Received my new frame today and got on with building it up!

It’s a Bird Aeris in XL (Bigfoot Blue). I’ve used most of the parts I already had and will be upgrading as I go.

Spec:
Bird Aeris XL
Fork: Rockshox Yari 150mm
Shock: X Fusion O2 RCX Pro
Bar: Renthal Fat Bar Carbon
Stem: Deity 35mm
Brakes: Shimano Deore M615
Wheels: Hope Tech Enduro
Tyres: Maxxis Shorty/Specialized Slaughter Grid
Seat Post: Magura Vyron Wireless Dropper
Saddle: Fabric Scoop
Drivetrain: Shimano Zee Cranks, Sram X9 rear mech/X7 Shifter,
Renthal 32T N/W.

Loads of pics of the build and a small test run round the park.

Hey that’s nice that.

How tall are you for an xl ?.

That is very nice! I do like the look of the Aeris.

Cheers guys 🙂

I’m 6’2″ 150mm dropper all the way down and 35mm stem (780mm bars). Seems a spot on fit too.

The blue is gorgeous, don’t see too many of them about, most seem to go for the yellow or orange. Not sure the purple components do anything for me though. All about how it rides though…im sure its a weapon.

Purple was supposed to go on the Orange, but there was a stock error and they had no Orange left.

I was 50/50 when deciding, so Bird decided for me 🙂

I just like shiny Purple things and have no fashion sense anyway!

Do love the colour though 🙂

That’s awesome. I’ve got one on order although I went black (ordered blue and quickly changed my mind). Yours looks fab, it’s a great colour.

Renton, I’m a bit taller than the OP (6.3) and went XL. Was perfect when I took one for a demo.

I can’t say enough good things about Bird, didn’t realise I’d want any help with the buid til I ordered one then they have been brilliant at answering my inane questions (and amending my order).

Like!

Superstu, I had the choice of Black or Blue.

I went with Blue because I’d seen loads of Black bikes with Purple stuff (no matter how nice they look!).

It was tempting though and the Black looks proper mean! 🙂

I agree with the customer service though. I had a Facebook message answered at about 10:30pm, expecting them to just answer it in the morning!

My Wife is saving up for an Extra Small frame now!

looks ace !

you must be well chuffed with that 😀

That looks so long! (got a medium here).

The black does look very, very good in person btw and would look amazing with an all black stealth build.

how is the dropper? is the remote secure on bars?

Cheers for the kind comments 🙂

I’ve only had a little test run so far, but the remote doesn’t budge. Seems very secure.

I thought it was losing air at first, but I suspect it’s my dodgy shock pump not engaging properly. Looks like I’ve sorted it now though.

There’s a bit of delay on the action, but not inconvenient. Also nice and smooth on the return.

The bike looks great and I’m very jealous. Just a quick question on the blue colour. In some photos it looks kind of flat and dull, while in others it appears more lively and bright. How does it look in the flesh, as it were ?

Very nice! Long bikes just look normal to me now!

That dropper remote looks like something off a city bike, but I’ll be interested to see how people get on with them.

thebees – Member

The bike looks great and I’m very jealous. Just a quick question on the blue colour. In some photos it looks kind of flat and dull, while in others it appears more lively and bright. How does it look in the flesh, as it were ? A friend has one. I would say it’s more on the ‘heavy-looking’ side. So is the orange to be fair. The photos above brightens it a tad (just like mine did of the orange).

Good no-nonsense spec, nice colour, bold use of purple – very good.

Enjoy.

They’re ace aren’t they!

Although yellow is obviously betterer 😉

I can’t get over how low your bars are.

Like the purple detailing.

Nice bike…..although OCD is my flaring up at the mismatched tyre brands

Very interested in how the dropper goes for you. Is the lag very noticeable? Is the remote awkward with such small buttons and gloves?

Hey all 🙂

thebees, It’s more of a Teal colour in real life. Can never capture it right in pictures.

AlexSimon, I agree it looks a little out of place, but it feels sturdier than it looks. Can’t wait to test it in a proper winter.

Cheers for the kind comments Chakaping 🙂

jruk, there was no Yellow in XL, so obviously inferior 😉

Stevet1, I kind of have no choice regarding the bars. Thought I was going to have a bit of a nightmare as the steerer was only just long enough to get the stem on!

honourablegeorge, I actually think the mismatch of tyres is subconsciously making my riding bad! 😉

The lag isn’t that noticable. I’m getting used to it at the moment still and once I’m used to the button placement, it won’t be too bad.

I’m just surprised no one’s mentioned the routing of the rear brake hose…

Hmm, looking at the pictures, it is a bit awkward…

jruk, how would you do it differently? Would it sit better coming down from the other side and across once it gets to the rear?

I like that. Not flash but a tasty build, quite personal too (I.e purple with blue!). Hope it gives you many happy rides.

I also like your to do list. ‘Sell stuff’ and ‘win lotto’. Did you manage to clear out the room upstairs?

Haha, cheers howsyourdad1. I was wondering how long it would be before someone spotted that 🙂

We did mange to clear the room, but it’s filled up again since!

Wife was messing about with it, from October 2015!

Run it along the right of the down tube in the top guide and then feed it under the shock – it’s how mine came set up. This does however run the risk of people asking if your bike was made by Biro because the D looks like an O…

[/url]IMAG2189 by jruk*, on Flickr[/img]

[/url]IMAG2190 by jruk*, on Flickr[/img]

Thanks for the pics jruk, Having looked at mine, I just need to swap the direction of the rear brake and the gear cable to give it a neater look.

I’ll do that tomorrow 🙂

Any constructive criticism is very much welcome, it’s how I learn!

Pleasure.

I’m getting a bit of heel rub on the seatstays and left chainstay but nothing some tape doesn’t solve.

Noted.

I’ll keep an eye on it and tape it up if necessary.

Don’t even hesitate – tape up drive side seat stay while you’re at it – it gets chain slapped from time to time.

Best get some tape ordered then I guess! 🙂

Sorted out the messy cables (only had white ties though). Hopefully it looks neater now?

Well, I took it out for it’s maiden voyage at Llandegla yesterday and was completely blown away.

Had a play on the skills bit to get a feel, then we set off for a full run. I have a video, but I think it’s too big to upload to Photobucket. I’ll try to upload to Youtube instead.

Once I got a feel for the bike, it felt like it was encouraging me to hit jumps, berms and tabletops faster than I’ve ever taken them before.

I had a bit of a bum-twitching moment, but the bike got me out of trouble!

Skills course booked for July now 🙂

Sorry it’s low quality, not sure how to upload it in 1080.

Quite enjoyed the video. Nice seeing it getting some use!

Thanks superstu. I’ve had that damn GoPro since Christmas 2014 and that’s the first decent footage I’ve managed to capture 🙂

Have you played around with the rear travel yet? I’ve tried both settings and 140 seems better. No idea why, it just ‘does’. Will continue to bugger around and let it get me out of trouble 🙂

Hmm, I’ve just left it on 150 at the back, not tried 140 yet. I’ll give it a go and see how it feels 🙂

Built mine up a few weeks ago, very pleased with it!