Last night I hosted “Shop Night.” This gave Moe the opportunity to finish up the final details on the Sette Vexx DH frame. We had planned on getting this bike completed at an earlier date, but due to injuries, and chain guide issues, it was pushed back. However, last night Moe got this thing dialed in and its ready to roll. Here’s a few snap shots. By the way, we were fortunate enough to get Team Racer, Wes Castro (Fidel’s nephew) to come down and give us a hand with the Vexx.

Here’s how things looked through Moe’s eyes after a few beers.

Wes going over the bike making sure things are dialed in.

I don’t have all the specs, but I love the whole black and white theme. Good job Moe!

Sette Vexx will make its racing debut this weekend at the Southridge DH races in Fontana, Ca. Wes Castro will be manning this awesome machine.

Pricepoint.com sells the Sette Vexx frame for only $849. But if you want something that’s already build, you’re in luck, they have a complete Sette Vexx for $2599.98.

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So my beloved Jet9 was recalled. Very sad as I liked that bike a lot. It fit my style of riding to a “T”. The first issue I had to deal with was what was I going to do? I had three options which were:
1. Buy a significantly discounted niner frame and wait 6 months to get a new 2010 Jet9
2. Straight swap to a RIP9. Even trade, no money being exchanged
3. Get $150 and wait 6 months to get a new 2010 Jet9

Since riding rigid, I’ve found that I don’t need a lot of suspension for most of my riding, hence the JET fit my riding style perfectly. I’m sure I could have adapted to the RIP and be happy with that bike, but in this case less is more. So, option 2 was out.

Now it was down to options 1 and 3. I knew which option my wife wanted me to go with and it definitely was not option 1 but, my wonderful wife was supportive when I did go with #1 in the form of an AIR9.

My JET9 replacement, Niner AIR9

I swapped out all the part from the Jet to the AIR. I bought some new cables as I was not crazy about the Alligator ilinks I had used. They were great, but a little finicky to set up. I also had to buy a new seatpost as the seatpost diameters were different.

I got in a short 3 mile “teaser” ride on Friday after everything was done. I immediately noticed that I felt a slightly forward bias as compared to the JET. This bias made me feel more susceptible to going over the bars. I only noticed this in some short downhill sections but since I was on a new bike high and I was only doing 3 miles, I decided to chalk this feeling up to the tackier trail which may have held my caused the front to grip better making me less balanced on the bike. It could also have been the fact that I haven’t ridden a mountain bike for about a month as I went through my busy season at work.

Scandium makes for a light frame that is still pleasing to ride

But today’s ride confirmed it: there is a slight forward bias to the bike as compared to the Jet. I got in a pre-work ride and I noticed I had to consciously push myself farther off the back of the bike on the downhills sections to feel as though I would not fly over the front of the bars. When I got to the office this morning I took a look at the geometry numbers for the first time and compared them with the Jet9.

So what caused this feeling of forward bias? A one-degree difference in Seat Tube Angle. All of the other “main” geometry figures were the same: head tube angle, effective top tube, head tube length. The difference of one degree in the Seat Tube Angle put the seat just a tad bit more forward and also a little higher since the seatpost height stayed the same.

After some consultation, I’ve decided to adjust to the difference rather than make changes to my cockpit setup, which is currently nearly identical to my previous setups.

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Here’s a little project that cost practically nothing, plus you can even use it to impress family and friends.

Bicycle handle bar stabilizer from RL Policar on Vimeo.

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The folks of Sette USA sent us the new Sette Vexx DH frame to build up and review. Here’s some pics of the frame right out of the box. I literally picked it up from UPS, drove down the street to look for a patch of grass and took some pics. You can still see the zip ties…

talk about heavy duty…dang!

Specs:

Material 6061 Aluminum
Welding Tig Welded, Monocoque Top Tube Construction, CNC’d Linkage
Recommended Fork Suspension Travel 8.5″/215mm
Headset 1.5″ Threadless
Front Derailleur N/A
Bottom Bracket 83mm (w/ISCG Mounts – Old)
Max Rear Tire Clearance 2.5″
Seat Clamp Size 34.9mm
Disc Mount IS Standard
Shock Type Rock Shox Vivid 4.1
Shock Length (eye-to-eye) 9.5″/240mm
Shock Stroke 3″
Damping External ending stroke rebound, beginning stroke rebound
Available Sizes Small, Medium
Color(s) Matte Black
Weight 12.25lbs/5556g (including Shock w/Spring, Seat Collar and 150mm Rear Axle, Avg. Small)
Warranty 5 Years

Cost: $899.98 only at Pricepoint.com

rear triangle with Rock Shox Vivid

Moe will be our tester for this project. Check back for updates!

