May/June 2014 25
bikes I've had. That wasn't the
case as recently as 2012 when the
PDS
shock was valved much (much)
firmer than the forks. Now both
ends work as a cohesive unit. The
open-cartridge forks are supple
enough to absorb the rocks when
crawling along yet offer enough re-
sistance where I can carry decent
speed. The only me I get in trouble
is when I hit logs and rocks at race
pace causing the forks to blow
through the travel. I am also starng
to appreciate the PDS over the link-
age in the rocks.
The 20 mm triple clamps offer de-
cent flex and make the bike a quick
turner. We ran the forks flush in the
triple clamps and then set the shock
sag at about 115 mm. This seems to
the sweet spot for sharp cornering
and keeping the front end working well in the rocks.
Aside from few adjustments we've menoned, we've
done nothing noteworthy besides adding an Enduro Engi-
neering spark arrestor and skid plate.
The only items that have been replaced are the rear brake
pads and the barke/clutch levers that got broken off when
looping out up some hills I shouldn't have tried. The truth
is, I think 2014 is well on its way to being the year I return
to the XC-W. The only change I'll make is having the forks
valved a bit firmer for racing.
