Chief there must be something in it though as I’m not alone in saying about knee pain if my saddle is to far forward.

I’ve sort of decided that a 145 will be my next bike though. I think the look great.

Chief there must be something in it though as I’m not alone in saying about knee pain if my saddle is to far forward.

There isn’t, it’s just coincidental! And the knee pain is probably due to a tightness elsewhere (something I know too well due to a knackered ankle messing with my knee if I don’t keep my hips moving ok).

As the newer bikes have steeper seat angles how do you overcome it then as most of them are designed to run in line posts as well.

Lower bars and accept that hands take more pressure as a result (i.e. the whole body rotates forward around the BB).

Enduro long/low geometry is basically doing what roadies started doing in Time Trials 30 years ago but for different reasons.

there must be something in it though as I’m not alone in saying about knee pain if my saddle is to far forward.

In the same way it’s coincidence that a round peg will fit in a round hole (if they’re the same size). KOPS works if you’re of average size and trying to fit yourself to an average bike. Back in the day XC bikes were the ones with steep seat angles and low bars, the thinking was that trail bikes were slacker because people who rode them wanted to sit up more and look where they were going with less weight on their arms. Now it’s ‘trail bikes’ that are being raced (enduro) and the opposite is true.

If you were to buy a traditional road bike (not gravel, sportive, CX, time trial), or a relatively normal XC/trail bike and you’re of normal proportions KOPS would probably work.

Bike fit isn’t an exact science, it’s all a series of compromises. For example if you had fixed cleats and set them up to point your feet dead ahead where your feet normally point outwards (i.e. a very poor setup), it may well reduce back pain, at the expense of your knees.

Thought i’d join in, here is my 2 week old Aeris 145:

Guys at Bird have been super helpful getting the build sorted. I went for a size L and am 6’11”, fit is spot on. Coming from a Canyon 29er it took a while to get used to the geometry, you definitely have to ride the front end aggressively, but when you push it the bike rewards you and becomes an absolute missile. Highly recommend!

6’11”!? 😮

Love that in green!

@xcjoe what downtube protector is that?

She’s a beaut!
No expense spared but the look of her.
These bike are the absolute shit right now and must not be ignored. My ML is longer than my mate’s XL Santa Cruz Nomad and takes the pis out of her on the trails for half the price. The writing is on the wall.

Sorry if I’m gushing but I’ve just got home from the pub and been in the garage staring at my bike for ten minutes before saying hello to my wife!

I’d agree they ride really well. I’ve been riding steep natural trails and the handling is excellent.

Loving the green Aeris! Can’t wait for mine to arrive now – Friday hopefully.

Glad it rides well on steep natural trails as that’s what we’ve got in Leigh Woods in Bristol and that’s pretty much all the riding in getting in at the moment.

I need all the help I can get on that sort of terrain.

For the people on here with an Aeris, did you have to pay extra for the chainstay protector with Bird written on, or did it just come with the bike?

Chainstay protector does cost and the Aeris 145 will be fine around Ashton Court/Leigh Woods

I meant 6’1″! haha

The green is so nice though, really pops and finished off nicely with silver Hope

@jsm it isn’t a proper protector, I heli taped the frame and while I was at it got some carbon wrap to protect from scratches. In all honestly it’s not lasting well so I might go back to regular clear wrap. Rockguardz did one for the old Aeris so they might have one coming out for the 145 though!

I must say these look very nice. I was looking at a spitfire to replace my current 160mm bike, but im struggling to justify the extra now compare to this.

Took my new 120 round llandegla today. Really nice ride. The 145 looks a bit much for me. Do mostly xc riding and commute on it so this seemed better. Went for a few upgrades including pikes with boost, reverb, guide brakes and turbine bars and stem. Very happy with it and the service from Bird was excellent.

The chainstay protector is £8 extra if i remember correctly joebristol

Nice looking 120. I do like that blue. Shame they don’t do the 145 in it.

The blue looks great – if the 145 had been available in that colour that’s what I’d have gone for.

For xc and commuting duties the 120 must be better then the 145 I’d have thought. Think it has a 67 degree head angle though – so still pretty modern geometry and plenty of fun I’d imagine? Pikes are a nice upgrade.

