@howsyourdad1
Its the old style one, didn’t fancy being a guinea pig with the new one, old one has a nice wide adjust window. Reviews were along the lines of, got an x2 already, new x2 is a bit better but not really worth it. Plus that one was half price.

@Sir HC cheers, where did you pick it up from?

That was from CRC of all places, tried to buy one from Sprung, but far too much hassle in the end!

Tried a megneg, it made it a bit better but added more complication.

One of these is on my list for my next frame. The p2 is very similar in sizing to my rocketmax so would work for me I think. Miss the plushness of my airdrop edit so thinking this could be a good logical frame for me. Anyone running one with a coil? A lot of reviews talk of it as a full on race machine but is that the case? It’s one of 3 frames on my list that I can’t get a test on!

Privateer 141 | First Ride Review Of Privateer’s Brand New All-Rounder

Am very interested in this bike for the eldest, she loves steep gnarr and is planning to start racing as soon as cv19 opens things up. She has saved a fair bit and I have promised to match her savings, already on £1200 so not far off the total at 2980 for the full bike. Only issue is they don’t seem to do the full bike in the P1 size anyone know why? The p1 is a perfect bike for short people and No1 child is my genes strongly so its unlikely she will get beyond 5’5″. Its not like she will grow out of it hence my unbridled generosity..
If not this then what other gnarr enduro bike?

Ok I found on the website to email them about P1 sized builds, I’m assuming they will come later in the year, as long is its in before we go to the alps then we will all be happy! So I have done, will report back.

Looks great, from a known unknown brand and the price is scarcely believable, BUT! (arm chair engineer time) one look at that geometry chart has me concerned it’s going to feel short as. The seat angle is so steep, that even though the P3 size has a 490mm reach, the eff. TT is only just over 600mm, which is comically short for a bike designed for riders up to 6ft 3″ (or so they say) To get the same saddle to bars position as on my Soul, my desk top workings show I’d need a 90mm stem!

Which was the process I went through _ and the suggestion that you don’t sit down when riding. I do … hence at 6ft3in, the reach is TT is comically short.
I did email Privateer – they never responded …

Do they mean, you don’t sit down while descending?
Climbing and pedalling as long as there is no knee or toe overlap, you just sit more upright the shorter the reach yes? Seems more comfy to me? Or am I deluded?

It’s clearly not the bike to buy if you do a lot of pedalling about on flatter trails, but it’s apparently an amazing winch & plummet machine.

They appear to have toned down the seat angle a bit on the 141, which is likely to be ridden on more pedally trails.

It’s clearly not the bike to buy if you do a lot of pedalling about on flatter trails, but it’s apparently an amazing winch & plummet machine.

The things is lots of people ride a lot of flattish trails and climbing to get to the winch an plummet…

chakaping
Full Member

It’s clearly not the bike to buy if you do a lot of pedalling about on flatter trails, but it’s apparently an amazing winch & plummet machine.

okay , so it is focused bike park tool. Fair enough but it will limited its usefulness to mortals.

The more important measurement is the offset between the saddle (sit bones) and the centre of the BB. The 161 puts you much closer to the BB than other bikes, so I ended up running my saddle all the way back. IMO its probably a bit too steep (given everyone running their saddles quite far back!) and given the actual/effective angle is very close (which is a good thing).

Climbing and pedalling as long as there is no knee or toe overlap, you just sit more upright the shorter the reach yes? Seems more comfy to me? Or am I deluded?

You wont get toe overlap with a 64 degree head angle!

You do sit more upright, it puts more weight on your hands is what I found, you tend to then run the bar a bit higher, which for me was a compromise for descending.

OK thanks. Whats it like on flatish pedally bits then?
We often do 25/30k rides which incorporate steepest and wildist trails, but there is a lot of ‘trail riding’ in between, I mean is it bad or just overbiked? For me overbiked is irrelevant, but if there is anything actually negative about it then that would be good to know.

okay , so it is focused bike park tool. Fair enough but it will limited its usefulness to mortals.

An Enduro bike being focused on Enduro riding isn’t really a shocker is it?

Yeah I wouldn’t say it is a bike park tool, its a steep rooty rocky descender.

Just had an email back from Privateer about size small builds. Apparently they don’t do them which is a shame. It’s always cheaper to buy a complete bike than buy up the bits and the complete build is cheap for what it is. Oh dear. One disappointed kid.

Hi Ian,
​
Thanks for your enquiry and your interest in the Privateer.

We only supply the P1 as a frame with shock, we just cannot get the forks etc in the small qtys we need for the P1. If you decide to proceed we will offer a 15% discount on a wheelset to go with the frame.

I hope this answers your questions, if you need any further information please get back to us.
Regards
John

Privateer frame and second hand for a load of the parts? 15% of a wheel set isn’t a bad place to start

The new Vitus Sommet has a cracking spec and would be a bit lighter for your lass, might be worth a look (not sure if/when in stock obvs).

We often do 25/30k rides which incorporate steepest and wildist trails, but there is a lot of ‘trail riding’ in between, I mean is it bad or just overbiked? For me overbiked is irrelevant, but if there is anything actually negative about it then that would be good to know.

I think we’re at (or at least approaching) a fairly mature point in bike geometry where there are no right or wrong bikes but every one is a compromise of angles and lengths.

A steeper seat tube makes it easier to pedal up steep stuff, but probably makes it worse / less comfy on long flatter rides. So if your riding is mostly either up or down steep trails (with very little flat riding) then the Privateer geo is probably decent.

Of course there are downsides of having a big bike with big bike angles when you don’t need it. Without being patronising, that’s part of what being ‘over-biked’ means! It’ll be heavier and less agile on flatter trails, more of a lump to haul up gentle, long climbs and probably less comfortable to ride for long periods. Does your daughter want to be fast over the entire 30k ride, or just fast on the 2 minute steep sections?

