I picked this “Kelly Green” Sovereign (Medium) a few months ago and it’s been sat in the box ever since. It was going to be a parts bin special but as ever shiny bits have got the better of me in most cases so I’ve been bargain hunting. What was supposed to be a cheap way to get a Sovereign up and running didn’t quite turn out like that, but I’m pretty happy with the result.

I’ve not had a proper ride yet, but with the 55 stem it feels short, At first I thought too short, but after a few more “set up” spins it feels like a big BMX. 🙂

Rev RLT Ti 150s
Haven stem
Haven carbon bars
Elixir CR mags
Hoops / flows
Reverb
XT throughout bar the Chainset (SLX) and the casette (XTR)
Wellgo mags

Stop it, keep looking at these..do not need one!!

That’s exactly the build I’d go for. Very nice.

Need to chop some of those cables and hoses me thinks

Mugboo – Member
Stop it, keep looking at these..do not need one!!

What he said…. 🙂

Or maybe I do 😯

The green does look good

I want that one that’s for sale in the classiflids… 😐

Bang tidy. With a decent chain device up front, that’s pretty much a dream build.

Mugboo – Member
Or maybe I do

YOU TART

Very nice crell BTW

Cheers all. This is one of those “itches” that needed to be scratched 🙂

Bruneep, yes the front brake could do with a trim now. It was spot on when I cut and bled them but I’ve moved the brake more inboard so it’s now just a single finger pull. The downside is there’s now excess hose & I cant be bothered to do another bleed.
The other offender is the reverb which I took straight off another bike (where the hose is the perfect length). Just in case it goes back on that bike there’ll be no cutting of that one either.

Ash, It’s a VERY metallic green, and far better than I expected. It doesn’t photograph particularly well. For a frame that retails at £550 though there were a couple of swirl marks in the paint which was a bit of a surprise.

Fortunate, I was going to run a double and bash but that chainset was a bargain. I’ll try the triple and see how it goes but a bash could be on the cards.

My only gripes are that the seat tube was pretty rough / not reamed which again for a £550 frame is a bit shabby, and the cable guides are just a poor design and could be simplified.

I pinged Evil in the US a few questions when I was sorting out the build and setup. I have to say they were great. Loads of advice and really helpful.

Nice build, similar to mine. I can’t say I had the same problems as you with the seat tube and cable guides but mine arrived with no bolts for the water bottle mounts or transfer set.
It’s the go to bike in the garage as it just feels right whatever I want to do.

but now running white Lyriks as I couldn’t get on with the Fox Floats.

craigxxl how do you find the lyrics for climbing nd overall are they any benefit over 140’s?

mine is the other post on the forum.

I tried them at their standard 170 travel and they were horrible so dropped them by 20mm which gave the same a2c as the 140 Fox Floats. They’re obviously heavier but are a much more superior fork in both strength and damping. Running at 30% sag and the with the better damping it climbs as good as it did with the Fox’s fitted, only downside is the colour.

Magura Thors were on my shopping list too but went for Rockshox as I’m more confident about working on them.

Craig, I think your build is the nicest Sov I’ve seen. I’d seen some pics of it before somewhere. I’m splitting hairs on the guides. They’re not a problem, they could just be better spaced, and a reverb guide would be handy going forward on new frames but nothing a zip tie can’t fix.

I’m looking forward to getting out on it this weekend.

Ash, the good thing about Thors is the stiffness. The ride is a bit marmite. The only time I’ve had a problem with them was on the beast where they’d blow through the travel and the rebound couldn’t cope for the next hit. Otherwise they’re nice forks (if you like their linear feel – I do).

Cheers crell, I’ve only got them as the steerer on my pikes wasn’t long enough. I’ll see how they go and decide then.