Reign 0 upgrades/wheel build Qs/ general destruction

[Z]

Hopefully gonna pimp my 2008 reign 0 out....Couple questions for the masses..

-Will a Fox 36 Talas rake it out too much for climbs? Figure dropping to 100 or 130 should be okay.

-Do i NEED the RC2 or will the R be fine?

-Will the reign accept a hope II 10mm bolt up in the rear?

-What rims do I want to lace the hopes up to? Tubeless? Want to stay light XC/allmtn...Trying to keep the reign as close to 30lbs as possible. Big steep climbs to long descents...

-What kind of nipples? Besides yer moms.... Spokes?

-Will the reign not absolutely fucking crush it after these upgrades?

-Are marshal and kidwoo in love?



thanks...

[JeffreyJim]

1) A 36 will not rake it out too much to climb in my opinion. (if at all). It may slacken it out a half of a degree or so but this isn't a big deal (You had a 150mm fork on there before right?) I believe TALAS would be cool for you but have seen a LOT of TALAS 36s break out here. Travel adjust in general does seem to add some headache to the fork over the long haul. I have a Lyrik 2-Step and honestly rarely use the 2-step function. Yeah, the front end feels more grounded in the short travel mode while climbing but I've gotten so used to climbing in the longer travel mode I usually end up riding a bit more technically sound (cleaning more features...believe it or not) while in the longer travel mode. My point is you do not *need* travel adjust. It just might take you a few days to adjust to not having it.

2) I think you'll be just fine with the R model. The compression adjustments are nice but I think they are set pretty damn perfect from the factory...and unlike Rockshox stuff there is a pretty small range you are tuning for anyway. In short, I don't think it matters.

3) Yes. It should. You might need to break out a dremel (seriously) but I've done it before without issue

4) Stans Flow are pretty high on my list. There is a bunch of stuff out there that'll work great for you. I'll go into more detail here if you want me to later.

5) Nipples and Spokes. I dunno. I usually run whatever is around me and am not too picky. You'll probably end up going double butted but straight gauge is noticeable stiffer (and a tiny bit heavier). Anyway, I'll let Marsh chime in here.

Your bike will be light. Stupid light. And totally crush all the time. I might tape rocks to your downtube when you aren't looking so I can keep up when we ride...or just fill your tubes with water....

[Acadian]

LSC and HSC is nice to have. I don't think I could ride a fork that doesn't have these adjustment anymore.

I run a bottom headset cup on mine to rake it even more - and never need to adjust my fork travel in order to climb efficiently. But that's just me.

I run a 10mm bolt on DT 240 hub on the back - so a Hope hub will work just as well.

[toast2266]

A couple points to add to the discussion:

1) On bigger bikes, I really like having travel adjust on my forks. I think it makes climbing considerably less painful, especially on steep stuff.

2) R is probably fine if you're on a budget. I believe you can still change the compression internally if you really want to.

3) I was recently researching wheels for a similar bike build, and concluded that everyone likes the idea of the stans flow rims, but not many people actually like them. They're (apparently) too light, and don't hold up well to abuse. I ended up going with Easton Havocs ('08 model) that were on sale at Jenson for $399.

4) if you do build wheels, get brass nipples. They're heavier and they don't look cool, but they actually work. High tension spokes + aluminum nipples = angry mechanic.

5) I like to go with double butted spokes on the front wheel, and straight gauge on the rear. Its a nice compromise between weight savings and burl.

6) You shouldn't have to dremel much for a 10mm bolt on.

[Daywalker]

I had a Reign with a 2-Step Lyrik on it. At first I used the travel adjust regularly. By the second year I never bothered. It rode fine in full travel and saved me the expense of having to remember to switch it back. I had a DHX Air on the back and still flipped on propedal, fwiw.

I'm now riding Hope II's laced to Flows from Chain Reaction. They've held up well through a few hard rides and the extra width on the rim is nice. I can't comment on long term durability.

[Z]

Cool good info. So normal QR drop outs are 9mm. I get it. I know people who know people with dremels.

I can't help but go with the travel adjust. I found myself dropping my 140mm fork down for some certain switchbacks right out of town. You rode em with us JJ i think.

Talk to me more on wheels. What are some other good tubeless options...Pretty sure dside beat the piss out of his stans rims...

Also, is it worth it to go for a 2010 instead of 2009 36? I don't see the price difference being all that much for some reason...

[marshalolson]

9mm dropouts are on the fork. 10mm dropouts are in the frame. all frames unless 12mm thru-axle are 10mm rear.

if you go fox, you want the rc2 or a lyrik 2-step/u-turn coil. for sure. you don't want the talas, cause they need lots of love that you will not give the bike. i know you. so do you.

i would suggest hope hubs and mavic xm819 tubeless rims. $$$>

[Z]

9mm dropouts are on the fork. 10mm dropouts are in the frame. all frames unless 12mm thru-axle are 10mm rear.

if you go fox, you want the rc2 or a lyrik 2-step/u-turn coil. for sure. you don't want the talas, cause they need lots of love that you will not give the bike. i know you. so do you.

i would suggest hope hubs and mavic xm819 tubeless rims. $$$>

So why would you need to dremel the rear if it's a 10mm?

