Well the consolidation with the MTB’s and the CX/Road have all converged this weekend.

No more 26″ HT and FS, just a short travel 29er FS care of crazyknowledge off here, and a [cough]Gravel[/cough] bike, for commuting, CX, Touring etc etc.

They took longer to build than envisaged and still need some tweaks, XT8000 Crank on the Smuggler and a Command 100mm dropper. Maybe a stem change on the Tripster.

Only managed a quick 1/2 hour local blast before tea, so the Jury is still out on both of them.

Smuggler felt a little clumbersome, but that’s compared to a 26″ 5 Spot on the local muddy trails, I think it needs to be shown a few Lakeland drops and a trail centre before a final decision is made.It is also a couple of pounds heavier than the 5 Spot.

Being short, I’m still sceptical about the big wheels, as the Cotic Simple I had just didn’t gel with me. But Lets see how it does over the next few months.

Smuggler

[url=https://flic.kr/p/NZPTZu]Untitled[/url] by eastham_david, on Flickr

Tripster

[url=https://flic.kr/p/NFcEhh]Untitled[/url] by eastham_david, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/AF9jmW]Untitled[/url] by eastham_david, on Flickr

[url=https://flic.kr/p/Ezysyp]Untitled[/url] by eastham_david, on Flickr