I am BLOWN AWAY by the Cascade Components LT Link!
Vložit
- čas přidán 23. 08. 2020
- This entire channel started off very differently from where we've taken things these last five months.............with a review.
A lot has changed since then, and I'm excited to come full circle back to our roots with the second review. This is one I'm super psyched about.
The new Hightower v2 LT link from Cascade Components: cascadecomponents.bike/produc...
As the title says, this product completely blew me away, and I'd argue it is the single best upgrade across the board for the v2 Santa Cruz Hightower (2020/2021)
Cascade makes links for many other brands and models, and the reviews so far have been stellar across the board. We recently purchased one for Ali's V1 Transition Sentinel, and she's really excited to get it out for some testing herself.
You can find the current full range of options from Cascade Components here: cascadecomponents.bike/collec...
Excellent production quality and fantastic review! 👏
Thank you kindly, Borja!
Thanks for the review. I just ordered the link for my Tallboy V5, which they just released; I hope I get the same balance feeling you describe since I also increased the fork's travel by 10 mm.
I have a 2020 Norco Sight VLT A2. I bent the 29" rear wheel beyond a second repair so found a 27.5+ set up cheap. It seems to ride a bit better and less worry of bottoming out.
Wow! This was an exceptional review! Your audio is all time.
Glad you liked it!
Excellent camera work, particularly in the first half of this one bro! Great content, as expected. Stay Shredsy!
Thanks, Nick!!!
Glad I found this channel! (It was the kanuga video, btw) You've put a lot of effort into the filming and editing, and it shows. See you on the trails one day hopefully!
I'm glad you did too, Ben! Thanks for the kind words, and say hi if you see me out on the trails!
Sweet review! 👍🏼 Love to hear your longer term thoughts on any special rear shock upgrades you find work well in the future
Thanks, Bike Somm! Will do.
Don't have a Hightower, I have Yeti's, 130LR and a 150. Bought the cascade link for my 150 and like you, I was blown away by it!!! I PR'd several trails immediately after installing it. I also did a review video on it & now I'm gonna buy one for my 130!! Good review & your thoughts are spot on with mine! Cheers!!
Great to hear! I've heard lots of great feedback on the Yeti links. We have a CC link for the Transition Sentinel on Ali's bike and she loves it. I now have friends with CC links on an Enduro and Process 153, and both are really impressed with the performance.
Thanks for the review. Appreciate it.
Absolutely, John. I hope it was helpful!
Oh wow. I did not know you could change the linkage on the SC's. That's cool man. Great video my dude.
Thanks Ben, she's a fun whip!
Thanks again coil and link should be here today...
I will share this video with our mechanics thanks for talking some truth on this!!!
Exactly my style of riding
💪
Absolutely, and thanks for checking these videos out! I'm always psyched to share what I can.
Love the channel man. You’ve earned another subscriber! Looking forward to more content.
Welcome aboard!
Great video. Everything I hear about this link is extremely positive. My Hightower is currently in the shop getting the link put on and bumping up the fork an additional 10mm. Would have done the work on the linkage myself but don't feel comfortable working on a fork.
Enjoy the new set up!
@@SemiSendy Just got it back from the shop so the first test rides will be this weekend. I am hoping I can lower the pressure on the fork and shock now that I have the link and 10mm more of travel in the fork. Want it to feel just a little more plush.
@@RR-dr6pi if your sag is correct your rebound is probably too slow. That will make the bike feel dead. Rebound is the setting that a lot of people get wrong. Properly set, it would seem too fast to most but will actually provide much better traction and the "plush" feeling you want. Obviously too fast is bad too.
I Meet you today at the bakers creek pump track! You definitely got me motivated to start getting content for my channel!
That's awesome, Todd. Get that camera out and have some fun!
Thanks for the video. I have a Cascade Link for my Process 153. Had some issues with removing the rocker arm and Kona telling my local shop that the rocker arm was ruined (which I don't believe given only paint chipping). However, for an extra $200 over the replacement non-colorway Kona rocker arm, I'd rather give the Cascade link a try. Will bump my Process from 153/160 to 160/160. I'm now way past being overbiked now. LOL. Subscribed. Cheers!
