So I got my 145 yesterday and managed to get out on it tonight for the first time. Slightly damp slippery conditions but still loved it. Way over biked for the man made trails at Ashton Court and Leigh Woods but the bike pedals well so it didn’t feel that way.

Over the drops in AC the bike feels so smooth – and really quiet. Also committed to having a go at the (admittedly not very big) jumps in Leigh Woods and was clearing all 3. Not had the confidence to really go at them before.

Can’t wait to ride it on more exciting trails – BPW uplift day is on the cards later in the year!

Obligatory pictures:

The bike was ready 2 days early and the guys at Bird were really helpful. Had a good demo at Swinley and they fielded a number of calls about specifications, it’s probably one of the cheapest spec 145’s possible but all the way through they were great. Even made a few spec changes after the initial order.

That’s very nice, and just look at that weather!
Where do you live…..Spain?

Nice.
There would be a pool in the picture if he lived in Spain!

Bristol! That was first thing before work today – if I’d have taken the picture any other day this week it would have been torrential rain.

Ahhhh, penny’s just dropped: I know who you are now Joebristol!

Ok so people need to stop with these aeris posts, making me seriously consider selling my pitch and getting a one20! Bike looks great though, any hints on spec?

Alpha – from the group riding on Wednesday nights or somewhere else?

Spec is:

Yari RC 160mm
Sram GX 1×11
Sram Guide R brakes
DT Swiss E1900 wheels
Brand X Ascend dropper

Hi,

It looks great!

I have just ordered a frame after a demo and am debating build spec’s similar to yours!

One question, any reason you went 160 not 150 on the fork and did you choose boost?

I just thought I’d have the most travel possible for the money – nothing more complicated than that. I went non-boost as I was trying to keep the budget down and only upgrading on things I throught I’d notice. I never felt my old wheels / fork were flexy (Revelations with Mavic x319 rims) so figured Yaris with better / wider rims would be all the improvement I needed.

Same with the damping in the Yari – I wanted a pike but decided to go with a Yari and see how it feels. If not good enough then you can get a variety of better dampers to go in it – effectively making it a Lyrik.

Fork felt good off the drops etc last night, but they haven’t had a proper test on anything challenging yet.

If you go with a whole build from Bird it’s worth having true chain guide for the money, and I’ve had Guide brakes before so wanted to get those instead of the lower brakes. I did get the biggest rotors while I was speccing it just to be sure.

Ben suggested even if I couldn’t justify the piggy back shock it was worth upgrading from the bottom one to the middle option for more adjustments etc. Without the piggy back you can also run a water bottle which I liked. Simple things.

Ahhhh, penny’s just dropped: I know who you are now Joebristol!

It’s easier to work out who Joebristol is than Alpha1653. Though you don’t look that old 😉

With a piggyback shock on a large you can fit a water bottle just. I had to drill my cage to move it down but have since ordered one of these to move it http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-ba01-di2-battery-mount-adaptor/rp-prod34650

This should arrive today so I will let you know how I get on.

Fair enough – I’ve got a ML and a 500ml water bottle fits, but the 750ml Hi5 bottle I have doesn’t fit. My last bike had a cage but the bottle hit the shock so it was nice to actually have a water bottle in he bike last night. Saves messing with a hydration pack for short rides.

Took the 145 round Cwmcarn early yesterday morning. Did Cafell then branched off down Pedal hounds.

Think the bike is a little heavier than my Boardman Pro FS I had before, but not sure how much the Aeris weighs yet. I’m glad I specced the 30t front chainring to go with the 10-42 cassette – used it a couple of times.

Technically it’s great climbing though – doesn’t bob much so I didn’t even use the pro pedal setting – just left the shock open. Also on the right uphill hair pins it was much better than my old bike – the front wheel stayed firmly on the ground up steep inclines – a revelation compared to the old bike. I’m unfit but still got a load of PR’s going uphill (Strava).

Downhill is fantastic – took so much time out of all my downhill PR’s and had so much fun. So far I can’t recommend the bike too much!

Makes much more sense round CC then it does round Ashton Court / Leigh Woods in Bristol.

I have a large 145 with a piggyback shock, and couldn’t fit a bottle in, so ordered this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151125545013?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Bottle cage adaptor which moves the cage enough to fit a 500ml bottle easily, and just about fits a 750ml but it rests against the shock so i think i’ll stick with the 500 to save scratching the shock. With a side loading cage or perhaps a 600ml bottle you could probably get away with it, and that adaptor is pretty decent.

Apart from the bottle cage bolts the bike is absolutely flawless! Added bonus I discovered for extra Enduro points is that there is a hole in the frame above the BB, and from the non driveside I can fit a Topeak Mini 9 multitool absolutely perfectly in it, and as the tool comes in a neoprene case there is no movement and it is very secure! Happy coincidence and a cool detail if (like me) you don’t like carrying things on your person!

Mark, I am indeed younger than my name suggests…approximately 329 years! And Joe, yes I know you from Wednesday: Alex/ red Santa Cruz 🙂

I wouldn’t have said that much younger 😉

Oooof, easy Mark, you’re not known as ‘grandad’ for nothing! 😉

I’ve been called worse 😉

Ah Alex – no way I’d have guessed that from the name. Surprised you have time to post between running up volcanoes!

Xc Joe – I hadn’t noticed that hole and really had to look for it. Not sure it would have occurred to put a multi tool in it!

Very glad you are enjoying it. Looks smart too!