I'm confused. the talas comes in an RC2 version...that's okay? Have a talas now and hasn't been a problem. Think I just need to go for it for price/traveladj reasons....

[marshalolson]

you will not need to dremel nothing. not no way, not no how.

if you have had good luck with the talas, there you go... but the ride on the rc2 is much better than the r... worth a few bucks for sure. nothing wrong with the r really though.

you want DT swiss competition spokes and DT pro-lock nipples.

[Gowboy From Hell]

Marshal,
I'm going to be building up a new front wheel for my BLT, mostly trail riding, not super xc nor super hardcore, what are your thoughts on the DT swiss revolution spokes?

[marshalolson]

2.0/1.5/2.0 spokes are generally not strong enough for real technical trail riding nor stiff enough.... though alot of that depens on what size person you are, how hard you are on equipment, ho hard you pedal (mash or spin), how fast you descend/how hard you brake, and how rocky the trails.

I have had much better luck w/ super comps (2.0/1.7/1.8) personally on a trail bike. nearly the same weight per spoke, just wide enough and stuff enough to really help.

[JeffreyJim]

The reason I was pointing you in the direction of no travel adjust is you can find a 36 R or RC2 online for a good price. Sure, having travel adjust is nice but more of a "want" than a "need" in my book. TALAS is harder to get setup right, it's either really stiff (overly sprung) or wallowy as fuck. Plus they seem to break much more often. Overall we are really splitting hairs here but if it were me and price were a concern, I'd get a 36 R.

The dampener is functionally the same in the RC2 and R. Only the adjustability changes. What I was getting at in my earlier post is the RC2 allow you to tune a small amount of change (the old ones). The newer ones might have a bigger range but either way I didn't really care where my compression was set....chalk it up to my inability to really pay attention to what my front end was doing. Acadian is a good rider and says he couldn't live without high/low speed compression so take my advice with a grain of salt. (I found the factory settings to be sufficient on my 40 R I used when I raced...assume the 36 would be sit equally as well)

I have had to dremel a few frames to get a 10mm to fit. They are built so that it SHOULD fit from the factory but due to excess paint or whatever they didn't. Realize, I wasn't grinding away like mad...just hitting it really quick to get it to drop in there...that's it.

[Acadian]

The dampener is functionally the same in the RC2 and R. Only the adjustability changes. What I was getting at in my earlier post is the RC2 allow you to tune a small amount of change (the old ones). The newer ones might have a bigger range but either way I didn't really care where my compression was set....chalk it up to my inability to really pay attention to what my front end was doing. Acadian is a good rider and says he couldn't live without high/low speed compression so take my advice with a grain of salt. (I found the factory settings to be sufficient on my 40 R I used when I raced...assume the 36 would be sit equally as well).

But then gain - I need to point out that I'm mostly a RockShox guy (eg been riding RS forks for as long as I can remember). I've only owned a hand full of other forks (mostly Marz and Fox).

RS forks definitely benefits from High and Low speed compression settings. With that said, having not ridden any of the new Fox forks without it, I couldn't really tell how the the 36 performs without it. I know I use it (and notice a difference) on my 36 Float, reason why I made the general statement that I couldn't live without it. Might work well without it depending on your riding style.

I ride heavy on my front end (for cornering) so it's nice to be able to dial in the LSC to prevent the fork from diving when stuffing it a corner.

[shirk]

13 posts and nobody has answered the important question about Marshal and Woo?

Yes they have been having a secret love affair, but are fighting about where to put up their gift registry for the wedding. Woo is fight tooth and nail for Specialized, Marshal won't give up his Colorado love for Yeti. This one small thing could spoil their relationship.

[Z]

good stuff. thanks guys.


32hole is fine, right?

[JeffreyJim]

Yes. 32 is fine.

[Roxtar]

Ditto most of what's been said.
I've built a lot of wheels. Recently built a set for my wife using Stans Olympics.
I was very impressed with them. The bead locking design really works.
No, I'm not recommending the Olympics for your bike but the Flows are supposed to be killer for an AM setup.

I'd go with brass nipples and double butted 2.0/1.8/2.0 spokes.

Another fork to look at is the Manitou Nixon.
Stiff, light, and travel adjustment that works.
Dampening issues in early ones but newer-ish ones are the shit.
Can be found for far cheaper than Talas.

[Acadian]

Another fork to look at is the Manitou Nixon.
Stiff, light, and travel adjustment that works.
Dampening issues in early ones but newer-ish ones are the shit.
Can be found for far cheaper than Talas.

was it because they were covered with oil?

sorry...couldn't resist

[ColinB]

I have been running Hope Pro II's laced to Stan's Flows for nearly 2 years now on my trail bike and have not had any problems whatsoever. I went with the yellow tape when I first got the wheels because I was cheap and a trying to save weight. I figured I would swap out to the more burly rubber rim strip when I started having issues, I still have not had a problem, though they are a little tougher to get beaded up with the yellow tape.

[JeffreyJim]

I agree with the above post. Heard nothing but GREAT things about the Stans Flow rims...plus they are white

I'd look at a DT Swiss/Stans Flow option if I were you for a top shelf option that is still semi-affordable.