My buddy recently picked up the link for the 153, and is absolutely thrilled with it. I think you’ll be pretty stoked!
I don’t know if this has been mentioned, but with the link you will need to run a good bit more air pressure in your shock because of the increased leverage ratio.
Might have to get one for my megatower
Great review
I’ve heard equally great reviews on the MT link 🤘
Nicely done! Makes me want to get a bike they make a linkage for. I love tweaking on my set up.
I find myself looking at other bikes and thinking, nope. There’s no CC link for it 😂
Silly but true.
Best upgrade I have ever done is off season squats and lunges. Really has made a huge difference on the climbs!!
Agreed. Supplemental strength training is huge. It’s part of my weekly routine as well. Kettlebell routines for the win!
So much for that question. You answered it further down in the comments.
Subbed😉
Haha, that's awesome! Happy to help if any other questions come up. Thanks for the sub!
Totally guessing here. SC upped the stock travel to 145 on the 2021 Hightower. Is it possible they reconfigured the rear link to be close to the CC link?
Your trails is Chattanooga look like a blast 🤘
Great review aswell as the long term review. Keep up the good work! I'm running the megneg upgrade atm but have just ordered the link after months of thinking about it. Have you tried it with megneg or would you recommend running the link with the original shock?
Thank you Niklas! I have used the MegNeg and I prefer the SuperDeluxe without it on the cascade link. The MegNeg made the small bump and mid-stroke less supportive. Cascade recommends using the regular air can as well in most cases.
@@SemiSendy Thanks!
You now what... I never rode racoon mt 😞. When I lived there then moved to Knox., I kept wanting to get over there and for some reason it never happened. Those trails look amazing. Used to ride enterprise south or white oak mountain at Southern Adventist campus in Collegedale. I totally agree about the rear shock. I hated the small bump off the top. I found it pretty harsh and like you was disappointed for an "ultimate" shock.
I've yet to ride one with this link and sold mine before the link actually was released. I've owned a few Hightowers and this was always my issue. From what you detail here, it sounds like this link fixed all that. I almost put a megneg on the shock but just sold it, again. Sadly, Cascade will not do one for the Ripmo v2, they told me its too involved with the DW design and it would't work with it. Oh well... Great video man, now I want to try a Hightower with this link.
Edit: Hey, I didn't even think you could get a coil in there. I question why SC gave the tallboy chips in rear triangle but not on the Hightower. For the Hightowers intent, why they didn't give it ability to have a coil with room to spare. Hmm.
You've gotta check out Raccoon if you ever get the opportunity. It's the grown jewel of Chattanooga!
The whole idea of the TB having better clearance really is baffling. I think they'll keep this in mind moving forward though.
Robert from Pittsburgh here, Raccoon Mountain is sooooooo Fun! The variety of terrain there is impressive.
It really is such a great playground. Cheers, Robert!
Do you think it would be possible to avoid frame rub by adding a trust bearing behind the coil?
Great video Mate 💪🏻🤘🏻
Thanks, mate! 🤘
been absorbing a lot of info and reviews on this and one thing i've heard repeatedly is how much it drops the BB increasing the frequency of pedal strikes as a result. have you had this experience? how much does it drop the BB compared to the stock geo in both flip chip configs?
Really good question. These modern low BB's really do require some extra attention when it comes to pedal strikes. I can't say it's that much perceivably worse than the stock LO setting though. Running less sag on the CC helps, and is still a huge improvement over the stock link.
All in all, the pro's far outweigh the con's.
Great video! Got me convinced and just ordered my CC link. Also I am extending my fox 36 grip 2 from 150 to 160 to balance out the bottom bracket as you mentioned. A quick question I have a dpx2 with 55 stroke, what will the new geometry be? do you know? Looks like i'll be having 160 travel front and back... I could also reduce the stroke to 52.5 to make it 150 travel in the back and maybe achieve more popiness? What are yout thoughts my friend? Thanks!!
Hey Raul! I’ve not tried an air shock with a 55mm stroke, but I don’t think it will degrade pop. I’d give it a go first since it’s already set up that way. You’ll love the new set up for sure! 🤘
Nice review! I just installed and rode my V4 5010 with the Cascade link in the LT setting and HOLY COW! AMAZING how much better it made the bike feel! I am Super pumped about this product! Question, What wheel and tire combo are you running on your front end? Curious as to the widths of things as well. Thanks!
