2015 Spartan Carbon :: Second Ride Impressions

My second demo ride on the Spartan was at the Lakeway trails in Lakeway, TX. The trail in Lakeway is known for having the longest extended climbing in central Texas. The ride was 12 miles long and had 1600 feet of climbing.

The climbs in Lakeway are varied, some are relatively steep and somewhat technical, while others are more gradual with wonderful switchbacks. The switchbacks often allow the rider to take a wide more gradual line or a short, steep direct line. The long climb up is just under 2 miles, with an elevation gain of 437 feet, I did it just shy of 3 minutes slower than my previous best. However, that best time was in the peak of my Enchilada Buffet training, I was in much better shape then, since the EB I have eaten everything in sight (thanks to Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years and Girl Scouts) and slacked off in my training and riding, so I did not expect to be faster. Having said that, I was actually faster, faster while I was moving that is. On the long climb I took 3 short rest breaks, plus 1 to adjust the compression.

Climbing was easier, yes, climbing on the ~30lb 6.5in Spartan was easier than on my 27.5lb Salsa El Mariachi hardtail, at least where the climbing was not just an easy stroll. It was easier on my body and easier on the technical sections. The suspension soaks up the rocks and ledges making the bike roll over things with less effort. Standing up and pedaling is definitely not the same as on the hardtail, but it wasn't remotely futile nor did it feel too soft.

On this ride I did fiddle with the compression settings on the Monarch RS Debonair rear shock and it definitely helped on the climbing. Unfortunately I didn't adjust it until I was 3/4 of the way up Mt Lakeway, but as soon as I did I could feel the bike was stiffer when pedaling up. Later during the ride I put the shock into the minimum compression setting and it helped a bit more on the climbs, but the interesting thing was the bike felt just as plush on the big drops and faster descents. So, that's where I left it.

We explored a bit more single track past the regular Lakeway trails and rode some very nice flowing stuff with some good drops and short, steep ups. We found some fast and steep downhills with tight turns and several drops, even knowing we'd have to climb back up we couldn't resist pointing downhill. On the way back to the back side of Mt Lakeway we took a very fast jeep road downhill that was a blast to fly down. The Spartan floated over the rocks, drops, and ditches that were scattered along the jeep road.

Going up the backside of Mt Lakeway where the steeper more technical climbing and switchbacks are I made it up without incident with one exception and I have only my fitness to blame. I just got lazy and didn't make one of the step ups on a switchback. The rest of the ride was great. Riding through the chunky parts at the top of Mt Lakway was fun as was the descent to the bottom. I did PR a few descents despite feeling pretty tired and lazy at that point.

Here are the M and L geo numbers to compare the Troy and Spartan, I highlight the TT and Reach as they seem most relevant to readers:

Troy
	ST	SA	HA	TT1	TT2	REACH	CS	WB	BBH	SOH	STACK	HT
	mm	deg	deg	mm	mm	mm	mm	mm	mm	mm	mm	mm
M	445	73	67.5	605	577	421	428	1140	344	733	601	115
L	475	73	67.5	625	597	441	428	1160	344	758	601	115
Spartan
M	445	73	66.4	605	578	419	430	1159	344	737	608	115
L	475	73	66.4	625	599	438	430	1180	344	752	613	125

Having ridden the Medium Troy and thinking it was spot on for me and then the Larger Spartan and feeling it too was spot on, these numbers make me feel a bit better about my "feelings". A 3/4" difference isn't much for me to notice. I believe the Troy had a 70mm stem with 760mm bars and the Spartan a 50mm with 780s so that too would off set the difference in geo I think.

Stay tuned for a long-term review...I am ordering the Spartan!