So.. z1ppy requested a build / review thread on my new bike – here’s part 1..
I am in the very lucky position to have a wife who works in the bike industry, and to know some people at a certain halifax based fruit company.. so some begging and some very favourable deals made means that I get a new bike to build 😉
It is:
Large Orange Segment with the standard monarch RL (cue filing cabinet jokes..)
Plus their carbon freeride pack of the 35x800mm RaceFace sixc bars, 35mm atlas stem, renthal lock ons and the orange branded SDG Falcon ti saddle.
Hope headset + QR
Then the big SRAM delivery turned up with a full X1 Groupset, 185mm XO Trail brakes, Reverb, and Revelation Dual Position Airs. The box also contained some unexpected bonus items: a truvativ stem and 750mm Jerome Clementz carbon bars.. Will be good to be able to try these vs the fat raceface combo.
I had ordered Pikes, but they were out of stock.. but being as SRAM are very nice people, they’re loaning me the Revelation for a couple of months. Like I said above, I am very lucky. And now I get the chance to try the bike out with a longer than recommended fork for a bit. Will be interesting to see if I ride it mostly in the short travel position or not.
SRAM roam 50 wheelset is also on backorder, so I will have to ‘make do’ with a set of Easton XC70s from my other bike. And a set of Racing Ralph tyres are going on for the XC oriented riding around here (Dijon, France). Hopefully the Pikes and Roam wheelset and some more suitably chunky tyres will arrive in time for a trip to Molini / Sospel in October (doubtful) or our bikepacking adventure to Morocco in November (fingers crossed)..
Looking forward to building it tomorrow and riding it on Sunday if all goes to plan. Will post updates here!
Bon Weekend.
p.s. the eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed more than one set of forks in the pic (in fact, there’s two of everything in these boxes) they’ll be for the missus for her new Lapierre Zesty AM due to land in January..