Thanks Clint, and that’s awesome. The stoke is real!
I’m running the en305 rim with the Michelin Wild Enduro 2.4 up front. It’s pretty aggressive with loads of grip.
@@SemiSendy nice setup! Thanks for the info. Cheers! Keep shredding!
I am eyeing one for my 2020 Norco sight A3....wonder what it'll do with my 55mm stroke super deluxe ultimate 🤔🤔🤔
I have the new tower and SC have increased the travel and stroke on 2021, this would result in the travel increasing to approx 155/160 range with the cascade link, have you tried removing shim in your 2020 shock to match the 2021 and then combine with the link?
I've opted not to remove the delrin reducer on my SuperDeluxe, but I have run another 210x55 with the cascade link. It's a nominal difference in travel and not something really perceivable between the two. For me it was a non-issue either way.
I recently found out the HTv2 will remain for another model year, so the CC link will cover the next summer release as well.
@@SemiSendy awesome, good to know. thanks for replying and great vids. cheers.
Got one for my nomad, after 3 rides I thought I’d made a mistake, put the other link back and went for ride , it was at that moment I realised I hadn’t
Would you leave the stock shock or do the link and a coil?
I got one of these a few months ago, total game changer. This link plus the 160 airspring in the fork makes the bike into an animal.
100%!
Cheers, Owen.
Have you tried the link with your coil? They say it should provide more clearance.
Nevermind, just saw your response to another comment. Bummer.
@@The_Backsmith802 yeah, sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
How do u feel this effects the climbing
howdy! great vid. Did you leave a 29" in the back or did you switch to a 27.5"? thanks in advance
I did leave it 29 in the back, dropping to a 27.5" would make the BB insanely low with this link. That said, I just received a mullet specific link from Cascade this week to test out. I'll be putting together a video all about converting and riding the HTv2 as a mullet, so keep your eyes out for that in the coming month.
Thanks for sharing 👍👍
Have you run this with the MegNeg? If so, any thoughts? Did you have to significantly increase your air pressure and did that change the overall ride quality?
I have not tried the MegNeg with the cascade link. I ran it on the stock link, and honestly I really did not care for it. To me it felt like a artificial push through the small bump, and didn’t provide the underlying support I prefer. Chatting with cascade about it, I got the sense that they felt much the same way.
the super deluxe select is not 660USD. The ultimate rct it 500 new. The select is around 250 . The cascade link is 330. (and yes a new shock wouldnt do what the link does, but the price is not what you claim with "twice cheaper than a new shock" - the link is quite expensive)
I really hope cascade make a link for the 2020 optic.
Many people talking about this.
Not sure if it's on their drawing board or not.
Does this link also make the head tube and seat tube angle flatter? And does it extend the chainstays starting from the low or the high position?
The only Geo changes noted by Cascade are a 5mm increase in chain stay length and a 2.5mm drop in BB height. I'm running a 160mm fork, which does slacken the HTA by about .5* and balances out the feel of the bike and keeps the BB at a nice height. These Geo changes all bring more stability to the platform and keep the bike more composed at speed through the rough stuff. Trade off is a little bit less responsiveness in slow speed handling. For anyone who definitely prefers the "HI" position on the stock link, the CC link is not what I would recommend. In hindsight, I wish I had spoken about that in this review.
The first thing I noticed was the free music that Berm Peak Express also uses ;-)
R3Z3N sadly it’s not free for either of us. Even having to pay to license music, there are only so many options out there 😢😂😊
@@SemiSendy Either way, great video, I appreciate the feedback!
Great video! Is there a noticeable difference in BB height? I ride my Hightower in the Hi position as a compromise to reduce pedal strikes and don’t want to lose the clearance. It looks like the rear triangle is lower with the link? Rocky Mountain rider here. Thanks again!
Watched again and heard the BB height specs😢
I have my self a Hightower V2, and when service the shock I noticed that it have a property rear shock mount with bearings on it. I saw your video about swapping to a coil shock with a standard mounting on stroke part of the of shock, my question is how can I do it and which hardware do I need for it( for example to mount a new fox float x factory ). A lot of videos about swapping shock on the Hightower but nobody showing exactly how to do it.