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“Why do you have so many bikes?” That’s one of the questions that I get all the time. My answer is because every bike has its purpose”.

So due to my improper maintenance (always check your nuts and bolts before a race), I ended up racing with bike that I was not familiar with. As I was scouring the internet for deals, I found a frame that suited my budget and needs.

Little by little I’ve been gathering parts for this bike, here’s a teaser of what my “B” bike will feature:

Marzocchi Bomber 66

FSA The Pig Headset

Xero Flick DH Rims

Hozfeller Stem

Saint Cranks

I will reveal the frame once the bike has been assembled, I’m still scoping out some stuff in Ebay and other local forums, I hope to have the bike ready for the Mammoth race!

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It’s been a year since I’ve ridden at the Wellington Ranch. If you don’t recall my posting from last year, Wellington Ranch belongs to our friend’s family, the Wellingtons. They own about 20 acres of land in Temecula, Ca.

Our long time friend, Scott Finch (yes he’s Tony’s brother) along with his 14 year old son Alex built a small, but fun downhill trail on the ranch. It’s a very interesting trail because it mixes in some off camber sections, brake bumps, jumps, rock gardens, berms and a small ladder bridge.

On Saturday after dinner, Alex, Chad (our friend’s son) and I hiked up the trail with our bikes.

Small ladder bridge that needed some cleaning…Sette Venom waiting to be ridden.

Alex goes first, while I get my helmet on.

Then it was my turn. By the way, the Sette Venom is an awesome ride. It responds like a sports car that has monster tires on it. Being a 35lb rig, this was one quick and nimble bike. I never felt like I was fighting to control it. The 7″ rear suspension was great when it came to landing the jumps from the trail

Chad’s turn.

Rock garden at the end.

As night fall approached, we decided to call it a day and continue the following morning.

The next morning the boys and I got up early to beat the hot summer sun. This time we only did one run, since it was already starting to get pretty hot. After our first run, Alex told Chad to take a jump at the very end of the trail, but with Alex laying on the ground.

Here’s Alex laying on the ground as Chad was rolling down the rock.

Chad clears Alex, but if you noticed the angle of the shot, Chad was headed towards me.

On the landing, Chad eats it. I ask him if he was ok, then next thing you know we hear Alex screaming, “RUN RUN RUN! BEES! BEES!” All three of us started running as fast as we could. Apparently when Chad landed, he caved in a Wasp nest that was under ground. As we’re running, I looked back and I see Chad trying to get his bike, I scream at him, “Just leave it!!!!!” Chad and Alex are so quick on their feet that they actually passed me. At that time I get stuck on my right pointer finger. I run towards the back of the house and the two run to the front.

As I’m slowing down my steps, I get stung again on my stomach! Then I look down and there were a bunch of them, I’m guessing 20 on my shoes and socks. I frantically stomp my feet to brush them off. But I get stung for the 3rd time! Mrs. Wellington, (owner of the ranch) tells me “to take off all your clothes.” I took my shoes off while the wasps were stuck on my shoe laces. I quickly pull off my socks and head towards the deck. I do a quick look to see if they’re still on me, luckily they weren’t.

We all head back inside the house and turns out either Alex or Chad had brought some stow aways with them since there were two wasps flying around. Anyhow, a few minutes later we look outside, and the wasps were super angry because they were circling the house. This lasted for a good while because after I took a shower, they were still flying.

So all in all, the three of us, walked away from this with a few stings. By the way, I forgot to mention that Chad was stung the day before by a bee or wasp on the upper lip! Man his lip was super swollen, looked like he had some major Botox work done. Anyhow, I had 3 spots where I got stung. 1 on the finger, another on my belly, and one on my right leg near the ankle. Alex got stung on the pinky, and Chad, luckily didn’t get any.

13 hours later, my right finger is still swollen, I still can’t bend it. My leg and belly are fine. Weird thing was, Alex didn’t even have a reaction to it like I did, his pinky swelled for an hour, then it went back to normal. We were just grateful that it wasn’t as bad as it was. We easily could have gotten attacked more than we did. But being the fatter and slower runner of the 3, I felt like I took one for the team by having the wasps get to me before Chad and Alex.

Other than the wasp fiasco, we had an awesome time riding and hanging out with great friends at the Wellington Ranch. Not sure if we’ll be going back there any time soon, but I do know this, when I do, I’ll make sure to get in better shape, so the next time we have to run from the wasps, I won’t be the last one…

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Here’s the completed Sette Venom.

I’ve yet to take it out on the trail due to my injury, but soon enough I’ll be able to report on how well this bike handles. For now, I just want to enjoy looking at it before it gets all dirty and scratched up from all the use I’ll be putting it through.

