Perusing frames at the moment and have read a few reviews on the 601. Looks like a bit of a beast and still nice and light.
Anyone got any real world experience of them? I know there’s a few 301 riders on here so maybe a bit of knowledge around..

I’m not sure what the point of the 601 is unless you run it as a downhill bike. The 301 frame is the same weight as a carbon Nomad with similar geometry. Run the 160mm link and the amazing 35mm wide Syntace wheelset and you’ve got a machine that will ride down anything yet pedals incredibly well. The fairly high bottom bracket does help with pedal strikes but does make it less of a high speed cornering machine than some (you can keep the bracket height down by running a 26″ wheel out back).
Uphill, you get a wee acceleration with every pedal stroke, some that was noticeably lacking from a Banshee Spitfire I had a shot on recently.
The 301 is a great all day ride sort of bike that is really butch downhill. Fit a Rockgaurdz to the downtube and you are unlikely to ever require the 10 year transferable warrenty.

I was very interested inn here as well so kept an eye out for used ones. I saw three wll with dings in the down tubes. It is very possible that it’s a coincidence but they are very light for alu frames. I’ve decided against it if I’m honest. Even their (fantastic) warranty wouldn’t cover that. I still leer at them thought, the design features are excellent.

A carbon frame has downtube protection so it totally makes sense to fit protection to a lightweight alu bike that’s in its element on very rocky terrain. Enduro magazine did a review of the 301 recently.

I have a 301 and it’s way more capable than me. It is the only frame I’ve ever had that’s dented from a rock strike. Should have bought a rock guard earlier! It’s down by the bb where the metal is thicker too :-/

Hi Stevie, I hired one a couple of summers ago in Garda in Italy for some uplift days. As stated its a bit of a beast. Its not heavy for what it is 180mm bike, but its no light weight. Its a very capable bike, can be rum very slack and took me to another level of technical steep trails that I wouldnt have ridden on my own 140mm travel bike.
So out there it was the tool for the job, but back at home living in the lakes it would be more bike than I need. But still a great well made well engineered bike.

Was running 180mm fox 36 and a big rockshox air shock super plush!

I’ve no experience with the 601 (or 901..), but i do have a 301. Mine is set to 150mm (front)/140mm (rear) and it’s nice for the flat plains that surround me. If i move back to the UK anytime soon, i’ll probably fit the 160mm rear plates. It’s a really light bike, especially compared to my 170mm Marin Quake.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZ9xR7KNmKQ[/video] One of these guys is using a 301.

I also had one for 4 days as a hire bike in Garda, my mates all got 301’s. It didn’t really feel like a big bike to ride and so there was no cross over difficulty from my normal 140mm bike, pedalling was fine but I wouldn’t want to use it for cross country blasts. Downhill it just ate technical, rocky terrain – the 301s were good but this was better, it held lines and it didn’t get overwhelmed by the ridiculous rock gardens. For UK use I would go for a 301 as they are so versatile, for proper, rocky nastiness the 601 wins.

Another Garda 601 user here, great bike, if I lived somewhere that warranted such a beast I would have one, bit much bike for the south though really!

Thanks guys. I’m currently riding a 170mm bike for everything.
Looks like these would build up to a very similar weight..
Don’t really do long distance rides at the moment so I’m all about fun. Don’t mind struggling up to have a blast down.

Stevied,
I own a 301 and have used a 601 for a week in Finale and a couple of days or so around Calderdale.

With a bit of time invested in setting up the suspension, the 601 seems to climb almost as well as the 301 and there’s only about a kilo difference between them. Point both downhill and the difference is more apparent though.
The 301 excels on steep, rocky tech. The perfect tool for all-day Lakeland hike-a-bike techfests.
The 601 just eats the same sort of steep rocky tech for breakfast and you find yourself flying through bigger, nastier stuff as fast as you dare.
In Finale, our group had a mix of 301s and 601s. In summary, side-by-side on uplift stuff, the 301s were no match for the 601s.

I’m seriously thinking about buying a 601 too now.

NorthCountryBoy, I recognise some of your Garda locations. Last one looks like a 601 on the 601 (trail) there 🙂

We must have a similar taste in bikes Steve – I’m currently negotiating to buy a 301 🙂

Thanks ET, useful info there 🙂

I see Syntace are still listing the 901 too but trying to get a reply to an email from them, or Liteville, seems nigh-on impossible.
In reality, I think the 301 would do the job I want but I prefer the look of the 601/901. Weight of them isn’t really an issue..

Ooh, let me know if you get one Nick, be nice to have a proper look at one 😉

If only it wasn’t in Kent 🙁

Silver one on PB?

Can’t see where I’d get much benefit from a 901 over a 601 personally.

The unanswered question for me is, will I get away with a 301 and a 601 in the garage? (The fun-suppression sub-committee might take a dim view).

yip

Lots of people on German MTB forum report difficulty getting a reply from Syntace/Liteville. I stuck a question on their Facebook side and had a reply in a few hours

Will try that WF 🙂