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Very nice, rode mine at Cwmcarn today, 60k and 2000m of climbing, did pedalhounds x3 in dh mode, the rest in xc, great bike.
ooh thats purdy....
just deciding between a spectral or strive atm.....dont know how much of a pig the strive will be for normal trail riding....
holy moly that hurts the eyes 😯
Lovely bike.
Need more spanners.
just deciding between a spectral or strive atm.....dont know how much of a pig the strive will be for normal trail riding....
Are you buying a bike for trail riding? The Strive, and any bike like it will do fine. But... You don't need 160mm of travel, it'll feel boring and bland in comparison to a trail bike.
The Spectral is very versatile, my mate rides his down the Enduro trails around the Tweed, and is pretty handy on it. Itd feel more fun at a trail centre.
A shorter travel bike would probably feel even more fun too. E.g. Whyte's T-130.
The only reason I ride a 160mm bike is for the geometry, as I ride steep stuff, and need the comfort a 65 degree head angle gives.
mainly trails tbh but i have a 130mm mega and in some places i ride it is all over the place and I could do with a bit more travel and slacker angles.......plus it could double as my mrs alps bike
trail bike would probably be the better option and the spectral looks ace but i cant help wondering if 160mm slackness would be more ace
Get a spectral and put an -2deg headset on it, i did that to a bronson and it transformed it.
The only reason I ride a 160mm bike is for the geometry, as I ride steep stuff, and need the comfort a 65 degree head angle gives.
Those of you with 650b bikes could also try swapping to a 26-inch rear wheel if further slackness is your goal.
Works for my 650b Trance, the standard bike has a 67 degree HA with 140mm forks, Giant offer it in SX guise with 160mm forks and a 66 degree HA, at this point i was stumped and considering anglesets but i saw on a yank forum about running a smaller rear wheel...drops the BB a bit and slackens out the front a bit more too, lovely...havent taken the phone-app angle thingy to it yet to see what it's given me.
Liteville have a similar ethos with their bikes although i believe theirs is based around rider size and bike size or something?
I have a strive cf race and a 29er stumpy, had the stumpy a while so when i got the strive I was impressed by how playfull it felt, 425mm chainstay compared to 455 on the 29er, also super comfy and climbs superb with the shapeshifter which really does change the bike completly making it feel super efficient, I could ride it all day.
So much more confidence inspiring on the steep stuff too.
The shapeshifter is awaiting replacement so i've lost some of the climb ability but its still ok.
Not sure how the 2016 shapeshifters will stand the test of time, but I'll buy a bikeyoke link and scrap it if it becomes a reoccurring problem, i'm willing to sacrifice some of the climb ability if I have too, the ss is really the icing on the cake.
I've owned a 130 mega275 with 160 forks on it and id say the strive climbs better in xc mode, a bit more bobby in dh mode but not a lot worse, if any, than the mega. Its a lot lighter too!
The only reason I ride a 160mm bike is for the geometry, as I ride steep stuff, and need the comfort a 65 degree head angle gives.
😆 , oh... you're being serious...in that case 🙄
[The shapeshifter is awaiting replacement so I've lost some of the climb ability but its still ok.]
I'm in the same boat.i presume you have bled the shapeshifter unit and its in permanent downhill mode.Have you had any problems with running it like that. I have a holiday booked and am a bit paranoid i havent got round to bleeding it yet and may take another bike
@mark rich, that's pretty much what i was hoping to hear....
mind made up
The only reason I ride a 160mm bike is for the geometry, as I ride steep stuff, and need the comfort a 65 degree head angle gives.
, oh... you're being serious...in that case
Don't understand your point.
A lot of people have bought sorted geometry bikes, but with more travel than they would prefer. The new breed of short travel bikes are starting to catch up and really offer a decent alternative. Whyte t130, kona process, evil following... Etc.
Given the choice of a but too much travel vs poor geometry, Id pick more travel any day.
That caveated with I still do uplift and ride DH trails as well as general steep local Tweed Enduro trails as 99% of my riding.
Back to the OP, the Strive sounds like a good compromise with the Shape shifter. But... I've seen a good amount of reports of it failing, and if you're buying it for the XC mode, then I'd be questioning the choice.
[The shapeshifter is awaiting replacement so I've lost some of the climb ability but its still ok.]I'm in the same boat.i presume you have bled the shapeshifter unit and its in permanent downhill mode.Have you had any problems with running it like that. I have a holiday booked and am a bit paranoid i havent got round to bleeding it yet and may take another bike
Mine is still working, stays in either mode but in xcmode it sinks about half towards dh mode so I'm climbing on it somewhere between the 2. I have to stop and lift back wheel up to engage xc mode also. I thought id leave it at that until replacement arrives.
I think I will buy a bike yoke link though for future, like u say when yr off on hols you don't want to faffing if it throws a wobbler the week before.
@mark rich, that's pretty much what i was hoping to hear....
mind made up
Im sure you'll like it, but as rickon says I wouldn't buy one for the shapeshifter, not sure how many fully functional strives will be knocking about in a few years, I can see the bike yoke links selling well!
Basically it just looses that extra climb/xc advantage, you still end up with a 160mm bike that climbs as good as any others out there.
Ive seen a couple of bike mag reviews where they thought canyon should make a strive without the fuss of the shapeshifter and save a bit of weight which is exactly what the bikeyoke does.
Have any strive owners out there with broken Shapeshifters done the trick recommended by canyon to lock the piston in DH mode.
Ie bleed to the system ?
Do I need to remove the SS to do this ?
Thanks
This worked for me: remove Shapeshifter, remove all air, you'll see a couple of tiny torx bolts on the back of the unit. Undo these and release any air that's got where it shouldn't be. Honestly can't remember if I pumped a bit of air back in to keep it locked, don't think I did.
OK cool. thanks.