I did have an issue with the MRP roller on the top. I may have to move the position and make it sit a bit further back towards the rear wheel. The problem with how you see it is, the roller will hit the swing arm, it doesn’t hit when I’m sitting on it, but as soon as it rebounds it will. Make sense?

Marzocchi 66light

I found that the Azonic bars I’m using isn’t wide enough. I’ve already got myself some Truvativ bars and stem to replace the current set up.

I’m hoping to put this bike to use this coming weekend as I hit some trails in Temecula, Ca. I’ll be sure to report back on it next week.

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Forgive the dark photos, I would have waited until tomorrow to take them, but I couldn’t wait to share the progress of the Sette Venom.

Here’s the spec sheet so far:

Sette Stumpy stem
Azonic DH riser bar
Ultegra 12-27t rear cassette
Blackspire 38t DH chain ring
MRP Chainguide
Marzochhi Bomber 66 Light with ETA Fork
Shimano LX rear derailleur
Serfas ARC-3 ARC Saddle
Alex wheels with front WOOdman 20mm hub, rear hub is a Shimano Deore (don’t ask me the model-I forgot)
Rear tire: Kenda Telonix 2.2
Front tire: Kenda Nevegal 2.5

There’s more to be done with the bike. I still need to run a chain, derailleur cable and brakes. After that, its time to start testing!

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The Sette Venom just got delivered today to the MtnBikeRiders.com HQ….and boy I tell you whut, this thing is legit man!

Here’s the features of the Venom:

Sink your fangs into any trail and the Sette Venom will deliver. The plush, adjustable 6-7” single pivot suspension will smooth out most any obstacle, keeping those wheels against the ground when you need it the most. Nail those gaps, rail those corners and hold on for some amazing adventure with this super strong 7005/6061 aluminum freeride frame.

Sette chose to equip the Venom with the Rock Shox Vivid 5.1. An excellent coil-assisted shock that features an incredible amount of adjustability, including external ending stroke rebound, beginning stroke rebound, and compression.

The Venom frame comes complete with all of the standard features that you would expect from Sette products; sealed cartridge bearing pivot points, integrated hydraulic brake hose guides that lead to IS standard rear brake mounts, cable guides, seatpost clamp, replaceable derailleur hanger, and a durable powder coated finish.

Rock Shox Vivid 5.1 Coil Over Shock

The site says the color of the frame is red, but upon my first glance of the frame, its almost like rusty-ish red…a lighter burgundy…I actually like it because its a unique color and you won’t mistake it with any other brand.

Just in case you wanted to know, specs:

Material 7005/ 6061 Aluminum
Welding Tig Welding
Rear Suspension Travel 7″/ 177.8mm
Recommended Fork Suspension Travel 7″-8″/ 180-200mm
Headset 1-1/8″ Standard
Front Derailleur 34.9mm Bottom Pull
Bottom Bracket 73mm
Max Rear Tire Clearance 2.5″
Seatpost Size 31.6mm
Seat Clamp Size 34.9mm
Disc Mount IS Standard
Shock Length (eye-to-eye) 8.75″/ 222.3mm
Shock Stroke 50mm
Damping External ending stroke rebound, beginning stroke rebound,
and compression
Available Sizes Small (17″/43cm), Medium (18″/46cm)
Color(s) Red
Weight 11.35lbs (w/ Shock, Small Size Avg.)
Warranty 5 Years

We’re looking forward to testing this frame. We like the fact its a single pivot design, which to me, means its going to be trouble free and reliable. Shoot, many of the world’s best DH/FR bikes are single pivot…but the Sette Venom is a fraction of the cost, at $499.08, that’s a steal of a deal.

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Rl and I hit the loop for a quick short ride to “feel” and do minor adjustments to the Soul Cycles Dillinger. After a few quick saddle and seatpost adjustments, we were ready to hit the trail.

OK, so let’s start with the geometry, the bike felt “big” as in tall, but I was not stretched out. I found this “bigness” to be an advantage on the quick and short steep downhills, I never felt as if I was going to fly over the bars.

Climbing off the saddle, I didn’t feel any flex, the bike was solid. The Reba Race’s poplock remote was very convenient, just a flick of the switch and the fork was almost fully rigid.

At 35 psi, the Geax Saguaro Tires struggled for traction on the loose terrain, especially on the uphills. I will play around with the tire pressure to see if I can achieve more traction, I usually run my 29er tires at 30psi.

The Powercordz brake cables felt amazing, I’d forgotten that I was riding mechanical brakes and not hydraulics! Quick note on the Serfas Tegu saddle… COMFORTABLE, even RL noticed it when he was riding the Dillinger for a bit.

I’m hoping to put a lot of miles on this bike, I really need to get in better physical shape and I find that riding a Singlespeed is one of the fastest ways to do it. I will write a full review of this bike in about 2 to 3 months.

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