Writeup Maxxtro SATA - IDE converter

Write-up Maxxtro Sata – IDE converter

If you’re like me and constantly get bitten by the upgrade bug you probably have all kinds of pc hardware lying about. Most of the time I find I use for old stuff to build servers and media centres. Sometimes though there is a huge technological shift that changes both interface and protocols, like the shift from IDE to SATA technology. So what to do when you have lots of data on old IDE drives and only SATA on your main computer. Luckily there are converters for this like the Maxxtro made by www.maxxtro.ch

Ok so a write-up about a converter is not very interesting, I know. The reason I’m doing it is because most of the IDE-SATA converters out there are crap. EBay is flooded with cheap Chinese no-brand ones, which I tried. They failed to recognize certain drives and the drives they did recognize where dropping out at random intervals. So when I finally found one that works I thought I’d do a write-up.

The converter itself is pretty nicely constructed. Contrary to many of the no-brand ones this converter has a small cable between the PATA and converter interface. Most of the cheap ones on eBay have everything on a small circuit board that you plug into the back of the IDE drive. This can get pretty difficult in tightly cramped cases. In my Fractal define R3 the drives are mounted turned 90 degrees compared to regular “old” style cabinets. This means that the cables from the drives go directly towards the side of the cabinet. The circuit board type converters can be a really tight fit here and might crash with the inside wall of the case. So I like Maxxtro’s design choice much better. The cable is easily tucked upwards or downwards from the drive to avoid space at the back of the drives.

The cable has a small slide type switch on it for choosing which direction the data goes. This is because it’s bidirectional and so can be used for either IDE to SATA or the other way around. Of course I forgot to check the switch before booting my computer and so the drive did not show up at all. Luckily the switch is easy to get to even after install. The converter has a led light on it to show that it’s working, if you have a see through case I guess it would be handy, I guess? No drivers are needed, this is all plug and play and the converter is compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux operative systems. The adapter is powered by a molex plug that splits into the adapter and IDE harddisk. It also works with CD and DVD ROMs.

A small cable makes the adapter easy to tuck over or under the harddisk

Performance.

This is not a very scientific performance test but strictly made for informational purposes. I compared my native SATA drive, which is a WD Caviar Blue 1TB 7200rpm drive type WD10EZEX, and a Hitachi 500GB 7200rpm IDE drive type Deskstar P7K500. Now the SATA drive will be quicker, not only because of the newer interface, but also because it’s a larger drive and larger platters generally seek faster than smaller ones. But anyways, although they’re note directly comparable the results are here. You wouldn’t buy one of these converters for quicker data access anyway.

Western Digital Caviar Blue SATA results

Hitachi Deskstar PK7500 IDE results

As you can see you loose quite abit of speed by using a converter.

Conclusion

A SATA – IDE converter that just works and is pretty cheap. No stability issues so far.

Commencal Supernormal 2 review

I have now owned the Commencal Supernormal for 4 weeks and thought I’ll write a short test/review of it. I couldn’t really find any reviews of the bike before I bought it, at least in English, so I took a chance mostly based on the specs and Commencal's reputation for building great bikes.

 I realize I’m writing about the last years model but most of the characteristics is probably applicable to the 2013 model as well since not that much have changed geometry wise. Hopefully someone will find a use of this test especially since the 2012 model is also on some great sales right now. 

Differences 2012 and 2013 versions:

For the size I have (S) the head tube angle is a little slacker at 68,5 compared to the 2012 version at 69,5. This is probably due to the front shock travel on the 2013 model that’s been increased to a 120mm Fox shock from 100mm. The bottom bracket has also been dropped about 2mm. Since everything else is about the same the 2013 model will probably handle very similarly.

Specs:

For 2012 Commencal had 2 versions of the Supernormal. The biggest difference between the two is the fork that is a Rock shox Reba on the Supernormal 1 and a Recon Gold on the 2. The Supernormal 1 also has Formula RX brakes instead of the Avid Elixir 1’s as well as a bit higher spec drive train and shifters. The weight difference between the two is just 400 grams. Although a Reba fork would be nice the other differences were not really worth that much to me so I went for the cheaper option.

