2/18/2024 0 Comments Sprint push to talk 125![]() Those kind of trails are definitely a happy place for the Spectral 125. Even then I was regularly flicking the ‘firm’ switch on the side of the Float X shock into play on climbs and sometimes for smoother, swoopy berm descents too. That meant it took me a lot of very small back and forth sag percentage adjustments to find an acceptable balance. ![]() As it’s a Performance rather than a Performance Elite shock, there’s no way to externally adjust the low-speed compression that could easily sort it out. Add enough pressure to make it pop and exploit it’s stiff back end however and it’s actually so progressive that its hard to get the last 20mm of travel out of the back – even if you pull the one small volume spacer out of the shock and you’re really slamming stuff. While Canyon have apparently increased anti squat (how much the bike stiffens when you pedal), if you run it soft enough to get full travel on a regular basis then it still feels soft and bouncy under power. There’s no such guidance for the rear shock though and it’s a tricky one to set up. That’s fine if you know what you’re doing and refer to the reasonably accurate pressure and damper charts on the front fork. The first ‘performance’ aspect that needs talking about with any online supplied bike is that you’ll need to finish building it up and pumping it up yourself. You can just squeeze a 600ml bottle under the piggyback shock and there's a bag mount under the top tube (Image credit: GuyKesTV) Performance It’s worth noting that the posts are all pretty long for the frame size though with a 200mm shaft length on a large. Ergon grips and saddle complete the contact points with a Canyon branded adjustable dropper which lets you tune its stroke by 25mm. The alloy 780mm bar and good looking wraparound clamp 40mm stem come from Canyon’s toughest DH/Park proof G5 range though and the whole bike gets a rowdy, enduro ready, Category 4 rating despite less travel and a lighter frame. They’re both Exo carcass rather than anything heavier though, which is odd considering the rest of the reinforced spec. These are wrapped in a chunky Maxxis apiring of a Minion DHR II 29 x 2.4in tire on the front and a faster rolling Dissector 29 x 2.4in on the rear. One longevity bonus is that the wheels are 30mm wide rimmed DT Swiss XM1700 which are relatively heavy, but bomber tough. That’s the kind of thing only noticed by the perpetually pedantic but it will make a difference to longevity and shifting smoothness in the long run. ![]() There is a slight sneaky downgrade to an SLX chain, but that’s better than the 150 bike which comes with a Deore. Stop and go equipment is Shimano’s evergreen XT, with a 203mm ‘Freeza’ rotor up front for serious stopping power. The suspension kinematic has also been changed to limit suspension to 125mm as well as creating a more progressive stroke. The rear dampers are both Fox Float X piggyback shocks, but the 125 gets a Performance spec version not the Performance Elite of the 150, so it misses out on low-speed compression adjustment apart from the side mounted ‘firm’ lever. The fork is a Fox Float 36 Performance Elite but with 140mm of travel not 160mm. Given that the geometry and therefore the rowdy intent of the two Spectrals is very close, it’s less surprising that there’s very little difference in the spec between this and the 150mm bike either.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |