AM/enduroing my Darkside. Advice from those who know stuff.

So, I built a Banshee Darkside with a Dorado in the front a few years ago. Love how that rides, but for pedalling, not so much. 26" wheels. Could be talked into a 27,5" in the front, but I'll get into that later. Reasonably priced is the goal here. Not looking for real weight weeny gear, just reasonable and solid.

I'm thinking of doing a couple of things.

New cassette with a 42t as the lowest gear. Can it be done with a Zee derailleur, or do I need to find a different SLX or XT RD to do the job? I have a 34t N/W ring at the crank, btw. that paired with a 11t top gear is about as slow as I want to be, so not really looking to switch that out.

Cockpit mashup: I have a 44/56 Cane Creek headset for the straight 1 1/8" steerer of the Dorado. Am I on the right track if I believe (and hope) that all I need to do here is get a new preload assembly and a fitting crown race for a tapered steerer? New stem: Reach is on the long side with a 50mm stem, so I run it at 30mm DM. Keeping things simple, I see there are multiple options for a 30 or 31mm stem (steerer mount), so that's not gonna be a problem.

Fork/front wheel: Thinking of a 170mm travel fork. Options are: Fox 36, RS Lyrik (both way out of my budget, but the former at least has a 20x110mm option), and an XFusion Metric. Haven't researched much further, but seems like if I want to keep my Hadley up front, it's either the Fox or the Metric (this would be the absolutely cheapest option). Unless there are inexpensive boost adapter kits, that is. Hadley's website is still nowhere to be found. Any decent, semi light and solid 27,5 front wheels available? I live in Yurp, as some of you might know.

Seatpost: Can't run anything stealthy, unless I drill holes in the Darkside. I'm led to believe that's not a great idea. There's a very pretty Thomson Elite there now, but it's just pretty, not intended or able to move anywhere easily.

Shock: I just need a shorter stroke shock than the one on it, a CCDB CS. A pedal mode would be great, but not really necessary if it has decent LSC settings. Any recommendations?

Cheers.

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Originally Posted by arild

New cassette with a 42t as the lowest gear. Can it be done with a Zee derailleur, or do I need to find a different SLX or XT RD to do the job?

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You need a med. or long cage RD, preferably with an offset upper pulley. Shimano 11sp RD/shifter/cassette is your best bet.

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Originally Posted by arild

Seatpost: Can't run anything stealthy, unless I drill holes in the Darkside. I'm led to believe that's not a great idea.

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Nah, alloy frame, drill away.

Sweet. Any pointers to which posts may endure a heavy ass frame rider with basically no skills?

Dropping 30mm off the front end and swapping to a shorter shock will lower the bike a bunch. Is that thing tall enough to handle a substantial lowering? A quick look at the geo chart for the current version makes it look like you might drag your chainring on bottom outs.

ride something with current geometry, the latest parts, 29" wheels and see if you want to spend money on the bike you got

That frame us made to do that but that's getting pretty pricey. Chainreaction sells a brand x dropper that's cheap and good and actuated at the collar so no need to drill tour frame. The new marzocchi z1 or the rock shox yari are both reasonably priced and really good forks. Prebuilt wheels with hope hubs can be reasonable from chainreaction as well as a hope bottom cup/bearing. I think spank is the cheapest sub 35mm stem. Rear slx derailleur and a 11-46 ext cassette and chain and you'll probably need a 30t chainring. That's close to 1000€ and you'd be losing a great park bike. Might be better to sell and pick up a capra or a clash

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Originally Posted by XXX-er

ride something with current geometry, the latest parts, 29" wheels and see if you want to spend money on the bike you got

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Be careful doing this, though... because I *GUARANTEE* you aren't going to want to spend money on the bike you got after you do this.

:D

I think you'd be better off selling this thing and putting it toward your first credit card payment on a new whip..

yeah I was tlaking to a buddy and he is telling me he has replaced all this shit on his OLD bike frame, that wheels are wheels and even if they are 26 they still go round & round

I talk about 29", 1X12 narrow wide/ spragg clutch der so no dropped chains/ 2" longer WB, short stem, wide bars, different stance, next gen brakes next gen forks next gen rear shock

but he is a guide and so i am wasting my breath

Toast: Probably there will be at least some clearance issues. I've mentally passed on the shorter stroke shock option, at least (turns out after some research that it'll still pedal like it does, only with less squish going down). Now looking at just a 170-180mm fork on the susp side of things, also to keep the geo pretty much the same.

