Toolbox Concept - Yalla! V1
Tinkering with bikes is fun. We enjoy it a lot at RAAW. But more than that, having a bike that is adaptable to different riders, tracks and conditions turns a bike into a useful tool. Our Yalla!! takes this idea and runs with it, our toolbox concept, that gives it adjustability at the front, middle and rear of the bike to fine tune the fit and feel of your Yalla!!
That said, if you’re not into tinkering, then no worries at all. The middle settings of each adjustment option, which the frame comes delivered in, are something that we thought long and hard about. You can leave it there and never worry about it, instead just focussing on the riding. And the simplicity and solidness of the adjustment parts mean that they will just go about their job silently.
But, we have endeavoured to make sure that the Yalla!!’s adjustability is simple to use, so that anyone can do it. After all, if an adjustment is easy to change then it encourages more people to use it and play around. We encourage you to experiment with the adjustments and learn what works best for you in your terrain. None of the extremes of the adjustments will make the bike unrideable, and if you learn along the way how different adjustments change the bike feel then you’ll be better equipped in the future to turn a bike into your bike.
Click on each area to learn more about the individual adjustment options.
We do have a lot of adjustability in the Yalla, and it certainly isn't there just for the sake of being adjustable. We ride in a lot of different places, all around the world and there is something to be said for just grabbing a bike and going for a ride. But we’ve yet to find something as satisfying as tinkering with our bike's setup only to have it work like a dream while out on the trails and give us the biggest grin possible.
But to provide some initial starting points, based on the some factors from the terrain you ride in, here are some recommendations for where to run the different adjustments. But remember, these are just some general starting points and a lot will depend on rider preference, riding style and just exactly what you’re looking for the bike to do.
But to provide some initial starting points, based on the some factors from the terrain you ride in, here are some recommendations for where to run the different adjustments.
Head Tube Adjustments
Using a 56mm diameter head tube means that if you’re ever in a pinch or want to use your favoured brand of headset, it’s a common diameter that shouldn’t make it hard to source parts.
But a 56mm diameter also gives us room inside the headtube to adjust the reach and head angle of the bike, or both in combination, while keeping everything zero stack.
The head tube of the Yalla! is marked with two small marks that match to the markings on the headset cups, meaning that it’s simple and quick to swap from one setup to another.
Reach
Frames come delivered with the 0mm reach setting. From there you can use our reach adjust headset cups to make the front of the bike shorter or longer by 5mm.
That gives the M size frames a window of 450 - 460mm, L size 475 - 485mm, and XL size 500 - 510mm.
Changing the reach not only changes the fit and length of the bike, but also changes the load on the front wheel and the feel of the bike in terms of stability and manoeuvrability.
Shorter will make the bike more agile and easier to move around and put a bit more load on the front wheel. It will do this at the expense of stability.
Longer will make the bike more stable and less bothered by what the trail is doing, great for going fast in rough terrain. It will take a little more input to make it do what you want and it will take a little load off the front wheel. But this is the trade off for that stability and speed.
Head Angle
Frames come delivered with the 0 degree setting and the head angle at 63 degrees. From there you can use our angle adjust headset cups to steepen or slacken the bike by 1 degree. This gives an overall range of 62 - 64 degrees.
Fork length is also going to play a part in the head angle. If you run your fork at minimum axle to crown, then it will have a steeper head angle than if you run it with the stanchions all the way through the crowns.
Steeper will make the steering more responsive and load the front wheel a little more. But it will reduce the stability of the bike and how much the front wheel gets knocked around by the trail.
Slacker will make the front of the bike more stable, particularly in steep or fast and rough terrain where the ground is trying to knock the front wheel around. But it will take a little of the load off the front wheel and make the steering less responsive.
Combinations
There is also the possibility to combine a reach adjustment with an angle adjustment. We have cups for all the combinations of options, with many of the cups doubling up their options depending on if you run them one way or another.
If you like the sound of a shorter bike with a steeper head angle, then we have cups for that. If you like the sound of a longer bike and a slacker head angle, then we have that option too.
Our full list of options is:
- 0mm reach / 0 degree - Default setting that the frame is delivered with.
- +5mm reach / 0 degree
- -5mm reach / 0 degree - Same as above option, just installed the other way round.
- 0mm reach / +1 degree
- 0mm reach / -1 degree - Same as above option, just installed the other way round.
- +5mm reach / +1 degree
- -5mm reach / +1 degree - Same as above option, just installed the other way round.
- +5mm reach / -1 degree
- -5mm reach / -1 degree - Same as above option, just installed the other way round.
