My MTB : Full Suspension

ALL MOUNTAIN,

ALL RIDER, ALL YEAR.

Umar Ridzuan > Mountain biking > My MTB

Take a technical tour around my mountain bike

Currently, my MTB is the 2005 KHS XC904R Team .

I prefer the XC904R because of the following:

> I like the Horst-link technology,

> Their geometry fit 5' 6.5" body size,

> The head tube angle is a slack 70 degree,

> It comes with platform-pedal rear shock,

> I consider myself as a cross country (XC) rider,

> Hardtail is fast but it kill my bum.

Notice the Horst link at the end of the bike, and

how slack the front fork look for a cross country

bike.

After riding it, I like it more because:

> During descending, when I need to apply brake.. it still actively tracking the terrain,

> Climbing like my old hardtail (Giant XTC Hybrid).

> The anodized silver colour paint coating suit the Malaysian's harsh jungle environment.

I actually got the frame and built the bike up. It weigh 25 pounds on the scale. This bike is so good that if its reach

it lifetime, I'll get the same frame. The following are the components around the XC904R:

Component	Characteristic	Notes
Frame	XC904R Team	From KHS.
Rear shock	Fox RP3	Comes with the frame (90mm of travel).
Front fork	Rockshox Reba Team	100mm of travel.
Crankset	Truvativ Stylo Team	44/32/22T.
Front derailleur	Shimano Deore	Top-swing version. It works better than my side-swing XT. I had chain suck with my XT but never with this one.
Rear derailleur	Shimano XT760	Long cage (normal).
Cassette	Shimano XT	11-32T, I prefer the 11-34T though.
Chain	Shimano HG93 (XT)	Will change to SRAM 991HP when the HG93 breaks.
Hubs	Formula XC	32 holes.
Wheels	Bontrager Maverick	32 holes, with DT Swiss spokes set.
Tyres	Kenda Nevegal 1.95" DTC	At 1.95", they are as fat as 2.1" of other tyres.
Handlebar	Race Face Next Carbon	Flat! Comes with titanium mesh around the bar clamp.
Headset	Cane Creek S2	Has loosen twice, by the 3rd time, I will change to Hope.
Stem	Amoeba CNC stem	I believe there are at par with Thompson Elite.
Grips	Velo	With D2 Kraton gel insert. Comfy.
Shifters	Shimano Deore	I prefer the XT (silver) though, but difficult to get.
Brakes	Hayes HFX-9 Carbon	The best of all!
Seatpost	Race Face XY	Very easy to adjust.
Saddle	Velo Pronto SL2	Don't really like it when I'm on the road, but very good on the trail. I'm going for SLR XC Gel Flow or Fizik Gobi if the Pronto SL2 wear out.
Seatpost clamps	Hope quick release	CNC and anodised blue. Top quality!
Pedal	Crank Brothers Mallet C	Got them on the 28/02/2005 after waiting for about 4 months.
Computer	Cat Eye Astrale 8	With cadence, I use the cadence reading extensively while climbing to get the consistency. Sadly it is not wireless, and sometimes the wire (at the chain stay) collected too much mud during wet trail rides. Previous: VDO C3DS - I really like the wireless, 3 split display sections and the button positions. It also has average and maximum cadence. However, I had to replace it with wired computer since the Rockshox Reba v-brake mount interrupts the signal. I had it installed on my wife Reba (without v-brake mount), and it works OK.

However, everybody has their dream bike and components, click here to enter my dream.

I still use some old technology for peace of mind, such as:

The ancient stuff		Why I use them?
Rubber band		To hold the Reba's compression/locking ring in place. It tends to move to lockout position in the heavily crowded tall grass and jungle of the singletrack.
Old spare tube		Wrap around the chainstay to protect it from chain slap and chain suck. Tie them with cable ties.
Furniture protector		To protect the frame from brake and derailleur cables.

If you're confuse and need help on building up your bike or choosing the right component, just:

1. e-mail me, or

2. click here for my own webpage on suspension technology.

