andreszucs wrote:You are killing us man....updates??
Sorry, missed this!
Nothing new since I'm still waiting for the Berk parts to really finish the builds.
Got some 700km on the Spark now and it's a crazy bike. So fast and so much fun.
A couple of stand out first impressions:
- The new Spark frame - it's almost hard to believe it can be so stiff and responsive yet so light. Suspension feels great, pedal effective but active, and I've never ridden a fully that feels so much like a hardtail in lockout-mode.
- The Piccola brakes - this was probably the biggest surprise, hands down the best brakes I've had. And not just as in a bit better, I really think they are on a different level than XTR's or Sram Level or even Guide. First thing is that the lever action is sooo smooth and light. Seriously, they feel so light that when I rode my Sram Guide RS it was like going to mechanical. Second, the power beats those other brakes too. Especially the initial bite is just massive and requires very little force. They lack a little if you push them to do a full stop going up on the front wheel, but I think that comes down to the rotors I'm running.
- The wheels - not much to say but being stiff and that light, they make the bike climb so good.
Problems:
- Fox FIT4 cartridge - been having trouble with the lockout. Issue is that air somehow gets into the system so after 100-200km the fork lock outs about 20-30% down into it's travel. I've taken it apart and bled it twice, but didn't help. Currently running the cartridge from my other fork, which luckily enough works great. Of course it happens, but still it sucks buying top of the line products and they are faulty straight out of the box.
- Tune cranks - one of my cranksets turned out to have the tolerances of the axle diameter off. So when I first tried to install them they only went a couple of centimeters into the bearing and got stuck bad.
The real problem here is the completely non-existant customer service from Tune. I'll seriously never buy something from them again (and I've had a few Tune parts over the years) unless they re-invent the wheel and it's a product no one else makes.
It took one week for them to get back saying my email had been forwarded to their service department. The same morning I had gotten tired of waiting and simply sanded the axle down to the right tolerance with fine grit paper. I then sent a second email directly to the service guys adress, further explaining the issue and how I solved it.
In a nice tone I also added that I didn't care if I had voided the warranty, and also explained that when the axle got stuck one bearing (also Tune) got a little bit damaged and while it could be argued that it was me using too much force (the manual says not to, but been working with bikes for 16 years so..) it would never have happened if the product wasn't faulty.
Was hoping for at least an answer or maybe even an apology, best case being them offering a new bearing as goodwill. Several weeks later though and still no reply.
Funny thing is, when I emailed Tune last autumn asking questions related to buying the cranks, I got an answer the same day.
Anyway, will keep you posted when I get the last parts, then it's time for some final touches and of course taking some high quality pics. Oh, and see what weight they end up being.
Here it is in current state along with some nice company.
