Well, nothing is ever as cheap as we plan when building a new bike up. I was gonna swap bars n stem from one frame to the other and then decided I must have 35mm clamp, saw a bargain set of RaceFace bars and then I’ve had to buy a stem too - I validated this by telling myself the coloured bars on the old frame won’t match the Orange Scandal frame.
Oh and the green composite pedals will probably need to be black and the new Peaty Tubeless Valves would be ideal at £25 rather than use the old ones which are fine but probably gunky 😂
Couple of threads on oval chainrings and I’m now wondering if the 32t oval I’m about to swap onto the Scandal build will fit? Anyone got one and done this?
I'm running 32t normal ring. Apparently 34t oval works
Mine had the ally showing about the size of a match head. Kept quiet about the frames until I had a delivery note...
Thanks Plus-one. Sounds like I’ll be more then fine with a 32t oval then. That’s £40 saved.
32t oval on mine, on a 4 bolt deore crank. Plenty of clearance.
Cheers Snotrag
Anyone else measured up the fork travel?
Mine's measured at and giving 140mm.
Only noticed as I have a spare set of X-Fusion McQueen's and thought I'd measure up as they're 140mm and I wondered about their suitability as they weigh loads less (1.95kg rather then 2.35kg) and when I looked at the A-C they measured the same. Then I measured the travel...
I haven't opened them up to check the air shaft though.
On what fork? RockShox 35?
Anyone know what the correct rear axle is? Big Dog one doesn't thread in.
Ok done my research, know why, just have to find one....
On what fork? RockShox 35?
Sorry, yes. The one that came on the full bike (shown as 130mm).
Sorry. Never worked out how to quote after all these years.
But. 140mm doesn’t seem to steep a leap so if it’s weight saving you’re after and it all fits then I’m sure you’ll get away with it. Though I’m equally sure someone will be along to say it throws the geo out too much 😉
I'd be more concerned that the frame has been tested to 140
I’d be more concerned that the frame has been tested to 140
They delivered it with 140mm travel forks, so it's 'implied' - and I'm only 80kg.
For those like @Snotrag that have a 32t chainring, oval or not, did you use any drive-side spacers on the bottom bracket? I’ve got one spacer in there and wonder if that’ll cause chain line issues?
Ta.
Going with one spacer drive side and see how I get on.
Mine arrived yesterday, got it at the £999 offer and also got the 10% off thanks to @damascus - cheers!
First impressions are that the saddle is terrible, and the gear indexing is a mile out, and the brakes are pretty feeble, hopefully they bed in.
Looks lovely though!
Mine arrived earlier, built up this evening.
One of the the stem front bolt threads stripped at about 3Nm 😔; thankfully I had an old Thompson X4 stem which went straight on, the bolts from the On-One stem were nicer than the 2.5mm Thompson ones, so I've used those 😎
Otherwise, its looking great in black. Tubeless conversion tomorrow morning and a tyre swap; I'll put a dropper on next month.
Think it's going to be a fab bike; fits well. I'm 176cm and I bought a Medium. I wouldn't want a large.
Can't wait to ride it!
What dropper are you going for Mikertroid? I have BrandX on the other bike after years of annoyingly faulty Reverbs but was thinking I may try something different as I couldn’t see any BrandX deals.
@P76
Probs a B-x again. I've got an old 125mm one I'm going to put in to check how much more room I have and see if a 150mm will go in.
In the meantime, I'll whack on a QR collar from my spares box.
@liam99 definitely swap that saddle out! The brakes are excellent when bedded in, I’ve used mine on some pretty long downhill tracks with no issues (I’m 72 kg). Luck of the draw with indexing, mine was perfect.
I am really getting on with the Scandal now. Yesterday, I managed some very steep climbs that have always been near impossible before and jumping / drop offs are feeling a lot smoother than they did initially; all very relaxed and comfortable. My WTB tyres suit this time of year perfectly too, never a drama with grip. 🙂
The scandal is currently in offer at £999. Not quite as good as last time but not bad considering the covid tax and its in stock!
So I thought I would give an opinion on my Scandal, I have rode it about 6 times now and very impressed with how it handles steep gnarly going and fills me with confidence but also pedals well on the landrover type tracks and seems a quality bike. Compared to my previous hardtail a Boardman MHT8.9 it is slower up the hills but faster down as the slack front end and quality fork seems so good so I am happy with it, had to make to changes straight away the supplied tyres are purely summer only and lethal on roots and the saddle is a torture device. I am 5ft 11 and after all the conflicting advice from people on this forum and On one staff and Guy Kesteven I went with the large frame which I like as its very stable on the steep descents and I dont feel like I'm going to be sent over the bars at any time like I was on the Boardman I also fitted a Brand X 150mm dropper post as the bike is very capable for gnarly tracks. I would definetly recommend this bike especially if you can get it for discount like I did for £999, just one complaint the delivery was on time but I would have liked to be contacted the day before to check someone was going to be about (luckily my wife was) but it could have been a wasted trip for the courier
I’ve built mine, swapped to tubeless, added a DyedBro kit, and cassette spacing aside, was fairly smooth sailing. Fork setup and Dropper post aside, cos the BrandX I prefer is bound to go on sale soon, its ready to roll.