See also my suspension setup below in the More Photos section.

The key to good full suspension bike building is to match the front fork and rear shock, onto a neutral reacting rear suspension frame.

Examples of neutral action rear suspension are:

> KHS | XC904R Team

> Specialized | All their suspension MTBs

> Turner | Flux, 5-Spot, Nitrous (all 2005 model)

> Titus | Racer-X, Moto-Lite

> Norco | A-Line

> Giant | NRS (set them with 20-30% sag)

I used to believe Ellsworth MTBs (e.g. Truth and Moment) are neutral reacting rear suspension frame. But, after riding the Truth and observing the rear suspension pivots location, I reserve my comment here. Click here to see my webpage on suspension technology.

The MTBs that I'm talking are in the range of cross country and trail riding. If you do downhill or freeride, it means that you don't do a lot of uphill pedalling and of course a lot of hanging on the air when going freeriding or descending. For that reasons, other rear suspension technologies might be suitable, say virtual pivot point and single pivot design are sufficient.

Peek into my attire and tools during riding

When I go riding, these are my usual attire and tools:

Component	Characteristic	Typical brands
Pants	Medium long with separate lycra inside.	Locally made by Cheetah, Forest and Antioni.
Jersey	Any breathable kind.	Nike (made in Malaysia) and Mizuno.
Shocks	Any long one, but I go for extra long football socks when going for long hashes.	Adidas and Nike.
Gloves	I prefer the half-finger cut, with full-finger cut for the thumb.	Currently, I use Adidas gloves. However, I will get Specialized BG Gel to reduce my palm numb during extra long XC rides.
Shoes	2 clipless compatible shoes, I exchange them often for longer durability.	Nike Kato II and Louis Garnier. The Nike Kato II has better performance in wet weather due to its generous footprint and wet-weather material. The Louis Garnier has the look of normal shoe though.
Sunglasses	Rudy Project Rydon SX	Interchangeable lens and very light. I always use the gradient light density clear lens.
Hemlet	Light and breathable.	Trek Sonic II. Looks like the cartoon character Sonic the Hedgehog .
Backpack	With water dispenser.	Deuter Hydro EXP 8. It has special compartment for pumps and tubes.
Mini tools	With chain tool.	Topeak Mini 18.
Pumps	Combo pump and CO2 gas.	Innovation.
Chain connector	Hopefully, I'll never use them.	Kaya emergency chain connector.
Mosquito repellent	A must!	The herbal kind.
First aid kit	Damn essential!! The kits are: > Saline and Eye-Mo > Mini acholoc wipes > Wet wipes > Plasters > Gauze > Muscle relaxant - Cool Max > Minyak gamat - Traditional ointment > Dehyration salt > Lighter	Various.

More photos

My XC904R overlooking the unnecessary and unneeded housing development at Bukit Kiara. Looking for suspension setup, read through.

Happy with the bike after around 26km of ride at Broga with my friends and KLMBH. Ultra long and steep cement uphill climb, the XC904R doesn't bob at all. I still track the terrain at Broga while I slow down on the fast diamond singletrack descend nearing the end. The RP3 setting is at (+), while rebound setting is equivalent to the Reba Team rebound setting. It is quite easy to match them, make your rear shock rebound as the reference. Get someone to count and observe the rebound when riding down a 6 to 8 inches drop. Adjust until both the fork and shock rebound similarly. Use your inner feeling as well.

The bike is resting at the first "pondok" at Janie's Addiction trail at Bukit Kiara. When I first rode the uphill Twin Peaks and the steep descents Janie's Addiction, the rebound settings for fork and shock doesn't match at all. It caused the steering to wonder while doing the technical climb and the front brake to over braking while descending.. not good at all. So, rules of thumb when buying full suspension bike, make sure either of the following: 1. the front fork and rear shock had been tune by manufacturer OR 2. both the front fork and rear shock have adjustable rebound settings. Both my Rockshox REBA Team and Fox RP3 are rebound and compression adjustable.

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