Bird bike owners..

i saw a bird aeris this weekend, good looking bike, got me thinking…

im riding a pivot Mach 5.7 carbon at the moment and it’s been an amazing bike but it’s getting tired. Looking at the bird website the frames seem really good value, so I’m tempted.

What are the bad points though? are the shocks a weird size? are the bearings easy to replace if needed? Are they heavy frames or can you build a great all day bike (like my pivot!)

thanks in advance for any thoughts!!

I’ll leave it to others to comment as I am heavily biased, but you might like to know they come off the same production line as Pivots.

Nothing obvious really in terms of downsides – unless you’re in the market with a budget to buy a really light carbon bike (which Bird don’t have).

Boost rear ends / bsa screw in bb / metric shocks etc – so all decent modern standards. Also external cable routing which makes maintenance easy (although some people comment bikes look nicer with internal routing – but I have a Cannondale with internal and it’s a right pain).

Bird are easy to get hold of both by phone and social media (see Ben above!) and happy to field stupid questions as well as sensible ones.

New Am9 owner in honeymoon period, but arrived at bird after owning oranges and transition and considering the above and cotic.

very pleased with the frame, easy to build and maintain, rides better than anything else I’ve owned and fits better as well (although I should really be on an xl not a l)

only minor niggle that seems to have a widget to help solve is bottle clearance with a piggy back shock.

I can fit a 620ml podium bottle into a side entry cage using a topeak alt mount on my large with a piggy back shock. I could fit a 500ml without the alt mount.

Happy Mk1 Aeris owner here and my friend is on a mk1 & zero. No real complaints at all. Customer service is spot on. Not the lightest bike but very durable and well designed.

At OP for the avoidance of doubt (and because he’s too polite and appears impartial), Ben Pinnick knows because he runs Bird – https://www.bird.bike/about-bird/ – so fill your boots with questions.

Mine’s useless – nearly killed me on Friday.

Wait a minute that might be my utter total lack of talent.

Mine’s ace – saved my bacon on Friday. Would have died on another bike.

Owner for 2 and a half years. Well built, reliable, great service from Bird always.

I have an AM145LT (owned for a year), a friend asked me for bad points the other day, couldn’t really think of any.

Not had to change anything on it yet, so can’t comment on bearings. Paint might be a little brittle (chipped mine in a couple of tiny bits when taking off the clips on the cable guides). Mine isn’t the lightest, but I specced it for bombproof rather than weight. Depending on frame size and shock option, you might not get a large water bottle in there.

Ohh yeah, their customer service is fantastic.

See…

https://singletrackworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/singletrack-reader-awards-2019-and-the-winners-are/

I’ve had mine 6 months. I adore the thing,

Upsides:

Hand on heart, no bullshit, I don’t know of another brand with better customer service and I don’t mean free bearings if yours fail, replacement frame or all that stuff (as good as it is) as in if you have a question you can call them, e-mail them or ask on the brilliant FB owners page and Dan or Ben will usually let you know in a few hours. I tease my Santa Cruz owning mate by asking him about the last time he spoke to Roskopp.

Very UK / Ease of maintenance design, External cables (which cross at the top of the downtube as it was made Front Brake / Right from the outset) External BB, comes with Enduro bearings, generally in the most common sizes so easy to find and cheap to buy. The produce exploded diagrams of all their frames with torque settings and details of which type of Loctite to use etc.

They’re also very, very fast, I mean get on and just go fast. Geometry is Long, Low Slack without being too mad. They’re not heavy either.

I’ve got a 145LT (now known as a 160AM) rode 36k and 1100m in the Quantocks on Sat, Gap Road a few weeks before, I commute on it, I ride BPW on it, Alps no problem.

Choose your spec, from a selection of stuff they know and trust. Deore 4 pots, SLX or NX drivetrain and Yaris for a cheap build, go made with the X0, Kashima foxes and fancy wheels if you want or anything in between.

Lifetime transferable warranty.

Downsides:

My paint doesn’t seem that robust, I’ve got chips all over the shop and a cable rub. It’s probably the worse frame I’ve had for that. You can get Invisiframe kits for them and they sell touch up paint for £8 (although it’s £12 delivery).

