Forking Content

How long have I been riding with the 140mm Fox 34 with Grip 2 damping on the Vassago Meatplow V.8?

Since that first day in Moab... which was almost exactly a month ago?

It seems like four years ago and also a week ago.

Well, I've had enough rides on it to like, form an opinion, man.

Me.  That one time I wore pads in Pisgah in the last decade.  Trbl.

Ok.  So why swap from a 120mm Step Cast wünderkind "racing" fork to its more trail-oriented cousin?  I really thought I'd use this bike to race once in a while, but whatever it is inside me that makes those decisions almost always grabs the turgid bike instead.  Almost two years after getting this bike, and I've only done the Pisgah Enduro™ back in 2019.  So, obvs I missed the mark buying the smaller fork...

mebbe.

This is my Pisgah bike, so it only makes sense to make it more betterer for biggerer stuff. 

PROS:  More travel means more smashing into things and coming out alive.
             More travel means a slacker head tube angle.
             Longer lowers means more orange paint.

For getting down the mountain, this fork has been nuts.  It follows the terrain so well, which I can only assume is due to the Grip 2 damping.  That's good... and it's bad?

CONS:  No lockout.

But also...

PROS:  No lockout.

I do miss the lockout on the Step Cast, but only some times.  Going up long climbs, I look down and see the fork moving and think to myself, "unnnnggghhh."  Then I look away and forget about it.  Then the magical thing happens.  I start to go down hill and guess what?  I never forget to unlock my fork because it was never locked to begin with.  How many times did that happen with the Step Cast?  More than I'd like to admit.

Basically, Grip 2 is idiot-proof (Dick-proof).

I was worried that it would be more difficult to set up correctly, what with the high/low speed compression and rebound damping ("dampening" for those of you with a moist forks mentality).  Fortunately, either I got lucky or just followed the directions or intuitively clicked with all the adjustments.  I still need to drop the air pressure a scoche, but I only remember that when I'm out in the woods, far away from a shock pump.  I type that as I sit with my bike right behind me, the shock pump in the other room about fifteen steps from the couch.

When does my new fork suck?

Ok.  That's a bit harsh, but I'm noticing the slower handling while Charlotte woods riding.  It's like "mountain biking," but slower, twistier, and flatter.  The bike does handle slower, but that was to be expected.  It's just noticeable, and I guess something I'm going to have to get over.  I've got another bike (also hanging right behind me) that's totally fine for Charlotte woods riding, so I shouldn't bitch if I picked the wrong bike for the day.  It does feel super bueno whenever I can actually get the bike up to speed over some rough stuff, but if you happen to be a Charlotte Woods Rider, you know those moments are few and far between.

Also, this:

I can ride like a total idiot with 140mm of travel.  Bill Nye let me take the lead on the "pedaly" descent down Upper Spencer.  He was closing the gap when things started getting chunky, so I let 'er rip... despite knowing better.  I slammed my way through one of the many rock piles on the way down and totally heard that bad and all too familiar rim strike noise.  I crossed my fingers, but slowly I could feel the rear end loosening up.   A slow leak releasing pressurized air from my tire and a sense of bravado from my being.

Dammit.

On the upside, I got to test my new plugger tool, and it was buenos.  On the downside, both bikes are now rolling around on a plugged rear tire.  I'm now looking into tire inserts so I can continue to ride haphazardly without tearing shit up.

All in all, this fork is the absolute cat's meow.  I don't know when I'd ever put the 120mm Step Cast back on, but despite my reluctance to use it again, I'll have to hang on to it for another few months to watch it collect dust and regret before I can unload it.

As Obama said after sinking one from the three point line in business attire, "It's what I do."