Hi Helder, for swapping out the shock itself, there's just two bolts in total that need to be removed, one at either end where the shock is connected to the frame and linkage.
The mounting hardware is something you'll want to look up independently from the Hightower specific information, since it's shock specific. You'll need the know how to remove and install the proper hardware. SC does recommend using roller bearings for the linkage side.
Hey dude, if you have t already get yourself a small DJ hardtail and spend some time at the pumptrack. I can tell your riding would benefit massively.
I don’t have one, but it’s definitely on the wish list to pick up one day. I picked up two bikes in the last year, so it’s going to be a good while before any others show up in the stable. Unless of course, I run across a steal of a deal. 😂🤘
I seen a few stumpys snap the fox dpx2 with the cascade link on the rear... I wonder if thats specific to the stumpjumper
Kanashi Panda not sure to be honest. Cascade has a long history of lower link SC designs which haven’t had any reported issues of the like. The HTv2 is the 4th in the lineage I believe.
That's a Stumpjumper thing that is an unfortunate consequence of using a long shock yoke. The Stumpjumper is hard on shocks no matter what link is used. The long shock yoke coupled with any slight play in the joint between the shock and the yoke puts the shock shaft in bending which will eventually cause failure for aggressive and heavy riders. Air shocks are less prone to it than coils because of the shock shaft diameter, but no shocks are immune to it.
Did you have to increase your travel on the fork i got mine today i have 2021 hightower cc 145 rear travel and 150 fork
I preferred mine at 160mm when running the CC link, but it's definitely not a requirement.
Are u running the same, more, or less are pressure w the new linkage?
The Cascade Link does require a bit more pressure. I weigh 180 and I'm running 198psi.
hi, hows the bike handling pedal strikes? Did it increase with the new link?
It's usually only a thing when aggressively pedaling through sprint sections on downhills, typically when the bike is compressing under g force and I'm trying to throw in a few pedal strokes. I've learned where that point is though. Running the fork at 160mm helps offset this. and gives the bike a more overall balanced feel. It's no worse than the stock link in the LO position with a 150mm fork.
What length stem are you using with this setup?
Hey Bryson, I'm running a 40mm stem.
I was literally on the product page for the LT Link today and thought about messaging you to see if it helped with your coil experimentation. Great timing! Their website claims it changes the shock position, helping with clearance issues and making the bike coil compatible. Any plans to retry the coil with the LT Link?
I've ran it with the dhx2 with a 500# sls spring, still rubs sadly. It's enough to remove the paint down to the carbon, so I really urge anyone with concerns about that to stay away from running coil until SC revises the tunnel (IF they do) down the road.
@@SemiSendy Man, I was really hoping the LT Link would make a difference. I really appreciate that you're out there trying things on our behalf. Thanks for the feedback and for another great video!
@@joshuabell3348 absolutely. I wish I had better news there, but I'm really grateful for the words of encouragement and appreciation. Makes it all worthwhile!
@@SemiSendy Hi, is it impossible with the cascade link I have on my bike to install a spring damper with a spring on an 82kg rider?Thanks
@@scht5366 not without the spring rubbing on the frame.
Did you do anything different with the sag vs stock?
Running similar sag as I was on the stock link. I tend to ride fairly high around 28%.
what trail is this? i got so lost when i visited racoon mountain. but i loved it.
Mostly filmed this in the upper chunky area on the first two trails starting from the left. Great short test tracks!
I ride a Santa Cruz Tallboy, do you think I would benefit from a Cascade link for my bike?
I choose the Tallboy over the Hightower, because I’m doing a lot of touring on my mtb in my local forests.
The trails are pretty mellow and I’m pedaling most of the time.
So I wanted a bike that really excels at pedaling but still is capable of being a fun machine when pointed downhill.
The Tallboy is amazing for this and also jumps really well!
However on repeated big hits I sometimes wish I have a little bit of extra safety underneath me.
That’s why I’m thinking to opt for the cascade link, put the 140mm air shaft in my Pike (right now it has stock 130mm) and maybe replace the stock Fox DPS shock with something that has a Piggyback, like the Rock Shox Super Deluxe Ultimate or a Fox Float DPX.
