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The stuff I use is more dense/heavier than viborcore. I’ve been looking into something that can measure vibration at the bar, but I don’t have any data to support that’s better or worse.
Late to the party. Nevertheless. Not exactly Fasst bars, but I had the chance to ride some REALLY flexy bars and comfort wise it's good. I also noticed that the hand trying to roll over the grip effect is lessened with a softer bar (which is flexy fore-aft besides up-down). My wrist was hurting less with a softer bar than with a stiffer bar after a longer day of riding. One side effect though was that the fork felt like it doesn't work. Going to a stiff bar the initial impression was 'oooooh, so the fork DOES work!'. Only for the wrist to start screaming of pain by the end of the trail.
I have used the vibrocore bars. I find them better to use use on my steel bikes or hardtails. For me, it helps with dulling the chatter. But I also run larger grips, silicone or other materials. I do think the vibrocore rims have a more pronounced effect. Dulls the trail a bit, which is the point I guess. Better for trails with a lot of small roots/rocks in the trail. Not as effective for say braking bumps or larger hits.
I have a little note about Leatt grips, the idea of them on paper looked great, they say “maximum vibration damping”.
The plastic is cut out and has a material in there which I thought would work great. The grip material itself is pretty stiff. Unfortunately I thought they added more vibration to my bike and bar set compared to OneUp grips or the Diety soft large grip.
And in other news, I’m trying the Rimpact TMD vs countershox. My first impression is that Countershox made a bigger change and much easier to install. Total weight is similar, but rimpact isn’t damped is just free floating weight and spring. Right now I’m on the soft spring.
Anyone with experience to talk about these bars?
I just placed an order for carbon bars and if they don't solve my issue with getting a sore shoulder on long technical rides, then I might give these flexx bars a try!
My buddy has some on his dirt bike. He says they are nice for long days. Keeps you feeling less fatigued even after several hours.
Your soreness might be an issue of bike fit. Your bars could be too low (or far away), and as a result, you’re supporting too much of your bodyweight through your upper body.
There’s a separate thread on this: https://www.vitalmtb.com/forums/hub/general-cockpitcontact-point-discussion
Or the bars could be too stiff. As I said above softer bars cause less problems for my wrist...
The angle of levers/shifter/dropper also has a lot to say on how much gets translated through your hands and then through the rest of your body. Straightening the levers to a more horisontal position is the best hack I've tried for relief and comfort. The best thing is that it doesn't cost any money.
Thanks to you both!
That rabbit hole of a thread was filled with VERY useful information. I just made the following adjustments:
1) Reduced PSI in both front/rear tires from 25/30 (manufacturer recommendation for my chart size) down to 20/25 because I have CushCore's... I bought the bike used and they came with the bike, but I didn't understand what they were supposed to do until reading the thread.
2) Moved the seat forward about 15mm
3) Adjusted the brake levers to be parallel with my arms
I just finished a 30 mile ride with reasonable amount of chunk and it was night/day difference. My shoulder is still sore from the chronic pain over the past year, but I can at least lift my arm above my head which I couldn't do after the same ride with my previous settings.
The stock handlebar on my TREK Fuel ex9.7 come with a 27.5mm rise and the carbon TrailOne Crocket handlebar that I ordered comes with a 35mm rise so I'd get a double benefit of a higher rise and more flex, though the lower air pressure in my tires today made things far more plush than ever expected! Before I play around with the seat anymore, I plan to wait for the new handlebar to arrive and see how that feels next. I had far more confidence in my cornering now and was able to make some steep climbs without my rear wheel spinning out thanks to the lower PSI and not having to walk my bike up those shale/gravel hills anymore!
That's awesome! Glad to hear those adjustments made such a difference. It's incredible how much performance and comfort you can eke out of a bike without spending a dollar.
I've returned to RevGrips with my niggling hand injury and the latest version is much better than the original one. It is the only grip that makes real difference for me, in the most-comfy configuration. Order the heavily discounted blem issue if you like bright pink/orange colorways, lol.
Interested in Tuned Mass Dampers? Here's more info on that from the founder of Rimpact:
A random O chain thought:
I enjoy my O chain and feel like it works as advertised. However, the resistance of the elastomers is enough to engage my hub (dt350). This gives a tapping feeling before the feeling of bottoming out the elastomer in the free throw of the ochain. It’s a two stage tap which is kind of annoying.
Sound/sensation aside, wouldn’t the ochain work better if there was actual free play between the hub and pedals? I’d say the elastomers engage the hub in the first quarter of movement.
What degree are you using in ochain, what engagement hub?
12* 90% of the time. 9* if I’m feeling adventurous.
it’s a dt 350 on a xm1700 wheels set. I’d say it’s the 36 tooth by the amount of slop.
I have both O-Chain and Sidekick on two different bikes. The elastomers on the O-Chain seem to do a better job at reducing some pedal feedback. Also when you engage a Sidekick quickly, going to flat or casing, there is noticeable thunk, when the pawls engage.
Also there is some movement before the elastomers engage, there are three very light springs inside. Somebody correct me if I am wrong.
My O chain does not move at all without pulling the chain forward until the hub engages. Immediately, there is enough resistance to pull the chain and engage the hub. After the hub engages, the pedal then travels the full of 12* without pulling the chain. Once you bottom out the 12*, it will the pedal normally, of course.
I’m not sure if the initial chain pull is from resistance from the springs or the elastomer. I think it’s the springs. The thud at the bottom of the 12* is harder than I’d like. Ochain told me you can’t get softer elastomers to make that bottom out softer.
I made a video but you can’t post video here.
Edit: to clarify… when pedalling, the crank and chainring move forward normally until the hub engages (because of the spring resistance), then the crank travels the 12* of float until the Elastomers engage. So that’s 2 taps for the price of one. My friend has an Onyx hub and the entire system is much smoother and quieter.
I believe the sales pitch is wrong. People always say “it’s different than a low engagement hub because you always get 12*, rather than whatever free play is left in your hub.”
That is incorrect, you actually get the 12* PLUS what ever free play is left in your hub.
I think this product is substantially better with a high POE hub, despite everyone saying that set up is contradictory.
Atherton team was running the high POE Stans mag hub with the O-Chain. B/C you get a consistent degree of movement from the O-Chain, you don’t need to have extra degrees from the freehub. There was also less drag with that hub, so not sure where their priorities were.
I am not sure how you would design an O-Chain to be lower friction than the freehub. Those are very light springs inside already. Any chance that your O-Chain needs a service, maybe have excess friction in the device? I never felt my freehub engage separately from the O-Chain.
DT Swiss is ratchet system with two sets of unidirectional teeth interfacing each other. Spring is just there to keep the ratchets meshed together. I believe that is why the DT system has lower drag.
If I'm understanding what you're saying something does seem off with your ochain, ebikepartyshirt. Might be worth a rebuild? I also get what you mean, the deadband of the Ochain is more resistance than the dead-end between the POE. I mostly ran my ochain on a Hydra so I didn't experience that. For a few weeks between frames I ran the ochain WITH a sidekick and yeah, that had "2 taps" as you explained it.
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