Pedalstrikes spectral:on

[Bjornrandom]

Hi guys, there's this dilemma ive been thinking about and I would love to hear what you think.

I ride the spectral on with external battery. When I tune the bike for 20% sag and baseline rebound etc, then I have good clearance on my trails. I don't ride jumps and drops and there's lots of chunky rock sections on my local trails. These are trails that are generally more suited for hikers, and so its beneficial with more BB height/pedal clearace in general when trying to ride them I think.

Here's the thing though, the bike feels so awesome on the trails at around 30% sag. Especially in the rocky sections I can float through with more speed without the bike feeling bouncy and nervous, and i get to use almost all of the shock travel in a run. But I strike pedals way too much.

At 20% sag i leave lots of shock travel unused, even in runs where there are what I would consider to be harder impacts.

I have no volume spacers in the shocks. I wish there was some way to raise the bb so I could get the benefit of softer setup and higher bb at the same time. Do I need a completely different bike for that, or is there something else that I could try?

 

[Zimmerframe]

It's something which many go through. Ultimately you end up pedalling in way more places that many would on a normal bike, so there's much higher chances of pedal strikes. You can either install shorter cranks or just learn to time your pedal strokes to miss obstacles, this takes time to master but is the better longer term solution.

 

[tomato paste]

Same bike, and had the same problem. After about one year of riding I stopped having pedal strikes.

I shortened my cranks as an initial solution (165 -> 160) and still had strikes.

Since that first year I have almost no strikes, pedal clearance just became subconscious. Keep riding and you'll eventually forget it was a problem. You're 'learning to walk again'.

 

[Metamucil]

I am not sure what your past bikes have been but the lower bb has been a design trend that started 7+ years ago and it takes some getting used to. I am used to pedaling through tech sections well, but I still have moments of dumb where I am coasting along with a foot down. The pedal strikes at speed can really suck.

You just need to get used to it, and as the previous poster said, you will.

 

[Gary]

look ahead and use common sense when you get to the terrain you've seen approaching you.

the lower bb has been a design trend that started 7+ years ago

No it isn't
low BB mtbs have been around since the 90s. and super low BB DH race bikes were quite prominant in the early to mid 2000s
The spectral-ON doesn't even have a low BB in comparison to those bikes. Very few modern bikes do. and almost no Emtbs do.

 

[Metamucil]

I didn't say they didn't exist before 7 years ago, just that it was a trend that became more prominent. In '05 the bottom brackets on 26" bikes were pretty high. I took a few years off and got back into riding in '16 and most of the bikes were going boost with low bottom brackets (long slack and low). Forums were flooded with discussions about dealing with pedal strikes. I bought three MTBs in a year and they were all low. Still ride two of those bikes today and so I am pretty used to it.

Perhaps the trend is over? I don't really pay attention to it after being used to it and this is the first bike I've bought since '06.

I do notice in my first few rides that pedal strikes on uphill is a new challenge for me. Not used to climbing at such speed. The e-mtb makes uphill rock gardens like flat trail. I am getting used to just blast through everyone instead of finesse.

 

[Metamucil]

Ok, so now that I have a dozen rides on the Spectral:On I can say that I have a LOT of pedal strikes and that is coming from experience with what I thought were some pretty low BB mtbs. My pedals will even strike when pedaling sharp turns on flat pavement. I tend to bash the BB on a lot more obstacles. I need to take some actuals measurements.

 

[Eduardoramundo]

look ahead and use common sense when you get to the terrain you've seen approaching you.


No it isn't
low BB mtbs have been around since the 90s. and super low BB DH race bikes were quite prominant in the early to mid 2000s
The spectral-ON doesn't even have a low BB in comparison to those bikes. Very few modern bikes do. and almost no Emtbs do.

So what is the BB height on a Spectral :ON?

 

[Doomanic]

Your bike has a flip chip, is it set in the high or low position?

 

[Gary]

So what is the BB height on a Spectral :ON?

Look it up.

It's not low

 

[Eduardoramundo]

334mm is pretty low

My levo in comparison is 347.5mm

 

[Gary]

No. Its not very low at all.
The bike only has 150mm of suspension travel.

 

[Gary]

Levos have high BBs as they're mainly ridden by fairly unskilled riders.

 

[aarfeldt]

........ they're mainly ridden by fairly unskilled riders.

Again a completely stupid postulate.

 

[Eduardoramundo]

Again a completely stupid postulate.

Yes, I guess we shouldn’t feed the trolls.

 

[Gary]

No. Not stupid. Just because it triggered you it doesn't make it untrue.

The Levo is the easy choice for many.. And part of its appeal to the masses actually is its mediocrity

It stands to reason it wouldn't be the ideal bike for a more advanced/skilled rider.

 

[aarfeldt]

Yes, I guess we shouldn’t feed the trolls.

Agreed...and I normaly just ignore it.
But this is how "fake news" starts - my brain hurts when I see this.

 

[RustyIron]

I don't ride jumps and drops and there's lots of chunky rock sections on my local trails.

One man's "chunky rock sections" are another man's "gravel fire road."
Those without banged up pedals are those who ride the latter.

 

[Fltwrm]

Your bike has a flip chip, is it set in the high or low position?

Are you referring to the mounting of the rear shock to the top tube? Or is there something else that can be flipped? Also, thanks for actually responding to his question.

 

[Doomanic]

Are you referring to the mounting of the rear shock to the top tube?

Yes.

 

[Metamucil]

Your bike has a flip chip, is it set in the high or low position?

I didn't even know this was a thing. Does the 2022 Spectral:On have it? I just went and looked and there was nothing obvious. I looked at all the pivot bolts around the rear shock and I saw no "High / Low" markings. Just torque settings and tool references.

 

[eMullet]

I'd like to know too whats this flip chip you're talking about on Spectral:ON?

Also, shorther cranks help with pedal strikes.

 

[eMullet]

True, timing your pedaling motion according to to the terrain is free. And looking ahead, not in front of you. Keep in mind that we are on international forum and we ride very different terrain across the world, so there could be places, where you have to pedal in places where rocks and roots are everywhere.

 

[Timochka69]

I have stopped caring.

 

[Timochka69]

I didn't even know this was a thing. Does the 2022 Spectral:On have it? I just went and looked and there was nothing obvious. I looked at all the pivot bolts around the rear shock and I saw no "High / Low" markings. Just torque settings and tool references.

I am pretty sure Canyon has omitted this feature.

 

[maurocif]

I didn't even know this was a thing. Does the 2022 Spectral:On have it? I just went and looked and there was nothing obvious. I looked at all the pivot bolts around the rear shock and I saw no "High / Low" markings. Just torque settings and tool references.

In my 2019 Spectral:ON this feature is not achieved with flip chips but with a variable setting point of the rear shock:

I suggest you to check if the same solution has been applied to 2022 models.

 

[eMullet]

The carbon frame has molded shock mount that cannot be changed on the 2021 model.