Jeffsy29
Member
The Decoy29 finally landed yesterday after a 35 day gestation...
Unboxed, converted to tubeless, 220 mm rotor upgrade up front and in a few hours she was ready to go (would have been faster if I had the right length post-mount bolts). Did some neighborhood rides just to dial-in the cockpit and suspension baseline. Around on the street - Decoy feels like a tank. Certainly maneuvering the thing around our 4 other bikes in the toolroom makes you feel every pound. But that all changes on the trail....I went to a pretty easy, flowy local trail that I figured would be safe warm up for me and Decoy. I wanted something moderate since I've had some of my worst wrecks on brand-new bikes, usually over-braking and washing out the front (high-expectations, too hot, too eager and too little modulation).
My notes:
Unboxed, converted to tubeless, 220 mm rotor upgrade up front and in a few hours she was ready to go (would have been faster if I had the right length post-mount bolts). Did some neighborhood rides just to dial-in the cockpit and suspension baseline. Around on the street - Decoy feels like a tank. Certainly maneuvering the thing around our 4 other bikes in the toolroom makes you feel every pound. But that all changes on the trail....I went to a pretty easy, flowy local trail that I figured would be safe warm up for me and Decoy. I wanted something moderate since I've had some of my worst wrecks on brand-new bikes, usually over-braking and washing out the front (high-expectations, too hot, too eager and too little modulation).
My notes:
- Decoy feels completely natural once it's rolling. Coming from a Jeffsy29 and it feels like a more robust, electrified version of my former Jeffsy....that's a compliment. Definitely more a momentum bike, but very similar character.
- I still giggle going uphill feeling like a big giant hand is pushing you along....it's completely transformed the overall ride. This is my first e-bike. I *almost* missed the climbing, but then tried "off" and immediately went back to "eco" as my fallback to feel like I'm doing my share. Boost was unnecessary but entertaining on a few straight boring climbs that I usually dread. I went off-line a lot on uphill sections simply because I didn't anticipate the assist - I'm sure that will develop.
- It's VERY easy to underestimate your speed. This bike is fast, smooth and quiet. I found that I needed to brake in places I've never braked in the past, and stop pedaling a lot earlier over crests than I might usually. You really need to look far down the trail. If I had no clear view, I needed to really slow down since I'm riding mixed-use trails.
- 220mm front was *exactly* what this thing needs out of the box. I'm heavy and so is this bike. Altogether we're pushing 310 lbs with gear. It was an easy swap with the right bolt lengths (I used M6x20mm for the 40P mount spacer to the fork, and M6x25 for caliper to 40P spacer). Keeping the 200mm as a spare rear rotor.
- Thanks YT for a shorter seat tube - now I can run my dropper so that I don't have to lower it to my 'climbing height'. I can insert it far enough that full-lockout is right where it should be for climbs.
- Still had at least a dozen pedal strikes in "High" position flip-chip with Open mode DPX2. If I go to middle setting the strikes are drastically reduced. Sag is set per Fox-recommended, but I may reduce it.
- I ended my ride a little sour due to a click/clack/knock sound. 1x per crank revolution. It's almost a 'feel' too through the pedal axle. I don't feel any pedal play, or crank arm play when manually pushed side-side. Happens with motor on or off. Doesn't happen by hand with me off of the bike. Worried it's in the motor/bearings. Need to Dx still.
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