I don't put my hand anywhere but the hoods and very rarely on the drops. I think it looks cleaner not having tape wrapped across the flats. I'm super anal about handlebar setup/bar tape/cable routing so I'm going to find a taller cap, flip the stem and then shorten the cables again.




Case in point.. This is my 5" XC bike that I raced in the Spokane 24hr race, took 2nd in the local XC eliminator series and 6th in the Super-d series.


My DH bike is a monster in terms on "get your speed on in the rough stuff". Just imagine a bike with 8" of travel, a bottom bracket 13.5" off the ground and a 62* headtube angle. It's low, it's slack and its fast.

Imaking is right that this build is a bike conservative in terms of how I would have built my other bikes.
I will mention that my first ride aboard this bike saw about 8 miles of rock, dirt, and mud that would make a cyclocross bike blush. It took it like a champ. I might be an idiot for taking that road but I really just wanted to see if the bike would handle it.
My idea of a casual weekend ride.
http://player.vimeo.com/video/28342842

Damn. It took forever for me to put this awful beast of burden on a scale.
It's a bit fat but it's fun(like most girls I date).

14.4lbs without the pedals.