Viewing 18 posts - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)
  • RAAW Madonna
  • Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    As it’s something a bit different, and now i’ve had a chance to ride it, I thought if anyone was interested, or considering one, it might help, or possibly even hinder.

    I won’t bother with a full backstory of how I got to it, other than I have a shorter travel, lightweight 29″ trail bike which I wanted to keep in its current form, but wanted something bigger for racing, a longer trip to Whistler in the summer & a few other trips abroad planned. Something I would consider progressive in terms of geometry, but not crazy big which i’ve tried and don’t like. It stared with a cheap Sentinel (large) to get a feel for things & went from there. Was happy with carbon not being an option on this, looking at the state of the Sentinel after just a week in Italy.

    Being 6’2″, I went for the XL. Spec is basically:

    DHX2 Coil.

    Fox 36 Factory Grip2 160mm fork.

    One Up 170mm dropper.

    X01 Eagle groupset. 165mm cranks.

    Guide Ultimates

    28H XM481’s on DT 240 hubs. Minion DHF WT & DHR2

    OneUp flat pedals

    Joystick Analog carbon bar & Binary stem.

    It’s certainly not light. It comes in at 15.15kg & there isn’t really the opportunity to save much more weight without compromising it’s durability, which I don’t plan on doing.

    In terms of the frame, impressions are it looks really well thought out. I like the lack of internal routing, the welds all look clean & tidy, not Nicolai nice, but better than any other aluminium bike i’ve had before. Build went together easily, with no issues at all. The ‘bag in the tube’ storage is a bit of a gimmick, you can’t fit a half decent multi tool in there, but I can get the annoying spares I would carry if I could (pads/quick link/cable/etc). The bit in the DT is better, can get a tube down there (albeit one of those hideously expensive tubolito ones, as they are tiny), gas can, tool & a tubeless worm holder.

    Things I don’t like. No DT protector. For it’s intentions, it should have one. I have a spare from when I put one on another bike (Trek one) which is stuck on there now. Chainstay protector is just 3M tape. For how much they cost new, it should have something a bit more factory. But, I bought it secondhand so i’m not so precious 🙂

    How does it ride then. Well, at the moment – tough to say. The weekend after it arrived, I fully nailed myself riding my other bike & I am still suffering the consequences. I managed to get out on it this weekend however for it’s first ride. What I can say is; it wants to go fast – really fast. I can foresee a massive crash on this thing. The BB is low. Really low. I thought the Sentinel I rode was low, but this seems even more so. Short cranks & slim pedals are a must. The positive to that is it goes round corners scarily well. I really like the steep STA, maybe that with a combination of the longer stays means it climbs well, given it’s size – in context, as well as any other longer travel big bike i’ve ridden. Suspension feels good, and there is plenty of scope to increase compression damping as I get a bit faster when I’m in less pain – still managed to overshoot a few jumps & there was nothing weird, no nasty bottom outs, etc. So at the moment, it’s a thumbs up all round. As I get some more time on it, I’ll add more thoughts. Looking forward to riding & racing it & hopefully not being so worried about if & when it breaks 🙂

    Not quite sure how it’s going to fit in a bike bag though – the large Sentinel was a serious squeeze, and this is noticeably bigger!

    honourablegeorge
    Full Member

    Very nice. Been eyeballing these myself since they came out. An XL one is one of the few thngs I’d consider other than a new Geometron, and the water bottle is a huge plus for me. Looks like I’d have no bother with a long seatpost in it, I’m an inch shorter than you.

    Hope you heal up soon, interested to hear more.

    howsyourdad1
    Free Member

    I saw a couple of these in finale last year. they looked nice, but kind of standard really.  in a good way. although the bearings looked beefy!

    Hope it rides well!

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    fathomer
    Full Member

    Firstly, heal up soon.

    Secondly, it looks like a brute of a bike, though you could have posted a better picture 😉

    Thirdly, what spokes are you using, I’m looking at getting the same rims built up with the same hubs & tyres but with 32 spokes and can’t make my mind up if Sapim D-Lights or DT Comp Races are going to be tough enough.

    I’ll be riding nowhere near as fast as you that’s for sure!

    chakaping
    Free Member

    Very tasty.

    The website video of the TT storage makes me think of Easy Rider.

    Did yours come with any bonus “packages” installed?

    sharkattack
    Full Member

    Beautiful looking bike. I’m not in the market and won’t be for the foreseeable future, but I wouldn’t say no to a day out on one.

    tomhoward
    Full Member

    Could’ve raked at least some of the leaves off your lawn? Tsk.