I’ve only done a ride round the block as I’ve been out of action for two weeks (non Covid), so not got it trailside yet, and the size feels pretty good - large frame and I’m 5.11 with ape arms. Perhaps borderline but feels good. Been a long time since I last built up a new hardtail (c456 8 yrs ago - in classifieds) and it feels good.
I'll see my son over christmas and hopefully set him up tubeless. Are the Alex exr 30 rims taped for tubeless when they arrive? If not are they 30mm internal. Thanks
Yes and yes; although the Gomas were near impossible to get off. I replaced the wide plastic rim tape with Stans that just sat in the central channel, not all the way across. Five strokes with a track pump and they were seated.
Thanks so say 25mm stans tape or even 20m? 20mm would be good as i can do my 20fives with the same tape
20 I think
I’m with cloggy, went up absolutely fine, didn’t swap out the tape though, but getting the Gomas on and off was the hardest I’ve ever had it when setting up tubeless; was close to snapping the tyre lever and my wrist!!
Only one quick ride after a few hours at 40psi so hopefully I won’t go to the shed and find these lost all the air.
Got my Scandal in medium. Perfect fit for me at just about 5'9". It looked huge out of the box after all these years on a much more compact 26" Cannondale, but that's just the difference in geometry and the move to 29".
All unpacked and built up perfectly. Thumbs up to whoever built in then packed it.
I'll be fitting a OneUP 180 dropper this weekend, and went tubeless before the first ride. Saguaro tires were such a tight fit to the point I had a battle getting them off the WTB rims. Plus side of that thought is that once I'd applied the tubeless rim tape, the tires pumped up dry using only a standard track pump. Put the sealant in via the valves so no mess either. First ride at about 30 psi front and rear. Brilliant. Really impressed with this bike. Climbed well, descended well and bombs along the XC. looks great too.
For me, I think this has shown there is just no point spending £thousands on a MTB. I'll save that for my next road bike 🙂
How do the Panaracer fire tyres perform on the Scandal? Any good or just swap them out asap?
Can’t tell you, however, I used to have Panaracer Fire Pro’s for years and absolutely loved them. Try them. All tyres apart from mud tyres will be rubbish right now anyway.
Brand x dropper post fitting. Anyone have any tips on how to get the outer cable in and out of the downtube?
Is there a trick I am missing or just a total plonker?
An old spoke is very useful for grabbing the cable.
Always run a sacrificial inner gear cable through first, whether routing brake of gear outer. Then you slide the outer (or brake hose) over the inner.
The Scandal, (somewhat surpisingly, I have to admit given mine was 150 quid) has the best designed and executed internal cable rotuing I've come across yet on an alloy bike.
Got it through and working over the weekend. It helped when I didnt have a toot of the jazz cabbage before attempting it😅
Dropper works like a charm, paired it up with a ztto lever
Would a Scandal work as a trail bike and an XC bike?
It does for me 🙂
Happily takes me round all my local shortish loops and long 4-5hr long rides. Been to glentress on it and some of the Golfie stuff.
+1
It's a modern trail bike and TBH the usual deciding factor is rider skill and tyre choice, works well on everything from Tweed Valley steeps to farm/estate roads & singletrack.
What they said. It a perfect 'regular' mountain bike. Slightly heavier than a pure XC race bike, but obvioualy very dependent on build. But slack and strong enough (and with a 130mm fork) to do proper fun techy trail stuff no bother. Really enjoy mine.
Ooh. Thread resurrection.
I love mine, its the best riding hardtail I've owned
Mine is built up as "local hack bike". Suspension fork and wide bars / short stem but with light wheels and fastish tyres.
The geometry is absolutely spot on, its really planted on descents. A swap to beefier tyres and it would cope with pretty much everything my skill levels could throw at it.
Its pretty light too, mine is around 12.5kg with pedals
best riding hardtail I’ve owned
Ditto. I've had a plenty of hardtails including some very revered steel options popular on here, yet this cheap alloy bike is my favourite of them all.
Nearly two years down with mine. Built 1x10XT, cheap 120mm RockShox up front, Deore brakes and wheels. Threw the Smörgåsbord tyres on it as well and they've hardly worn in probably 5,000km of riding. It gets used a LOT and for everything. Bought the bars and stem from Planet X at the same time and they're pretty creaky now so I'll probably replace them in the spring.
The paint is made from Smartie shells, sadly, but that's probably my only complaint.
