INCOMING !! New frame day… Bird Aether 7

The trails/rain not helping much at the moment as well as a growth spurt for the plants, so everything is slower, claggier and your bars are getting clattered by plants everywhere, it means whilst i’m getting more used to it, i’m still not really pushing anything in terms of speed due to traction/grip/slop. Which is a shame.

But yeah we’re certainly enjoying it, both up and downhill.

Today was Shockwiz on the front end. Which was interesting as i’d already gone 2 clicks of tortoise and removed a bit of air, Shockwiz said “too much air out” and 1 more click of tortoise needed.
2021-05-19_11-40-35 by Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

So we made that change with adding some air and 1 click of tortoise, then another bit of testing
2021-05-19_11-40-26 by Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

So getting closer now, i’ve taken the Shockwiz off the front end as that’s close enough to dial in the last bit of pressure by myself.

The back end already feels good, so i think we’ll be closer on that.

Only other job is a bleed on the rear brake as that wasn’t quite firm today… So 5 mins job there.

2021-05-19_11-44-01 by Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Shockwiz installed on the rear.

2021-05-19_01-10-22 by Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Following this thread with interest. Love the look of the bike build, also considering this frame at the moment, but would it be madness putting a BOS deville 160 on it, surely that would crock the geo or make it way to high at the front?

That landscape looks familiar, are you located West Berks way Weeksy?

are you located West Berks way Weeksy

Yes, but considering that’s a VERY not used path, i’m massively impressed.

putting a BOS deville 160 on it, surely that would crock the geo or make it way to high at the front?

For a start it wouldn’t be warrantied, that’s why i dropped the Yari to 150mm as it’s 140-150mm only for warranty i’m afraid. IMO it’s not a high front end.

Looking at that rear shock could you improve access to the cage by rotating the shock 180 degrees, so the piggyback gubbins sits between the rocker and the top tube? Not sure if there’s any engineering reason why the shock needs to have the piston end attached to the rocker and the body on the frame – I ran my Monarch the other way round on a Titus FTM as it was fouling the mounts, and it didn’t explode or anything.

Thnx – Just looking at the numbers I can find, BOS 160 A2C length is 545 or 555!?, compared to a Yari 150mm at 542, so looks doable…

I’ll keep a look out for the ‘Flamingo’ on my local trails around Pangbourne/Goring way!…

A-C is not the whole story though. Cy from cotic answered that argument on here some time in the past. Sure you could try it and accept that it would void your warranty.

I’ll keep a look out for the ‘Flamingo’ on my local trails around Pangbourne/Goring way!…

Posted 5 minutes ago

Once the goring jumps dry out we’ll be back over to play again. Hopefully next week

Looking at that rear shock could you improve access to the cage by rotating the shock 180 degrees, so the piggyback gubbins sits between the rocker and the top tube?

Plenty of space once the Shockwiz isn’t fitted. Which by Sat afternoon it won’t be as testing will be done

They are capable and fun bikes. Below is my amatuerish attempt to sum mine up after a few months of riding. I have been running it with the shock settings that Tftuned suggested but found it a little harsh so over the last couple of rides I’ve had a fiddle with the LSC and it feels way more forgiving. Sped up the rebound on the Pikes too which feels better.

A proper little hooligan.

So, after 4 months of ownership, I feel I can now say that this is the right bike for me and more importantly the kind of riding I actually do. I won’t lie, it wasn’t love at first ride, the fit was good but it felt way too harsh at the back.

Approaching 50 it was time to treat myself to a complete new bike after 15 years of riding ‘Triggers Broom’. The idea of a capable trail bike instead of a heavy hitting enduro bike sounded like the bike I needed for 95% of the time.

I live in Calderdale so the riding is steep and varied and I love building trails and features almost as much as I love riding. I will never be the fastest (mid pack enduro for my age) or the most daring (comfortable on drops and ok on small to medium sized jumps).

My last bike was a V1 Airdrop Edit with a coil shock so I thought I’d need to keep both bikes for bigger days, I was wrong.

I went for a decent spec as I wanted to keep the weight down so that I didn’t just end up with a shorter travel Edit.

