Our very own social media man, and self-confessed Keith Lemon impersonator, Andi, was one of the first 50 people to buy the Production Privee Shan No5. See how he chose to build it in his bike check.
You would never have guessed it but Andi is a bit of a Production Privee fan. Before splurging out on the flashy “Adventure Banana” (a nickname that Crayons is keen to promote for the Shan No5) he already had one of the original 26in wheeled Shan hardtails along with a DVO equipped Shan 27. Some would say he’s slightly obsessed…
So, when Production Privee announced that it planned to release an all steel full suspension bike, Andi was on it in a flash and made sure he signed up for one of the first 50 frames.
The first batch of Shan No5 frames came in a dark yellow finish with bright yellow detailing. It’s actually a much darker yellow than we’d expected and is highlighted with brighter yellow detailing around the headtube/toptube. This colour combination is based off the Singer 911, a modern homage to the classic Porsche 911.
Each Shan No5 shipped out of the Production Privee offices complete with PP’s own headset, rear axle and a Fox EVOL rear shock tuned to get the most from the 138mm of single pivot rear suspension.
A CNC alloy yoke is driven by the rear triangle to actuate the rear shock. The use of the yoke meant that Production Privee could retain a full-length seat tube and also means that any lateral flex from the rear isn’t transferred to the Kashima coating of the Fox shock.
While the Shan No5 isn’t compatible with 29in wheels, the team behind the frame did design the rear triangle with enough room for plus sized tyres. Rear mud clearance is huge with standard 27.5in wheels in situ, but even plus tyres shouldn’t have clearance issues (Andi intends to test this in the near future).
Keeping things simple, the Shan No5 has external hose and cable routing except where the stealth dropper hose enters the seat tube. Rather than using zip ties or plastic clips for securing the hoses/cables, the down tube features rather neat metal clips.
Production Priveee uses its own blend of 4130 for all of its frames, the Shan No5 uses the same Japanese MCS tubing as previous Shan hardtails and is finished in a corrosion resistant E-coating which is applied internally and externally.
There isn’t quite enough room in the main frame for a water bottle, but if you did want to fit one to the frame there is room under the downtube.
As the full steel frame is quite a weighty structure, Andi decided to build the bike up as a solid and reliable ride rather than get caught up in the weight game. As it stands the complete weight with pedals is around 35lb.
First of all, a complete Shimano XT 1×11 groupset was chosen. There is nothing wrong with good old XT, the shifting is crisp, weight is good and XT brakes boast plenty of power for all UK conditions.
180mm discs front and rear bolt to a pair of SPANK Oozy wheels with boost hubs shod with a Maxxis High Roller II tyre on the rear and Maxxis Shorty up front to deal with the UK summer slop.
While the rear suspension comes from Fox, Andi chose to go for a DVO Diamond Boost fork to keep the front wheel pointing in the right direction. The Diamond comes set up at 170mm out of the box and while Andi did have every intention to reduce the travel to around 150mm (the Shan No5 is designed for between 140-160mm forks) he’s gotten quite used to the slack front end and additional travel.
Keeping the Shan No5 heading in the (general) direction intended to travel in is the job of a Production Privee 50mm stem and a set of 800mm wide, 1in rise PP handle bars. Originally, Andi had the stem set as low as possible, but he has since lifted the stem and intends to add a higher rise bar.
Contact points come in the form of DMR Death grips, an SDG saddle mounted to a 150mm drop Rockshox Reverb, with Burgtec providing a set of purple pedals. We’ve since informed Andi that he’s rolling with the UKIP colours.
The finishing touch is the “Slap Me Hard” chainstay protector, another freebie from Production Prviee.
As mentioned above, Andi is looking at switching to a higher rise bar, but other possible changes could be a longer dropper post, perhaps the recently announced 185mm BikeYoke Revive, and he also fancies giving a DVO rear shock a spin too.
If yellow doesn’t take your fancy then Production Privee also also has a new black and gold version of the Shan No5 on sale based on the colours of the old Lotus JPS F1 team.
If you enjoy the world of steel full suspension bikes then you might enjoy our list of Top 10 Steel Full Suspension bikes here, and if you want to hear more from Andi and his Production Privee Shan No5 be sure to follow Singletrack Magazine on Facebook so you don’t miss future updates.
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id like to know how this compares to other bikes. Like the cotic rocket etc.
that thing couldn’t skulk in the shadiest alley in Gotham City!! hot as hell – well jeal