Introducing CLOCKWORK ORANGE

[Dr. Ergal]

Hi everybody

It's with great GREAT pleasure that I show you my new beast!!
It's pretty easy to understand the reason of its name...

Hereinafter the mods

Fork Fox 38e
Orange Brakes Hope Tech3 E4 braided
Orange Brake rotors Hope 223 front - 203 rear
Orange Chainring Funn 32t
Rim protectors Red Poisons
Maxxis Assegai 29x2.5 front
Eddy Current 29x2.6 rear
Frame protection "invisiframe"
Water bottle "Fidlock"
Kiox remote holder
Orange Supacaz handles (a tradition, to me)

Because of the ugly weather, I only made a test on some Enduro and DH trails around my place.
Well, the first thing I noted is an amazing SPEED. The bike is fast, fast and again FAST!! It's a brutal rocket. The more you unleash the brakes, the better it works
And it work superwell.
The fork is superplush, but super rigid at the same time, and it lets the bike cornering with high speed and ultra high accuracy. It can bear wit hany kind of abuse, and the bike is always composed and stable.
The stability at high speed is quite paranormal in comparison with my previous bike.
The con is that this new (to me) superspeed requires a bigger effort, both physical and psicological, on the trails
BUT WHAT A PLEASURE !!

I just have to replace the 350lbs spring on the rear susp, because it's a bit rigid.
A new EXT spring is yet to be ordered; I still have to check if I need 300 or 325lbs

 

[R120]

Nice, love the latest Mondrakers and you have taken it up a level!

 

[Dr. Ergal]

Thanks

Being honest, I think I made a mistake installing the Schwalbe Eddy Current at rear
It's robust, but it does NOT roll at all ! It seems that the rear tyre is square rather than round ?

 

[Danp83]

How are you getting on with it? I’m thinking of one for my next bike but can’t find much about them.

 

[Dr. Ergal]

Well, Dan... in short... I'm in love with it!
The more I ride it, the more I love it.
It gives you tons of confidence. It's fast, SUPERFAST, and makes easy what was hard with my old bike. It's a pure pleasure to ride

 

[KenX]

Looks sharp!

 

[Dr. Ergal]

It is!
Recently I replaced the 350 lbs spring at rear damper with an EXT 300lbs unit, and it got any better. It's more composed and stable at rear.
I think 275lbs would fit even better, but it's not so easy to find.

 

[Danp83]

What bike did you have before?

how much does it weigh?

 

[Dr. Ergal]

A Montana-Vektor bi-energy FS
Brose-BMZ 504Wh power unit, and specced with medium level components
I tuned it up with 29 wheel on front, Yari upgrade (hydraulic pack, tokens, etc...), new rear damper (to play with geometrical angles), Magura MT7 brakes with Hope and Galfer rotor
It weight slighly over 25kg

It's a good and honest bike.
It's ranked as an aggressive AM bike, but I think it a good all-rounder, friendly and easy

 

[Varaxis]

That last one looks like a beach cruiser in comparison to the Mondraker.

I imagine that it was nice for cruising in the saddle, racking up miles and elevation, and getting your adventure on comfortably over rough backcountry as far as the battery will last, but the Mondraker's comfort zone extends much deeper into techy MTB stuff that casuals normally would have to work their courage up to simply prove that they can do it.

I judge this based mostly on the CS length and the front center (the distance the front axle is from the crank spindle). There's a massive gap between the rear tire and chainring, and the front wheel looks so close to the cranks that it looks like it was crashed into a wall in comparison. Or in other words, the chainrings are more centered between the wheels like on a beach cruiser. The tip of the saddle is a good deal behind the crank spindle too, as if it were made for someone who's accustomed to sitting on a couch or chair all day. This can be ridden in rough terrain, but you would have to get your hips pretty far back to stay balanced and not get bucked, compared to the geo of the Mondraker which allows you to feel stable while standing relaxed with hips over your feet.

Basically, I'm suggesting that you're not fooling me by saying that last bike is a good one. I call those ambition-killing bikes which convince riders that they're old and should stick to lower risk stuff, and progress so slowly compared to people who ride "aggressive" bikes that your self esteem starts to reason how more progressed riders are a different breed, rather than appreciating how much difference the bike makes.

 

[Dr. Ergal]

Excellent exam.
I totally agree with you.
I was convinced to be much much slower than my mates, while I was struggling to keep their pace on hard and technical descents. I was convinced to be old and wise enough to slow down.
Now, with the Level, I found me younger, faster, much more motivated and much much more aggressive. And, very often, leading my group with ease.
Nevertheless, the Montana is not a bad bike at all. In moderate riding is smooth, friendly and pleasant.

It was unpleasant only in hard conditions, out of its specifications