XXXer: Can't/won't ride anything new, no money for that stuff. Also, I look like a midget on 29" wheels. With the 26ers I look positively huge!

Grinch: Will look into brandX posts, thanks. Yari or X1 should be on the list, then, I see. I'll also look at Hope bottom cups.

Grskier/skaredshties: I just looked at the SC website, the Nomad caught my eye. Pretty much what I want, but won't be able to swing something like that for at least two years (I'm also looking at a 10 year old C63 AMG for some reason - been a BMW guy all my life, but discovered M insurance is fucking stupid, with an AMG they're cheaper than my X5's! Need the car before I need a new bike..)

So, bottom line: keeping my wheels and rear susp, probably swapping out the fork and stem, most likely the drivetrain (except the crankset) too. Seatpost, yes.

Are Hadley hubs easy to convert to 15mm from 20mm if you actually find the parts? Hadly boost hub stuff. (found it, I think).

If you can get them in Yurp, OneUp Components is selling off their first gen dropper post for like $170 US right now. Internally adjustable travel, which would be pretty sweet.

If you don't want to drill the frame, get a KS LEV. But really, with that bike and what you're doing, drilling a little hole in the seat tube is the least of your concerns.

Try an XT rear derailleur and a Sunrace 11-46 cassette. I just mounted one up and am surprised by how nice it shifts compared with the earlier generation wide range Sunrace stuff. No backpedal chain drop either.

FWIW, I'm on 2 different 26" frames that with 27.5" front wheels on both. On the DH bike, there was plenty of room in the Fox 40 for a big wheel. On the trail bike, I inherited a 27.5" fork/wheel. Both bikes ride great. For you, changing to a single crown fork probably comes down to the differences in Axle-Crown length between different fork brands. If you went with a 180mm fork and added a 27.5" wheel, you're looking at a 1.25mm change in height (compared with 200mm fork and 26" wheel). Negligible, especially if the AC on the Dorado is relatively small and you change to a brand with a relatively long AC. And mid-range takeoff 27.5" wheels are easy to find for cheap.

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Originally Posted by jm2e

If you can get them in Yurp, OneUp Components is selling off their first gen dropper post for like $170 US right now. Internally adjustable travel, which would be pretty sweet.

If you don't want to drill the frame, get a KS LEV. But really, with that bike and what you're doing, drilling a little hole in the seat tube is the least of your concerns.

Try an XT rear derailleur and a Sunrace 11-46 cassette. I just mounted one up and am surprised by how nice it shifts compared with the earlier generation wide range Sunrace stuff. No backpedal chain drop either.

FWIW, I'm on 2 different 26" frames that with 27.5" front wheels on both. On the DH bike, there was plenty of room in the Fox 40 for a big wheel. On the trail bike, I inherited a 27.5" fork/wheel. Both bikes ride great. For you, changing to a single crown fork probably comes down to the differences in Axle-Crown length between different fork brands. If you went with a 180mm fork and added a 27.5" wheel, you're looking at a 1.25mm change in height (compared with 200mm fork and 26" wheel). Negligible, especially if the AC on the Dorado is relatively small and you change to a brand with a relatively long AC. And mid-range takeoff 27.5" wheels are easy to find for cheap.

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I think I can drill it. Especially if I can somehow route the wire from the post via the downtube up to where the fork bumpers lie. Looks like a pretty strong area.

Oneup's available.

On the fence about the 27.5" front, but I'm guessing I can manage a shorter fork with a 26" wheel. Saves me some money, at any rate. The Z1 is starting to look very good, especially since the conversion kit for the Hadley hub isn't badly expensive. It looks like I'm at less than 900 euros, excepting a new wheel. SLX shifter/rear der/chain, sunrace cassette, Z1, Oneup dropper, Pro stem, etc.

Thanks again!

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Originally Posted by arild

I think I can drill it. Especially if I can somehow route the wire from the post via the downtube up to where the fork bumpers lie. Looks like a pretty strong area.

Oneup's available.

On the fence about the 27.5" front, but I'm guessing I can manage a shorter fork with a 26" wheel. Saves me some money, at any rate. The Z1 is starting to look very good, especially since the conversion kit for the Hadley hub isn't badly expensive. It looks like I'm at less than 900 euros, excepting a new wheel. SLX shifter/rear der/chain, sunrace cassette, Z1, Oneup dropper, Pro stem, etc.