BB Height and Progression
In the middle of the bike, the Yalla! has modular lower shock mounts that give the option to adjust the bottom bracket height, suspension progression, or, a combination of the two.
Each option uses a pair of lower shock mounts, left and right, that use 2 6902 bearings for the shock to rotate on. This ensures a high load capacity and suppleness in the suspension.
BB Height
We’re fans of low BBs and this height strikes a good balance of making you feel a part of the bike, rather than perched on it, while having good ground clearance.
Frames come delivered with the BB height in the mid setting, around 345mm. But BB height will also depend a lot on the wheels, tyres and forks that you build the bike with.
From this mid setting, there is the option to fine tune the BB height by raising or lowering it by 3mm.
Raising the BB will increase the ground clearance and make the bike react a little faster to your inputs. If you ride in very technical terrain with lots of options for hitting the pedals, cranks or frame, then this is a good option. This is also an option if you prefer to set up your suspension more soft, and so dynamically ride a bit lower.
Lowering the BB will increase the stability of the bike and drop you further into the bike. For a lot of flat out fast tracks this is good, as long as your terrain is not too chunky. This is also an option if you prefer to set up your suspension more firm, and so dynamically ride a bit higher.
Suspension Progression and Leverage Ratios
Our stock setting of 25% progression starts the leverage ratio at 3.08 and ends at 2.31. For us, this setting can work well in all types of tracks and situations, coming back to the idea that if you’re not into tinkering, then no problem. Just pump up the tyres and head out for a ride.
But it’s possible to adjust the level of progression by plus or minus 3% of progression, adjusting the leverage ratios in the process.
The idea is to adjust the leverage ratios in the portions of travel that you’ll spend more time in. If your bike is set up well, you’ll usually be spending more of your time riding in the first two-thirds of travel, rather than in that last third, clanging off the bottom-out bumper all day long.
Adjusting these portions of travel means that the adjustments have more of an effect, more of the time, and can be felt more easily.
The higher, 28%, option will give higher starting leverage ratios, giving you more sag without any adjustment to the shock, or needing more air or spring to maintain the same sag as the mid progression setting.
More progression and higher ratios will make the bike more active in its suspension use while giving more mechanical ramp up as you go through travel. It can work well with shocks that display a more linear character or if you ride in very rough terrain, think Val di Sole World Cup rough, or if you are hitting big man made bike parks and like to run your suspension firm.
The lower, 22%, option will lower the starting leverage ratios, giving you less sag without any adjustment to the shock, or needing less air or spring to maintain the same sag as the mid progression setting. It can work well with shocks that are very progressive in their feel or if you ride in terrain that isn’t overly rough and you want to carry speed, think along the lines of Fort William, or if your terrain isn’t very challenging and you’d like the bike to react more to the inputs you give it.
Combinations
There is also the possibility to combine the BB and progression adjustments with a total of 9 different options:
- Low BB / 22%
- Low BB / 25%
- Low BB / 28%
- Mid BB / 22%
- Mid BB / 25%
- Mid BB / 28%
- High BB / 22%
- High BB / 25%
- High BB / 28%
If you like the sound of something more progressive but with a higher BB, then we have that option. Or if you prefer the sound of less progressive and a lower BB, then you’re covered. These two examples show the combination of the more static adjustment from the BB height together with the more dynamic adjustment from the progression and leverage ratios.
Chain Stay Length Adjustments
Out back we use our new dropout system to adjust the chain stay length. In order to adjust the chain stay length, different dropouts for the long and short position are necessary. The rear wheel axle and brake mount can be used for all three positions.
Each Yalla!!, regardless of frame size, comes with dropouts in the middle position meaning that each rider has the option to go shorter or longer. But we also maintain a balance to the front end length of the bike as the sizes grow by making that middle position longer on each size.
That means the mid setting on M size is 445mm, L size is 450mm, and XL is 455mm. This then makes the ranges for each size be:
- M - Short 440mm / Mid 445mm / Long 450mm
- L - Short 445mm / Mid 450mm / Long 455mm
- XL - Short 450mm / Mid 455mm / Long 460mm
Much the same as our reach adjustment at the front of the bike, changing the chainstay length has the same effect on the balance of stability and agility.
A shorter chainstay will make the bike easier to move around, especially in movements such as manuals and bunny hops. And it will make for a livelier ride. But it will do all this at the expense of all-out stability and front end load.
A longer chainstay will make the bike more stable, especially in rough terrain where the ground is trying to upset the bike, and it will put more load on the front wheel, handy in loose conditions where front end grip is important for riding hard and confident. But it will do all this at the expense of agility. You will need to put a bit more energy into the bike to move it around.