Has anyone got one of these yet?

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/pinnacle/ramin-one-2014-mountain-bike-ec055206

Looking for a geared rigid 29er that I can upgrade as I go along. Don’t have much spare cash lying around so needs to be cheap as possible. Quite like the look of these, I used to have geared Charge Cooker rigid which I loved but stupidly sold but they don’t make a rigid geared version any more which is a shame.

Any reviews of the Pinnacle or similar greatly appreciated?

Anyone at all bump 🙂

I’ve had a test ride on one, was intrigued by the rigid 29er thing. Felt pretty good and like you say- a good base for future upgrades. Other bikes are full sus so didn’t have much to compare it to. Pretty easy to organise a test ride for yourself though!

Thanks Duner, if you say it felt good it’s probably worth a little trst ride. I’ll try and organise one after Chrimbo.

You may want to check the price on the ramin tomorrow!

You may want to check the price on the ramin tomorrow!

Someone must work for Evans 😀

Email arrived late yesterday, offering all sorts of discounts. Went into website, and it’s basically the same old same old they were offering before the “sale”

Was the Ramin 1 reduced to £400 already?

I’ve got a ramin 3, though i’ve changed out the wheels/tyres and gears.

I like the geometry, it’s regularly put through its paces on jumps and technical stuff, been real strong so far, had some flat landings/cases on it that i thought would break it, still going strong. I actually find it quite nimble, does what i tell it, definitely feel helped out by the 29er wheels to feel composed.

The frame is somewhat flexy side to side, definitely feel it when im putting power down, feels a little more bogged down than i ever expected a hardtail to, though im use to super stiff frames (BMX?jump bike/bombproof hardtails) it does help to snake through the bumpy stuff though, haven’t worked if it’s a good or bad thing.

A mate has one and rates it well enough, his usual ride is a Sovereign and he’s a handy rider so I value his opinion. He paid £500 and is content, at the present £386 (topcashback) I figured it was worth a punt – XL on order!

Have you got yours through yet daveh? How is it? Struggling to find a reason why not at this price!

Certainly have. What do I think then….. It’s my first 29er so I’ll try to avoid any comments related to wheel size. Overall it’s a nice bike, has quite a nice feel to it, not super sharp but well away from flip flop slack. The frame is nicely finished, seatpost fit, paint etc more so than a few much more expensive frames i’ve had. It’s rigid, there’s no getting away from the lack of a suspension fork, but that of course was the point, something a little different, something that suits different trails. I think it’s circa 28lbs but on an initial comparison doesn’t seem any slower than my CX bike. Ride quality is good, the back end seems to have a good bit of compliance in it. I like the simplicity of the 1×9 both in use and cleaning/maintenance. It’s early days yet but I’m already considering the relevance of both my CX bike and 26er hardtail. The frame would stand upgrades in the future, with a nicer wheelset, a sprinkling of slx/xt and perhaps a carbon fork I reckon you could drop 2-3lbs off it but I’d say that’s not really the point, it’s a nice bike in its own right and at a bargain price. Need to get out there again!

Any chance of putting some real world pics up please?

I suppose the mess in my dining room is very much real world but perhaps a nice outdoor shot would be preferable :-). I can do that this afternoon.

Here we go then. Apologies for the mudguards but its filthy out there!

I know i said no 29er comments but i’ve got to say the level of grip is quite remarkable, and thats with an oem spec fast rolling xc tyre!

Dammit I wish I hadn’t asked now, that looks really nice in the real.

Whst size/how tall are you, how do you find the fit?

It’s an XL, I’m 6ft1 but am longer in the back than leg. Fits me nicely, I’d say Evans’s size guide is pretty much correct. One interesting thing, which I’d have to check to make sure I’m not making up, is the medium comes with a 27.2mm seatpost, but the XL comes with 31.6mm. Larger bike, larger bloke, bigger diameter tube. Nice touch if I haven’t made it up!

Interesting, I’m 5’11 & usually go for a medium so maybe the large could be worth a look. Will have to see if my local Evans can get one of each for a demo & find out about seat post too.

That looks a great solution to a winter MTB/riding with the kids dilemma that I didn’t know that I had 🙄

Pretty sure the different sizes have the same size seat tube – 31.6mm but they come with a shim and 27.2mm post for more comfort. last years Ramin was a 27.2mm seat tube. Daveh – does yours not have a 27.2mm post?

Stayhigh – my mate is 5.10 and bought a medium, he likes it (chuckable) but says it’s only just big enough really. Large for 5.11 sounds about right.

Duner – that explains it then, seattube is for a 31.6 post, medium (and I guess small and maybe large) get a shim and a 27.2 post, the xl gets a straight 31.6 post.

