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Topic starter
Had my first ride on the newly built AM9 yesterday morning and to say I’m chuffed is a bit of an understatement, as getting to this point has taken more than a year of procrastinating not helped by the fact that there seemed to be a new LT 29er released on what seemed like a weekly basis, so that, plus after attending 4 demo days and trying at least a dozen different bikes I was no closer to ordering something. But then the Bird AM9 arrived on the scene, with geometry numbers that seemed on paper to be pretty close to what I was after, so after a short-ish deliberation process (short for me anyway) I decided to order a large frame in raw and build it with a mix of new parts and bits I wanted to keep off my Nicolai Helius AC 29er, and this is the end result……..
Full specs are:
Large raw frame (500mm reach, 65deg HA, 470mm ST, 440mm CS)
CCDB Air CS 230x65
Avalanche Pike at 150mm travel
KS Lev carbon 175mm
SDG Circuit saddle
RF Atlas 35mm stem
Bontrager Line 35 bars 780mm width (Ergon grips)
Formula R0 brakes
XX1 cranks with Sram 30t steel direct mount chainring (3mm offset)
XTR Trail pedals
XT Mech (GS) / XTR shifter
XT 11-46 cassette (cheapo Sram chain)
LB 30mm rims / Pro 2 hubs (rear boosted & re-dished with Hope boost kit)
Magic Mary Addix soft (front)
Bonty SE5 (rear)
She came in a very respectable 31.2 lbs.
I managed to get in an early 2hr ride yesterday morning before family stuff took over the rest of the day. My local hill is full of natural steep and techy stuff, some fast and flowy sections with berms and little hip jumps, and plenty of rocks and roots thrown in for good measure, and I guess the best praise I can give the AM9 is that I felt really comfortable on it from the first drop-in to the last. I think Bird has got the geometry balance just right with this bike, and despite it being reasonably long, with a 1265mm wheelbase, it still feels playful when you want to hop and pop off stuff or manual over something. The CCDB shock works well with the Avalanche Pike, the new Addix Magic Mary is like having an old friend back again after running E13 tyres for the past 18 months, and the KS Lev post is super smooth, so all in all I couldn't be happier 
A bit of waffle there, so obligatory pics now….
Posted : 30/04/2018 9:01 am
Neat bike!
Fun.
your comment about Magic Mary: on one of my bikes I use 2.6 inch Magic Mary Addix Soft front and back. Fantastic grip. Love the tyres. Friend of mine used the "super soft" - monster grip and only last a short time. "Soft" appears to be a good compromise.
Your AM9 will handle rough stuff very well with 150/150 suspension - how would you describe the fun factor when biking more moderate trails?
30 T front and 46 T back, uphill: are you happy with the set up? Climbs well?
Like the external cable routing of your bike. Have bikes with internal routing ... only creates hassle in my view.
Right time of the year to have the bike ready to go. Great.
Have fun!
Posted : 30/04/2018 9:38 am
Topic starter
Thanks andreasrhoen.
I didn’t really ride anything moderate yesterday as I wanted to hit some of the more challenging trails, but it certainly has some fun built into it and at no time did I feel like I was riding a monster truck.
I only used the 46t once, at the very end of the ride where there’s a steep climb into the woods near my house, but it felt nice and easy compared to the previous 30 x 42t lowest gear, so my legs weren’t screaming at me quite as much as they used to which is the whole point of these cassettes I guess.
While not a complete deal breaker having external hose and cable routing and a threaded BB was high on my list of requirements.
Posted : 30/04/2018 10:12 am
Looks great. Spring has sprung so it's the perfect time for lots of new bike threads. Your procrastination puts me to shame, but I know what you mean. In the end you just need to pick something you like the look of and go for it and Bird are making some great bikes these days.
Posted : 30/04/2018 10:13 am
thanks Yetiman!
Monstertruck: sounds good. Guess 150/150 is still a good compromise - to avoid the danger of biking a monster truck...
The first bike days are so much fun tweaking suspension and tyre pressure until everything is perfect.
External hoses / cables: yes. It's not too difficult to install "internal routing". But I have always problems with "sharp edges" / cutting the hoses in the long run (with internal routing).
But guess the bike companies are getting a bit pushed from the reviewers here - internal routing is a fashion thing. In my opinion a mtb should be a bit of trouble free work horse ... fashion on important there!
Great bike!
2018 will be good.
Posted : 30/04/2018 12:42 pm
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How tall are you? I tried the am9 and prefered the 145. Still can't decide between the ML and L tho!
Posted : 30/04/2018 6:19 pm
Ahhh I like that a lot! I saw the Bird guys at the last Southern Enduro with an AM9 as a race bike and thought it looked nice. Also interested in your sizing choice, given the long reach figures.
Posted : 30/04/2018 8:38 pm
Loving that OP!
Posted : 30/04/2018 9:20 pm
I demo'd a large recently and am waiting on a raw one - wonder if that means "my" batch is in stock?
I really liked the "longness", oddly seemed to work really well for climbing (us roadies like a stretch 
)
(FWIW, 6ft and a bit with long arms)
Posted : 30/04/2018 9:49 pm
Bird have really nailed it with the AM9.
Posted : 30/04/2018 10:11 pm
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Topic starter
Another 2 1/2 hour ride tonight and I think I've dialled everything in now...although I'm sure I'll still end up tweaking the CCDB shock a few more times despite the fact it felt pretty good.
Ewen / Owen - I'm 6ft 1" and a bit, lanky build with a 33/34" inseam and the fit of the large feels pretty much perfect. I tried a Geometron G13 last year so I knew I would get on ok with a much longer bike, but it was still a bit nerve wracking ordering a frame unseen and unridden. Glad I did though.
scaredypants...it does climb well. If the frames are showing as in stock hopefully yours will be on its way shortly. Raw seems to be the most popular by far.
I'm also really liking how the climb switch works on the CCDB as there's still plenty of traction going up techy climbs. I thought it might be something I'd try once then never touch it again, but I think it's a feature I'll keep using.
Posted : 30/04/2018 10:38 pm
scaredypants…it does climb well. If the frames are showing as in stock hopefully yours will be on its way shortly. Raw seems to be the most popular by far.
Yeah, showing 1 in stock so I'm hopeful
(I'd have had a black if there was one but raw's a decent second choice)
Posted : 30/04/2018 10:44 pm
