[Closed] The new Aeris 145

If it's as good or better than the 140 then it will be amazing,I took the plunge on the 140 after riding a giant reign for near 4 years and was about to buy the '17 version but the Bird was by far the better option and so glad I made the purchase

I'm also interested in this and any views on sizing too.

Strangely I can't find any reviews of the 120 either except for WMB who thought that a bike with a super grippy rear tyre (DHR2 3C) lacked zip.

Will head back to the lair and keep watch.

Pretty sure there's a review of the 120 in this months MBR. Haven't read it yet though.

No review, just a pretty picture and some blurb on customisation.

what hainman said.

My v1.5 Aeris is freaking amazing. I didn't try mine first but I did spend time talking to Dan about sizing using my old bike as a base. He was spot on.

I'd buy one based on my experience alone. They are really good guys, I've had help off them both with different things 🙂

Love my mk1.5 Aeris! If I had the money, I'd swap it for a new one just to try it though.

I'll be waiting to see what full-suss Production Privee come up with. News expected this week.

I have had a play on the new large Aeris, I have also ridden the large and XL 140 version. I found the 1.5 XL to be fast and flattering, I even got air! I didn't find the saddle went low enough on the XL one and didn't get on with the large 1.5, think the demo bike was a bit hammered. Anyway the new one. Bird I thought, were very accommodating and redesigned the 145 bike to be pretty much as long as the XL but as flattering as the old version. (probably just for me.) I tried the new one at a very sloppy Pitch Hill and was impressed, not too long and when I let the brakes off it was confident over roots and such like. just need to check a couple of details about specs and I'll have one on order, my old bike feels short, twitchy and a bit dangerous now.

Thanks for the reply. Buy it! Seems to be the advice.
I'm guessing if I wait till February to demo it will push my new bike day back from the estimated end of March. Think I'll just go for it.
Being a wee fella at only 5'6" I reckon the sm will be the size for me. It looks a very long bike.
I'll probably have many more questions over the coming weeks about build kit. I'm going for the best fork, shock and wheels I can afford because everything else is more easily upgraded. Shimano or sram is a big question I suppose.

Have you spoken to the team yet? If you give then a call they are usually very helpful at working out the correct size based on your measurements and current bike sizing.
I can't recommended the team enough, they were so helpful through the whole process and I got the perfect setup for my needs. A couple of friends that have had a go said that they wouldn't change anything on it.
You can also mix and match shimano and SRAM if you want as I wanted SRAM drivetrain and shimano brakes, but you have to call them about that as they can't have on their website.

I was recommended the SRAM GX with the guide rs brakes as they have had less problems with that gear, I have been a Shimano fan for years and will go for this option, they know way more than me. As mentioned above, give them a ring it's like talking to people you've known for years and as they probably get the same questions daily being so accommodating is impressive.

Think I need to give Bird a call, looking at stats I assume I need an XL but had a car park ride of a L and it seemed loooong.

Any Rivington regulars own a L/XL aeris?

Think I need to give Bird a call, looking at stats I assume I need an XL but had a car park ride of a L and it seemed loooong.

Which stats are you looking at? The important one is reach. Effective top tube isn't as huge because the seat angle is so steep (which helps with climbing) and the seat tubes are short to fit long dropper posts. See how your current bike compares once you've added on the stem lengths (minimum is about 30mm).

I'm generally between a medium and a large but the Aeris 145 is so long in reach I'd want to compare a small vs a medium, despite being almost 5'11. I'd have to check that a 170mm Reverb would get the saddle high enough on the small but a 480mm long seat post like that gives you quite a lot of leeway!

A long bike is maybe not the way to look at it - between Small and XL everything else is just a size. Try not to get too hung up on it. As a guide the ML is boosted a little from the Mk1/1.5 as we found average height riders were split between M and L a lot - so we split it for them. The additional reach from the steeper seat does lengthen the WB, but I don't personally think its that noticable. The weight distribution is improved so while you have a bigger WB the increased front end grip makes it easy enough to stick it into corners, and you can do that more confidently for sure. We also boosted the spacing between frames from 20mm ETT to 25mm to make the top end bigger, as even though the XL was big, we still found that really tall riders wanted more length again.

Also worth considering is stem length Vs Wheelbase. TBH while people tell you that shorter is better when it comes to stems, its a compromise. If you go super short (32mm) then you're lengthening the wheelbase and slowing the handling (Assuming that the fit of the bike is correct for you). The stability of the short stem/wide bar/long WB can make it feel a bit barge like. So if you want quicker handling, go 50 on a smaller size which gives you the space you need, but keeps the WB in check, if you want stability then go 32 on a bigger frame. If you want that happy medium then a 40mm stem on the best fit frame size that will suit you is probably about right.

So if you were going to get a L in the 1.5 Aeris, you'd aim for a ML on the new version Ben?