My LT is a bit tight on tyre clearance, the 160 has a slightly revised rear end with more clearence. My 2.4s rub a bit.

frame size and shock option, you might not get a large water bottle in there.

Oh yeah this, I’ve got a ML with the Super Deluxe, there’s only 1 bottle that will fit and it’s only 450ml I think.

I had a 145LT and absolutely loved it. It gave me all my confidence back and I progressed so quickly on it. Then a friend said he wanted one too but didn’t want to buy new so I sold him mine to fund my 29er curiosity and bought an AM9. I love that too and never have bike envy. It gets me down far trickier things far faster than I should attempt.

Having owned both I would say the AM9 pedals a smidge better (though I did big full days on the LT) and handles a little better in the corners, but the 145LT (now 160AM) is a little bit more fun. Though take that with a pinch of salt as it’s from someone not terribly skilled!

Like the others have said, if you like the way they ride then there is zero reason not to choose one. Bird’s service is second to none.

+1 pretty much what P-Jay said but I’ve had my 120 for 2+ years now and swapped it to the newer linkage to up the travel to 130mm. Done some enduroing on it, general riding up dand down stuff and a 50 mile XC painfest a couple of weeks ago, it’s a very versatile bike. Looks-wise, the STW review commented that it looked a little ‘dated’ and maybe there are slicker looking frames but the quality is there where it’s needed and it’s easy to look after.

I have had a zero tr and have a 145, all you really need to do is try one then you will know. I’ve had the Aeris for 2.5 years I have broken a chainring and chain I have replaced bb headset bearings and a derailleur. I think that is pretty good seeing that it is ridden badly everywhere in all conditions.
As mentioned above it does seem to save the rider from “oh my god” mistakes.
Give it a go.

I’d say if you’re riding a Pivot that’s more than a couple of years old, you’ll see a massive contrast in geometry between it and the Bird – the Aeris has very progressive geometry, while Pivots (until recently) are at the extremes of short reach – an XL 5.7 has 423 reach, a small Aeris has 433.

Another 145 here, bought to do enduros, easy to live with, shockingly able, well beyond me. Let’s me get away with tracks and drops I wouldn’t have managed previously but does mean I get out my Solaris for a casual evening ride.

Really good service/support on ordering bike, plenty of continuing support for any questions. Large supply of spares for bits you may need and great prices.

Bike works very well – I’m really happy with it and glad I ordered it.

Daughter fancies one as well but I’m struggling to justify the cost for an 11 year old…probably when she is older and stretched a bit!

Another ‘yay’ from me, I bought a Zero AM secondhand, has given me much confidence and skills.

Ben has allowed me to borrow his personal 120LT on more than one occasion, has never tried to hard sell me a bike and is always a top bloke to chat to. Pretty sure he’s sick of me not buying a bike from him, but as soon as I have the cash I’ll be getting a 120LT frame for sure.

Recent STW review has it as best all-rounder alloy bike vs a Cotic Flare and a Santa Cruz 5010; which given the near fanatical support of both Cotic and SC is quite the compliment.

I’d also say its very similar to a Whyte T-130; similar geo and suspension design, but having ridden both I’d say the Bird pedals better up hill – the Whyte is bobby as hell.

The only reason I would delay is that Ben has teased a 29er short travel fully on many occasions; when its happening though is anyones guess. Maybe @benpinnick can give a (very) broad time frame for those interested…?

I havent had to do any proper maintenance on mine yet so with that caveat the Aeris 120lt is a lovely bike. Rideable all day and can be chucked around to beyond my ability.
Definitely be happy to recommend them.

At the risk of a flaming I will add,,,,,

Initially loved my 2016 zero AM but soon realised it wasn’t really the bike I should of bought for my 90% of riding (Long Xc/road to local trails)

That said I have used it at revs/stiniog/bringewood/hopton and although not as agile as my stolen DH bike,,,, it was a blast
👊😎

New Solaris landed 2weeks ago and it suits my 90% far better.

The AMs being mothballed for uplift days.

Just make sure it’s the right bike for you.