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    Water bottle mounts are a deal breaker for me these days!

    I think it’s fair to say it doesn’t do anything weird when riding. I’m not someone who takes forever to get used to a bike, but I hopped straight on and just rode it without really thinking about things – which given it’s a fair bit different in sizing to anything else i’ve ridden, is probably a good thing. Will get more of a feel for it over the coming weeks though.

    WRT the wheelbuild, the hubs are not the usual 240’s – they came from a cracked set of XMC1200’s, (straight pull & lighter than the standard ones I believe) I was able to reuse a load of the bladed spokes they came (aerolight?). They have been plenty tough enough though – they are ~18 months old now & done nearly 2 race seasons & 6 weeks of lift assisted riding. They look a bit tatty, with rock strikes, but they are straight & true & still holding good tension.

    fathomer
    Full Member

    Thanks Hob Nob, not really the answer i was looking for but hay ho 😀

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    Sorry, not much help, just googled them, they certainly arnt a cheap option from scratch either.

    I would have thought you would be fine with either, especially if they are normal 32H hubs & rims.

    joebristol
    Full Member

    I built up some xm481 rims recently in Hope Pro4 hubs. Went 32 spoke and used Dt competitions. I wanted a robust wheelset without going too heavy with say ex511s. Only time will tell how they go!

    The bike looks pretty nice 😎

    TurnerGuy
    Free Member

    thought this post might be about the Penthouse set that Madonna did back in the day…

    bacondoublechee
    Free Member

    Doing a similar build (not on a Raaw) and trying to decide between XM 481s and EX 511, or maybe one of each! Was the XM 481 decision based on the bike being a little porky so you went for the lighter wheels? Or would you have gone for them regardless?

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    No, the wheels have been around longer than the bike has – they were to replace the cracked carbon rims, which were on my trail bike.

    I don’t think the EX511 were available when I built these up (in 28H). However having ridden them, to be honest, these have been plenty tough enough.

    joebristol
    Full Member

    A lot of people seems to use xm481 front and ex511 rear. They’re both 30mm wide but the ex511’s are stronger (but heavier).

    groundskeeperwilly
    Free Member

    @Hob Nob – any longer term update on the bike? Any wee issues that developed over time or is it just a solid all round performer?

    Hob-Nob
    Free Member

    @Hob Nob – any longer term update on the bike? Any wee issues that developed over time or is it just a solid all round performer?

    She’s still here, which is a good sign I guess?

    I haven’t spent as much time as I would have liked on it to be honest, i’ve been riding and racing my shorter travel bike mostly. Right now it’s in bits, as I had a stupid crash on it, and basically ended up grinding the TT/DT down a rockface, which although cosmetic, made a right mess of the paint. So it’s off to the powdercoaters this week for a new look. In terms of having it apart though, I considered needing new bearings, as the frame is about 10 months old now. But once I had it apart, the little cover things are basically brilliant. They are like new underneath & i’m not precious about cleaning my bike, it gets jet washed & scrubbed on a regular basis.

    In terms of riding it, pretty much bullet proof. Considering the lack of maintenance, no creaks, groans, grumbles at all. Just gets on with the riding.

    Still feel it climbs well, given it’s size. The STA puts me in a really nice position on the bike just to keep on trucking. Obviously it’s a big, long travel 29er so tamer stuff is a bit dull, but point it at rocky, steep & rough trails, it really is in it’s element – tighter tech you really have to muscle it around due to it’s size, as it just wants to run on, but be on your game & it’s certainly manageable.

    The biggest issue I have had with it is adapting my riding bike between the lighter, shorter travel bike which is lively & playful Vs this which just wants to steamroller everything, it takes a bit of time to adapt to it & let it do it’s thing. With the coil, it does feel a little dead & harder to pump/jump which I think is a combination of it’s weight, size & long stays. I’ve got a Float X2 to go on it when I build it back up next week just to try & introduce a bit more of a lively ride – that’s more of a personal thing I think than a criticism, as the more I ride it, the more I adapt to a change of riding style & feel more comfortable.

    The reviews i’ve read of it seem to echo how I feel – it’s a bike built for riding hard & fast, but then it doesn’t really pretend to be anything else. For that purpose, it gets an all round thumbs up from me. There isn’t really anything I would change it for out there. One thing I didn’t expect was all the questions, all the time when i’m out on it. I guess that goes with the territory of riding something a bit different 🙂

    groundskeeperwilly
    Free Member

    Thanks @hob nob

    You’ve also replied to my thread about coil optimised bikes. The Raaw is on my list…

Viewing 18 posts - 1 through 18 (of 18 total)

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