Shiny and Chome 5

Updating photos once I wash the bike (too eager to ride)

First frame up build for me which I really nerded out about and could not be more pleased.  Following are my thoughts on all this. 

I am a scrawny 6'; maaaaybe 150lbs on a good day.  Middle aged rider who is above average to all comers but probably (slightly?) below average rider when compared to other people who spend as much time, effort, and money on biking as me.  I get a new bike maybe every 3-4 years so some of this stuff is old news to other bikers but new and exciting to me. 

Madonna frame is just as beautifully crafted and balanced as everyone says.  The external routing is well thought out and allows you to get bike so quiet but it does trigger the OCPD in me as I have spent an extra hour or two trying to get the cable lines just right.

First time with a GRIP 2 damper and it is so smooth.  I think Fox dropped Performance Elite for a little while so I was glad to see it back as an option.  

Back to a 31.8mm bore and cut bars to 770mm which is a touch narrower than I usually use but it feels quite natural.  I am 6' tall and I don't know that I'd go narrower.  Raaw recommends a bit longer stem than most other bike companies.  Currently on a 32mm stem but looking to try out the 45mm once the right color is back in stock.  I think slowing the steering down will compliment the rest of the bike feel.

Wolftooth dropper works great.  The BikeYoke Revive has a smoother operation though.  I initially went with Wolftooth because I wanted to try 200mm drop (coming from 180).  At 6' tall and 32" inseam the 200mm feels borderline excessive and almost didn't even fit in the frame.  I was sweating it during the build.  The bleed with every cycle is a nice feature and apparently this dropper is not affected cold weather which will be nice. (I have a personal death vendetta against SRAM Reverb for crapping out on me as I started up Burro Pass in a snowstorm) 

Second bike with the Ohlins coil.  So cush.  Worth every gram.

XT drivetrain shifts so well.  I went with the en vouge shorter crank arms which has resulted in an immediately noticeable lower amount of pedal strikes.  Read that a smaller chainring matches well with shorter cranks.  Not a machismo contest but usually run a 32T chainring.  Moving to the wider 55mm chainline I was interested in working more towards the center of the cassette so I went with the 30T and so far it all seems to work well.  I'm often able to climb in 3rd or 4th gear.  I can grind it out in 1st without falling over from moving too slow but the cadence has to stay up.  I am a little worried about running out on the top end but we will see as the longer, higher speed trails at higher elevation open up this summer.  

XT brakes work well.  I used the softer touch resin pads from MTX (red) which I've liked on my last enduro bike for how quiet and consistent they were.  My only displeasure so far with this build has been the XT rotors which have a sort of polished finish.  It has taken many laps in front of my house and almost 20 miles of riding to finally get brakes bedded in.  On a prior build for my wife's bike I got some galfer rotors which have a textured finish that I was very impressed with for several reasons.  Almost went with those rotors again and I wish I had.   

WAO wheels are real nice.  Didn't get the Convergence cause I'm not a big guy slapping berms all the time.  I guess I wanted some premium wheels but didn't feel the need to go ultra premium.  These rims feel lively but also hold their line.  

All in all, happy as a pig in mud and wanted to make my own little review since information on some of the specific component choices I made were tough to find on the internet and I definitely used Vital bike reviews and pics to try and sort out some of the finer details.  

Oh and I don't really know how much the bike weighs but it's at least 37lbs.  I'm pretty squarely in the camp of: saving a pound or two on an enduro bike is a doomed quest, just go for bulletproof.