I have to assume theyāre leaning in for āviral marketingā at this point rather than sheer incompetence 
Itās worked for me at least, eagerly awaiting the details on this one. My big beef with Supercaliber is that itās not appreciably lighter than say an Epic Evo so why would I live with all those compromises. If the Spec version is actually lighter and quantifiably more efficient than a āproperā FS bike with a lockout then maybe Iād be intrigued.
Thereās a comment on the video that its a 120mm fork so itās the Evo version. Anyone able to tell if thatās true?
It may be that the differentiator to the SuperCal is in geo (and looks like a bit of weight). With a 120mm fork they may have a slightly more progressive geo package than Trek.
(Admittedly from Chadās Cad analysis it doesnāt look all that progressive)
Question for Chad (and any other bike fitting knowledgeable posters) and the Vitus/NS/Carbonda riders.
A Large Vitus frame has popped up local. Crazy coincidence or not, itās the frame Iāve been looking at from Carbonda.
I typically ride XL frames in every case.
Would I get away with a Large Vitus.
For context. Reach of my current Spark is 477mm and I have an 80mm stem. Reach of Large Vitus is 500mm. Reach of XL Vitus is 520mm.
Is there anything Iām missing (other than Iād obviously be riding it slightly outside of itās intended geometry/missing out on some of the descending stability from the extra length)
Short on time tonight, so I flagged this for review in the AM.
Take into account seat tube angle as well. At your size 1 degree difference is probably around 1cm. So 1 degree steeper would make effective reach 1cm shorter.
what are your proportions? If more leg than torso you might like the L better than the XL as it will probably feel more nimble. Can you testride it if itās local to you? Iād do that and go from there.
Thatās a good point. Though I do run my saddle jammed as far forward as it will go on the Spark.
This is a madscientist illustration of the two bikes.
Green = Spark XL (80mm stem)
Red = Vitus Large with 100mm fork (60mm stem)
Blue = Vitus Large with 120mm fork and (80mm stem)
I canāt test ride it. Itās just a frameset with shock.
Iām 193cm with I think reasonably long legs and arms.
This is my current bike set up:
(I went back to a WTB Volt wide slammed forward in the rails since this photo)
From this info, my main point of interest would be the Saddle to Bar Drop. The new options result in a larger drop from a taller BB, but lower frame stack. Depending on steerer length and spacer options under the stem, you might be able to neutralize that if needed. Additionally, a bar with more rise could be a bridge too, if the above spacer option is not available.
Interesting to me is the longer wheelbase from the larger frame reach despite ādownsizingā and what appears to be a slacker headtube angle. All else equal, these smaller bikes will still have more stable feel compared to your current XL.
Hey I typically run XL frames but went L on Carbonda and havenāt really thought about it since. I run a 50mm stem on it (comparable to previous trail bike, which was XL but same reach as my Carbonda L). For reference @mailman, Iām 189cm. And I also run my Carbonda in ~115/120 configuration. I donāt think you can actually run the rear in 120mm configuration completely, but you get close with the 165x42.5 rear shock configuration. I think if you go to 45 itās too much.
I ran the Race Kings in last falls Barn Burner 100 in Flagstaff, AZ. The course and area have alot of volcanic rock and they held up well and felt good. For this years races, Iām between Racing Ray/Racing Ralphs and a pair of Race Kings. These 2 combos are similar in the rolling resistance measures at Bicycle Rolling Resistance | Rolling Resistance Tests. I ran the Racing Ray as a front in 2021 also and liked it. I had mated that with a 2.25 Mezcal in the back but flats in 2 races have turned me off of Mezcals.
In the Maxxis family, Iād look at the Rekon Raceās also. They are slightly less aggressive than the Ikon but still not close to either the Schwalbe or Conti rolling resistance numbers. Nothing in the Maxxis line gets there, not even the Aspen.
Hard to say without seeing you on the bike.