Well.... used to ride a L, now I ride an ML and its perfect. I loved the old L standing up, but found it a bit of a stretch sitting down. Now its just right both ways. That said Tomas who rides for us ran a L before, but it was a touch small for him (but he preferred it to the XL) but he's also now on a L but finds it just right. Swings and roundabouts!

How tall are you and Tomas, Ben? I'm considering one of these as a 40th birthday present to myself next year - 6', riding a Medium 2011 Pitch Pro (but with a Command Post, so 30mm added to ETT effectively). I've got a long upper body and shorter legs - was looking at maybe coming to demo a L in the new year.

Im 5'10, he's 6' 2. Im short of leg and long in the body too, so I generally prefer a bigger bike to allow more upper body room (Seat tubes are all small enough to fit no worries). i'd demo both and find out!

Ben, between a M and a ML which size do you find holds its line best on long steep climbs?

Any weights available for the new bike yet?

I really fancy one of these too!

I have a mk1.5 in XL.absolutely love it. I was a bit sceptical about buying a trail bike that had the same wheelbase as my xl trek session d.h bike thinking that it might be a bit of a handfull in the tight stuff but it just isn't the case. The geometry puts your weight more central between the wheels so it actually seems to turn faster for me than the shorter bikes that I've had in the past.
I'm another with short legs, at 6'1" and 32" inside leg. The 125mm reverb is nearly as low as it'll go in the frame for 'proper' pedalling height at full extension, and I run a 30mm stem. It feels really good, easy to get over the front on steep tight descents and it climbs really well too. So happy that I finally have a bike that feels long enough whilst still having decent standover clearance and space for a 125mm dropper.
I'd be making the shift to a 145 but I cant afford to change to boost as well so I'm going to stick with the 140 for now. Looks a belter of a bike though, go for it!

Anyone else trialled the bike and willing to share their views ?

Boom! Went for it.
Just ordered the 145 frame, size M in stealth black.
Would of ordered a S but after talking to Dave on the phone went for the M.
It's going to be a long couple of months waiting and a lot of thinking to do over build kit.

Demoing one tomorrow..

bookmarking for later on

So, I'm not entirely sure how coherent this will be as I'm no Steve Jones, but here goes...

A little background:
Me - approaching 40, 6' with short legs/long body, solid red/easy black level rider, happy with gaps up to about 6' and drops to about 4'.
Current bike - 2011 Pitch Pro in Medium, running 1x10 (non-expanded), 170mm Lyrik RC2DH, Float CTD Kashima rear shock. 66deg HA, 446mm reach, 1170mm WB, 585mm ETT but with 35mm setback on the Command Post, 60mm stem, 760mm bars. Centre of saddle rail clamp to centre of bars 673mm. Top of saddle to centre of cranks 740mm.

The Aeris 145 - Large, Pike RCT3 150mm forks, RockShox Super Deluxe RC3 DebonAir. 150mm Reverb, 35mm stem, 800mm bars. Reach 506mm, ETT 655mm, 65.5deg HA, 1255mm WB.

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Despite initially looking massive, when measured the saddle-to-bars measurement was only 15mm more than the Pitch, thanks to the 35mm stem and inline clamp on the Reverb. Felt weird looking down at the front wheel and being able to see the front of the headtube! Had to run the Reverb all the way into the frame to get the saddle height correct at full extension, but all good. Set the sag on the forks and shock (cheers Ben!) and we're good to go.

Get it out on the trails, stop several times to drop pressure out of the tyres as whoever had it before must have been running nearly 40psi! Short, steep, loose scrabbly climb; the steep saddle angle centres you nicely, definitely less front end wander without sacrificing weight over the rear. Needed less weight shifting adjustments to keep the balance, but I still needed to be careful to stop the front lifting on the steepest bits. It's no XC machine though, so don't be expecting that!

At the top of the trails at my local skills area now, so let's choose my favourite run with the off-camber (wet) roots, path gap stepdown and 4' ski jump drop. Getting slightly loose and out of shape on the wet roots but hold it together. Not carrying enough speed into the path gap and case the landing but the rear sucks it up like a trooper without kicking me off. Hit the lip of the ski drop and whoah, needs a bit more weight shift than that to stop the front end dropping! Get away with it though, but lesson learned. Stick another 20psi in the rear shock though as I got deeper into the stroke than I'd have liked. Definitely no weird spiking or harsh bottom-out though.

Up the climb again, and a long flat traverse now - even without flicking the compression lever on the shock I can still stand and sprint without it wallowing into the midstroke. Seated and cranking along on the flat, the initial stroke takes out the small chatter nicely. Playing around trying to manual through puddles needs much more of a rearward weight shift.

