I finally had my Turner 5-Spot rebuilt. When I bought the RFX, I used some of the parts from the 5-Spot to finish it, stripped the 5-Spot down and sent the frame back to Turner for a program they have to get it repainted and have the pivots replaced. It’s been back for a long time, just sitting at home waiting to be built up and ridden. Over the course of the months it’s been since then, I’ve collected new gear to outfit it with.
It’s got new wheels, built lighter than the ones that are now on the RFX. It’s got an all-new drivetrain, mostly X.0 and XTR gear. The Pike 454 Air was pretty new when I decommissioned the bike, as were the XTR brakes, and so they’re back on. The only thing I need to do to finish it off is replace the Romic coil rear shock and put a lighter air shock on it. It weighs 28.6 pounds now, down from over 32 before and I imagine that rear shock will take a bit more off of that. I also put on a set of Push rear rockers to balance the Pike some.
Now that I’ve been riding the RFX exclusively for almost 2 years, it’s interesting to go back to the Spot. I was worried that the differences might not be enough to really matter, but those differences can really be felt on the trail, although they aren’t surprising. The Spot is definitely more nimble and climbs better, and I’d say is the more versatile bike of the two. The RFX’s suspension is superior in every way–very confidence inspiring–making it a solid descender. I’m happy to have them both, as it’s nice to have an “extra” bike when one needs a repair, and they’re both versatile enough to be ridden anywhere.
I plan to ride the Spot as my main bike again, and pull out the RFX for rides with more downhill or stunts, like Demo, Downieville or Pacifica. I’ll take it to Canada again, of course. But I’m very happy the Spot is back in the stable.