CHUMBA XCL Down A-Line in Whistler

More XCL ride stoke we received over the weekend:

I have a used Chumba XCL that i got from a friend and i wanted to say it is one of the best bikes i have ever been on.  I have had quite a few different brands and designs over the past few years, but the thing just rips singletrack.  Handles drops and technical terrain well too, if the transitions are good.  I have a modified RockShox Domain stepped down to 150 mm of travel on the front and the bike is absolutely perfectly balanced for steep trails, climbing or descending.  A 160mm fork was just too much for the bike and made it wander too much on the climbs and squat into the rears travel with the weight bias shifted back that far, but 150 is spot on for a fork.  Just wanted to drop you guys a line and let you know i love the ride.  I ride very rocky east coast trails and it just fits the bill.   It took me about 3 weeks to get the bike perfectly setup (shock air, fork, swaping out stems etc), but once i got used to how the suspension behaves and the cockpit tuned, i am completely impressed with the bike.  When/if i break it i think i will probably have to come back for another Chumba.  To be honest i was impressed with how bottomless the suspension feels.  It feels more like my 180mm bike than past 140mm bikes but without all the added weight.  Good job guys.
 
Thanks,
Dan

New XCL Rider Video from Russia!

Ride to deforestation with details from Georgiy Romanov on Vimeo.

Anodized Gold Rear End for XCL

Custom-color combination from customer.  Anodized gold with black front triangle.

Rohloff Speedhub on XCL

One of our friends in Germany set this XCL up with a Rohloff Speedhub.

Some details about the hub from Rohloff's website, available at http://www.rohloff.de/en/products/speedhub/:

The Rohloff SPEEDHUB 500/14 has been developed for both pros and performance oriented hobby cyclists who can appreciate it because of its reliability, perfect single gear ratios, wide range of gears, low maintenance and easy operation; its weight and efficiency are ideal even for pro racing.

The sealed gearbox ensures reliability and durability even under the toughest conditions. The even increments of 13.6% from gear to gear make it possible to always ride at the performance peak. The overall range makes sure that you have the right gear in every situation. Pure fun is guaranteed.

The SPEEDHUB 500/14 is operated by a twist shifter which shifts simply by pulling separate cables up or down. The indexing of the shifting lies not in the shifter as with common designs, but inside the hub. There is no wear on the indexing system nor need to adjust it.

The rest of the bike's spec include:

Large Black Ano XCL
DHX 5.0 Air
RS Revelation Team 150mm
CK headset and hubs
Hope m6ti 8"
Thomson post
XTR Crank

Weight 15.10 kg


The Rohloff is definitely not cheap, sitting around $1,000 USD, and it isn't light; but for those looking for an alternative to manual shifting; could be a nice option.

Beautiful Custom-color XCL

Our friends over in Russia sent us a picture of this matte army green XCL.  Yes, it is as tough as it looks.

New CHUMBA XCL Review - !

Check out this great review here:

http://www.ondirtreview.com/2010/04/be-all-you-can-be-coiled-xcl/

New 2010 CHUMBA Fox RP23 for XCL and VF2

After long deliberation and careful testing, CHUMBA decided on their 2010 RP23 spec for their frames.  The higher volume air can should give the linear chassis a complimentary feel allowing smooth and supple progression throughout the travel stroke.  Further, low compression and medium rebound will give the right mix of bump absorption and pedaling characteristics to try and replicate the feel of a properly tuned coil shock.  We chose to keep the rebound at medium to slow it down so as to give a controlled feeling on g-outs and small drops, while leaving the compression tune light so as to let the suspension do most of the work.

As we've been switching between different tunes in the last few years based upon Fox's recommendations as model years change, we think we've found a sweet spot with the new RP23's internals that is a noticeable improvement over past RP23 versions. We hope that many of you can feel confident in the new technology.

Guest Article: Plush Rides, Australia

We have been importing Chumba frames into Australia since early 2005.  At that time, each frame was made-to-order, and welded and assembled by the same person who took your order, usually Ted.  What attracted me to the brand was how small the operation was, yet, how much inspiration and craftsmanship went into each frame.  I thought it was really cool I could call up the company, and talk to the person who designed and welded our frames.  

One of the first XCLs ever produced

I remember importing one of the first ten XCLs ever made.  I watched that frame go from production runs of 20 frames either assembled by Ted or Alan, and eventually into a frame that is now sold to hundreds of customers worldwide.  The frame has racked up glowing reviews from media both here in Australia and the US, this has been really exciting to watch.

Chumba’s products have only gotten better with time, and its nice knowing that your customer will come back with a smile after he or she throws a leg over the bike. The bikes have kept up with their racing heritage over here also. The bikes have racked up multiple championships both in DH and XC.  I vividly remember using CHUMBA's AM bike, the EVO, to help a sponsored rider compete with full-on downhill rigs and taking out an elite mens DH series and finishing top spot in 4 out of the 6 rounds.

We used this EVO to compete against many a DH rig

                                                     EVO in action!

Single speed CHUMBA!

                          A fun playbike.

I've also raced on many of CHUMBA's bikes.  Here's my latest machine:

Perfect for Super D

At only 26.2lbs (11.9kg) for a large-sized frame with pedals, tubes, and bottle cage this is a light and fast bike.  I've been able to modify the geometry with a 7.5" * 2.0" shock for a lower BB and slacker head angle - and I don't get any tire rub on full compression with a Maxxis Larson 2.0.

                                  Me, racing in Fontana with the CHUMBA team.

It's been a lot of fun watching the company evolve and grow alongside the sport and I'm happy to see a growing community of riders.  We look forward to continuing to working with CHUMBA in the future.  And if you are ever in Australia look us up for a ride!!!

Cheers!

Josh, Plush Rides

Some serious standover -

XS XCL size - rider is 170cm, or approx. 5 feet 6 inches.  What do you think about the sizing?  I've asked the rider to measure the effective top tube length with this set up - let's see how the geometry works out!  For those interested in how to measure effective TT I found this diagram on the internet: www.surlybikes.com/blog/spew/spew_17_bike_fit

UPDATE: The effective top tube reported is 21".