Any thoughts on the SLX equipped finished bikes, once I’m getting out more I think a switch to a 29er from my C456 might be a good idea, I’m also looking at the Ragley Big Al.

Fork and tyres bit pants, slx stuff and finishing kit not a problem. Wheels okay but a bit cheap and heavy, needs dropper though. You’ll be luck to get a Big Al but comparable frame, better fork, deore obviously not as good as slx but meh, same level of wheels and better tyres. Also needs dropper.

The fork does look like a massive weakness. Not so much the stanchions (I don’t think you need ultimate stiffness on a hard tail) but the downgraded damping. I’m finding the 35 great for the money.

The rest I’m not so sure, GX has been really sensitive to setup and I’ve always preferred Shimano. But it shifts nicely, and it doesn’t weigh any more than XT.

The Fulcrum wheels aren’t the widest or lightest and I’ve just discovered can’t take 6-bolt adapters.

The guide brakes are underwhelming. But I’d planned to solve that with big rotors and better pads.

Looking at the spec, I’d wait till they get 35’s or frame only’s back in stock. For £1200 you can (as long as you have some spare finishing kit or other bits or even a donor bike) easily build something comparable.

I’m sort of looking for a complete bike, all my hard-tails have been bista bikes dating right back to my geared Inbred so there’s little modern stuff to transfer on to a new frame.

I’m slightly confused about the Rockshox 35, I thought it was a step up from the Recon RL?

I’m slightly confused about the Rockshox 35, I thought it was a step up from the Recon RL?

The Rockshox 35 is a step up from the Recon RL, however Planet X havee changed the spec of their builds and are not currently supplying the Scandal with the 35s. It currently comes with Rockshox Judy Silver TK.

A bit of a minor PSA for anyone who has one and want’s to upgrade the brakes, as trying to do it with the bits in the spares box turned into a major PITA.

6-bolt rotors will not fit fulcrum wheels. Every other brand has the lockring threads internal, campag put them on the outside which means they foul the center of the disk if you try to mount them with adapters. You could file down the center of the disk I suppose, but that’s your teeth! Also don’t lose the lock rings for the same reason.

A ‘triangular’ PM-PM +20m mount won’t fit in the rear triangle. But the smaller ones do.

Not this one.

This one.

A 200mm disk will fit in the back, but it might depend on how thick the rivets are if it’s a floating rotor as they will pass close to the mounts on the chainstay. A generic 160-203 PM-PM mount won’t fit on the frame though, you’ll have to file the corner off the mount to clear it.

If you want to run a Shimano (or other 203mm rotor) on the front you’ll need some washers as it’s a 180mm mount on the fork so a +20 is too small and +25 is too big. I found 1 washer under the mount and 1 under the caliper was about right. 180-203 mounts probably do exist somewhere but by this point I’d lost the will to live.

I’ve got a 220mm front rotor waiting, but will fit a wheel with torque caps before that!

Got a pile of rotors and mounts so hoping blind luck means some combination works. Just waiting for forks and tyres.

Anybody decided they don’t want their carbon fork? If so I’m after one.

So starting to plan to build up my wife’s new scandal (bought pre baby to be built post baby!).

Looking at setting up SLX level (however mixing in kit I have already got).
Reading as much above as possible, realise I need to get a crankset with a Q factor of at least 178mm – ie SLX 7120. However to save costs I am thinking of going 11 speed without micro spline – can I run an 11 speed cassette and chain on a 12 speed crankset / chainring? I also read that chainlink is important – looks like it again needs to be over 55mm – presuming a FC-M7130-1 should be ok then?

Is there an option to fit a boost chainring to an existing crankset?
Built mine up, went alright except for the usual issues. Had to do some funny routing as rear brake cable too short and didn’t have a spare, also was going to bodge external dropper post but don’t think it would work with partial internal routing without snagging the back tyre when dropped.

A quick heads up for anyone who missed out on the cheap Scandal frames.

I’ve aborted my build to part fund a full-sus so selling frame and fork for £400 over in the classifieds here.

Needs to be collected from S. Yorks though.

Anyone else mentioned the rear brake mounting? The rear bolt is bloody tight to get to in the triangle, difficult for caliper alignment.