Heres a pic of a 2013 Ramin I built from a frame for my nephew for Christmas. He loves it. 27.2mm seatpost, but believe the 2014 frames are 31.6

I’ve been considering one of these for quite a while now. It seems a winner at this price point.

How do you find the components? I know they are “lower end”, but as it is a simple 1×9 set-up I was wondering if the transmission really feels lower end or if it isn’t an issue. What about the brakes, I’ve also heard relatively decent reviews about them but wonder what they are like on this bike.

I am in a toss up between this bike and a Genesis High latitude 1×9 which I have the offer to buy for a similar price. Fork aside, they seem similarly specced and I feel like I’m swaying towards the Pinnacle on looks alone.

Seems like a great bargain! I’d love to hear from more riders.

alanofm, I’m biased as I work for pinnacle but the current lower-end Shimano brakes and 9-speed kit is all suprisingly good. It also means upgrades from any older deore-XT level spares you have or parts off bikes that may be going 10-spd have a natural home on an ideal winter bike.

The Nottingham store had one in large last week, looked and felt really good for the money. The large felt ok for my 5’9″ and a bit height, but the medium would have more seatpost showing. Sadly my efforts to convince the fun police that a cheap simple winter bike would be a good investment are failing…..

The low end shimano stuff is fine, I run slx and xt on my other bikes and I don’t feel like I’m slumming it! Sure when you look at them they’re not as nicely finished and they may not last as long but functionally there doesn’t seem much in it. One thing perhaps is the non-shimano cassette, at certain points it seems to take a bit longer to ‘pick up’, but no biggy.

Just got one!

I’m living in Germany at the moment so I had it shipped here and put together by my LBS. The bike is superb. It is quick, comfortable, surprisingly light and well built.

Shifting and brakes are also working without a hitch. I’m surprised there’s so little about this bike online, I thought there would be much more interest.

I still have to hit the trails and get it muddy, but it’s been great for flying around the city. I’m very impressed so far!

I’ll update after my first long trail ride.

cheers!

It’s not exotic enough to generate interest. 😉

I think you might be right daveh, shame though.

I took it for a spin last weekend and was really impressed with how it handled. Shifting was was smooth, brakes worked well and silently and the ride was really fun.

As this is my first 29er, I am compelled to comment on how little I missed a front suspension fork. I was only out for 2 hours – and perhaps that’s not long enough to judge – but riding rigid was really comfortable for me. I am also sold on the ease of the 1×9 system, I am coming from a 2×10 system which I thought was the way forward, but only having to worry about one shifter is strangely liberating.

I’m just gutted I have to wait until next weekend to take it out again.

^
😀
‘someone gets it’
Low cost bike is fun + worthwhile bike. Happy here.

60mm stem on mine now to make it more lively and a different shaped bar (i found the std one a bit of an odd shape). Proper trail ripper now, but perhaps less xc capable!

So the 2013 frame @ £149 bargain or not thinking of building up 1 x 10 with carbon forks. Hmmm what to do?

I’m not sure how much the 2013 and 2014 frames differ, but the 2014 model is quite nicely finished and gives a pretty smooth ride for aluminium.

I’d agree with that :-), good price certainly.

Just gone for a Ramin 4 under the cycle scheme deal. Can’t wait to use it. Will get used on mainly gravelly dry singletrack overseas 🙂

Went Into Evans tonight, the frame looks good quite tidy.

Yeah, they’re good frames at a good price and well deserving of some future upgrades.

I had mine out for between 4 and 5 hours on some extremely muddy singletrack with plenty of roots, rocks, sand and general trail debris looking to see if I could find anything that was crying out for an upgrade (I have birthday money to burn). Despite the bike being thick with mud and taking the odd knock here and there, there was nothing on there that I thought needed immediate replacing.

The tyres are good enough and fast rolling enough to last me until summer at which point I may go for something lighter, the brakes have been solid and silent (even when covered in mud) and have caused me far less problems than the Elixir 5’s on my last bike did. Despite wanting to upgrade to XT, the Altus gear is doing a surprisingly good job, and I would feel guilty ripping it off the bike just for the sake of it, so I think I will wait until it’s worn out before replacing it. Heck, even the saddle was comfy enough for me.

The frame is definitely a highlight though, the geometry is spot on for me and my riding style.

I don’t suppose anyone knows which hanger the Ramin frame uses? I’d like to get something a little less ductile from Betd.

It’ll be for the orange framed beauty posted earlier.

Rob, it’s a very common design so that spares are easy to get. I don’t know the BETD code (only the Pinnacle supplier code) but I’d be suprised if they or Wheels Mfg don’t have one. I can mail you a rough pdf of the hanger cut from an autocad file if needed.

Thanks for your input!

After hanger removal for comparison it looks like it’s BETD hanger no. 38 (Second entry on this page). Could I get a second opinion? Because it does look very similar to hanger 271.