Just back from Llandegla, with a mate who rides a Ti 456. Plan was to ride the red, have lunch then go back round and ride the black bits on sussers.
First impressions of the Soul were of course on the climb up to the top. I had set out with a shock pump, meaning to tune the Rebas as I went along. Firstly the geometry. I ride with a lot of seatpost, having long legs and a short trunk, so the slackish head angle with 120s on is nicely countered by a lowish bar setup. I have low rise carbon 685s on, which I would suggest are about perfect with a 60mm stem. Even then, I was able to lift the front wheel pretty effortlessly on upslopes.
The fork was initially set at 60psi. I’m heavy at 16 stone, but like to run a really plush fork. I had it at 30% sag in the garage, but I guess the slightly more weight backwards seat position meant that was a tad too soft, and I had used all 120mm travel by the time I got to the top of the climb. I added 10psi and set off down the first short run with the berms and a couple of humps on it. I felt the fork bottom out, not too harshly, but enough to realise 70 psi was still a bit soft. I therefore added just under 10psi, and then hit that descent out on the uncovered hillside.
Wow. Just wow. That frame is just so comfortable. I hadn’t really understood the term “compliant” when it came to steel frames, but I do now. It sticks to the trail in a really reassuring way, where the Cube RFR frame was skittish and harsh. The rear end, with a nice fat 2.25 Ralph on it, is so springy it feels like it’s got a rear shock. With the 120s on plush but no longer bottoming out the front end feels utterly planted, even over some of the worst of the braking bumps (there are huge braking potholes gouged out out virtually every yard of ‘degla I noticed :()
It steers beautifully, and squashed hard into berms it rails them perfectly.
I’ve never been all that confident a rider on the Cube. It felt nervous at times, and I often struggled on whoops and tabletops, with me aiming for smooth and tight rather than playful and jumpy. Not today. That Soul frame lifts easily and smoothly, with a front end that is a joy to fire over little step-ups and so on, so once I had got used to the novel feel of the bike I started looking for speed, and ever increasingly aggressive lines. I got more air today on little kickers and small jumps than ever before, finding the bike solid on landing.
Only criticism , and this is probably as much me as the bike, is that the front end lifts on steep climbs, so I’ll have to aim for steady and smooth, rather than bootfuls of torque through the cranks.
Thanks for the recommendations guys, it’s every bit as good as you lot said it would be.