I would guess that a steeper seat tube is less important for ‘winch & plummet’ if your winching is all done on fire-roads. On my bike I often find myself perched on the front of a seat rammed all the way forward in its rails when I’m riding techy climbs. My riding is almost always either up or down something relatively steep (very little flat) so I would probably benefit from a seat that’s further forwards.

Ultimately though, seat tube angle is just one facet of a bike’s geometry and I wouldn’t obsess about it if the rest of the bike looks decent.

I think we’re at (or at least approaching) a fairly mature point in bike geometry where there are no right or wrong bikes but every one is a compromise of angles and lengths

I agree with this, I’ve gone from hardtail, trail bike to enduro bike and now LLS because the bikes couldnt really handle the more technical or speedy trails that I wanted to ride in the way I want to ride as my taste for riding has developed.

But each jump up the line meant you left something behind, I used to love riding the hardtail and trail bike around the local trail centre, I then found the off piste and non trail centre riding and the bikes couldnt handle it the way I wanted to ride, I moved bike to handle these trails but then found the bike didnt handle the trail centre as well, its all a compromise at the end of the day.

Vitus sommet a good shout, similar geometry other than seat tube. Same price for v similar build spec.

https://geometrygeeks.bike/compare/privateer-161-2019-p1,vitus-sommet-27-2021-s/

mashr
Privateer frame and second hand for a load of the parts? 15% of a wheel set isn’t a bad place to start

Its not the same as a new bike though.

Its not the same as a new bike though.

You can’t buy father-daughter quality bike building time though 😉

True.

You can’t buy father-daughter quality bike building time though

Yeah, she’ll get to learn new swear words and everything🤣

Yeah, she’ll get to learn new swear words and everything🤣

At no point did I suggest it would be an entirely positive experience 😀

She’s nearly 14. I learn my profanity from her.

An Enduro bike being focused on Enduro riding isn’t really a shocker is it?

It definitely says “all rounder’ in the Singletrack review …. didn’t know that meant Enduro these days. Thanks for bringing me up to speed .

Relying on reviews often isn’t the best place to start. Privateer say this “ Privateer bikes was founded on the idea of creating a bike that fits the needs and demands of it’s namesake. Progressive race-ready geometry combined with rider focused features, ensures the 161 can handle seasons worth of abuse”. Not a hint of compromise there really

Actually this bit is probably better: “ Developed with Top 20 EWS rider Matt Stuttard and the Enduro World Series in mind – The 161 features progressive geometry to descend as fast as possible, whilst reducing fatigue with a low effort climbing position. By reducing upper body stress on steep transitions, readiness and speed will increase during the timed stages.”

So the 161 is a 148 boost frame with 53mm chainline can you just buy the Hunt enduro wide 148 boost wheels with a HG freehub and fit any 8/9/10/11 (and possibly some 12) speed cassettes?
Or is it better to go Microspline or Sram XD? Not bothered about 12 speed but there are not too many boost cranks (in 165mm for daughter) that are not 12 speed…

Basically help me spec her drivetrain!

Yep, it’s a 148mm boost frame.
I’d probably go with 12 speed microspline for forwards compatibility- it’s a new standard which hopefully won’t be replaced in the near future.
That said, you can get deore 10 and 11 speed with wide range cassettes now which might help the budget a bit. You could pair a m5120 mech with wide range m5100 11 speed cassette and some m7000 slx cranks with 53mm chainline. I’m making the assumption that despite all the covid disruption that this is all available… but it could be a way into a solid, dependable and affordable way into boost widerange 11 speed.
I have 12 speed slx on my 161, it’s o.k – the shifting under load is amazing but I don’t think the derailleur is as solid as the 11 speed options, and they seem more sensitive to maladjustment and mud too.

I have a 4 year old xt 11 speed system that is going strong, i will be gutted when it dies, so I might hunt for bargains. Thanks for the advice.
Is it ok to get a slx 12 speed single crank and chainring and run 11 speed chain? will it still retain? Ie mix 12 speex crank with 11 speed chain/mech/deraillur?

Thread revive! How are people finding them?

I know everything is a compromise. The vast vast majority of my riding is winch and plummet on rough techy scottish naturals but sometimes I throw in the odd normal ‘trail ride’ or biger mountain day on tamer descents and can’t afford two bikes.

Too much of a compromise? as long as its not awful thats ok for me

cheers

My daughter is getting on very well with her P1 161. I was struggling to keep up before, now she is long gone. Apparently its super long, stable, corners like its on rails, and so far I have not been called upon to fix anything…

Whats the biggest water bottle people ar fitting in these frames?

specifically P3, 161

cheers

I’ve just ordered a black P2 Frame/shock//fork deal. Can’t wait! There were heaps of them at the Naughty this weekend. Seemed like they were going well.

Keep going back and looking at frames on their website. The 141 ticks every box on the check list!

im struggling with the crankset on my 141. needs 2 spacers behind the driver side BB otherwise both the crank arm and the chainring fould the chainstays. im pretty sure this is throwing out the chainline giving me noisy transmission. i must be doing something wrong but cannot fathom wtf it is!?

its a raceface aeffect boost crankset.

How is everyone else getting on with their bikes?
My daughter (14) loves her 161 still, which believe me is a miracle if you know anything about how fickle 14 year olds are. She has started doing some of the steeper more gnarly surrey hills stuff that gives me pause. The bike seems to give her a lot of confidence. Still reliable so far.

Anyone between p3 and p4 bought a p4 and regretted getting the bigger size?

I’m 6’2 foot could go for either

Cheers

James