What is the bike in the Bird range for big stuff? I’m currently using a Nukeproof TR275 and I find it a bit limiting on the black stuff at BPW. (I realise my skills are the real limit).

do Bird do 0% finance yet?

do Bird do 0% finance yet?

Bought mine R2W, 0% over 3 years and tax relief. I do actually commute on it too, but not everyday.

“What is the bike in the Bird range for big stuff?”

Well they have a 150mm 29er and a 160mm 27.5 – both appropriately long, slack and low, with well designed suspension, stiff frames, etc etc.

I have their 150mm Zero AM hardtail. It’s great. The customer service is excellent but the products are well enough designed for the real world that they rarely need it!

Brilliant, thank you all for your thoughts!

Ben, if you don’t mind I’m going to write up what and where I ride as well as some sizing info and get your advice on what might work for me

as another question then, the pivot is 150mm travel but on 26in wheels. It’s pretty much perfect for my normal riding. Would a 130mm travel bike but with the 27.5mm wheels “feel” the same or would I find myself wanting a bit more..??

For the sake of putting it on record, if Bird put together a short travel, trail focused 29er I’d buy it.

Love my 1.5 Aeris and the guys at Bird couldn’t be any easier to deal with.

Agree with the comments on the paint being easy chipped but it is a mountain bike that gets some truly awful tatter. It’s not that unreasonable to pick up a few scars along the way.

At the risk of a flaming I will add,,,,,

Initially loved my 2016 zero AM but soon realised it wasn’t really the bike I should of bought for my 90% of riding (Long Xc/road to local trails)

That said I have used it at revs/stiniog/bringewood/hopton and although not as agile as my stolen DH bike,,,, it was a blast
👊😎

New Solaris landed 2weeks ago and it suits my 90% far better.

The AMs being mothballed for uplift days.

Just make sure it’s the right bike for you.

This is a fair point. I love my 145lt but it is a big slack bike for speed.

When I came to buy a hardtail I wanted something different that is shorter / less slack (but still reasonable) and none of the Bird hardtails fitted into this category (other than the Zero tr but that’s non boost and I had boost wheels spare) so I bought a Vitus Sentier frame – which incidentally was going silly cheap at £150 at the time from CRC. I wouldn’t buy a Vitus FS frame though as the support / customer service doesn’t get anywhere near Bird.

At the risk of a flaming I will add,,,,,

Initially loved my 2016 zero AM but soon realised it wasn’t really the bike I should of bought for my 90% of riding (Long Xc/road to local trails)

That said I have used it at revs/stiniog/bringewood/hopton and although not as agile as my stolen DH bike,,,, it was a blast
👊😎

New Solaris landed 2weeks ago and it suits my 90% far better.

The AMs being mothballed for uplift days.

Just make sure it’s the right bike for you.

This is a fair point. I love my 145lt but it is a big slack bike for speed.

When I came to buy a hardtail I wanted something different that is shorter / less slack (but still reasonable) and none of the Bird hardtails fitted into this category (other than the Zero tr but that’s non boost and I had boost wheels spare) so I bought a Vitus Sentier frame – which incidentally was going silly cheap at £150 at the time from CRC. I wouldn’t buy a Vitus FS frame though as the support / customer service doesn’t get anywhere near Bird.

This is interesting – I used my Zero AM for pretty much everything and it works fine for me. The one thing I’ve changed it busting the forks down to 140mm and adding some riser bars. Steepens the head angle a bit; makes it less twitchy for climbing I find; a bit more comfy on long days.

Daughter fancies one as well but I’m struggling to justify the cost for an 11 year old…probably when she is older and stretched a bit!

My just gone 10yr old is riding a older MK1.5. I paid £250 for the frame and stuck on some 26″ wheels and some shortened cranks.(I think he’s like 4’10 or so now.and prob 4’9″/4’8″ when bought 6 mo ago … I’ll bung on some 27.5’s when he’s taller and hopefully it’s last him to 5’4″ and he will probably be able to skip onto a M frame?

