NBD – finished my CRC Ragley

First ride today and what can I say.

Wow!

Never slung a leg over a bike and it felt quite so ‘just right’ straight away.

The reach is longer than any bike I’ve ever had and I like short bikes, so there was a bit of trepidation. It’s slack and I built it with a slightly longer rake than the standard spec (just the forks that were available) and I built the cockpit high, so thought it may wander a tad. My HT’s have always been steel, so I was expecting a harsh ride. The BB is looooowww, so I was expecting pedal strikes. Never ridden a full 29’er before, so didn’t really know what to expect on that front.

Any misgivings were completely unfounded. It climbed like a dream AND on pretty much every bike I ride, I get a numb dick on a long climb – today, absolutely nothing after a mile long road climb. Maybe the saddle, maybe the position, dunno? No sore wrists/numb hands either.

Riding across the moors, it felt so compliant, at times almost like riding a short travel FS, or HT with a suspension seat post. And no pedal strikes

Didn’t really push it downhill, as I was alone and going to take a bit of time finding it’s limits/level of grip. But it felt really planted and did some steep steps in the woods as really as my FS

The weird bit – riding on the road, it initially felt like I was towing an anchor through treacle, but then on the trails it zips along – I’ve read this is a trait of the Griffus tyres though. That said, even towards the end of the ride, when I’ve normally got heavy legs, it wasn’t a chore to pedal. In fact none of it was tiring, comparing it to my outgoing HT.

Love it

Forks need a bit of a tweak – more pressure, or a token, not sure, but that will be easily sorted. Other than that, verdict is out on the tyres, but there’s literally nothing else I would change about it

Nice ride looks the business

£1600 notes seems very steep for the parts build mind and what £1600 would of got you these days for a full build ,but if your happy that’s all that matters.

Nice ride looks the business

£1600 notes seems very steep for the parts build mind and what £1600 would of got you these days for a full build ,but if your happy that’s all that matters

Cheers

Came in at a bit more than some of the other builds (but I think some people discount parts that they already own)

Extravagant bits were £90 on some bling rotors, but considering the rest of the braking set up was £90, I’ll take that – the Slate Evo’s are ace btw. Went for a £50 Horizon headset, rather than the £2.99 Neutron, Horizon BB too (dunno cost without checking). Tyres were £130, but was set on the Hutchinson’s. Other than that, everything else was heavily discounted.

There are some decent full builds out there for £1600, but you are generally getting a shit set of wheels – I went Horizon Pro’s for £360, reduced from (£600??), you don’t get the Sam Hill pedals, chain guide/bash guard, XT shifter, or carbon bars and would probably spend some £££ upgrading, so yeah, I’m happy with the build 👍

*DP

Yeah you’ve got a really lovely build for £1600. Nothing off the peg will come close to it

Nice report and glad it rides so well, I can’t wait to ride mine although not before spring as it’s tennis for me atm.

We all have different and subjective perceptions of value but for £1,600 doesn’t sound extortionate for the build, particularly wheels and fork.

I’ll start a thread on mine with cost breakdown when I have a minute.

It’s exactly 30lbs with pedals btw, yours should be similar.

Is Madri really just rebranded Coors Lite ?

Is Madri really just rebranded Coors Lite ?

Same brewery I think, but no. Madri is very palatable if you like lagers, whereas Coors tastes like watered down piss