[url=https://flic.kr/p/s2cqeH]North Wales Weekend – MTB April 2015[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr

I’m not very good at ‘it’s great at this, rubbish at that’ because any faults with a sorted bike are largely mine. If you don’t want to read the 700 words in the post below, let me summarise it thus: ‘it makes a 47 year old man wish for the morning so he can ride his mountain bike’ 🙂

For a longer version, the link below is the place to go.

There’s something in the Aeris

Fetishist 🙂

You say that like it’s a bad thing 🙂

Bikes are great.

A well written, wonderfully aspiring linky-post! Ta for sharing OP 8)

47??? 😯 I thought you were early 30’s at most! Maybe I should get one of those fountain of youth frames!

Remind me, if this now THE bike for you, so it’s better than any of the previous 50-60 you’ve had in the last 10 years or so? 😉

Glad you’re enjoying it

Looks like a great bike, and pretty reasonably priced too

@RD – close up all the signs are there.. or not as is the case in the hair department 🙂

@BR – now you’re exaggerating bruce. it/s no more than 30! I’m sure something else will catch my eye, but ten years ago we didn’t have 30lb bikes that are brilliant all rounders.

@jools – very reasonably priced (even compared to Canyon, YT, etc). And you get to talk to the people who designed it. Also very customisable builds.

Seriously considering the frameset only option on this because it comes with an X-Fusion shock to match the X-Fusion fork i have on my current frame sat here at home….OCD is a terrible thing folks.

Anybody want a barely used Giant Trance frame in 18ins with RS Monarch RT3 shock?…will swap for a Bird Aeris frame that has an X-Fusion shock or the equivalent £850 to buy my own!?

😆

Only kidding Alex.

but ten years ago we didn’t have 30lb bikes that are brilliant all rounders.

Gotta disagree, my S-Works Enduro was 30lb’s even with 36’s, but the difference for me (especially been tall and having long legs/arms) over 10 years ago is the additional length in the bikes (for a shorter stem), slacker geometry and wider bars.

Plus I haven’t got to buy XTR etc to keep the bike light.

I did look at the Bird at Christmas, but couldn’t decide whether I wanted a 29er instead.

Good to see you’re still riding loads.

Yeah that’s a fair point Bruce. I was commenting on another thread a 2007 Enduro with modern gear is virtually indistinguishable in term of real ride performance. Not as slack, not as long but still a damn good bike, Problem is the 1 1/18 head tube otherwise you could ride it for ever.

I’ll keep this and the 29er FS. I’m sure I’ll have a hankering for a HT again at some point. The aging back says ‘no’ tho.

@Deviant alexsimon has an aeris with a X-Fusion shock and he loves it. Hope that’s helping 🙂

Ended up with the Monarch+ in the end Alex.
I liked the X-fusion on the demo though.

Jave you done an objective and yechnical version of the review? 😉 That was all a bit MBR!

The slingshot cornering

I think it’s a late April fool guys…

@glasgowdan – well no really it isn’t and that’s pretty much the point, The Aeris (and I’m sure many other similar bikes) are so well designed and built with such brilliant kit, it’s hard to post a negative review. I’m sure there are riders who push way harder than me that might notice the ‘flexy rear triangle’ that BR or MBR commented on, or some other flaw.

The compromises in the design and build of a bike like that are not something I’m going to really find. I like to think of myself as ‘adequately brisk’ in the right circumstances, but at no point am I being held back by the thing I’m riding. I’m honest enough to admit that.

I’d love it to be a £1000 less and five pounds lighter but that’s clearly delusional. I’m rubbish at reviewing bikes (in fact the last two I really didn’t like at all were a GF Cake and an on-one Tinbred) because I just love riding.

If you want unbiased and technical, probably better to ask 1) someone who hasn’t paid their own money for one and b) someone who has ridden 10 similar bikes 😉