But I would only do it, if I don’t loose any of the Tallboys pedaling efficiency, since this is the most crucial thing to me!
I need the pedal efficiency and great snappy handling 95% of the time and that extra security only 5% of the time.
If there are really no downsides in upgrading to the cascade link, I’d get it in the blink of an eye!
Problem is that it’s just to expensive to buy the link (and a new shock) just to find out it makes the main use of the bike worse.
I’d really love to hear your side on this!
Also from everyone in the comments if they have experience with the Cascade Link on the Tallboy!
Hi Ro, that’s a great question. I personally hesitate to answer just because I have not tried the link on the Tallboy. The change in pedal efficiency between the stock link and the cascade on the high tower was extremely minimal, but hopefully somebody who’s tried it on the tallboy can chime in here..
@@SemiSendy thanks for your answer!
I’d love to get a full blown enduro bike, like a Megatower and max it out with a coil shock, cascade link and even upgrade the fork to coil spring.
That plush and planted feel is what I truly love and desire in suspension, however it’s absolutely useless around here..
I just wish I would live in an area with more gnarly descents because that’s what I truly like about mountainbiking.
That’s why I need to opt for a low travel bike that’s good to pedal, even if I hate pedaling!
But without pedaling a lot, I wouldn’t be able to at least enjoy those 15 seconds of descending on our most brutal trails.
Did I already mention that I really really want to live in an area where I can bomb sick downhills instead of fireroads and almost boring CC like singletrails?
My understanding is that you void the SC warranty if you install this link. What are your thoughts regards this? It’s probably the only thing holding me back from investing at the moment.
Thanks
I can certainly understand that concern.
Lowering the BB anymore would render my HT v2 useless i feel, the pedals would drag the ground in like all conditions😂
Fair enough! I can understand that being a concern for sure. I've adapted well to it and it fits my style, but definitely not something everyone can get along with.
Pulled triger and ordered one for my V4 Tallboy.
Heck yeah! Can't wait to hear what you think.
What are your thoughts? Curious about this for myself.
@@Mtully01 so far so good. do notice a few more pedal strikes w/ linkage. Just scored a 190x45 RS Super Deluxe so curious to see how it and linkage perform.
@@GF-cb8rr did the 140 airspring swap last fall. Just got the RS SD installed and bike finally feels dialed!
@@smithkev75 I also ride a Santa Cruz Tallboy, do you think I would benefit from a Cascade link for my bike?
I choose the Tallboy over the Hightower, because I’m doing a lot of touring on my mtb in my local forests.
The trails are pretty mellow and I’m pedaling most of the time.
So I wanted a bike that really excels at pedaling but still is capable of being a fun machine when pointed downhill.
The Tallboy is amazing for this and also jumps really well!
However on repeated big hits I sometimes wish I have a little bit of extra safety underneath me.
That’s why I’m thinking to opt for the cascade link, put the 140mm air shaft in my Pike (right now it has stock 130mm) and maybe replace the stock Fox DPS shock with something that has a Piggyback, like the Rock Shox Super Deluxe Ultimate or a Fox Float DPX.
But I would only do it, if I don’t loose any of the Tallboys pedaling efficiency, since this is the most crucial thing to me!
I need the pedal efficiency and great snappy handling 95% of the time and that extra security only 5% of the time.
If there are really no downsides in upgrading to the cascade link, I’d get it in the blink of an eye!
Problem is that it’s just to expensive to buy the link (and a new shock) just to find out it makes the main use of the bike worse.
I’d really love to hear your side on this!
Also from everyone in the comments if they have experience with the Cascade Link on the Tallboy!
You should buy the Hightower 3
I was thinking about a Cascade link on my V4 5010 in conjunction with a mullet set up. If I instal a Cascade Link, I assume the front would be lifted similar to your shock because of the cascades geometry. Would it makes sense to instal a 29r 130mm shock to accommodate the 29" front wheel and tire? Or hunt for another 29r 140mm shock. On the Santa Cruz website, the new 5010 is said to have the capability of using either a 140mm or 150mm fork leading me to believe the new 5010s are made to retro fit a mullet wheel set. You seemed knowledgeable so thought I'd ask here first, but I'll also be contacting Cascade as well. Great video by the way.. thanks!
