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Zona Zenith-to Replace Ashton-do I?


Prawny Baby

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afternoon lads.....

after a bit of advice.

ive been on my ashton now for a good few months, and i really do love it to bits.

i can gap and sidehop better than i have been able to for a few years, but one thing is really bugging me, seriously.

i CANT tap it at all....

ive never been amazing at taps, the highest ive ever made was 49'' on my BT around 2 years ago, but on the ashton, i cant consistently tap over about 43'', and its driving me mad!

i can sidehop it really nicely, and gap it better than any bike ive had, but i cant for the life of me work out how to tap it, and its not for lack of trying.

ive been riding long bikes, around 1080 for about 2 years, and decided to give the ashton a shot to make things a bit more interesting, and ive had a great time on it, but i cant help thinking, that at 6ft2, im just a FRACTION too tall for it.

if it were the 1065 and +20mm BB is was listed as, im sure it would be perfect,

but mine with echo urbans comes out at 1055, with an 8mm BB rise.

will arnold said his zona came out a fraction below 1080, and has the listed 25mm BB rise, and shorter 375mm stays.

it sounds about perfect for me, not TOO long to be a barge, yet a touch longer and better for the more UCI kind of riding i do....

does anyone know the reach of the Zenith? centre BB to head tube?

any one with any ideas let me know!

i can sell my ashton to pay for it seeing as i cant ride atm due to a busted ankle.

cheers

Prawny Baby-indecisive.

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s'what im thinking mark.....

im pretty tight on cash, so i wont be buying anything expensive.....but my ashton will sell for a fair price, so i wont really loose out too much either way.....

i SO nearly just bid on one on ebay that CBproductions won, but suddenly realised i didnt know the reach, and if it was too short, i wouldnt want it.... so i left it.

anyone know the reach?

will, joe, div?

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the reach on an ashton is the same as a control( long 1085) so i guess the zenth will be shorter reach due to shorter wb and higher bb. however, the reason you wont be great at taping on the ashton will be the headangle. as its steeper that most uci bikes it is harder to tap. ali c can tap pretty well on it though now. maybe keep it and practice and alter your technique.or sell it and get the zenith and i reckon your taps will come back.

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hey guys, i really dont fancy the new echo pure, i think the reach is just a tad TOO short......

i do like the look and sound of the zenith, and i do think its the head angle on the ashton thats not letting me tap like i used to.....

i had a blast on ash kennards control and it just felt like it was made for tapping :S

its not that i dont love the ashton, and i really dont think its a case of getting used to it, ive been riding the ashton (2-seeing as one was stolen) for over 6 months now, and i love it to bits,

im totally used to it, and most other aspects of my riding are better than they have been for a long time.

although-what got me thinking, i had a blast on bigmans XTP a month or so back, and although i can gap better on my ashton now than on any bike ive had, i could gap so much further again going back to a longer bike! and sidehops just felt SO much easier on his XTP....

reach wise i wont be too fussed if its a tad shorter than the ashton.

anyone else?

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Don't be a silly boy Nick! There's far more to trials than tapping... and its not as if its the bike's fault if you can't do it :P There's plenty of riders out there who can tap big on Ashtons!

Edit: Another idea - maybe try some longer forks? That'll raise the BB, increase the wheelbase and slacken the head angle...

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Assuming you are all taking the reach to be "centre of the BB to top of headtube" (Or at least two points on the frame) it will be the same until you change the frame, switching forks won't change that now ;)

As for the frame, if it's only taps that you aren't doing so well, maybe just switch the forks. Cheaper, easier etc than a whole new frame, and, as Adam said, will increase wheelbase/BB rise. Would also slacken the head angle ever so slightly (although not really noticable too much I wouldn't think) which may help.

If you are set on a new frame then I'm not going to get in your way (hell, that would be suicide ;) ) but make sure you've thought it right through. You don;t want to regret it later...

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Really? I was always told lower stems were better :S The reason I was saying the front end would feel shorter was 'cos I thought that in that you were basically pivoting the height of the front end around the back wheel, his body position's going to be roughly the same but you're lifting the bars higher and nearer to him, so it might feel shorter? Never mind though, not the case :P

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Im with mark - low front end for taps ....

Ive always wondered why a slack head angle means easy tapping ? I just dont get it

anyway if its anything to do with the angle of the forks.. well youve got urbans right ? just go out and make a hash of some hooks for a day = more rake on your forks, same (ish) low bar height - and cheap too because eventually when they break you get them warranted .. Problem solved :D

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I prefered a higher front end for just pedalling up stuff and just generally doing moves, but low front ends always kinda felt more 'direct' for taps. It's initially harder to lift the front, but it felt like I was more accurate with the lower front end (that's from riding Luke and Mat's Ashtons, btw).

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