How do you find the reach on your spark? What sort of riding do you do? Are you based in ireland? (your photo and name is very irish). I am based in Ireland.
I love the Geo of my Carbonda (M) on steep loose trails BUT can be a pain in some of the very tight natural/technical features/switch backs.
I found the longer wheelbase means I have to take some turns much slower and chainring strike more often on some features. Regardless, I am definately faster compared to older geo bikes.
The carbonda FEELS like it should be ran with a 40-50mm stem but if you ran the L it will feel more like a modern geo XC bike with a 60-70stem vs a nimble downcountry bike with a shorter stem.
Also I highly recommend you run the bike 120/120
Iām 181cm and I ride a large synonym @ 120/120, so thatās a reach in the low 490s (although the wheelbase is still BIG).
Raced it yesterday on a very tight but not technical course. I ran wide on some corners and had to be careful about line choice on entry.
However, this weekend weāre racing the most technical course of the year.
And Iām expecting to just fucking send it .
Some gains, some losses.
In other news, Hope XCRs are brilliant brakes, Racekings are awful in the mud, Lev Ciās are shit dropper posts and Iām not sure I have the mental capacity or thumb dexterity to operate both a dropper and a two-stage lockout at the same time.
What race is that?
Referring to: this weekend weāre racing the most technical course of the year (UCI Olympic standard)
Thanks guys!
@mcneese.chad youāre right, I did those diagrams using a -17Ā° stem though so I think being high enough wouldnāt be an issue. I figured Iād need to be a smidge lower, if not the same if the seat moves forward at all.
@dhengen thatās good to know. How tall are you?
@C_Nay I live in New Zealand. Most of my riding is Grade Four type stuff. Thereās more and more and more professionally built trails (both up and down) that thereās less of an issue getting stuck going around switchbacks etc. I think if I picked up this bike I wouldnāt be riding the Grade Five stuff on it as Iād build it with a bit more of a weight weenie bent.
@Neuromancer the Vitus frame is a 100mm one. Iām not sure if I can bump it to 120mm. Though I plan to find out about bumping the shock stroke by 2.5mm, which should bring it up to 106mm as I understand it (if I can get it that is). Do you think itās better to just wait and get a Carbonda frame with the 120mm rocker? Do you know if thereās any difference in the leverage between the 100mm and 120mm versions?
@mailman there is no Vitus or Carbonda 120mm link - to get 120mm youāre snipping the shock spacer from 165x40 to 165x42.5 or 45. IIRC there was a lot of chat on the Carbonda forums that people had measured the rear travel of the 909 at like 110mm stock, so 42.5 gave you circa 119mm. I have a (heavily modified) NS Synonym (https://nsbikes.com/synonym-rc-1,427,pl.html, which has a proprietary rear triangle and rocker link and runs a 37.5mm stroke shock for 100mm. I snipped 5mm to give 42.5mm (and I know this works because NS sell the same frame in ātrailā guise with a 42.5mm shock giving 120mm travel.
One of the UK national series in Yorkshire (Parkwood, Tong).
Frustratingly, itās rained a lot over the last few days.
2.2 vs 2.3 Rear Cross King for the mud? Iām gonna need to replace my Race King (Cross King 2.3 front) as it was a nightmare and squirming everywhere on a race on wednesday.
Loving more chat about the fm936/vitus/synonym! Feel it doesnāt get enough love and attention as a downcountry bike.
Can someone explain to me/send me a guide on snipping 2.5mm of a shock? I have a 165x40 shock I want to snip to 42.5. Would it be an expensive job for a bike shop?
Easy home mechanic job. Unscrew air can, find black spacer, use cable snips to remove black spacer carefully without scratching shock shaft, replace air can.
a 165x40 MAY only have 1x5mm spacer. In which case the only way of getting a 42.5 is replacing that with a 2.5mm, which is a service centre or suspension tech job. If it has 2* 2.5mm, just remove one.