Mk11 size large 160mm plates
Pikes 26″ 160mm
XT 2×10 King BB
Hope Tech M4 180mm floaty rotors
King on Stans 355, though the rims are dying…
Hans Dampf and Nobby Nic tubeless
Reverb Stealth, still getting used to that.
The most stable and capable bike I’ve ever owned. It’s bloody brilliant
Mk8 black frame (large) 140mm rockers
Fox RP23 shock(I think) with oversize air can (also have DT shock)
Just fitted 160mm coil converted Lyrik(tapered) to replace 150mm Revs
SLX brakes 180 discs f&r
Ragley carbon risers 720mm
Ragley stem, 55mm
Crest hoops on Pro2s (rear Crest a bit beaten up now – had to pull the rim out in a vice a couple of times…)
2.4MK front, 2.35 Fat Albert rear, tubeless
RF Next carbon cranks running 2×9 with bash. 22/36
XTR BB
11-34 cassette
SRAM XO shifters
SLX Shadow Plus rear mech with 6mm spacer bodge
LX front mech
Fizik something or other saddle
34.9 Reverb
520 SPDs
According to my elderly spring balance scales it was about 28lbs with the air spring Revs so maybe around 29 now.
Have run it with 140, 150 and 160mm forks. Only done one ride with the Lyriks but feels great. I really like this bike – but would like a raw one – and I’d like to try 650b – to see if the trail can come any more alive.
vonplatz – I’d hardly call that a conservative build… Very nice.
1) P20, what front mech are you using? What is the fitting?
2) Pike owners, do your forks have dual 26”/650b compatability?
My build will be something like…
MK11 frame xl, raw
Shimano 2×9 or 2×10, depending on budget.
Marzocchi 44 Ti RC3 150mm
Sun ringle black flag wheels
Full XT or SLX/Saint brakes
Reverb stealth
It’s an XTR E-type front mech. From memory there isn’t any other choice for the 40/28 rings I run. Shifting is excellent both up and down. The down side of those rings, the front syntace chain device doesn’t fit.
My pikes are 26″
My build (remarkably similar to vonplatz’s) :
301 MK11 XL in black with 160 plates
160mm 27.5″ Pike RCT3
Syntace W35 wheelset, 26″ rear & 27.5″ front (These are brilliant & make my FlowEXs look puny thin in comparrison)
Dual-ply Larsen TT on the rear & Magic Mary on the front, tubeless.
Syntace Vector Carbon 780 bar
Syntace Megaforce 2 30mm stem
2×10 XT throughout
Syntace bash
LV integrated chain device
150mm reverb stealth
SQ labs Ti railed saddle
Syntace No9 Titan pedals
~29lbs all up
Medium MK 11 in Raw with 140 plates
150 pikes
XX1
50 mm Haven stem and carbon bars
Reverb stealth.
Arch ex hoops (26)
MT6s
XTR pedals
Selle kit carbonio saddle
Rubber queens ( the light ones)
26 lb 10 oz. On ultimate digital scales before anyone says “no way”
has anyone tried a 301 with 26” and 650b wheels? Are the differences so noticeable that it’s worth buying new 650b wheels, tyres and forks in the future?
Not tried 650B in the back but did ask for some picks of it on here before I made a decision.
I decided on 26″ in the back in the end. 650B would not have given enough mud clearance for my liking.
So I went 26″ rear and 650B front.
I’ve got 650b back and front and I am limited to 2.25 tyres in the back.
Do I like it better? Compared to my Cotic Soul 26″ it’s really hard to say as they ride so differently and I ride them in completely different situations. I cant’ say that the wheels make a massive difference but then I’d have to compare riding the same setup on the 301.
I went 27.5 as i fancied trying it out and it looks like the industry seems to be going that way in terms of new developments.
If you search for Tobi Leonhardt you will see a video of him riding a 301 with 29″ upfront and 650b on the rear; sorry I tried to do a link but I’m a Luddite it seems.
but is the current build. I’ve rebuilt the wheel with Blunt 35 rims and it’s running a 2.4 rubber queen front 2.2 rear now plus the Liteville chain device under the BB. I changed the bars and stem, too.
I have a Hans Dampf 2.35 VertStar compound up front. Very tacky and loads of grip. It has an enormous profile due to the 35mm rims. I’m very happy with it but it’s wearing very quickly, as to be expected with such a soft compound.
On the rear I have a Mavic CrossRoc. Fast rolling and long lasting, it has quite a smooth central band with more aggressive side knobs meaning you can drift nicely before you find grip. Seems quite hard wearing.
HansRey: I recently converted to 1×10 so I have an XTR front mech in my parts bin with about 500km use if you’re interested. I wasn’t going to sell it in case I didn’t like a single ring but I’ve been impressed so far. Send me a PM if you want it.
in the past, i found that reading tea leaves or consulting the horoscopes were more informative/ accurate than MBR, MBUK, WhatBike, Dirt, etc. 😀
BB is high, but i can’t see it being a problem for me. I’ll write up my thoughts on it when it’s built up. I think it’s dead certain that will be like reading tea leaves too !
Happened across an MBR review of this frame – they didn’t like the high BB – is that an issue?
Depends, if you like a high BB or not? I borrowed one for a while whilst I was inbetween bikes, so had a decent amount of time on it – it kinda worked ok, the frame was well built & had some decent design/thoughts, but the numbers were a bit funky, the high BB being one, and not moving towards the longer reach mindset.
The whole 650b compatible thing is a bit of a misnomer, yes the wheels fit (just, if you don’t ride in the mud), but they take a bike that’s already a bit high and make it REALLY high – 14.6″ BB heights with a 160 fork & plates. The one I rode had offset bushes and an angleset in it to make it a bit more normal.
Personally, if it was updated to be a bit longer in the front, and (a lot) lower, it would be a really, really good bike. I understand some people like the short & high thing though, we’re all different 🙂
Compared to my old bike I felt like I was riding a horse at first on the 301, the whole thing was bigger in every respect and I was initially worried that I’d got a size too big (L – I’m 5’11).
I thought that the bike did have quite a long reach, it certainly had a long wheelbase when comparing it to a couple of bronsons that were on a bike holiday with me, but that was an observation, I haven’t looked at numbers.
I also read that MBUK review and it made it sound quite pants really… I can’t agree with the height bottom bracket thing however, I get quite a few pedal strikes and have never had the sensation that the bike flops in corners. Again, not a scientific measurement.
I don’t ride lots of different bikes every month and so can’t compare or be impartial since I’ve already spent money on it and therefore have a vested interest in saying it’s good so I don’t look like an idiot BUT the frame is extremely solid, has been developed little by little not by model years to its current iteration, has loads of clever features and I think it rides like a dream.