Has anyone on here got one or ridden one? About to sort out a demo on a Segment and a Tallboy, but really keen on the Pyga so interested to hear owners opinions. Of course this being stw, I also expect to be told not to buy any of the above and to get something else entirely!

Get a Evil Following or Banshee Phantom 😳
Pyga & Tallboy looked to XC geo wise, to even bother with myself, the Evil/Banshee seemed more ‘akin’ to the Segment which I loved but thought too unsubtle/agricultural (in a good way). Though it all depend what you want out of the bike.

Just living up to your expectations

PS: The Pyga and SC are reportedly great bikes, if a more XC ‘ride’ is your bag. There’s a STW reviews on the Pyga alongside the Segment and Process

Looking to go back to just one bike so a more xc ride is probably the direction to go. Have read the stw tests, but always good to get real world feedback and demo rides. Just need to find a Pyga dealer, will phone distributers in the morning.

Also consider the Salsa Horsethief. I built a 2014 frame up (120mm travel), it’s a good all-rounder.

Andy – where are you based? My LBS Drover Cycles is a Pyga dealer. They’re well placed for sorting a demo ride at FOD, Bike Park Wales, Hopton, Brechfa etc.

They’re doing £350 off the 2014 frameset at the moment.

http://www.drovercycles.co.uk/pyga-framesets-save-350/

I do love Internet reviews from people who have never ridden them 😉 I have ridden about 4000km on mine in 20 months. All over the UK Including black mountains, North wales, Malvern’s, FoD, quantocks, etc and in Spain. It’s a brilliant trail bike. At no point have I thought “oh that head angle is a bit too steep” or “this geometry is a but xc”, I’ve just enjoyed riding it!

Climbs well, hardly ever use the pro pedal, descends great, fun and carve-y in Singletrack. Rode w2 yesterday and the PYGA just gets on with letting you have as much fun as possible.

Changed bearings once. Run 130mm fork and that feels perfect. It’s a stiff frame and I can’t feel any flex.

Drover are good guys. If you get the chance, defo demo one. Bikes are more than numbers. If you want more info, email in my profile.

Not directly ridden the OneTen 29, but if my OneTwenty 650b is anything to go by, it too rides superbly, competently and as Alex says, it just lets you have as much fun as you want. It feels at home whether it’s UK XC or French Alps with a good turn of speed and stability.

I think I got one of the first 120’s in the UK in April 13 to replace my then 13year old and much loved and travelled SC Superlight. IMHO, the pyga is better on all the counts that are important to me. Nice colour too.

..and I love owners who see no wrong with ‘their’ bike, we’ve all opinions & in my case I like the 68 degree of my hard tail (& the segment) so wasn’t going to go for something steeper. Horses for course, though it does sound more likely candidate for Andy’s needs 😛

Oh there are things “wrong” with every bike. Always a compromise. But those compromises don’t limit how much fun you can have on a bike if you use it for a bit of everything. I’m faster on my pyga than when I had a Cotic rocket. No reflection on the rocket at all, I just couldnt do it justice.

So my point is try as many as you can. Because in my experience you’ll find one that suits you and you’ll put up with any “compromises”. And i think that’s more complex than numbers.

Anyway Ahdy all great bikes, nice choice to have!

Excuse the slight hijack, but how easy was the bearing change Akex?

Also, do you have the option to change the head angle with an angleset if that’s your thing, or do the headset bearing drop straight into the frame?

Hey z1ppy, clearly We’re not all as gnarr as you! 😉

What about;
Unveil 9
for £629

Bearing change was mixed. Everything but the main pivot was easy. It’s pretty well thought out. Main pivot was a pain. Top hats had bonded to the pivot “axle” – kind of hard to explain but it took a long time and some lateral thinking to get them out. Would be easier next time! Shock hardware is a pain as well as its asymmetric. Drover sorted me out, but it’s all non standard.

Think top bearing goes straight into frame. Not sure without looking. Never touched it in 18 months. Can run up to a 140mm fork to slacken it off although I know that’s not the same thing. Can check for you tomorrow.

Mate has one of those dickie linked to. He loves it. A lot of bike for the cash.

Thanks Alex. I like the look of these frames (especially as the price has come down a bit), but being a bit of an Orange fan I’m a bit nervous of all those bearings 🙂 Dare say I’d work it out but bearings that can be changed with an allen key and a hammer are a better match for my mechanical skills.

Geometry is interesting. It looks steep compared with, say, the Segment, but the reach is actually a touch longer. Personally, I like the idea of having that big wheel a long way out in front (for confidence), but I’m not really sure what a slack head angle does, beyond slowing down the steering. So, I’ll be interested to hear how the OP gets on with their tests.

I wouldn’t get too worried about it. The bearings seem to last pretty well. It was after that wet winter we had and I rode it a lot in weather for ducks! I think we changed the two NDS swingarm bearings (there are two on the NDS, one on the DS) and the main pivots. Rest were okay. Might have been unlucky with the main pivot bearings. Will have another look at them once it’s done 2000kms on the replacements!

I have a 26in Nukeproof Mega which is A LOT slacker. It feels different for sure and it must be more stable at speed (maybe not the speeds I’m going at!), but the Pyga never feels steep. I was always told slacker = more stable but there’s more to it than that.

I like bikes that are long (in the TT) and low. Suits my short legs/long back and arms. I never demo’d one as there weren’t many in the country. Guess I got lucky that I absolutely love it. Some of that is riding it once or twice a week for 18+ months. Some of it is because it’s a sorted trail bike. I guess it’s different for everyone!

As above, if anyone would like to demo one we can set up something for you at any of the nearby trail centres, or come here for some excellent natural trails!

If you can’t get to mid/south Wales then give us a shout anyway as we may be able to get a bike boxed up and couriered to you to try out.

Thanks to Alex being the guinea pig we now have bearing kits more readily available!

I am a bit far from Drover Cycles up here in Yorkshire, however it makes a good excuse for a weekend away!

If you can’t get to mid/south Wales then give us a shout anyway as we may be able to get a bike boxed up and couriered to you to try out.

YGM 🙂

@Andy – if you do come down, always happy to show you round the FoD…. although Drover have some fab trails on their doorstep.

@drover – there’s a kit now? Awesome 🙂 I’ll pop in and get one.

Like Alex, nice to see all the reviews from people who haven’t ridden one.
Bought my OneTen back in early 2013.
Good stuff – rides well for a relatively short travel bike, ability to take 120 – 140mm fork (I’m running a 140mm Pike on mine), stiff, nicely finished, really good customer support from Pyga / R.53, quicker on Pyga than I am on 160mm x 26″ big bike.
Not so good stuff – complete new set of bearings after 1500km, first batch of frames came with some misalinged chain stays (replaced very quickly by Pyga / R.53 – can’t fault the customer service), I find it quite a long reach to flick the “propedal” on / off, need to be careful with some of the ali pivot hardware.
Other stuff – you can’t fit an angle set or offset bushings. For me, I would really like the ability to slacken out the OneTen and make it a bit lower, 29er geometry really seems to be evolving at the moment and for me and what I ride these days I would prefer something slacker / lower. For standard XC / Trails centres the Pyga is a great bike.
If I was looking at buying something in the same ball park these days I would be looking at –
> Transition Smuggler (sensible choice)
> Evil The Following (not sensible choice)
> Canfield Riot (when it arrives)
If you are after something bigger –
> Alpine Five
> Spesh Enduro
> Intense Carbine