After a few rides it became apparent that the rear suspension was just too firm for me. So after trawling through all the threads on the internet regarding the Megneg, plus an email or two with Bird I ordered one and this made a huge difference. 0 bands felt very plush so I tried 2 bands and this felt pretty sweet. I would probably have tried 1 band but then I opted to buy another Aether 7 frame for my wife. Bird had no shocks in stock so I saw this as an opportunity to buy another coil…

Which brings us to now.

The 7 with 150mm Pikes and a Cane Creek coil is perfect for my local riding. It’s only April I’ve already ticked off a couple of local drops, which, despite me building them had previously had me spooked. Same goes for some of the steeper tighter corners in the valley that had me off and walking last year.
The coil has a tiny amount of bob without the climb switch but not enough to make me reach for the lever unless it’s a long smooth climb.

I weighed both shocks and the coil adds 264g over the Megnegged Deluxe which I’ve mostly clawed back with a change of saddle, bars and axles.

I’d now describe the bike as a proper little hooligan. No doubt I’d appreciate more travel if I lived somewhere as rocky as the Lakes but I’m sure the 7 will handle my one or two trips a year just fine. As for Enduro’s, at my pace, same goes and I might even find I gain time on the pedally bits…

For reference I’m around 80-81kg kitted up and a smidge under 5’8”
Spec list

Medium Aether 7
Pike Ultimate 150mm
CCDB IL coil 450 x 2.25
DT Swiss 240/XM481
Shorty/Minion
XT 12 speed
Hope E4 200/180
Brand X rear stealth skewer
Rockshox front stealth skewer
Superstar Elite top cap and seat clamp
Prime Ti Endurance Road saddle (this saved 80g and works fine with my insensitive arse..)
Bird 40mm stem (surprisingly light at 135g)
One Up 35/35mm carbon bar
ESI chunky grips with some 50/1 lockrings to save the delicate foam

Don’t tempt me! Mmmmm coil!

Posted this before but…

Go coil (and colour).

I fancy a new shock and toying with the db air il vs db coil il. With a big red spring would look great with my red forks etc

Shame you live so far away Joe or you could try mine.

I’m not going to jump in there just yet, i’ve got the Shockwiz fitted and i’m at fun jumpy stuff on Sat if the weather plays ball, or FoD for a few days the weekend after if it doesn’t this weekend. So we’ll give the air a fighting chance and keep my £450 in my wallet currently.

Although there is this on Pinkbike.
https://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/3063703/

If he’d take £250 it’d be a no lose 🙂

Except that reads as tuned to the Bronson. Less adjustments on the bomber shocks so you may need to retune it.

Ah… right… well it was a good idea for a while 🙂

I’ll hang on to waiting and seeing how the Monarch RT does this weekend. In terms of local trails it’s currently performing fine and happy. No worries there.

That’s the problem with bikes and suspension though isn’t it, you can never fully tune it for all extremes perfectly, today may be Ridgeway, but tomorrow is jumps and drops… So it’s always a little compromised.

That’s true but if you ride two massively varying terrains there is nothing that says you can’t have two setups for the same shock, or even two shocks setup differently that swap between. As long as you have the settings written down it doesn’t take long to change them.

That’s true but if you ride two massively varying terrains there is nothing that says you can’t have two setups for the same shock, or even two shocks setup differently that swap between. As long as you have the settings written down it doesn’t take long to change them.

Well yeah.. but arguably both of them can easily be within one ride too… That’s why i use ‘soft/poppy’ setup for my shocks/forks on the Shockwiz as i generally tune it for the trickier stuff rather than for outright speed. I don’t generally care about KOMs etc.

Coil feels incredible on the Aether 9 too, nudge nudge… 😉

Coil feels incredible on the Aether 9 too, nudge nudge…

wash your mouth our wagon wheel boy 😀

Haha, I wish that colour was available in the 9. It’s looks really good!

Haha, I wish that colour was available in the 9. It’s looks really good!

