Well as I’ve received my new frame, built it up and had a small test ride round the chase I thought I’d throw a few pics up on here…

So here goes, 16″ Matt raw 456 evo2 running with 150mm at the front. Set up straight into alps mode ( headed out to morzine on Sunday for a week and then onto a week with the white room chalet-cant wait!!!) with 2.5″ dual ply Wicked Wills front and rear…. The wicked wills are one of the main reasons for the frame as the mud clearance on this is slightly better than a standard 456 which this has replaced, the other is the dropper post compatibility….

At the moment I can’t really comment on how it rides, as I was hanging a little from last night so mainly went out for a Pootle to make sure it was going to fall apart…. But it is defiantly noticeably lighter than the standard 456….

I’ve also had to put some more air in the front tyre now it’s running tubeless ( a right pain to get sorted with this tyre/rim combo) it turns out at 10psi I kept on burping so the fronts now at 11.5psi and the rears at 10.5psi…. ( as you might guess I’m not heavy in the slightest, just tipping the scales at 58kg) will I run into problems running the tyres at half the recommended pressures in the alps ( written on the sidewall) as they have now down Antur stiniog, llandegla and Cannock several times at this pressure….
I cannot recommend dual ply tyres for UK trail centre use as they sap all your speed if your not pointing down hill…

Nice bike.
I have the first Evo that takes a 27.2mm seat post, was looking at the Evo-2 but going to wait a while and see how the 650b thing goes before I change bikes again.

Never had an issue with finding dropper posts for it, Gravity Dropper do the original and best in my opinion and eBay is awash with far eastern clones for sub £100.

I also have reservations about large diameter seat tubes on hardtails, doesn’t it make the ride harsh?

Anyway nice bike, I also have the matte raw finish and it’s stunning. Mine is currently on downhill duties too, for a hardtail it is both mental and confidence inspiring downhill at the same time!

Like that. A lot. Any idea of the actual weight of the frame?

The natural finish looks way better in your pics than on the site. How does the geometry feel compared to the original 456? I’ve got a mk1 Ti456 that I’m more than happy with, but loved the steel ones I’ve also had in the past too.

I can vouch that the finish looks a lot better in the flesh than in any photos! Nice bike.

I know I can get a gravity dropper, but I think i want a reverb really…

Frame weight… I forgot to weight it before I built it up….and it’s not getting stripped back down anytime soon…I don’t really worry about the weight of frame/parts too much, as long as I still ride It and have fun I don’t mind, and I’ve also got an excuse for not being the fastest… But my old standard 456 in alps mode weighed in at a whopping 32.4lbs…

I was expecting to notice the different frame a little more than I did, it’s very similar but a little more refined, more stable at speed, but was also climbing better than i was as expecting… Was more than happy on the original 456, it’s mainly the mud Clarence with 2.5″ tyres on and the dropper post, and as ever just wanting a new frame… I want a 456ti but can’t justify the price at the moment….