Hey Pippin, a mullet 5010 sounds super cool. I'm pretty curious about the new 5010 in general myself. I haven't yet seen a 5010 link released from Cascade though. It might be worth dropping them a message to see if it's something they may be considering or already working on.
I haven't done the math, but I'd guess a 130mm (possibly a 140mm) fork with a 29" wheel up front would shake out nicely. I'd love to hear what you think if you end up giving it a go!
Great video, would it make a difference with this link if your run the flip chip in high or low?
Hey 9000rpm, the flip chip is just a feature of the stock link. The cascade link is basically a more optimized LO setting. Similar geo with more progression.
Does the cane creek coil shock rub?
Sadly, yes.
Also with the cascade link? I thought there would be more space......(great vids btw, keep going👍🏼)
Cascade link change something on your angle fork ?
No, only the geo adjustments mentioned in the video. Cheers.
Cant wait for the Tallboy 4 one to come out
For sure, that bike is going to be even more of a ripper!
Do you know if this link drops bb on the tallboy4 also? About to get one
It doesn't appear so. Here's the link with all of their published info. Might want to double check with them, but I've always seen it published in the main spec's previously: cascadecomponents.bike/products/v4-tallboy-link
@@jonanderson1777 its the same as if the flip chip was in the low setting
I I have 2 rides on my tallboy link. Worth every penny
Every video I've seen (thus far)... of installing this link on a V2 Hightower... also includes a 160mm fork... which doesn't come on any of the Hightower models. I'm on my 2nd Hightower now... V2.5... '21 model year, w/ 145mm rear travel... and early rides in testing have me blowing through the rear travel extremely easily. That Cascade link is tempting... but pricey... and if it requires a 160mm fork upgrade... forget it. Anyways... Sub'd cheers
Thanks for the sub, Paul!
I was able to swap the air spring in the Lyrik with a 160mm one for around 60$. I really liked the way it balanced out the bike with the stock link in the LO position before the CC link came to market. I can understand the cost of the CC link being a deal breaker. I was grateful the price to performance ratio made it a good value in the end.
The change in rear travel on the 2021 model was due to the stroke length of the shock. A lot of folks decided to remove the 2.5mm travel reducer out of the 2020 stock SuperDeluxe to take it to 145mm. I think SC realized the 2.5mm reducer wasn't really necessary.
Does installing this void Santa Cruz’s warranty?
I’m curious about this as well.
So you didn’t like the megneg?
Not particularly. Felt like an artificial "push" through the initial stroke.
So weird walking into Suck Creek Cycle and seeing this bike there today after watching this video.
She's getting some new socks (rims) ;)
Dumb question. Why didn't Santa Cruz just release it with that lower linkage to begin with?
Not a dumb question at all. The answer can be somewhat complex. There’s a lot of various things influencing the decision of the manufacturer. There’s also a lot of subjectivity in what characteristics are “best” when it comes to the design of the linkage and resulting kinematic.
From a manufacturing standpoint, when it comes to a trail bike like this, there’s typically going to be a fine balancing act between pedaling performance, descending characteristics, etc. there’s often times also a heavy influence from the marketing side.
The outcome of all of these things may not appeal to a certain segment of the market. In steps cascade that sees these complaints and has the ability to design and manufacture a tweak to answer those needs.
What’s pretty cool in this specific scenario is that the next generation hightower (version 3) was altered a bit and addresses some of the issues that this cascade link was working towards resolving.
The popularity of the cascade link may have played a role in encouraging them to head that direction.
@@SemiSendy interesting, that makes a ton of sense. Does that mean that with all this improved small-bump sensitivity there will be more pedal bob from the cascade link?
I was thinking about getting on for my ripmo af; it's going to be converted to an ebike anyways so bob doesn't matter so much. But curious nonetheless :D
@@charlesdu9941 yeah, there’s always a bit of trade off for sure. I will say I think Ibis has the stock linkage on the ripmos pretty dialed.
Thank you for this helpful video. I ordered one last night. I'm wondering how it would perform with a Super Deluxe and the MegNeg air can.
David Hollwell from Casacade said: "Our link adds mid-stroke support and some may find that with the MegNeg it adds too much".
