Anyone ridden one yet? Casually considering a ‘modern hardtail’ purchase now that my newest mtb is almost 10 years old! Had my eye on the 2017 905 which seemed highly regarded but now the 2018 is available. Like the idea of plus compatibility, but would the 35mm rims and bb height still be ok with less porky 2.4 ish tyres?

I test rode one at the weekend. Currently ride a 2011 Trek Paragon and even though I’ve been MTBing 30yrs I’m still very much a road cyclist, scared of the gnar.

The 905 gave me a MASSIVE confidence boost (no pun intended) – aiming for ruts and roots to check out the handling.

The slack head angle felt awful on the 1/2 mile road ride to the trails, but once off road felt fine. At £1700 its outside my price range so have just plunked down cash on a Specialized Fuse, so enamoured was I of the plus size tyres (although 3″ may be too much and I may downshift to 2.6 / 2.8)

I didn’t get any pedal strikes – 35mm rims should be OK for 2.4″ based on what I’ve read.

BTW test rode a medium at Quest Adventure in Worthing…. I’m 6′ and a large would be ideal size for me.

I have one, picked it up last Thursday…..

…..but I haven’t ridden it yet. It’s looking good in the garage though.

Enjoy bearGrease – was amazing fun.

BTW AFAIK it has 170mm cranks so clearance should be fine.

Trek Roscoe 9 looks good for the money.

Thanks all. I guess I need to demo. Think my LBS has a M but I’d be needing a L. Interested in your thoughts after your first ride beargrease.
And that Trek does look good for the money,

Think they look great. Would get one if I needed a hardtail.

IRVB – Fuse and 905 are quite different. Fuse is cheap but much shorter geometry / not as slack and less trail orientated.

Mrs slowbloke picked up a 909 on Monday. Hers is a small and as I’m 6’4″ I’ve only had a little play but it’s like a big BMX although I suspect that has more to do with the size than anything.

I popped into my lbs to check on progress of my bike which is in for service and a few repairs.
While i was waiting, i was looking at the shiny new 905 by the counter, i must say, it is a very nice looking bike.
Spent most of last night reading reviews, which all seem pretty positive.
I am going to pop in again this morning for a proper look and see if i can have a quick spin.

I’ve got a 2017 905 and its wonderful, covered 2700 miles on the thing so far and beyond a few annoying quirks with the SRAM drivetrain its great. I run 2.5’s on it currently and they seem spot on, but have yet to try it on 2.8’s. Hubs are fragile, but its the winter gunk that killed them twice over.

Colour for 2018 is bang on, was vaguely tempted to swap myself but then stopped being silly. Saw one in the wild on Monday while riding locally and I was a bit jealous. LOL.

I’d say go for it.

PS, I do plenty of road stints on mine to link trails together and its fine. Zips along fast enough even on 2.5 Minions lol