I believe it depends on the angleset, but if it’s a zero stack lower cup, they tend to lower the front end of the bike, increasing reach

Commencal has this very weird habit of publishing the geo charts based on fork travels they don’t even sell the bikes with. They do the same with the Meta AM 29.

Roughly speaking, a 150mm fork equipped TR 29 is about 1° slacker and 10mm shorter on reach than they announce

Shorter fork plus angleset (lower front end again) you must end up with a seriously long reach there.

Ever tried it with a 150mm fork and regular headset?

Bird AM9?
Never tried the Meta TR, but doubt it will be more versatile/better climber than the AM9 if on similar wheels and tyres

I should have mentioned that mine had the Deluxe RT3 shock, which I think is not up to the frame’s potential.

If I get the AM9 back I’ll either buy a Marzocchi CR coil shock or get an used Super Deluxe and slap in a Megneg

Had an AM9 for an year, one of the MK1 frames.
Ended up selling it a grabbing a heavily discounted Stumpjumper Evo for these reasons:
– the AM9 was build as a frame from my existing kit. The whole build kit was literaly falling apart after an year
– wanted to try a radically slack steering angle
– wanted to try a plusher rear end
– was on a fase were my riding skills were broadening fast, wanted to see if a slightly shorter frame would help to improve that

After an year on the Stumpy Evo I can say I liked the AM9 so much that I’m considering to buy back my old frame.
The AM9 is an amazing frame, regardless of the price. It combines DH capability with climbing performance in a way that I feel only the Ripmo matches. It’s the perfect bike for the enduro rider that also likes to pedal and climb. Or even to the trail rider that wants to go harder.
The things I didn’t like about it:
– the paint job is not great, but that’s something I’m OK with for the price
– same with the chainstay protection, but I’ve just read that the Raaw rubber guard actually fits the AM9
– the standard fork travel is 150mm, but I liked it a lot more with 160mm
– not a lot of water bottle space, but I never tried it with the Specialized Zee cage and now Bird has a novel bracket to put it into a more favorable position
– Lots of progression and anti-squat means that the rear suspension is not what i would describe as “plush”, if that’s what one’s after. I’d really really like to try the AM9 with either a big can air shock or a coil

Not only they have some of the best bikes around, regardless of price, but their costumer service is really something else.

I enjoyed the experience so much that, after owning a Stumpy Evo for a year I’m considering buying back my old AM9

Lyrics and Yaris share the same chassis, the Pike’s a different, slender one.

IMHO, a discounted Yari is the best fork deal around. Grab a boost one of your desired offset for £300 something, regardless of travel, then slap a Charger damper and a debonair shaft of the travel you want.
BTW, lot’s of Yaris are being advertised as having debonair air shafts, when in fact they’re not.

Had if during my childhood, was also induced by dust. Wasn’t very severe, but enough to impair my ability to play with other kids in certain occasions, which was a bummer.

Luckily, that went away the precise moment puberty started, changed my life forever

As much as I generally prefer Fox products, one really has to appreciate RS’s modular approach.

My standard fork recommendation for someone who’s not after bling has long been any Yari on discount of the right wheel size and offset and then just slap a charger damper and Debonair shaft of the desired travel

Before going through bike suppliers, I’d first see if the bearing spec is available from SKF as a standard mechanical application bearing. Have a look at eBay or something.

They generally have several specs for the same bearing size, like no shielding or various levels of it

Plenty of bearings people buy for their bikes are available from SKF either way way cheaper or for the same price but much better quality.

I used to have a Lyric, which I serviced and modded myself.
A couple of days after the first time I opened it (to change travel if I recall correctly) I started to notice some oil dripping from the rebound knob. Weird, it got new washers and everything was properly assembled and torque to the best of my knowledge.
So I reopened the fork and repeated everything. A day after, the same, oil coming out from the red knob. At this point I got worried I had deformed or scored something causing the leak.

Opened up everything again to have a look, and found the cause. The lower end of the damper assembly, where the rebound knob attaches, is a hollow open end. What happened was that I was filling the lowers upside down, with the damper shaft retracted inside the lower. Some of the oil was not running into the lower, but rather collecting in the hollow where the rebound knob attaches. Once everything was closed and the fork right side up, that oil started to come out

I’d wait until this lockdown thing is over and get a test drive on that AM9.

