|   Living with Matt Chester & Kelly | Drevil
Apr 16, 2002 5:08 PM | | Chester sent me my Kelly rigid fork about a week ago, and I must say, I am having a great time with it. Y'see, when Matt built my frame, I spec'ed it out with Sid SL because I wasn't sure I wanted to go rigid in all the rockier areas around here. I did them on my rigid Yo, but I'd get the occasional stinging hands, which blew, but I worried more about the long-term effects.
Well, I went riding with four guys from this board about a week and a half ago at a really rocky area (Elizabeth Furnace in the Shenandoahs) and the Sid made the ride so much worse. Everytime I came off of a rock and immediately upon another, the fork would dive, so I nearly endoed several times. I hated the ride, plain and simple. I questioned dropping all the money that I had on my "ultimate, honest-to-goodness-honey, last bike".
Okay, I admit that the MC and the Sid were on their first "real" ride, as I had just built them both up four days before. But after almost a year of riding rigid exclusively, it turns out that I had grown away from front travel. Indeed, it even hampered my riding by bouncing up, down, and away, and provided me with less control than with a stiffy up front.
So fast forward four days later, and the Kelly shows up at the door, thanks to Matt. It is a beaut! Light, long, stiff, and black! I threw it on the frame, and the Ute is now thanking me for dropping the front down a little, and getting the geometry to what Matt intended. To temper the relatively rougher ride, I throw on chunkier tires (Tioga DH 2.3), fatter grips (Ourys), and because my back was hurtin' on the crazy ride, a shorter stem (120 -> 110).
Oh, Sweet Jeezus.
The bike rides like a dream.
I hit the local trails several times after that, and I can't help sprinting away from my friends, my wife, and everything else in my head. Could this two-pronged piece of iron be the answer to all my dreams? No. But it did make my mediocre steed the best I've ridden so far. |
| Ahhhhh.... | Shiva Steve
Apr 17, 2002 5:30 AM | | She looks much happier. Trust in her, and she will treat you right! |
| re: Living with Matt Chester & Kelly | 2cflyr
Apr 17, 2002 10:22 AM | | Am I seeing 4 bikes? howd you do that sweet pic? amazing! And lets not forget the MC, rigid front as it should be (I ride my Inbred rigid alot) |
| How to get 4 Chesters, at once! | Drevil
Apr 17, 2002 11:57 AM | |
Boredom, Photoshop, and a lot of masking. Funny, eh? Do you switch back and forth between the suspension a lot, or is it reserved for those G N A R L Y rides? I think I am going exclusively with the Kelly, unless them tinglin' hands start acting up again. Have fun! |
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