For pink … 🙂

We’re getting there, shock now tuned and dialled in. Had a play with bar position which now improved things more. It’s slower turning than the G160 but with head angle it’s going to be. Pedals better and goes uphill better. Jumping is a bit weird as it jumps a little back wheel heavy, or should I say it’s harder to get back wheel to pop compared to g160. But it’s more a slight change in technique.
Rear brake still had a bit of air due to spongey lever feel, so had to rebleed it. Overall I’m a happy boy, just probably sound a bit fussy.

2021-05-22_04-44-34[/url] by Steve Weeks[/url] – Flickr2BBcode LITE

2021-05-22_04-44-27[/url] by Steve Weeks[/url] – Flickr2BBcode LITE

2021-05-22_04-44-22[/url] by Steve Weeks[/url] – Flickr2BBcode LITE

“Jumping is a bit weird as it jumps a little back wheel heavy, or should I say it’s harder to get back wheel to pop compared to g160”

I’d speed the shock rebound up by a click or two then.

Yeah could try it. It’s not an issue on many rides as there’s not much in the way of pop/jump on them.
Will add 1 click on for next weekend at FoD. Got 2 days riding so plenty of time to get it perfect

“Yeah could try it. It’s not an issue on many rides as there’s not much in the way of pop/jump on them.
Will add 1 click on for next weekend at FoD.”

I try to set the shock rebound about as fast as possible without it bucking – so the fork and shock rebound at the same speed. If either is too slow they feel dead and harsh, fork too fast and it won’t stick in corners, shock too fast and it tries to buck me off.

I’d call it taking off a click (reducing the damping) but the key thing is you’re turning it towards hare!

Lol yeah it’s funny how terminology varies but I got the point of less tortoise matey, cheers for clarifying though.

It’s the same on some motorbike stuff, some are measured from fully clockwise, some from fully anti, so in effect you are technically doing the opposite of what you stated.

I live in Calderdale so the riding is steep and varied and I love building trails and features almost as much as I love riding. 

Any chance of hint of where you’re doing this @Mugboo? I’m in Calderdale too, always keen to find something new 🙂

Out again for a play and this thing certainly XCs better than the G160, it’s got a bit of pace for sure.
Wanted to add a click of rabbit to the rear, but I’m all out of rabbit, so the rebound isn’t getting any quicker than it has now. But feels great anyway, just a little less poppy than the G160.
Forest of Dean next weekend will be it’s next tester.

No pics as it walloped with rain a few times and I couldn’t be bothered

I never knew you were colour-blind weeksy ! 😁

May I ask if anyone remembers the explanation for this (on longer travel forks but with same A-C)?:

nixie Full Member
A-C is not the whole story though. Cy from cotic answered that argument on here some time in the past

Anyone tried a piggyback shock with a bottle too?

I’ve got an option on a fox dpx2 but not sure a bottle will play nicely.

Should be better than the Monarch RT I have I think.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174778997649?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2748.l2649

I’ve a 600ml bottle and piggyback on my ML AM9 and fit is meant to be better in the Aether I believe..

Interesting on the RT

https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/Rear-Shocks,35/RockShox/Deluxe,21900

Lastly, due to the overall linear feel, the shock doesn’t have a lot of pop. It takes more effort to pop and bunny hop as the shock absorbs a lot of the force you input. Although, this creates a ground huggy ride, it is more difficult to jump as it requires more energy to do so.

Well you lot are no use on a Sunday night, so i’ve bought and paid for the DPX2…

If it doesn’t fit the frame or isn’t right for the frame in terms of tuning etc, then there’ll be a lovely 2021 model DPX2 up for sale by next week 😀

Never one to miss a chance to have a bit of fun with spanners and setup…. Along with a nice bit of bling of course

s-l1600 by Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

s-l1600 (2) by Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

s-l1600 (1) by Steve Weeks[/url], on Flickr

Looks nice, we have one fitted to the Stumpjumper. Works quite well with it.
If it doesn’t fit or you don’t like it I may be interested

Looks nice, we have one fitted to the Stumpjumper. Works quite well with it.
If it doesn’t fit or you don’t like it I may be interested

I’ll keep ya posted.

Option 2 of course is that i throw it in the Sworks for the boy, he’s running a similar one to me, Monarch Deluxe, we could then keep that as a spare.