Yeah just running 160mm and had to use ball end Allen key and even then in was a bit of a faff. Brake mount on seat stays was much easier to deal with, guess for internal routing and looks chainstay works well but it’s a pain. Mines a medium but I’m guessing a small would be even more awkward to adjust.

Anyone having any issues with gear set up. Running ten speed Shimano and it’s just refusing to work properly. Shifter shifts fine and I can see cable moving, cable moves through freely, I can move mech physically up and down the block. Then when I put it all together I shift three or four times before it moves up or down. I can see the cable moving at the shifter end but nothing happens at the mech end.

That’s potentially some crazy outer compression. Have you got all your cable ends cut neatly and ferrules pushed fully on?

Have you mounted the rear mech with the attachment linkage pointing straight back/horizontal? Sometimes it’s easy to get it angled wrong. Have you got the cable clamped right in the mech clamp bolt? Sometimes easy to pass it on the wrong side of the bolt.

Yeah think it might be outer compression. Everything else I’ve discounted. Might try new outer tomorrow.

Did your frame arrive with the dropout sticking through the box?

All good now, replaced old outer that I had on the shed and could have been anything with shiny new orange Shimano outer and it’s all good. Rear brake needs bled but that’s another evening.

As per my question above, just wondering if anyone had any advice on mixing the 11 speed cassette and chain with a 12 speed crankset / chainring….?

Looking at setting up SLX level (however mixing in kit I have already got).
Reading as much above as possible, realise I need to get a crankset with a Q factor of at least 178mm – ie SLX 7120. However to save costs I am thinking of going 11 speed without micro spline – can I run an 11 speed cassette and chain on a 12 speed crankset / chainring? I also read that chainlink is important – looks like it again needs to be over 55mm – presuming a FC-M7130-1 should be ok then?

Not sure if there’s anything specific about the 12 speed chainrings, but that always worked fine in the past.

On an unrelated note, I’ve fitted the SLX M7120 crankset now and it’s fine. Still not masses of clearance between the crankarm and chainstay but enough.

Scandals been ace on my local trails. Running SS with a set of 130mm Rebas and it’s been great fun. Light, simple and quiet. The Bontrager XR1 tyres on 30mm rims are incredibly fast rolling in the dry weather we’ve had, but are hopeless when they get a wif of rain. One of the best bikes I’ve had and far better than the Cotic SolarisMax LS.

My first ever build, just need to fit the 1×12 Sram NX groupset, it will probably take me a couple of days between zoom work calls.
Dropper an issue – Crank bros highline won’t return automatically but drops fine waiting for Wiggle to answer my email but I suspect they have bigger fish to fry!!

One of the best bikes I’ve had and far better than the Cotic SolarisMax LS.

Wow! How is it better?

Wow! How is it better?

Finish- I can’t quite believe it.. but this frame has a better finish than the Cotic. The mercury finish on the Cotic just chipped and dulled far too quickly. The orange is marking, but holding up better. I had issues with burs in the ST of the Cotic (chewing up my new dropper) and the BB needing chassing. The cable routing was a mess on the cotic, but is rather well thought out on the O-O.

Ride- This is down to personal taste, but I find it easier to climb and better on singletrack. Sure, it’s a little slower on full blown descents, but more than makes up for it on everything else. The frame is also notably lighter, yet just as stiff. It’s easier to manual and ‘play’ around on, but doesn’t feel a whole lot less planted.

So, the Cotic was £650 and the O-O £150 (with Headset). It’s quite the bargain and I can honestly say that the Cotic was a big dissapointment, and the O-o a very pleasant suprise.

I should caviat this- I have owned 3 Cotics (SolarisMax LS, RocketMAX & Roadrat) and also several O-Os (Inbred, 456 SS & Scandal). I’ve had various issues with some and others have been perfect. Little disapointed that some spare linkage bits I bought recently from Cotic were inconsistent, even down to two identicle bolts (1 each side) only having loctite on one of them.

On a med scandal and struggling to find the right dropper, could do 180mm one up from saddle height but not enough room in frame. Don’t think the 150mm brand X works as it’s too long. Think 150mm one up is my only option but obviously not in stock.

Has anyone else rounded off the corners of the front thru-axle?
A combination of being in a rush, ham-fistedness and soft Al means mine cant be undone.

I’ll disassemble and square off the rounded corner, but is there a recommended “better” thru-axle at all?