“Initially loved my 2016 zero AM but soon realised it wasn’t really the bike I should of bought for my 90% of riding (Long Xc/road to local trails)

That said I have used it at revs/stiniog/bringewood/hopton and although not as agile as my stolen DH bike,,,, it was a blast
👊😎

New Solaris landed 2weeks ago and it suits my 90% far better.”

Just curious – how tall are you? Long legs or long body or average? What size did you get for each frame?

I’m sure the Solaris is great too, they’re really nice bikes!

I’ve had my Mk1.5 Aeris for over 3 years now and I absolutely love it, fantastic bike and I’ve had numerous times where I’ve thought “Oh dear, this is going to hurt” but somehow the bike has managed to save me.

Only drawback, now I want to trade my Bird in for a younger Bird, with bigger……wheels!

All these posts and not a single picture of the bikes being discussed! Just for balance – my 145LT:

My 2017 Zero AM:

View this post on Instagram

Hardtailing Mallorca’s endless rock gardens. I was feeling rusty but with a few tweaks the Zero AM is feeling badass. Pike still at 150mm but with -2 deg headset for max gnarr ability. Magic Mary 2.35 front, DHR2 2.3 rear, with Rimpact foam inserts – never ridden anywhere so dry yet so lacking in grip! Fatbar Lite 40mm rise, 770mm wide with Deathgrips. Revive 185mm dropper and Hope Tech 3 E4 brakes to save me on the steep stuff. GX Eagle gives plenty of gear range to get up the trails but doesn’t solve the traction problem with dust and loose rocks. Cotic frame bag, Fabric bottle and saddle bag so no pack needed. It is HOT here.

A post shared by A (@a.funks) on Aug 24, 2019 at 10:40am PDT

I have a Mk1 Aeris and subsequently two of my friends now ride them (after trying mine). Great bikes and the guys at Bird are great to deal with.
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I demoed the advance Aeris 145 two and half years ago and bought one on the pre-order. As others have said:

+
Properly progressive geonetry
Metric shocks
Boost
Sensible bearings
External cable routing
Threaded BB
The level of customer service
No model-year nonsense
145 can be run as 145 or 145LT (160mm travel, with up to 170mm forks) via a linkage swap that also increases the progressiveness
Lifetime transferable warranty
Rides great, amazingly capable (far more so than me)

–
Occasionally a bit overkill for tame XC (not that it bothers me)
Short head tubes mean low stack; I’ve ended up with 20mm of spacers under the stem and am about to swap to a 40mm rise bar to get comfy
Needs an adaptor on some frames with the Super Deluxe shock to get a bottle in (but I believe Bird are working on their own)

In fact, that last point is one of the great things about Bird as a company – if people on the owners FB group start talking about stuff they’d like (different linkages, more tyre clearance, adaptors for bottle cages, etc) then most of the time Dan and/or Ben will pop up and say “If there’s enough interest then we’ll make it” – and then they do. They’re always tinkering to improve stuff, but in ways that can be retrofitted to existing bikes as well.

If they made a LLS 29er e-bike with a Brose motor and a bit more stack height I’d be all over it.. 😉

Love my aeris 145. It’s possibly a bit much for my regular riding – but I’m out in Slovenia at the moment riding Enduro tracks and it’s awesome. Customer service is excellent, if you email you’ll generally get a detailed response within an hour or two if business hours.

Spares (eg mech hanger) are all dirt cheap – less than a tenner. I think the hanger on my old nomad was 45 quid!

The only thing about them is they aren’t quite the most progressive geo out there. They’re better than a lot of the more conservative bikes but worth trying back to back vs a pole or Nicolai Geometron. There is a difference.

Bird definitely a bargain compared with those other brands though!

I went for a pole Evolink frame over a bird but cost wasn’t my number one consideration

Suppose it depends if you want/need the latest geometry fad…the current geometry works well and I suspect it’ll be tweaked as improvements are introduced.
Not sure not having progressive geometry is that much of a drawback – but like you, that is my opinion.

https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/pole-evolink-158-2018-l,bird-aeris-145-lt-2018-l/

Not exactly a lot in it! The Geometron is waaaay longer, but then so is the price.

@Benpinnick If you know of a medium bird zero mk2 (orange) kicking about please point me in the general direction 🙂