Just looked back at the spec of the RS.
Mine doesn’t have the dual-position forks and the Guides are the ‘R’ version.
Those are the only differences I can see.
Hey Alex – only just got to this post. Fantastic pictures. You’ve set the bar high now. I’ll try and get some on Cadair Idris this weekend although looking at the forecast it may be ‘green bike being rained on under foggy sky with no view’ 😉
Glad you like it. Definitely worth the wait. I’m up in the peaks sometime in the next couple of months – Bird Owners meet?
The Aeris is £8xx. Full builds start at £1550.
Someone I ride with has the unveil. Personally, I don’t think they’re anything like each other. The Aeris is all about the geometry – not many bikes are longer/lower/slacker. Perhaps no 140mm bike is.
It’s a fair cop guv, the switchback and the aeris are built in the same factory. The two bikes share the same chainstay and seat stay tubing as well as d-mount and dropout (the replaceable bit). Basically identical right? 4 parts in a bike constructed from I don’t know 60 or so means it’s at least 139% the same bike before allowing for all the things that make it entirely different 😉
Apologies, misread the pricing info on their site. Same rear end as the Unveil and front end very similar apart from the shock mount being on the down, rather than top tube. 29 / 27.5 differences accounted for, both frames appear to follow the current Evo trend of long, low and slack. Good to see indie brands getting the most out of direct manufacturer relationships. Both frames appear to be excellent value for money.
Apologies, misread the pricing info on their site. Same rear end as the Unveil and front end very similar apart from the shock mount being on the down, rather than top tube. 29 / 27.5 differences accounted for, both frames appear to follow the current Evo trend of long, low and slack. Good to see indie brands getting the most out of direct manufacturer relationships. Both frames appear to be excellent value for money.
So it’s totally the same as all specializeds, all new kona, and pretty much everything out there? I don’t think so.
You seem to miss the points about suspension dynamics, all geometry and massive wheel size differences. That like saying every hardtail is the same as every hardtail because they are twin triangle design. Also, the unveil is not long at all, check the numbers. It’s long compared to 5 year ago, short against any current company, and only low compared to Specialized and their 6ft head tubes.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s a bargain and will probably ride great (as reports say) but it’s ‘based on’ an old Kona that predates ‘modern’ geo, so not in the same vain as new Kona process platform and the Aeris.
I live in the North West – pastey skin is the norm!
‘Twas sunny today though. Great ride around some of the peak’s gnarliest downhills.
Very quick down Cavedale, the Beast, Hagg, etc
I can’t match Alex (the other one) photo skills but here’s a couple of mine on Cadair Idris. Brilliant day out, brilliant bike. Same as AS, I’m about 10% quicker on this bike than anything else I’ve had. And that was mostly comparing times on the beast where it was lashing it down on Saturday. But what I really care about is how much fun it is to ride. 6 Rides, 150km ish, 3500+M of climbing in a week and a bit.
[url=https://flic.kr/p/roHJsK]North Wales MTB – April 2015[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/sknjn9]North Wales MTB – April 2015[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr
[url=https://flic.kr/p/skxBRv]North Wales MTB – April 2015 {HPR}[/url] by Alex Leigh, on Flickr
More of that please this Spring/Summer 🙂
Looks good Alex – that poor forecast didn’t really materialise, which meant it was really quiet in The Peaks. Only 6 walkers down the whole of Cavedale at 11:00!
Blimey.. that’s good going. I’ve never managed to clean cavedale without a single dab – that top section always gets me. Next time then
I had a similar epiphany the first time I took my Pitch down Cavedale, went from dreading the steep/narrow bit after the gate to actualy wanting to go back and session it 9if the ride tothe top hadn’t been so painfull!)
I’m 17th out of 1071 for the rocky half of Cavedale according to Strava.
Beast DH 32nd/1807
Hope Brink Descent 18th/2056
Hagg Farm berms to gate 23rd/2554
Pretty pleased with those.
It was my first time down Beast with Strava on, and my Cavedale never registered before because I kept sticking to the grass for the jumps at the bottom, so I don’t know how much faster they were than previous, but took 10% off my Hagg Berms time.
Need to repeat them before I forget where I got on the wrong lines!
I forgot a couple of details about the photography.
Using the above image…
Sun was really bright. I put it behind the bike (hence the big shadow out front). Because of the angle of the bowl, that put it high left.
Then used my remote cheap flash (Yongnuo YN460-ii triggered by Yongnuo RF-603C remotes) on full blast on the opposite side. About 2m to my left. This is what’s created the nice effect on the tyres and rims. It’s also filled in the orange a tad .
For flash sync purposes, I had to have the shutter at max of 1/320, so I couldn’t open the aperture much f7.1, hence why the bowl is still in focus.
For the close-up of the headtube, I wanted to reduce the DoF, so I didn’t use the flash and shot 1/1600 at F2.8.