Bike Profile - Misfit diSSent



Slack chain FTW

  Mmmm.  diSSent.  I picked up the frame on a whim from Misfit Psycles in spring 2009.  I had never been on a Big Wheel, nor did I know what the "correct" geometry was.   I read that they were sweet, but the capper was somebody writing about how it rode "nothing like a Gary Fisher".  SOLD.  After having the crap kicked out of me by the Brodie Unibomber for a couple of years, but still enjoying the zip of a SS, I decided to take the plunge.

The current dirt build is as you see it in the picture above:

• Frame: Misfit diSSent, medium, ano black
• Fork: Exotic carbon, long [470mm a-c?]
• Wheels: Handbuilt [by me] Velocity P-35 laced to gunmetal Hope Pro II hubs with Wheelsmith DB spokes and brass nipples
• Tires: Maxxis Ardent 2.4 in front, WTB Stout in back.  Tubeless using the split-tube method, 20psi.
• Drivetrain: Truvativ Stylo Team crank/BB, Dura-Ace 9spd chain, Middleburn 32T chainring, Surly 22T cog, Spot spacer kit
• Brakes: Shimano SLX, 160/160, front brake line is Goodridge braided
• Controls: Truvativ AKA stem and WC Flat bar, Clarks lock-on grips
• Other: Cane Creek S-3 headset, Chromag seat QR, Hope wheel QR, Control Tech post, XT pedals, DMR saddle

I like this bike.  I swap out wheels, tires and drivetrain and commute on it in the winter [48x16!].  In the dirt, it handles as well as, and generally better than any bike I've ever ridden on tight singletrack.  I usually use it in Fish Creek, as the climbs are short and I'm not getting any younger.  I'll also take it on short loops like Jumpingpound Loop, but it's even done the SS/Pneuma/Moosepackers/Ridgeback loop.  Surprisingly, Fish Creek is always the most painful ride, due largely to the huge quantity of roots. 

Despite the marketing around SS, it isn't a magic way to feel more connected to the trail or to the soul of mountain biking.  What it does do is make me work pretty much constantly, and highlights my shortcomings as a rider.  Humbling, but in a good way.