Great to see so many others enjoying the Bird bikes!
Proper ride on my 145 this morning. PB on almost every trail and shifted up the Strava leaderboards by a considerable amount. I can’t believe a new bike has made so much difference to my riding.

Everyone is teasing me about how good the Aeris is….this is the longest wait ever (well, not really, only 2 weeks or so) for mine to be built and ready!

that blue 120 up there is giving me strange thoughts! what i lovely looking bike. i think that’s my next purchase sorted.

I have had mine for about a month now and must say I am loving it.
It may “only” have 145mm travel but to my ham fisted approach I cannot notice the reduction from my previous 160mm bike. I did go for the 160 lyrics though. I am really impressed by how well it climbs steep and technical stuff. There is a trail (green hill @ Pitfichie) that I may have cleared once on my last bike (Orbea Rallon) but I now manage well just my lungs that struggle! I was concerned that while climbing steep bits the front would wander as this is what my last bike did, this does not seem to happen.
As for descending, well that is what the bike was designed for. On paper the bike is long but its not noticeable in a negative way that’s for sure. I think it just has well designed geometry. So even on tight steep switchbacks it is fine. Flat out (for me) it feels really stable and just ploughs on through.
It is a bit heavier than my last bike but I did speck some heavier parts so that’s not a surprise, haven’t weighed it yet.
My only criticism so far is the position of the bottle mounts as with the piggy back shock even a 500ml bottle doesn’t fit. I had to drill my cage to move it further down. Maybe a different cage would be better?
For reference I am 186cm tall and bought a large and find it perfect.
30mm stem and 780 bars (I have long arms)
Xt build
Lyric 160s
Hope tech 3 E4’s
Hope hubs dt rims
170 reverb
total cost was £3300 which compared to some seemed like a good price to me.
Overall I am delighted.

Cultsdave – you can use a Shimano SM-BA01 to move the bottle mounts around a bit if you’re struggling.

Ben

More good feedback. Interesting about the climbing ability. My last bike could wander a bit uphill after I extended the travel on the forks – the worst bit was sharp switchbacks uphill like on Cafell at CwmCarn.

My 145 is about £1000 cheaper than yours with Yaris / the shock one down from the piggyback one (so hopefully I can run a water bottle), and the standard DT Swiss wheels. Assuming mine will be a bit heavier so interesting to see what yours weighs.

When I had a demo bike it was a similar spec to what I’ve ordered and it felt fairly light to me. My bike at the time was said to weigh around 13kg in comparison. Can’t wait to get it now.

Hi Ben,

Thanks for that, got one ordered.
Joe, I will weigh it and see but I wouldn’t expect much difference. I also have Maxxis DD tyres which will up the weight too.

I think non-wandering climbing was the thing that surprised me most about the mk1 Aeris. I’m still amazed by it now.

What size chainring have you got on it / which cassette?

I’ve gone 30t on the front, with 10-42 on the back which should be ok. Coming from a bike that had 32t chainring / 11-42 on the back. Don’t think I’ll lose much top end due to the 10t instead of 11t with Sram.

Ben – do you guys have any plans for a Sherwood Pines or Peaks demo? I’ve been meaning to visit since January to try an Aeris 120 and 145 but haven’t been able to find the time to get down to you!

So want that blue one with some 29″ wheels:(

What’s wrong with 27.5″ wheels?

My Aeris is being delivered early – getting it tomorrow. Can’t wait! Had to go with Orange in the end as green not available for a month or two. Even though the weather is biblical at the moment I may have to go out on it tomorrow night…..

What’s wrong with 27.5″ wheels?

Nothing, 650b is great, but 29er’s are greater.

I liked it when things were simple and it was all 26″ wheels……

Haha. I just like 29ers and don’t see any dissadvantages for me. So I’d buy a new 29er.

I still ride 26″ bikes too though! They’ve not gotten any worse.

Maybe I’m missing out on good 29ers – I’ve only ever ridden a few hardtail 29ers and I found them hard work getting turned into corners. Think they were quite xc orientated / head down fast uphill machines.

So any updates, people still liking these? Im looking at a large 145.

I’ll tell you in a month or so, just ordered up a large

Fwiw Bird are teasing what looks suspiciously like a 29er…

https://mobile.twitter.com/Bird650b/status/896051199673225216

Looks like a full sus 36er to me

So, it seems I’m gonna be riding a new Bird….