Kinesis Sync has landed!

Nice.

@mboy give 1×10 a whizz before you drop for 11 speed, chances are you will almost never use that 11th gear.

Looks lovely but far from needing a dropper post it needs an upper! Seat is already below bars.

Two of those out on their first night ride last night!?

Where?

Is that a small sized frame?

Yep, 650b version.

I’ve got the large 29er, still very compact though, the thing flies when you put your foot down. Going to experiment with mine over the winter, layback post and shorter stem, I don’t seem to be using the dropper as much as I normally do. Very impressed with the direct mount rear mech.

I want to go riding now.

Rewski chief groove has connected the new sync online with the real life saw one he saw out last night so just the one!

Chiefgrooveguru hi! I know who u are since your fall that made u famous!

Everyone saying dropper…I know it would be nice to have but I want this bike to stay minimal, low maintenance and light!

@mboy give 1×10 a whizz before you drop for 11 speed, chances are you will almost never use that 11th gear.

Already have done… Found that with a 32T with 11-36 cassette on a 26″ bike I was ok on most rides under 3hrs, except I ran out of top end speed a bit quickly. Tried a 36T too briefly, and that cured the top end speed, but I then struggled up the steepest climbs when my legs were tired.

On a 29er the gearing is 10% taller anyway, so I’m not tempted I’m afraid. Especially as I’ve now got into longer rides on occasion (did a 12hr solo where a 24/36 bottom gear got a fair bit of use once the legs went past 6hrs!) so probably going with a 26/39 or 24/36 double with an 11-36. Though I reckon I could just about get away with an 11spd with a 32 or 34T ring most of the time…

Must say I’m loving the 11 spd…not missed any gears and loving the granny ring for steep bits. Suprised as I thought I would miss being able to drop a load of gears in one.

@mboy sure, I’ve never yet needed a lower gear than my 10th (32:36 on a 29er), but so far the biggest I’ve done is 3 hours in Surrey or a 1/2 day at BPW (the climb 2 and a half times). When true fatigue kicks in I may feel differently … time will tell.

Sneak peak… Not quite there yet but…

Just got to re-rim the rear hub with the new 29er rim (so that it’s not a 69er as in the photo!), fit my reverb and saddle, shorten the brake hoses, then we’re all good to go! Can’t wait!

Oh, and don’t worry, there’ll be decent pics when it’s all ready to go…

Spec for those interested is… Medium Sync 29er Frame, Rockshox Revelation RCT3 shortened to 120mm, DT240S hubs on Mavic EN821 UST 29er rims, XT derailleurs, shifters, cassette and pedals, SRAM XX crank, Easton Haven stem, Kinesis F750 carbon bar, Formula T1 brakes, and there will be a Reverb on there soon enough too.

Probably one of the nicest builds I’ve seen on here! Congratulations, enjoy!

Just in time to enjoy the mud! I’ve found my Sync is making a very good road bike at the mo, actually weighs less than my road bike, and I did 48 miles of wet, mucky country lanes on it last weekend and am in love with it. Can see my other bikes being quite neglected! Enjoy it Mboy!

Does anybody have a large Sync I could swing a leg over – based in the lakes but will travel…

@ IvanDobski – I do but I’m in the South East. I’m 6ft 4 if that helps?

I’m 6’3 so that’d be fine, I might drop you a line next time I’m down that way with work. cheers.

Perfect, I’ll drop you an email. It’s a stunning frame, worth seeing in the flesh as pics sometimes don’t do it justice, like the cloverleaf TT and HT. It’s also a pleasure dealing with Dom at kinesis and upgrade, might also be worth tracking down singlespeedmatt, he’s got one of the small 650b versions, I think he’s lakes based?

Whatever you do, DO NOT tot up all the RRP’s of your custom bike build… Staring at the thick end of £5k for mine! OUCH!!!

Does anybody have a large Sync I could swing a leg over – based in the lakes but will travel…

If you want to have a look at my medium bike, I’m not far from Birmingham so you’d pass through on the way down. I’m a Kinesis dealer too, so have a small range in (sadly no larges right now). The size/fit is the same as the FF29, so if you can find a large FF29 (a bit easier) locally to you then you’ll know it fits. 6ft3 should just about be alright on a large I reckon as they’ve got a decent TT length, though you’d probably want a 400mm seatpost.

It’s also a pleasure dealing with Dom at kinesis and upgrade

Big thumbs up to the Upgrade boys, soooooo much more helpful and knowledgable about their products than most distributors.

I’ve actually just sold an FF29 as I could have done with a touch more standover on the large. The sync looks to be a bit better in that respect?