Here is the spec list for the Supernormal 2

Frame NEW SUPERNORMAL NUTS Superlight TB BB30

Fork RockShox Recon Gold Turnkey lockout Solo Air 100mm

Headset Neco Integrated. Campy standard 1”1/8

Stem COMMENCAL VIP OS

Bar COMMENCAL VIP 1'' OS

Grips COMMENCAL Kraton black

Brakes Avid Elixir 1 160/160

Shifters New Sram trigger X5 2x10

Front Mech New Sram X7 direct mount 2x10

Rear Mech Sram X7 10 speed

Bottom Bracket Included w/crankset

Cranks Truvativ S1000 BB30 39/26 10 speed

Chain KMC 10 speed

Cassette Sram PG-1030 11-36 10 speed

Rims Mavic XM117

Hubs COMMENCAL disc brake

Spokes Stainless 64p 3x lacing black

Tires Schwalbe Rocket Ron 26x2.25

Seatpost COMMENCAL VIP 31.6mm

Saddle COMMENCAL

Sizes S, M, L

Color Pure White

Weight 10,9 Kg

Finish, feel and equipment

The finish on the frame looks very nice. Smooth welds as far as I can tell and the frame feels light and stiff when lifting it. The gears were not adjusted properly at the front and the crank was slightly loose, which I found out after the first ride. Can’t really blame Commencal for this since these are all things that the bike shop (CRC) should have made sure were correct and indeed an install checklist was included with the bike that stated that all of these things were ok. Lesson learned there to not blindly trust that the bike shop setups correctly. Anyways adjusted my gears myself and tightened the crank down real tight with an extender pipe on the hex key. It’s been fine since.

There are some Commencal branded equipment on this bike. Most feel and look quality. I like the wide handlebars, they’re about 715mm with my not very precise measuring and 1” rise. Grips feel good both in dry and in wet. The hubs have been fine so far, nothing really to complain about. Rolls nicely and reacts quickly when pedaling. I know some will be disappointed though about own brand hubs in this price class but they’ve worked fine for me so far. One Commencal branded thing I do not like though is the seat. Size wise it’s good for me but it’s freakin’ hard. I don’t need a heavily padded seat but on this one you will feel the bumps on rough roads right up you spine. Needless to say it’s first on my list of upgrades.

SRAM X7 front and rear

The ride

Ok, onto the important stuff. How does this thing ride?

In my opinion, very very good. Although this is Commencal’s XC bike I ride it for just about everything. I get bored of roads very quickly so I grab just about any chance I can to jump off into the forest on tight single trails. And this bike has tackled everything great so far. It’s light, stiff and feels very responsive. The bike always feels flickable so you know whatever is around the next turn it will handle it. The SRAM X7 drive train is a good match for the bike. Gear changes have a satisfying mechanical clunk to it that I prefer to the more subtle changes of comparable shimano systems. The shifters are SRAM X5 which do the job but they are a little slow and clunky and especially the down shift knob is not optimally placed. It’s kind of hard to reach at times, forcing you to lift your grip on the handles. The crank set is SRAM/Truvative S1000 and I am impressed with the feel and stiffness. It really feels like very little power is lost at the crank so the bike feels very fast to accelerate. Doesn’t feel like a budget crank at all. The Rock Shox Recon Gold TK does the job and feels pretty plush for a budget fork. I tried some different pressures but ended up at about 5psi lower than recommended. It feels pretty stiff too considering it’s a budget fork with quick release. I have a little trouble with setting the rebound though, haven’t found the perfect setting yet, it seems either too slow or too fast.

Love the 715mm handlebars

Grip levels are great but only after a change of tires. Let me explain. I am based in Norway and so do not always have the luxury of sunny weather and dry trails. I would say as much as 60-70% of my riding is on wet damp trails (damn this weather!). The Supernormal 2 comes wrapped in Schwalbe Rocket Rons 2.25. These tires are great in the dry, very fast rolling. In the wet however they are down right dangerous. Wet tarmac is probably good (I haven’t tried) but on wet roots and rocks they offer no grip at all. In fact the tires just bails out the moment you angle it against said surfaces. I quickly changed them or else I was sure to loose some teeth on slippery rocks. I changed them for Geax Barro Mountain in 2.30, they’re not perfect but they are a lot better than the Rocket Rons. Grip in the wet is much better on rocks, a little bit better on roots. They shed mud a little slower and roll a little slower. But I’ll take that tradeoff for grip and control.