Thanks again!

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I could fit a 27.5 wheel in my 26”dropouts on my rune if I mounted them in the slackest position. Worth a try if someone has a 27.5 you can slip in quickly to see if it fits. Dark side has a shorter chainstays though so maybe yours won’t fit.dropoutsare reasonable from banshee’s online store(100usd)

Grinch: I've heard of people actually fitting 27" wheels in 26" dropouts on the Darkside, but I'm not too bothered about the rear. At any rate, decided to postpone any enduroizing till next year, when I start making real money again. In the mean time, lowered the Dorado to 560mm A2C, and it actually rides quite nicely. Heavy as fuck, though.

Frame weight isn't too bad from the get go, and the only thing separating this bike from say a Nomad, geo wise, would be the ST angle at 72-73degrees depending on chip orientation Oh, and the head tube angle is still at 64 degrees or so, so plenty slack.

Probably going to splurge a bit on the enduroizing; LB wheelset, DVO Onyx, DVO Jade, a dropper of some sort, and XT 12sp gearing. Truckloads of money out the window, but a new bike/frame would be even worse.

Thanks for all replies.

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Originally Posted by arild

Frame weight isn't too bad from the get go, and the only thing separating this bike from say a Nomad, geo wise, would be the ST angle at 72-73degrees depending on chip orientation Oh, and the head tube angle is still at 64 degrees or so, so plenty slack.
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how about WB/top tube length ? The difference from my old bike to my new bikes was like 2 " and the old 26er felt like a BMX

IMO the important thing you gota ask yerself IS has enough new shit come down in design and componentry to warrant buying it all in a new bike and what is there that I can't upgrade without buying a new bike?

Ok, here goes for comparison, Nomad M low/high (Darkside L low/high), both in 27".
WB: 1194mm/1192mm/ (1214mm)
Reach: 436mm/440mm/ (438mm)
HA: 64.6/65 (63.5/64.5) - Darkside's one degree slacker, overall
STA: 74.1/74.5 (72.5/73.5) - Darkside's one and a half degree slacker
BB height: 339mm/344mm (348/363mm) - Darkside's 9-19mm taller.
Standover: 722mm/728mm (708mm -albeit in 26" mode, add 10mm for an apples to apples comparison) - Darkside's lower, but meh.
Chainstay length: 431mm/430mm (435mm/432mm) - Close enough, I guess?

That's it for numbers. The Nomad probably pedals a hell of a lot better, but not $2-3000+ frame money better. On the Darkside, there's a neutral position for the dropouts, which puts the geo numbers in the middle.

I just picked up a lightly used 2018 Nomad (in Aluminum) for $2800, maybe you could sell your darkside and then pick up a lightly used Nomad or YT Capra for the money you're about spend on trying to make a DH bike pedal?

yup. Sell your bike. Buy a used bike from the last couple years that is in your price range. Pretty decent deals out there for $1500-$2000, which is then lowered by however much you sell your current bike for.

It’s a shame you’re changing anything on that bike. Black on black Darkside with a dorado is a keeper. Sick bike
Add a commencal clash or meta power or a jeffsy, Capra or decoy

If not super cheap to find a barely used rock shox yari 27.5(if it’s not 180 it can be made 180), wide range 11spd cassette, 32t ring and one of those cheap droppers. Slide the seat forward for a steeper sa and call it a day. You can find wheels cheap later or even one at a time(front first with the 27.5 yari/lyric)

It's a beaut. Weighs in at 16kgs on the spot,so probably about 40lbs? Dunno. Might just save up for a while, and build a quiver.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4e5d0c12de.jpg

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2.2 x 16 = 35.2 lb the build looks pretty beefy

I'm not really sure how bad of an idea trying to make it into an enduro is but

probably

Hah. I was surprised by that figure myself. Shock and frame is about 4.2 kg,dorado is 3,wheels aren't too bad-2kg for the set, but the rear has a tube in it. Magic Maries in trailstar won't seal as nicely as the gravity compound, so I got sick of refilling all the time.

That said,took me a long ass time to get the CCDBa to behave as it should with the compression settings. Never had it serviced, is something like that a very proprietary tooled process?

Maybe an alu Bronson wouldn't be too bad to compliment it with. Hmmm.

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