Bought one of these this week. Built it up last night and took it for its first ride on exmoor today (Dunster to Dunkery Beacon).

Short review for those interested!!

frame
arrived nicely packed in a nice solid box. I got the orange and gloss black one and the finish is really nice. No blemishes etc. nice inserts in the headtube make easy headset installation. The cable routing is good but it could do with an extra stop on the dropper I think (it only has two but three would be better).

Came with clips on all the cable stops which was nice.

It’s pretty light too but doesn’t “feel” flimsy. Far from it actually, so pretty pleased on first impressions. I got a few minor cable rubs from the first ride so the gloss finish needs protecting if you want it to keep looking good.

the build
for those interested the build is…
150mm revs
Crests on hope pro 2
Purgatory front and ignitor rear
Xt drivetrain and brakes but with xtr cranks
2×10 set up
Reverb
50mm stem (nick I still owe you!) and wiser bars

I reckon it must weight about 26-27 lbs? Not super light but not super heavy either. I’m more of a pootller hence the lighter build end of the spectrum.

There is masses of standover and mud room. I reckon it would take a 650b in the rear but maybe only a 2.2 as the chainstay bend in quite early. I don’t have a 650b wheel but would be interested to give it a go.

I use a water bottle and you can just squeeze a 750ml bottle in. All built up really easily with no problems at all.

So on to the ride….

climbing
First stretch out of Dunster is some steep woodland climbs. First impressions are the frame is very stiff and positively sprints up hills. It grinded up the next mile and a half easily. Mine is a 16″ and I’m 5ft 7 and the climbing position was really good. It’s pretty light too which makes climbing a tad easier.

The climb up Dunkery Beacon is long and rocky with some pretty big loose rocks all the way. Dropped it into a low gear and grinded up easily. Never had any pedals strikes which was odd as the bottom bracket “feels” high with 150mm forks and you sort of sit part way between in the bike and on it if that makes sense so was expecting some strikes.

It skipped up some risk steps easily and never span out. I used to have a dialled alpine which climbed like a mountain goat. This is good but not quite as good as the alpine. When it gets really steep the front becomes pretty wandery and took some getting used to. I got used to it by the end of the ride but I think it might be best at about 140mm forks (ie right in the middle of the 456).

descending
Well this was an interesting one.

The first descent was a long, narrow, rocky chute. I damn near had my teeth knocked out. The back end felt so so stiff every bump went right through the frame. I held on and longed for the end to recover.

I really wasn’t impressed. It felt skittish and harsh. I dropped the tyre pressure a bit and then came the long climb up to dunkery beacon. After a quick photo stop and snack I set off back before getting eaten alive by the insects.

The return is a long rocky open descent. With lower tyres pressure the thing absolutely flew. The faster I went the more comfy it became. It’s got a long wheelbase and is very very stable at speed giving lots of confidence. It really was like night and day compared to the first downhill. The back end is stiff and can “spike” and I found it rode best when sort of skirting over all the loose rocks.

As the trail smoothed out to soil it really flew. I think it will be brilliant in long woodsy descents.

By the end of the descent I had a big happy new bike smile. I will probably put a clutch mech on it as it can get a tad noisy on the downs and it will finish it off nicely.

summary
I had one of the original carbon 456 frames and this is a league above that. I still have to get used to it but it’s well thought out. I don’t think it’s quite as good climber as the dialled alpine I had before but first impressions of descending are good. The alpine was brilliant but a bit too much bike for me. I’ve built the carbon 456 evo as an all round lightish hardtail and it seems well suited to that. It would be interesting to see how it performs with less of a pootler on board. It’s plenty stiff so I think big tyres and low pressures are important to get the best put of it. It skips along nicely and seems to like being ridden fast. I also think it might be best with 140mm forks on it. Obviously it’s a new bike so I’m bound to like it, but I think they done a good job on this update.

So there you go. New bikes are great aren’t they?!

pichers

Nice review Rob, enjoyed reading that. Could do with a few pictures (or ‘pichers’) though pal!

Yeah, I’ve got some but I’m not on any photo site. I know, I know.

Imagine a lovely sunny day with dry trails and blue skies!

I have one too, been riding it for about a month. Built it out of my old Hustler as that wasn’t getting used (got a carbon Ghost AMR for full suss duties). Above comments about being stiff are spot on, had to adapt my riding style and get out of the saddle more – full suss makes you a bit lazy?
Now I’m used to it it’s great fun, really loves twisty singletrack and feels bombproof. All in all dead happy with it 🙂