Friday, November 21, 2008

Matej's first impressions of the Rampant

Rampant after two weeks:

I built up my Rampant two weeks ago with an exact idea in my mind. I wanted to have a fast, light, versatile 4X/Dirt/Slopestyle bike which fits me. Considering that, I built it up with these components:

Frame: Banshe Rampant, size: Long, color: Team Red/White
Fork: Fox 32 Talas (QR)
Bars/Stem: Funn Full-on/SMX
Cranks: Funn Hooka DH
Rims: Mavic
Brakes: Formula ORO K2
Seat: Funn Skinny RL
Shifting/Dear.: Sram X9
CG: Shaman Racing 4X Comp

I didn’t put on it any lightweight components and it weighs about 13.8 Kg (30.4lbs). Cool, isn’t it?

How does it seem to be after two weeks of riding?

First feature which I love on my Rampant are the looks. Everytime I show it to someone, they always say: Oh, It’s a pimp‘ or something like that...Nice!
Now let’s check the riding features. The first time I sat on it, I felt a bit weird. It was long and super low. But when I tried it first time I was hooked! The lowness of that bike and its geometry...awesome. Fast accelerating powered by VF4P independent suspension which makes it possible to pedal and brake on rought surface without any unwanted feelings.

I also love the way the Rampant feel in corners. It’s predictable and fluent handling is lovely due to low center of gravity and the right angle of headtube.
I’ve been riding it on a lot types of tracks. BMX tracks, Djumps, Trails, Local DH tracks etc.
When I’m riding Djumps or BMX I’m using a lockout on my rear shock and high compression om fork. It makes it possible to hit the takeoffs better and accelerate faster.

When I’m riding in the woods or rough terrain I use my shock unlocked and I switch the fork to 120mm/140mm setting to use all the advatages of suspension.

I love to ride my Rampant and at the moment it’s the only bike I use!!

Thanks Guys.

Matej