So why does the pace never get a mention when the “what trail bike?” threads come out? Went out oj one tonight and was pretty impressed. Great traction going uphill, no bob, pretty light. My issues would be regarding the amount of bearings, cables, hoses, pivots all around the BB. Looks like plenty of clearance further back but set up with 3×9 it all looked a bit busy. Forks and shock weren’t set up for me so wasn’t getting much travel and the bars a bit narro. also wondering if the head angle might be a bit steep with 4″ fork. Anyone else have any experiences?

they snap/crack lots, don’t they?

I’ve been riding my 405 for a few years now (not constantly obviously).

It’s not cracked yet, encouraged me to ride more than I ever used to and I find it to be very different (and more XC than my Giant Trance that preceded it).

Gets used at Glentress, Afan and FOD mainly and not missed a beat.

I’m sure more experienced people might talk about steep angles and stuff – the fact is I like how it rides and have no regrets buying it; I continue to recommend it to my friends.

Some have reported the frames cracking but without seeing what proportion of the population that is, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it as I don’t think the market is flooded with failed frames…

Nice frames with a few issues 🙂 Make sure you get one with the DT Swiss shock.

I’ve just done a week in the Pyrenees on mine & it coped admirably with everything I threw at it & it got me down all the stuff the bigger bikes managed. Bearing life is good & I’ve never had any issues with cables or hoses but as the OP points out the head angle would probably be considered a bit old school now. I’ve never heard of a 405 frame cracking, that was the 303 was it not?

Pace don’t get much love on this forum.

I’ve got a 305 and really like it.

Simwit, what forks were/ are you using?

Bearing life is excellent – mine spent about three years being thrashed regularly around the Peak and only needed the bearings changed once – the caps over then are o-ring sealed and they seem to work. I went through a fair number of shock mounts over the same period of time though. Both easily user serviced btw.

The original DT Swiss shock works well too, but I blew mine up twice. It now runs a Pushed RP23 with one of the air chamber volume reducer spacer things and that’s decent too, but it really did need the spacer. I run a Pike on mine with a 2? slackset thing.

The only cable/hose issue I’ve had was with the rear brake hose which runs under the BB and over a sharp edge at the base of the swing-arm. Got smacked by a rock which cut it in half. I now have some convoluted hose around the brake line to protect it.

I think basically it’s a really good all-round trail bike. I only changed the headset out of curiosity and because I got used to Ragley steering angles and kept riding off the edge of the trail every time I changed bikes.

I’ve also had decent service and advice from Pace when I needed it, though I know Pace gets hammered on here mostly over warranty claims on their hardtail frames.

I like mine, but it doesn’t get ridden that much at the moment.

Just for balance…

I had one, loved it, it descended brilliantly and climbed better than I imagined a full susser would, but I managed to snap it clean through the seat tube. I was absolutely gutted but fingers crossed I’ll be getting a replacement soon 🙂

Mate of mine was looking at a 405 but changed his mind because pace were a bunch of cocks over an issue I had with my 305.

It’s not about their bikes, it’s more about their “head in the sand” warranty technique. While there’s so much choice out there, there’s little point in lining the pockets of people who treat their customers with such poor regard.

Second hand so warrantee not an issue.
Anyon ridden one and a dawg (2005 5″)?

Ive had one for a few years now, I love it. Not managed to snap it either.

Full 2 year warranty on frames
My 305 cracked just after and I am with Onzadog on their legendary customer service .

Not had one of the newer frames but when my RC200 cracked Pace took a couple of months to actually agree to fix it. Got it back with a bloody big ugly weld down the underneath of the downtube from the headtube. They didn’t make an effort to make it look tidy.
Not bought one since.

TimP, I’m using DT Swiss XMC130’s

I had one. Didn’t snap. Rode it all over the place and thought it was a decent trail bike. Had the DT swiss shock which I thought was fab. Ran it with Pikes at about 130. Also I tested the bearing lube kit from Pace for STW and it worked really well (a bit like the turner zerks, push new grease in, old grease is forced out). Never changed the bearings, did change the shock mount.

Sold it on and it’s still going strong.

@ TimP, funny you should ask as the replacement frame I’m riding at the mo is a Dawg, I think it’s the 2004 model though as it’s only 4″ travel (it’s actually Scott Beaumont’s old 4X race frame 8) ). It’s hard to compare to my 405 as it’s only a medium and I’m running 140mm forks and a short stem, so it rides completely differently to the 405 which I had in large. I struggle on the climbs a bit more but I think thats down to the setup rather than the frame itself.

To be fair to Pace, I sent them the 405 for inspection and they said they’d replace it under the crash replacement scheme as it was out of the 2 year full warranty but within the additional 2 year crash replacement period, they just didn’t have any larges in stock at the time, so I’ve no issues to report with their warranty procedures yet…