 I finally got to take the Wanga on it's maiden yesterday. We did a 26 mile road ride (we forgot our ID's so we couldn't get into Timberland) that included The Wall and some back roads from Timberland to Marikina Heights. It took a few minutes of adjusting the seat angle, height, and setback to get it to my liking since the Wanga is a little bit shorter than the 19" Ionic I was riding but after about 1 hour of riding, the position felt natural (even though I'm running a shorter fork than what the Wanga is designed for). The Wanga's cockpit was very similar to my 575 however so it felt natural after a bit (it normally takes me a few weeks to get used to a new position). I also had to make some chain length adjustments to the sliders to be able to run dingle. Obviously, the bike is a little bit heavier than the Ti frame that it replaced but since the components swapped over (specially the wheels), the bike still accelerated crisply and climbed well. It has different qualities than the bike it replaced but that is to be expected. It's a little stiffer than the Ti bike but also less compliant in the rough stuff. I really like the top of the top tube cable routing as it gets the cable guides out of my knee's way which is VERY important since I do most of my climbing off the saddle and on my Ionic, my knees frequently hit the cable guides (enough to draw blood) when I'm really swaying the bike back and forth. In looking at the mtbr posts about the Wanga, I was super concerned with the sliders slipping but they held tight even under the steepest part of The Wall. Neither SJ nor I could make it slip so it passed that test with flying colors. I also credit this to the setup by the wrenches at All Terra. They've had some Wanga's pass through their allens so they knew what they were doing (and probably knew the type of climbing SJ and I will put the bike through)... I ran the road gear on the way home (36X16) and it didn't slip on the climbs in Marikina Heights either. There was some squealing with the V's and I attribute this to the way the brake studs are attached to the frame. A bit of loctite and some proper tightening of the stud mounting bolts should quiet them nicely. Highlights of the frame design is the massive tire clearance, the sliders which allow me to run geared, single or dingle and the clean lines of steel. The only thing I would change would be a shorter head tube to allow me to run a 100mm+ fork without choppering the front end out too much... I'm leaving this bike in the PI and I can already tell that she'll be a fun rig. We were supposed to give her the dirty maiden today but because of the rain, it's been postponed until tomorrow morning... Review by Gary (FlipnIdaho) - former NORBA racer, SS guru, MTB coach  This particular frame was part of our first shipment of VooDoo frames. As it turns out, the colors for 2008 have been updated and this particular HooDoo is a rare, bone white breed. Frame size is 17”, which should fit riders from 5’6”-5’9”. We decided to build it up as a demo bike for prospective buyers. We didn’t want to go full-out on the build spec, and instead acquired a bunch of pre-loved parts, while at the same time making smart component choices. Highlights include the trick wheelset. The rims are Mavic 230SBP’s, which had been lying around my garage for almost 8 years! The hoops are light, weighing around 375-grams each. Laced to 32-hole Shimano Deore XT centerlock hubs by way of pre-loved double-butted spokes and red nipples. The combo makes for a lively ride, quick to accelerate. Tires are Corratec GripMaster Lites which weight around 430-grams each, despite their 2.3-inch wide specification. These tires have a shallow tread pattern, yet provide decent grip on the trail. Front suspension duties are handled by a 2001 Rock Shox SID 100. While it badly needs a new paint job (help me choose, red or white!), its seals are still ok and performance is outstanding. Setup was pretty straightforward – just pump up both positive chambers to the required PSI, set the rebound damping, and off you go. No platforms, compression adjustment, blow-off valves or lockout settings to worry about. Admittedly, a lockout would be a bonus, but a little adjustment to our riding style and bob was negligible. The SID is a racing fork, and despite its lightweight construction, holds it own in all the trail rides I’ve done so far. There is some front-end flex, but nothing disconcerting. Shifting and stopping duties are handled by an old pair of XTR DCL levers, mated to a short-cage LX rear mech and XT hydro brakes. Everything literally fit in place – no rotor rub or crappy shifting since day one. Of course, running a 1x9 drivetrain (sans granny and with a Salsa RingDinger in place of the big ring) minimizes sloppy shifting issues. The build spec finishes off with a combination of WTB (saddle), American Classic (headset), Ritchey (grips, seatpost and stem) and Syntace (handlebar) brands. Nothing too blingy. Overall weight is estimated at around 25 pounds. Haven't gotten down to weighing it accurately! The whole is more than the sum of its parts. That’s what matters. After a few tweaks of saddle and bar position, I felt right at home on the HooDoo. The SID’s cush complements the already-forgiving ride of the butted steel frame. Quick directional changes in singletrack were no problem, and this bike loves to climb. The tires surprised me more than once, maintaining grip in situations where I expected the low-profile knobs to break loose. Braking performance could somehow be better – something I also attribute to the less-aggressive tires. Shifting was crisp, quiet and efficient. With the HooDoo, switching back to 26” wheels, suspension and gears was a pleasant surprise. Contact us to set up a demo ride!  After a less than stellar getting to know/dialling in ride at the Tour of the Fireflies, in which the sliding dropouts did just that (slide around), I decided to shave off the paint on the dropout area and move the sliders all the way to the front. I also slapped on a shorter stem and moved the saddle forward a smidgen. I figured this would unleash the vaunted voodoo handling and ride quality that I had been hoping for. Today was the real test at PFA, Nursery, etc in Maarat. Real dirt, real mountains. All I can say is.... A+ :) :) Its a hardtail, but there is nothing hard about the ride. I can spin away rough sections in the saddle, or swoop through choppy fireroads seated! Granted, the excellent WTB saddle has its own merits, but it was never like this on my other hardtails. Before today, I was thinking of a carbon bar and a carbon seatpost to take the edge off. I guess I wont be needing them. As cherrybomber said, it carves. There is no other word to describe the feel on corners. Its also flickable and responsive. Sure, it will shake you if you slam head on that baby head in the trail, but the handling is so superb you can easily flick the bike around it. Amazing. Ok, so my old stumpjumper HT was also flickable and responsive. But my stumpy was not as compliant. on my Stumpy, on certain stutter bumps and sharp hits, you'll feel the vibrations resonate through the bars to your hands, arms and teeth. I feel I can ride this bike for a whole day. It climbs. It carves. It absorbs. Overall, its a funtastic ride. Bombing down the trail to the nursery, Mang Boy behind me on his Moment was prompted to say that it was like I was riding a full suspension rig since I was going so fast without minding the bumps. :) :) :) I love it! :D |