFO-DS, Nicolai BMXTB, Intense SS, Intense Socom, Superco Satellite (24" dirt jumper), Corsair Maelstrom. I "share" a Chromag Sakura, Knolly Endorphin, and up until just recently, a Turner Highline with my wife but they're primarily hers.

Oh and yeah, I know JMH and Chuky.

Juan Pablo - As for a possible unsettling effect due to the suspension accelerating down and forward as it returns to being fully extended, I have not been able to detect any ill effects there. It's absolutely happening but it's completely overshadowed by the degree which an up and back axle path absorbs square edge hits.

Got the Maelstrom on some steep loose and rocky last night, it killed. I need some more picks for this thread, it's getting lame with all this talk.


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## essenmeinstuff (Sep 4, 2007)

juan pablo said:


> Sorry but you will have to expand on that. How do you reduce unsprung weight?
> I aint no suspension guru by a long way but I really dig it and I am really interested in understanding it more. The way I read it is the unsprung weight would be the rider and possibly the bike. I try to un weight my hardtail over ruff sections to allow the bike to float more. If you want me to reduce the unsprung weight I have to go on diet??


Unsprung weight is the part of the vehicle that is not suspended by the suspension, like will42 said, the wheels cassette etc are unsprung, things like the rider main frame etc are part of the cunningly named "sprung mass".

Your concern of the wheel moving back and up when it hits a bump and then back forward and down for the next is exactly what it is meant to be doing. The problem is accelerating and decelerating that mass (since ideally the sprung mass, ie the frame/rider doesn't move), its that momentum that makes the suspension less effective.

The advantage of rear ward wheel travel is not quite explained properly, the immediate impact is not as harsh, but remember that the wheel and swing arm is now moving backwards relative to the rest of the vehicle and that motion relative to the bike has to be stopped by the damper/spring, and then brought back to normal so the net change of momentum due to the bump is still imparted on the frame, its just kinda "spread out" in time.

Now if the wheel had no momentum, it would track the ground perfectly and there would be no change in momentum in the vehicle as a result of that movement, which what you ultimately feel as a change in velocity either forward or upward, remember velocity has both a magnitude and a direction.

Anyway, this topic can get very complex and convoluted very quickly...

Back to the maelstrom!


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## juan pablo (Jan 17, 2007)

Cheers guys,

I get what you sayin. I really am blown away by the amount of engeneering and technology that is going into bikes now days. I work with an engineer and I am getting him stoked on AM riding, I quiz him every now and then.

This week is decision time. Another run down the mountain this morning on the Wildcard and I got completely beaten up. When I break the trail down and do about 5-10 runs on the more technical sections on the way up I feel well n control. Then when I run from the top I get so worn out that the technical sections are almost outta control. Especialy since they are at the end and the full run is 5 minutes. Its been a while since I done this trail and watching all the live coverage of the WC DH I am far more respecting of what those guys are doing. No one can say those boys are unfit. My hands were aching and legs were shaking. 160mm up front and 130mm out back, time for some more squish.

Err, its definatley time for some more pics eh!


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