Local pro DH/enduro racer Alex McAndrew dropped by MTBVT’s headquarters to show us his xc/enduro rig. Alex is a bike tech at Chuck’s Bikes. He also has a degree in engineering. And he’s color blind and believes this banana yellow whip to be a pleasant shade of brown. We didn’t have the heart to tell him. That said, you better believe that Alex’s bike is a dialed trail crushing machine! We’ll let Alex sell you on the virtues of a Covert from here…
COMPONENTS:
Frame: Transition Carbon covert, Large Yellow
Rear Shock: Fox Float Factory CTD adj
Front Fork: Fox Float 34 160 factory CTD
Wheels: Spank Spike race 28, 15mm Fr, 12x 142 rear, Blue
Tires: CST ouster 2.4 folding bead
Brakes: Shimano XT 180mm Fr and Rr
Deraileure: Shimano Zee FR
Chainguide: MRP Mini G2
Chain: KMC
Cassette: 12-36 shimano slx
Cranks: Shimano SLX 170
Chainring: Origin8 34T single
Post: Fox Doss Dropper post. 31.6x 5in drop
Saddle: Kore performance
Handlebar: Kore OCD 35 mm rise gray ano 760 mm
Stem: Kore Repute 50mm
Grips: Kore Ikon lock-on
I love my bike. Period. This thing puts a smile on my face every time I get on it. EVERY TIME! The Kore bar and stem offer a great balance between light and stiff. The grips are very similar to a ruffian but are 1/2 the price! I also really like the 3 mm allen bolts on the grips vs 2.5 that always stripped out.
Transition re-redisgned the covert for this year, a longer stroke shock, slightly more slack head-angle and a slightly longer top-tube. Great changes. The rear shock needs to be run closer to 40% sag to get the proper handling out of the bike. This makes for a much more compliant rear end. The carbon keeps everything super stiff. The stiffness is very noticeable when climbing and mostly when cornering. The chainstays are still aluminum, which was a smart choice for a first year carbon frame.
The 3 positions of the dropper post keep you from waisting time searching for the perfect hight. I have been running it since the 2012 Burke enduro with 3 months of daily use in NZ and this whole summer with no service and no issues.
This bike is a blast and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to get a little more rowdy on 2 wheels. The only downside for me on this bike was the increase in top tube length. Most of our trials are very tight and I think at 5′ 11″ I could downsize to a medium.
I can’t ride my Downhill bike every day. My covert lets me get DH loose on my every day trail ride. Smiles for days.
Alex will be racing stop three of the the Triple Crown Enduro at Highland Mountain Bike Park this weekend. Good luck buddy. Represent VT well and kick some flatlander arse!
Yellow bikes are the best 🙂