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Vertex 50/70RSL vs. Vertex Team RSL

Posted: Jan 02 2010

I've had the unique (and some would say overindulgent) opportunity to build up two of the new carbon Vertex bikes, my verson of a Ferrari Enzo I built up in January with a custom Dekerf painted Vertex 50RSL frame and a second hot rod built up on a Vertex Team frame I acquired in June. I had a chance to ride a pre-production prototype of the high modulus carbon Team in the summer of 2008 and a pre-production proto of the Vertex 70 with the standard modulus carbon in October 2008.

In the summer of 2008 I was very well adapted to my 2007 scandium Vertex Team and the terrific blend of comfort, light weight agility and stiffness it offered. I found my rides on the proto carbon Team frame was very similar to the beat down that my old 2000 Vertex delivered with the Easton Ultralite tubing. It was light and super responsive but I wasn't super keen to enter an abusive bike relationship. Then along comes the standard modulus frame test ride and it felt like a completely different bike, super light and responsive but very comfortable, not a trace of vibration made it through the frame. I know how Brad Pitt decided to leave Jennifer Aniston for Angelina Jolie, I had one of those moments. The scandium Team frame was gorgeous and comfy and nimble, but the carbon Vertex was so sexy and telepathic in handling response. I hit the tipping point on carbon fiber and embraced it completely for my planned build. Race Face Next carbon cranks, DT Swiss carbon rims, carbon this, that and everything. A Magura Durin SLO 100m fork (smoothest 100mm fork I've ever ridden) and Magura Marta SL brakes rounded out the build. 

The custom paint by Dekerf is a throwback to the 2005 Vertex Team paint schemes.

This is hands down my fave bike in the harem, it handles like a dream, it climbs easily and it weighs in at 20.37 pounds in it's current build state.

I've never ridden a bike that felt this solid, well damped or responsive. It is just a blast to ride, a big part of it is the light 1300gm wheelset that were built up at DB West Van. The Race King 2.2 Supersonic tires are terrific for this part of the world too, grippy on wet roots and rocks.

After spending a few months on this standard modulus carbon frame I began wondering how much of my negative reaction to the Team frame was just the shock of going from the scandium to carbon frame. So I had a chance to snag a Team frame in June. I had most of the bits around to build up a bike, so I decided to buy one and build it up so I had some comparitive opportunities.

The Team frame is 125gms lighter than the custom painted 50RSL frame. The build currently has a 1x9 drivetrain with XTR cranks and the MRP 1.x chainguide, XTR rear shifters and other fairly light bits, it's about 21.5 pounds.    

It's definitely a bit more resonant in the bars and seat and a touch more harsh in ride quality than the standard modulus carbon 50RSL, but not near as bad as I remember the test ride was from the summer of 2008. Not sure if that's me or the actual production frames were a bit more compliant.

This was also the opportunity I had to take the Geoff Kabush challenge and replace 24" flat bars with wider low rise bars. I've used 24" flat bars for years on my hardtails, but after reading Kabush's comments on his Cycling News blog about wide risers on an XC race bike being far superior, I decided I had the perfect opportunity with a pair of test bikes to swap bars and stems around. I had a 660mm RF Next SL bar and a 685mm RF SL bar on my Altitude that I could use, so I went through a bunch of bar and stem swapping and tried climbs and descents to get a sense of how the bars compared. After many tests, I settled on the 660mm RF Next 3/4" bar and a 110mm stem was the perfect combo for my hardtails. I've now been ruined for 24" and 25" wide flat and riser bars. I have a bunch of spares laying around now. :-p

I had a chance to try a pair of the Crank Brothers Cobalt wheels last month on the Team build. If you want to make a wheelset with a loud freehub really loud, put them on a monocoque frame. Wowzer. Loud. And flexy compared to the XTR wheels I usually run on the bike.

I have become a complete believer in carbon frames, I love the way the standard modulus carbon rides, I would be happy to ride the 50RSL all day. The lighter high modulus frame would likely be just fine for shorter rides and most races, but I'd happily take the 125gm weight penalty to make the carbon bike into an everyday rider. Both bikes are incredibly stiff and responsive and handle near telepathically, but I am truly madly deeply in love with the standard modulus carbon frame (only available on the 50RSL in 2010). 

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