Conclusion

The Commencal Supernormal 2 is a great hardtail. It’s stiff, light and responsive. I would recommend this bike for beginners as well as intermediate riders. It’s a bike you can really learn with. How to ride faster and push your skills on both trails and single tracks. As you get better the bike will not let you down. For an XC hardtail the price is a bit stiff I feel. You can definitely get similar or better specs for the money with one of the big name companies. However it feels like Commencal offers just what you need in this bike and no extra fluff. I really like that design philosophy. And like Max Commencal says in their Supernormal video the bike is just fun to ride. You’ll have a smile on your face constantly on this bike. At least I do.

New bike ordered

After years of bike hiatus I finally ordered a new MTB. As usually whenever I look into buying something new I spent way to many hours reading, researching and comparing products from different brands and stores.

Although I rode a lot back in the day I would have to consider myself back at beginner level now.

I knew I wanted a light bike but not so light that it would cost me more than it was worth. So carbon frame was out of the question. Preferably I wanted a stiff fork. Most suspension forks I've ridden have felt soggy and slow which meant they slowed me down more than they helped me especially on climbs. But this was years ago and it seems lots of progress has been made with suspension forks. The selection of purely stiff bikes is also very limited, it seemed most of the bikes available with stiff forks were hybrids. I thought about starting with a hybrid and modifying it but eventually settled on trying a suspension fork and then switching to a stiff one if I was not satisfied.

After checking out just about every brand that was available locally and on the web I narrowed the choice down to the following bikes:

Nakamura Grade 4.0

Canyon AL 6.0

Gavia MT26

Hardrocx Cambrium SL26R

I looked briefly into 29ers as well but decided against them. I am a small rider (5,5') so I would sacrifice the better rolling and stability of a 29er for the swiftness and responsiveness of a 26er.

From the list all bikes have pros and cons. I liked the look and equipment level of the Canyon the best. Reba fork and XT shadow in the back as well as a solid frame with internally routed cable. The Nakamura is the lightest of the bunch at 10,3 kg. The Gavia is the cheapest of the ones available locally but I dislike the design and it's a relatively unknown brand.

In the end I settled for the Canyon.

As I was about to order from the Canyon website I realized how popular this brand has become. The wait for the Canyon AL 6.0 in my size was over 14 weeks! The situation was about the same for the other bikes in the AL series as well. That long of a wait meant I would miss the season completely so I was forced decide on one of the other alternatives. I tried to find some good prices on the Nakamura or the Hardrocx being open for last year models as well. None could be had at a price close to the Canyon though.

Since Canyon is a web dealer and I am not averse to ordering on the net I searched around for other dealers. Clicking into Chainreactioncycles.com I was surprised to see they were having a spring sale of up to 60% off. I searched around for anything at a good price in my size and found a Kona Cindercone and Fuji Tahoe as well as one of the CRC's own brand Vitus bikes that looked interesting.

But another bike caught my eye; it was a brand that I had seen a lot of Downhill riders use, Commencal. The bike was the Supernormal 2.

Commencal is a French brand founded by Max Commencal who I learned used to design BMX bikes with his brand Sunn. After being forced out of the company he made a MTB company with his own name Commencal. According to him the focus of Commencal is to have fun. The feeling of sliding and jumping down trails with a smile on your face. Commencal wants to provide a tool that has the essential abilities to do this while cutting down on the "flashy" extras.

This design philosophy really spoke to me. After all the reason I was getting back into riding is because I think it's so damn fun.

As a owner of different French products from Focal speakers to A.P.C jeans I have really become a fan of French design philosophies and their near obsessiveness to form and function. So why not a French bike?

I checked out the Supernormal 2 video Commencal had and it completely sold me on the bike.

COMMENCAL SUPERNORMAL 2012 from COMMENCAL on Vimeo.

So I put in an order at Chainreactioncycles for a 2012 Commencal Supernormal 2.