I don't understand how "too much" mid stroke support is ever bad. The bigger the negative air chamber is, the more closely it will resemble the progression curve of a coil spring in the mid-stroke, which is a good thing.
Im thinking that maybe he is refering that if you have a mid stroke that is too linear that might result in a too progressive end-stroke which could prevent you from using all available travel.
Hey Jesus. I honestly wasn't a fan of the MegNeg (I know, unpopular opinion) and I get what David is getting at. To me it felt like a bandaid for a problem that was cleared up with the Cascade Link. I'd be willing to bet that if the CC link was the stock leverage curve, no one would have felt the need to try the MegNeg to begin with. I see it as a end of the line option if no better solutions are present (which was the case for a while)
Now, I should be clear I haven't personally tried the MegNeg/CC link combo, and I don't want to dissuade you from giving it a try if you're inclined. I would encourage you to try it without and see which set up feels best to you.
Cool idea, but say good bye to your frame warranty. Whoever buys this should consider if he trusts the development of a huge bike brand with tons of testing and trying, or a single guy selling these linkages. There is a reason the leverage ratio is how it is.
If its so great and such a difference, then why dosent santa cruz just re design their link
I’m not affiliated with Santa Cruz so I can’t directly answer questions you might have for them. I can tell you that engineers don’t always have the last say in these types of decisions, and people aren’t one dimensional in their preferences either. FWIW, they just did move a bit more in this direction with the latest update.
Get a eMTB with Cascade 😉
Was all of your footage from Raccoon?
Maybe about 80% of it. There's POV from WVA, VA and GA in there too.
Ok, I've been to Raccoon twice and I love it. Some of the footage towards the end didn't look familiar and wanted to make sure I wasn't missing any trails out there 😁
160 fork 150 rear why not just get a megatower? You pretty much transformed the bike into one minus adjustable chainstay 🤷♂️
Hi Chris, thanks for tuning in! That's a great question. The Cascade LT link is much more about an improvement in suspension kinematics than anything. Having ridden the Megatower a fair amount as well, both with and without the MT Cascade link, I can say I would not own either bike without swapping over to it.
That said, the HTv2 is currently set up stock at 145/150. The LT link with a 52.5 stroke doesn't make much of a change there. The small bump and lower bottom out resistance is key. 160 up front feels like a much better balance even with the stock link for me. The current SC's run pretty low bottom brackets and the CC link slightly lowers it more, increasing the the front travel helps to find a nice offset for that. It also slightly slackens the HTA a bit more and adds a touch more trail and wheelbase. It all comes together for a bit more of a playful bike that still crushes descents and handles park nicely.
Looking at the Megatower, it would move in similar directions with the same addition of the CC link. Most run a 170-180mm fork with the CC link for a similar balance.
Personally, I would take all of the adjustments coming from the CC link before I'd be at all concerned with the chainstay flip chip.
I'm not saying I wouldn't ever own an MT, I've certainly considered it, but they don't overlap quite like you'd think given the way I would set them up.
Cheers!
Sounds to me like the link and increasing the shock stroke to 55mm with 160mm fork turns the Hightower into a better (stock) Megatower in that the off the top sensitivity is better, especially for lighter riders.
wouldn't have to have some fancy link if you rode a ripmo!
Black Sheep MTB
Don’t be jelly, they may get to the Ripmo one day. 😉
They don’t make it because it doesn’t need it!
Black Sheep MTB in all fairness, ibis let their engineers wander from the traditional mindset of marketing numbers. I like that, a lot.
The Ripmo rides great. But, to put it mildly, it is not the prettiest bike around 🤣
Jesus Arango you crazy. The ripmo is a good looking bike. I love the curves
After purchasing I contacted customer service... over 20 days, 2 different tickets and 1 message to get a response from their office, seems excessive to me. Disappointed
That bike definitely needs that link to improve the faulty engineering on that brand.? Right. Don't you think they know this when they design it.? Other bike companies not so much or richie rude would have it on his bike. He keeps winning. Just something to else to get your money. Peace.
Nice try cascade
hi, hows the bike handling pedal strikes? Did it increase with the new link?
I run my set up with 160mm up front, and it's right on par with the stock link in LO on a 150mm fork.