Finish- I can’t quite believe it.. but this frame has a better finish than the Cotic. The mercury finish on the Cotic just chipped and dulled far too quickly. The orange is marking, but holding up better. I had issues with burs in the ST of the Cotic (chewing up my new dropper) and the BB needing chassing. The cable routing was a mess on the cotic, but is rather well thought out on the O-O.

Ride- This is down to personal taste, but I find it easier to climb and better on singletrack. Sure, it’s a little slower on full blown descents, but more than makes up for it on everything else. The frame is also notably lighter, yet just as stiff. It’s easier to manual and ‘play’ around on, but doesn’t feel a whole lot less planted.

So, the Cotic was £650 and the O-O £150 (with Headset). It’s quite the bargain and I can honestly say that the Cotic was a big dissapointment, and the O-o a very pleasant suprise.

I should caviat this- I have owned 3 Cotics (SolarisMax LS, RocketMAX & Roadrat) and also several O-Os (Inbred, 456 SS & Scandal). I’ve had various issues with some and others have been perfect. Little disapointed that some spare linkage bits I bought recently from Cotic were inconsistent, even down to two identicle bolts (1 each side) only having loctite on one of them.

Ta for this feedback, really useful.

I’ve got a Mt Zoom through axle on another bike that works well.

I bought this frame a few months ago when they were On offer for £150 with seat pin and headset. Just took it out of the box to build it last week using various parts i had in the garage. Using the Specs from PX website i see it requires a boost crankset (53.4mm) and a maximum of a 32T cog. I have used an old XT crankset and a 36T chainring and it all seems to be working fine. Is there a reason why a bigger than 32T chainring should not be used? And why should a regular crankset not work, given that the chain line is perfect at the recommended spacing? Maybe I’m missing something?

Akira, what about the 180 One-up shimmed down by 20mm and 20mm less insertion, would that give you enough room?

Is there a reason why a bigger than 32T chainring should not be used? And why should a regular crankset not work, given that the chain line is perfect at the recommended spacing? Maybe I’m missing something?

I’m surprised you can get a decent chain line with a 36t ring. I’ve got the 32 on, running pretty close to the stay, and it’s central to the cassette.

However, you don’t have to have a Boost chainset. I’m using an old Deore triple chainset with the ring on the middle tabs and it’s fine.

I’m using a non boost GX crank with a 32 ring, loads of clearance and the chain line seems fine.

Ended up with 150mm one up post, the 180mm had too much insert in the seat tube to work. With the bend in the seat tube there wasn’t enough usable space. 150mm is fine.

I’m undecided to go for the full build, though not sure if the fork is the best. Wonder if they would upgrade it to the 35.

Also, what size frame would be best suited for 5’11 and does anyone recommend a dropper post an which length?

Sorry for all the questions though thanks in advance!

I’m about 5’8″ and running a med with a 150mm one up dropper. Think you’d want large and might fit in a 180mm but you’ll need to do some measuring and crunch the numbers. They’re not going to change the fork, I went frame only and bought some 130mm Rebas for just over £200, if you did that and sold the old fork for £100+ then that wouldn’t be too bad.

Also does anyone recommend a decent dropper post?

I’m 5’11 on medium with 170mm crank bros dropper. I’m all legs though so no issue on insertion.

As mentioned you need to crunch the numbers.

Brand x posts are good value and work very well.

I’m about a 31″ inside leg tbf so inbetween I guess

OK, so I decided to keep my Scandal after all and am in the process of building it up. However, I’m having a bit of a nightmare routing the rear brake hose internally.

I’ve routed the shifter cable internally fine, largely due to the bolt-up guides, but with the hose going through the holes with no guide I just can’t get it to line up. I even tried the vacuum cleaner trick to no avail.

Should I have done the brake hose first? Thinking the hose might be being shoved in the wrong direction due to fouling the shifter cable.

I’ve also got the BB and crankset fitted, might it help if I removed these to guide the hose from the BB area?

Any other ideas? I’m at the end of my tether… If you pardon the pun! 😂

I did hose first – in at the bottom in the open slot with no frame insert and out of the hole at the top with insert. I followed the same principal on them all – in at the narrow slot, out at the point where the insert is. Dead easy – best internal cable runs I’ve seen.