Mr. Turner has arrived

May 29, 2007

Prelude
Hey all. It has finally arrived. Gone are the sleepless nights, gone are the nightmares of lost delivery packages, gone are the empty sinking feelings I have when I watch mountain bike DVDs or look at others’ stoke mountain biking pictures, gone are the times that Gilbert has had to run and hide when he saw me approaching his shop and gone are the days of waiting by the phone for that one call to end my torture. For the light has finally shone on me and my Turner RFX has arrived!

It was close to 6 months and the frame was paid in full, so the wait was a killer one. There were some problems with the suppliers and that held everything back at Turner in the US. I have to mention that Jarret at Turner has been really great and answered all my emails promptly despite being neck deep in sorting out the frames. Now that tells you a lot about a company and the way it runs its business, to take the time and come down to the ground to address matters. After reading all the forums and interacting with Turner Bikes itself as well as other Turner riders (Homers!), I do feel like I am joining a big family.

The Paint Job
Now, on to the bike… The RFX came classified as an aggressive all mountain bike with 6.4” of travel to take all the hits but built for the rider who rather climb back up to the top rather than taking a ski lift. Dark Bronze was chosen and I have to say that my skepticism was all thrown out the window once I put my hands on the frame. The paint job was immaculate and the finish left nothing to be desired with all the welds neat and tidy. Honestly, I was expecting a lot worse from a powder coated frame but Turner’s choice to get it painted instead of anodized has proven to be the right one. The colour shimmers under different lighting and my only fear now is that I might actually have to ride it in the dirt one of these days.

The Stats
For my height I got a medium 17” frame which was pretty similar to the 5 Spot I tried out but hoped that the top tube length would come in shorter - which it was by about an inch to 22.9 from the 5 Spots 23.0. The bike comes with a seat angle of 72.5o and slightly slacker head angle of 68o so that I can fully enjoy myself on the downs yet not kill myself too much when I’m climbing up slope, though some will argue that at angle closer to 70o would have been optimal. The bike comes with 6.4” of travel which make it a true hard hitter able to suck up anything in its path. I ordered mine with the DHX Air 5.0 and because the time of shipping had been pushed back this far, I was given the new 2008 updated version with 2 click propedal lever. Lovin it!

The Build
I’m hoping to build this up with a bit of gold and black accents. Braking power will come from my Hope M4s with Hope Floating Rotors. Wheelset is a custom build with DT Swiss EX 5.1d rims, Chris King Hubs with thru axel and DT competition spokes. 2008 Fox’s 36 RC2 Talas will come with a new designed Thru Axel QR and will do the job up front to help soak up the bumps up ahead. Thompson seatpost and 4x stem will also be on board with an Easton MonkeyLite DH bar and Chirs King Headset. A limited edition Fizik bronze with gold snake skin Gobi already adorns the bike and looks like it was built for it. The business end is still being decided though, but I have settled on the new Sram XO rear d (20th Anniversary short cage version) and XO shifters. The front d is an XTR top pull and the big question mark remains on the crankset. I’ve been told to wait for the 08 XT Crank but I am eyeing the 07 XTR one as they both fit the e.13 bashguard that I have already purchased. Lastly, another question mark is whether to get Crank Brother 50/50s or Acids. I think I’ll leave that for another day.

The Ride
Will be sure to write a review the min I get the bike fixed up!

Purchase Info:
The bike was purchase at Hup Leong Bicycle Shop and Gilbert has been really helpful with sorting the bike out. Most if not all of the stuff mentioned above can be purchased there. So if you do drop by, just mention that I directed you to his services. Please visit www.turnerbikes.com and check out their line up. Despite not having the colour that I got on the site I was told that they are currently upgrading the website and it should be up in the near future. Lastly, check out www.mtbr.com under manufactures forum and go to Turner. All Homers should be there to help you out if you have any questions.

Ride safe!

posted in Exercise, Love |