# Some new Fandango updates!



## mhopton (Nov 27, 2005)

I'm excited to put on some carbon wheels and a new Fox 36. TandemNut builds a heck of a wheel and it was time for a rebuild. So, we took the opportunity to try out some carbon goodness from Nox Composites. These are built around the Farlow, which is their 29'r enduro/downhill rim. It is drilled with offset holes and is 36 hole. They're built with Sapim Force triple butted spokes and black brass nips. I'm also going to give the new nevegal pro tires a try.

These rims, in my hand, feel really light and stiff. I'm anxious to get a ride in this weekend and see how they ride.

After wearing out our Fox 34, I picked up a new 36. I'm stoked to go back to a 20mm axle. I think the settings will take awhile to figure out, but we are starting with 2 orange spacers in the air side.

More to report after the first ride.

A few pics....


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks for the update, mhop.

I'd been wondering when I would start seeing CF hoops on the big bikes. Bravo for leading the charge.

Our stay clearance is pretty maxed with a 2.4 Purgatory on SunRin MTX 33s so that is a concern. What width rim and tire size did you opt for, and how is the space back there? (What we really need is 29+ clearance so it's a non-issue – another thread, perhaps...)

Fork love, too...you have almost a new bike there. Enjoy and keep us up on performance findings. Cheers!

otherMike


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## ds2199 (Sep 16, 2008)

She&I said:


> Thanks for the update, mhop.
> 
> I'd been wondering when I would start seeing CF hoops on the big bikes. Bravo for leading the charge.
> 
> ...


AWESOME!!

Very interested to hear about the new set up! Please keep us posted on the fork performance and specifically your settings. Maybe a Fox 36 fork thread may be in order (I know there are a few of these floating around now).

Gotta love upgrades!


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## XC Mike (Sep 26, 2004)

Nice Job Mike...
I like the look of the new fork gives the Rig some color!!
Speaking of Forks sure wish Cannondale made a tandem approved Lefty
I picked up C-Dale the other day and that Lefty sure is nice


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## mhopton (Nov 27, 2005)

The Farlow is a 35mm outside diameter rim that is hookless. The tires I'm running are 2.2 that spread nicely with that width. I'll snap a pic of the rear clearance - there is plenty to go bigger.

The carbon could be a huge fail, but it's worth a shot; we have lost at least a pound of rotating weight.

The new Fox feels great in the parking lot. With this fork I can run a 20mm axle again rather than the QR15. I am starting with 2 orange tokens in the air side and 100 psi. We're a 285lbs team, so we'll have a better idea once we can get a good ride in.

More updates to come...


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## ki5ka (Dec 17, 2006)

mhopton said:


> ... We're a 285lbs team, ...


Whaatever! lol


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## She&I (Jan 4, 2010)

mhopton said:


> The carbon could be a huge fail, but it's worth a shot; we have lost at least a pound of rotating weight.


No way on the fail. I'd put CF hoops on in a nanosecond if I could justify the upgrade. For the divide last year we borrowed an Enve AM front wheel off another bike, and I was glad to have it up there despite the 15mm axle. We ran it hundreds of miles with a broken spoke, too. Weight savings is epic, but I think the stiffness of these new rims is the less apparent performance game changer.

35mm outer is what I would get for a 29er. Derby's 29er is same dimensions. Drift alert again... that rim width seems to be working well for 29+ as well as 29. Think Carver Gnarvester. Two bikes in one, with loads of mud clearance running 2.x tires. Having been literally stopped by mud both times I was on the divide, I see great value in a plus-sized rear triangle.

Thx for the info, Hop. Psyched for ya.


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## ebnelson (Oct 30, 2006)

Looks like a great XC racing setup! Our carbon rims on the ECDM are stiff and seem to hold the sidewall well on our Ardent 2.4 tires. We broke a spoke on a long downhill and I didn't notice it was broken until the next time I pulled the bike out to ride. Even then it was the sound of the nipple in the rim that alerted me to the problem since they stayed in true and the spoke tucked itself away.

We are going to raise the pressure up a bit in the air spring. 125psi feels good on our 36 and it has not been bottoming out, but feels a bit soft initially and is close to useless for standing. A Fox tech told me it was OK to go up a bit beyond the 125psi limit called out in the manual. We'll try 130psi today. Our team weight is 245lbs /wo gear on.


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## mhopton (Nov 27, 2005)

We are excited to get out this morning for a good ride on our tandem. I'll report back with findings in the wheels and fork.


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## ALM (Jul 14, 2012)

ki5ka said:


> Whaatever! lol


That probably includes the bike! They make me sick!! It's the dang Mexican food here in Texas holding us back!!

The bike looks great Michael!


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## XC Mike (Sep 26, 2004)

Yo Mike how's the new wheels working out??


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## mhopton (Nov 27, 2005)

Hey Mike, so far, so good! We have only ridden them a couple of times, but they have been great. They spin up fast, are wide, 35mm, and most noticeably, stiff! Combined with the stiffness of the new Fox 36 and the 20mm axle, they feel great.

I'm racing the 12 hours of Tsali this weekend on my single speed with some friends and Carin and I are going to take a hot lap on our tandem - can't wait.

We also have everything needed to go from 3x10 to 2x using the one up 42t adapter - I just haven't made time to do the install.


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## ds2199 (Sep 16, 2008)

How is the fork with the two orange spacers? Are you still running 100 psi?


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## ebnelson (Oct 30, 2006)

Good luck in the race!

I guess it's time for the Fox 36 thread ds2199 mentioned a while back. I'm not sure what the orange spacers are. The Fox 36 uses thread on aluminum spacers to adjust travel. Then the negative air spring is adjusted by removing a screw and sliding the tube with "transfer holes" the same amount as the number of spacers added or removed. A much better explanation is here


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## mhopton (Nov 27, 2005)

The orange spacers, or blue, are similar to the tokens used by rock shox. They go in the air side, up top, and reduce air volume to provide a more progressive feel.

I am still running the stock 140 travel, but with two orange reducers. We are right at about 130psi so far. For now, I'm running the recommended high and low speed compression and rebound numbers recommended by Fox until I get a sense of what adjustments are needed.


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## ebnelson (Oct 30, 2006)

I forgot about the volume reducers. We haven't needed them since we are not bottoming out and the spring rate into the travel has been firm enough. We are using 130psi too. We just increased the travel to 140mm so it will be interesting to see if the air spring has a different feel. The thread on reducing the negative spring is interesting since we are used to a firmer feel initially. These forks have lots of tuning opportunities compared to the Fox 34 CTD.


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