Head for a few more of my favourite trails and the bike just feels right; like the Pitch, but more so. There's no weird handling characteristics, no strange quirks. It's not a bike that you make small subtle movements on though - it really rewards you exaggerating your weight shifts. That long wheelbase really inspires confidence, and I nailed a small steep chute with a drop-in at the top that I'd previously shied away from - riding away left me wondering what the fuss had been. Found a superb track (Jonah Loamu), all tight loose turns cut into the loam. Feeling so much more centred on the bike had me throwing it into the corners like I was pretending to be Brendog, even attempting a front wheel pivot into one steep turn! The front end also felt much less like it wanted to tuck under in tight turns, giving me much more confidence to weight the front and really push it to find grip.

Heading for home, I started thinking what I really liked about it, and I suppose the best thing that I can say is that the ride wasn't about the bike; it was about the trails, and the ride itself. The Aeris was just there, doing it's thing and letting me have fun without thinking about it. I never felt the need to run the shock anything other than fully-open, even when stood cranking up climbs, as the initial stroke really helped the rear wheel dig in and find grip before the mid-stroke held it up. Chatting with Ben afterwards, he went through how much work went into getting the leverage curve and the shock tune dialled, and they've done a damn good job. The fork didn't feel quite as composed as my RC2DH Lyrik, but Ben reckoned that the new RC3 Lyrik should do (if you can't stretch to the Lyrik, he's got a handy tip for improving the Yari performance right out of the box). In short, it does everything you'd want it to, without fuss, without you noticing how good it is - yet without it being boring. The more rowdy I got, the more it egged me on. Go on, push back up, you can nail that section quicker... It felt much easier to pop up into the air than the Pitch, so much that I was looking for every little root, lip and kicker to pop off.

It's clear from talking to Ben at Bird just how much they care about what they do, and it shows in how the bike rides. In his words, "We ride every bike we make; we're not relying on feedback from pros, we're just average riders like you guys, so we wanted to make a bike that not only makes us feel like great riders, but a bike that makes us better riders." I'd say job done.

The only question is: which colour!?

So, I'm not entirely sure how coherent this will be as I'm no Steve Jones, but here goes...

I love the Orwellian brilliance of this doublespeak! 😉

Has Fox said if they're going to make 'metric' shocks? I like the idea of Bird bikes, but I haven't liked RS shocks I've tried before.

Has Fox said if they're going to make 'metric' shocks? I like the idea of Bird bikes, but I haven't liked RS shocks I've tried before.

I'm sure I read that Cane Creek are.

You can already buy OE bikes (giant and Scott) with metric fox shocks I believe, so it's only a matter of time.

Thanks idiotdogbrain, nice review. Did you consider any other sizes ?

Not really; I wanted to try the large as that's what Bird reckon for my height, and given that I'm a) long of body/short of leg, and b) already probably riding a bike smaller than is recommended - I wanted to see what a bike that was supposedly correct felt like. After 3hrs I did get a bit sore between my shoulders but I'd say that was down to the 800mm bars when I'm used to 760s.

idiotdogbrain - Member
Not really; I wanted to try the large as that's what Bird reckon for my height, and given that I'm a) long of body/short of leg, and b) already probably riding a bike smaller than is recommended - I wanted to see what a bike that was supposedly correct felt like. After 3hrs I did get a bit sore between my shoulders but I'd say that was down to the 800mm bars when I'm used to 760s.

I went from a medium Pitch to a large Aeris (mk1) via a Trance SX. Love the Aeris rides so well especially downhill but also the grip and lack of pedal bob. Great frames, well done to the Bird team.

Idiotdogbrain, just had another look at your photos, did you have any trouble with the saddle so far forward on a bike with such a steep seat angle ? I'm thinking especially when starting - either catching your shorts or with rear wheel grip.

Not hugely, no - I did notice the width of the saddle when moving rearwards but only because I think it was a 143 whereas my own one is a 130. My baggy shorts tend not to be too baggy anyway, so if you're rocking the gangsta-low crotch it might be different!

Regarding rear wheel grip; given that on my Pitch the cumulative effect of running a 170mm fork and an offset seatpost means that a plumb line dropped down through the saddle clamp is over halfway along the chainstay, I tent to move around quite a bit on technical climbs anyway. As I think I mentioned, I had no less traction at any given point, but less front wheel lift.

The OH has ordered me one for my birthday (talk about a keeper 😉 ), and I will be going for the 160mm Lyriks over the 150mm Pikes that were on the demo, so I'd expect that to shift the weight balance ever-so-slightly rearwards.

I would have seriously considered one to replace my Aeris Mk1 this year. I'm left cold by the change to metric shock sizing, when I already have shocks that I like and want to keep.

http://enduro-mtb.com/en/exclusive-first-ride-the-new-bird-aeris-145/

Bird's thoughts on the new Metric shocks: [url=

it out[/url]

Getting closer! Who's getting excited?

Has anyone got their new aerie yet??

Mine comes tomorrow but there's not going to be anyone home