(Well, new bike month really). Took the plunge on this beauty from Paul’s Cycles last month as it was crazy cheap.
It is lush; far better than me! Climbs fantastically and we’re slowly bonding on the downs. Definitely isn’t as immediately’fun’ as my old Orbea Occam but I’ve still got some rear shock setting up to do. It’s fast though - 29” wheels coming into play here I think.
Tyres have tried to kill me several times already - truely awful things. I need moon-on-a-stick allrounder recommendations please: something that can do XC thrashing around awful muddy bridleways and tarmac lanes to BPW and big Cadair mountain trips.
That looks so nice.
I've been looking at this again but seems my heavily upgraded 2020 occam is worth 30p and can't seem to justify the change
Swit swoo!
Could it be the compound of the nobby's if they're on the budget end?
Keep hovering over these. I'd get into a lot of trouble but they do look the business, that an the cube 155s
That’s a beauty
Yeah, I think the compound of the tyres is very hard and cheap. Dropped the pressure on the rear in the hope of some climbing traction and got a pinch flat on the next down. The tyres have no info on the sides, not even a tubeless ready’ symbol so I’m not going to bother trying.
Il’l probably just get a set of minion dhr/f unless someone can suggest anything different.
The rear shock does seem very sensitive to pressure changes so I’m going to have to get my mate’s shockwiz I think.
The flip-chip thing has 9 settings and the chain stays can be set to short or long so there are 18 potential things to try - not sure that will ever happen!
The gate will blow down this year…it is rotten through in places but has been there for 20 years so doesn’t owe us anything.
Yeah, I think the compound of the tyres is very hard and cheap.
The Nobby's on my Marin when it arrived were lethal...proper aftermarket Nobby's were so much better...
Nice bike.
I've found Nobby Nics to be a great allrounder. Must be a cheapo compound. Think i paid about £60 per tyre for the last set.
I have mine in the slackest ride9 setting. It's the most progressive, when I do change to a steeper setting the suspension is noticeably more linear.
That’s a good bit of info leegee; thanks. I’ll try and find some time to have a fiddle with it.Did you need to change your shock settings with it?
I've only used the other positions briefly, but I would experiment if I were using them permanently.
I had a BC version of the Instinct a few years ago. Just to echo LeeGee's comments, it is far more linear the steeper the ride9 settings you go - I had mine on the steepest which really suited my more XC type riding.
I was really close to buying another one off the Paul's website a few weeks ago. It was reduced to just under £5k from over £12k, I was really struggling to resist!
I went for a Spark in the end, similar saving but far more suited to the doorstep riding I have in N. Worcs.
Just looking at the specs on Pauls' site it says they are Performance Line Nobby Nics (even though Evolution Line are clearly pictured on the bike on their page), which means a harder compound if they are. I can't really see clearly in your pics, but doesn't look like there's an "Addix stripe" of any colour around the tyres, and looks like there might be a "P" (for performance line) on the sidewall of the tyre too... My experience of the Performance Line NN is it's fine as a rear for firmer trails and trail centres, I do prefer something softer and grippier on the front though. The Evolution Line NN in Addix Soft compound (orange stripe) is actually a very good tyre I find, a lot grippier than the harder compound versions without sacrificing any rolling speed. But up front something like a Magic Mary would make more sense for most people most of the time here in the UK.
Could also look at Big Betty, Tacky Chan or Hans Dampf on the rear too with a Mary up front... Depending on your preferences, but all of those are good combos.
FWIW, I've come close to buying one of these discounted Instincts many times over the last year or so, but keep having to remind myself that I just would never ride it. I've got analogue bikes sat doing nothing as it is right now, given I really only ride an eBike these days... ? But the Instinct really is lovely... Worth noting that the 52.5 stroke rear shock can easily be extended to 55mm stroke for an extra 6mm of rear wheel travel. Also given that the mainframe is the same as on the Altitude, it can easily take more travel both front and rear... A popular mod seems to be to up the stroke to 55mm on the shock, fit a -1 angleset (easy to do as the RM has a very common headset type) and a 160mm airshaft to the fork... Results in around a 64.5deg head angle in the mid setting apparently whilst not compromising the BB height or climbing manners. Also lengthens the wheelbase and front centre usefully too, and means experimenting with the longer chainstay setting starts to make sense too... Makes it much more of a short travel Enduro bike than the longer travel trail bike it ships as, if that's your kind of thing...
As it is, I've still got my 2019 Element A50 (bought from Pauls' cheaply at the start of COVID ironically) that I love to bits, that punches way above its travel. Recently purchased a -2deg angleset to take the 69HA down to around 67, and a 44mm offset fork. Did look at the newer Element but would only swap it to go Carbon I think, and the deals were only left on the alloy ones... That said, £2k for the A50 model is bloody cheap (and can do it on C2W too if I paid for the 10% charge) and the carbon frame is only around 500-600g lighter than the alloy apparently, and in an area it doesn't really matter... ?
Nope... I still don't need it! ?
£?
Nice bike!
I've been looking at one for a while but unsure on the sizing, how tall are you and what size did you go for?
I like that. Great colour scheme.
Shame you have a spider web on the brake line, but I guess that's on your list of things to fix 😉
@nigew I’m 5’8” so bang in the middle for a medium. Fits perfectly.
What's the head angle on that ?
@lister Thanks for the reply, I think I need to try one for size, I'm 5'10"
I hardly ever "mountain bike" any more and really do not need another one, but those deals really tempted me!
What's the catch? Why are these so cheap?
What’s the catch? Why are these so cheap?
I reckon there is a saving to be made if you’re happy to buy a bike unseen from a website based on the opposite side of the country to where you live. I’m prepared to source replacement bits for the suspension etc from Canada and fit myself or talk to my LBS. My closest RM dealer is the other side of Wales to me so I don’t have a lot of local support which could be an issue for some people.
Add in the global downturn in bike sales and a website that clearly deals in bulk and there are the savings.
@weeksy no idea on the head angle I’m afraid, I’ve never been one for the numbers. It can be tuned a lot with the linkage and pivot adjustments.
@nigew If you’re near Pembrokeshire (which isn’t likely!) then you’re more than welcome to try the medium for size.
@lister That's a very kind offer, unfortunately I'm quite a way from Pembrokeshire I'm in West Yorks
geo available here... https://bikes.com/products/instinct-a50-22?variant=41230871330979
From 65.1 in slackest to 66.2 in steepest...
Fairly common ZS44/56 headset standard though, so easy to slip an angleset in too...
@lister your two closest dealers are Zero Bikes in Much Marcle and Setchfield Cycles in Wrexham. I know the Zero guys very well to be fair, very helpful bunch if ever you need anything. Setchfield have a good rep too by all accounts.
@nigew you're kind of on the cusp size wise... Do you prefer a slightly more agile and nimble feeling bike, in which case go medium (it's still 462mm reach), or if you prefer a longer more stable bike then go large basically...