Definite more stand over available on the sync than the ff29, completely different feel, they really are non-comparable (in a good way…I think), I’ve got both in medium, just waiting for my sync to come back with 1×10 gearing replacing the old 2×9

<iframe src=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/114525955@N06/11965755475/player/f9d47becb0&#8243; height=”500″ width=”375″ frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe>

posted for siaxminster 🙂

[/url]
image[/url] by simonharttrup1[/url], on Flickr

[/url]
image[/url] by simonharttrup1[/url], on Flickr

[/url]
image[/url] by simonharttrup1[/url], on Flickr

Where are you getting the X Fusion forks from? See good reviews for them, might be the last money I spend on my Ti456 to eke another year out of it…

[/url]
image[/url] by simonharttrup1[/url], on Flickr

@brassneck
The slide Rs came via upgrade bike around £270 I think
The carbon rigids came from Fat birds £230 but worth every penny

Any shop that sells Kinesis will also be able to get X-Fusion. They are both distributed by the same company.

A quick and dirty progress update photo…

Just gotta shorten the brake hoses, set the rear tyre up tubeless, and swap my Reverb over from my other bike (and probably change the saddle).

Very nice. 8)

Frame size?

It’s a medium. I’m 5ft10 if that makes any difference.

dam – that is sexy

Nice… that the direct mount rear mech?

Yeah it’s the direct mount, haven’t tested it as such yet but shifts in the stand seem exceptionally precise and crisp!

It’s a medium. I’m 5ft10 if that makes any difference.

Is your seat at pedalling height?

Had the DM fitted to mine, impressive, ultra snappy gear change, just makes the overall feel of the bike very lively.

Is your seat at pedalling height?

Might be 5-10mm out, as I’ve not yet fine tuned it, but it’s close. It’s a 350mm post on just about the limit of its extension right now (the Reverb going in is 380mm). I an long in the leg though for my height.

Thing that’s going to be hard to get used to is the bar height! Already feels like they need dropping, and that’s with flat bars and a zero rise stem. Might end up with a negative rise stem and a shallower headset top cap to lower the front by 15-20mm to make it closer to my other bike. I like quite a low front end which is the challenge with 29ers, and though this isn’t talk compared to some, that fork is at 120mm whereas my other only has a 100mm fork on it.

Might be 5-10mm out, as I’ve not yet fine tuned it, but it’s close. It’s a 350mm post on just about the limit of its extension right now (the Reverb going in is 380mm). I an long in the leg though for my height.

tbh I was thinking how low the seat was in relationship to the bars…

Niner makes some bars with a bit of drop (instead of rise) to them which might be worth a look.

My bikes normally have bars and saddle about level. So this is a bit more upright at the moment indeed. I can get a 10mm lower stack top cap and a -6 degree stem on there easily without drastically affecting the aesthetics which should get it about level.

It’s all personal preference though eh, I know people that ride 29ers with 2″ rise bars on and sat bolt upright!

Soooooooo… I finally got out on the bike! Embarrassingly late I know (I’ve been busy), but I got a quick blast over the Malverns on it tonight.

First impressions…

Without wishing to sound cliched, it’s the least 29er-like 29er that I’ve ridden so far (including the ultra short back ended Whyte T-129 and 29C). I mean that in that it doesn’t feel like a big bike, it feels quite compact and is definitely more playful than other 29ers I’ve ridden. Obviously the benefits of 29ers are still there in abundance, but with less of the drawbacks of most.

I say less, cos immediately obvious (even though I’ve slammed the stem and fitted a lower stack top headset spacer) is the handlebar height. It’s still too high for my own tastes, so I’m going to have to fit a stem with some negative rise I’m afraid. It doesn’t feel massively too high, but could do with going down another 10mm. Obviously I could shorten the fork travel, but the bike is designed around a 120mm fork optimum and that’s the travel I want to run.

Power transfer is very direct though, I’m not as fit as I was a few months ago (have had no time to ride!) but out of the saddle standing on the pedals it’s stiff, probably aided by the SRAM XX BB30 cranks and 142x12mm axle. It also has that “flat back tyre” feeling that many of the best Ti bikes have in abundance. You’ll either love it or hate it (it’s been 8 months since I last rode Ti, but I quite like the feeling), but you’ll be checking that the back tyre isn’t flat quite a bit for the first few rides! That’s not to say it’s flexy, far from it to be fair, just that the inherent properties of Ti mute the ride quite a lot compared to alloy, carbon and even steel.

The frame is also exceptionally UK conditions friendly, tyre clearance is as good as if not better than I’ve seen on a 29er (despite the shorter than average stays), a 2.25″ has plenty of mud room and even a Hans Dampf fits with good clearance. The Direct Mount for a Shimano mech also seems to make the shift very crisp.

Other bits of the bike… The Rockshox Revelation RCT3’s seem as well controlled as any fork I’ve used (and unlike Fox they seem to be happy to give up their stated travel), the M780 XT shifters and mechs totally faultless, the SRAM XX crank is ultra stiff and shifts well, and MY GOD the Formula T1’s are powerful! First ride out by the end, the power was better than anything I’ve ever used before, but also more controllable than anything else too.

Now to get out and ride it some more!