You’ll be hard pressed to find a better AM/enduro bike, regardless of price.
It’s amazing how that thing combines pedaling and climbing ability with downhill performance. There are better full-on mini DH sleds, and slightly better trail climbers, but in terms of combining those two aspects the AM9 might be on a league of it’s own (maybe together with the Ripmo)

Before going through the hassle of sourcing a mullet compliant frame and then the associated inconveniences of the setup for daily use, I’d first try a proper modern 29er on proper step terrain.
It’s possible you realise you don’t actually need to hang that far bike on the bike and tyre buzz turns out to be a very punctual thing

One can definitely appreciate that Cotic actually put some thought on their hardtail numbers. Most brands simply copy past their hardtail unsagged numbers from some unsagged FS, which is either dumb, lazy or disingenuous.

Obviously the king of hardtails, Pipedream Moxie

Here:

Stanton Switch9er FS in Review – Fusing Steel and Aluminium in one Frame

I’d say they’re a thing more than ever.

Had a Huck Norris for 7 months or so, felt it was useless. Annihilated several rims and tyres during that period, next to none rim protection, no bead retention and no vibration reduction.

Now have Rimpacts front and rear. Can’t recommend it enough

I’ve had an AMS kit before, and while the material itself is kind of nice, the actual covering you get for the price is not that good. Would not buy again.

Price wise the best way to do it is just to buy a roll of 3M helitape and cut it yourself.
Otherwise, just go to Invisiframe

Under visor or chin?

Those R3Pro mounts sure look good, but a regular curved adhesive mount and maybe a dremel touch up might be more cost effective

Running Nukeproof Horizon Sam Hills for 2 years.
As of now, I got 2 pins snagged off and irreparably stripping the threads and internals are feeling very rough, so I’m thinking about retiring them. Nearly half the pins have been replaced and I’ve opened them up and cleaned/lubed everything twice.
I guess 2 years is not to bad for a pair of pedals that are used 2/3 times a week on rocky and sometimes muddy trails. Still it’s a far cry from Shimano SPDs, I had a M540 pair lasting me 12 years.

I liked the Horizons, but could improve on:
– the axle seal is just a joke, I need to manually reposition it often
– the platform size is ok, but it seats so close to the crank that you end up not using a good deal of real estate
– I dislike through pins. When a set screw type pin bends or wears down you grab the remaining with a good set of pliers and unscrew it. Through pins snap, bend or just get worn and you can’t just unscrew them, that damages the pedal body threads. You need to cut them first

The key word in all this offset talk is trail.
– Big trail feels planted, stable and undisturbed (the steering has a bigger tendency to self correct) feeling, but means you’ll have to corner more like in a motorcycle (leaning in rather than steering) and can feel wallowy and difficult to control at slow steep climbs with corners
– small trail feels the reverse of above

Slacker headtube angle increases trail. Shorter offsets increase trail.

My experience with buying used stems has not been the best, as most of them had screws grossly over torqued during their lives.

I prefer to just buy a reasonably cheap new one.
Pro Koryaks are just great. Have 3 of them

Not likely.
Those redishes are generally really small, like a quarter or half a turn of the nipples.

Have a Boostinator on my rear wheel, it was a quarter turn tightening on one side and a quarter turn loosening on the other

IMO top places not to waste money:
– stems
– drivetrain above SLX
– saddles with fancy rails
– Kashima anything

Stems were on top not by accident

Agree with the OP.
Use the app both in the smartphone and smart TV to watch the DH WC. While the streaming itself is surprisingly good, the app interface is a nightmare

Threadlock and grease, each on it’s place

What the OP describes seems to be typical of modern geometry bikes. My AM9 had some of it, my current Stumpjumper Evo does that a lot. Since my “front end evaluation” criteria is mostly how well it holds a line, how well it corners and how much energy and focus it needs to do what I want, I couldn’t care less on it’s behaviour riding with no hands.

One more thing, this current crop of modern geometry bikes corner much differently and with different inputs Vs the older ones. People used to ride motorcycles, specially MX and Enduro ones easily recognise this behaviour and adapt quicker

Used to be a big Surly fan, had 5 of them over the years, but as of now I can’t think of a single thing the KM does a cheaper alternative won’t do just as well, or even better (like anything to do with a suspension fork)

Check Pé Do Negro at Ponte de Lima.
They’re mostly into uplifts, guiding and trailbuilding, but I’m sure they can sort out something for accommodation.

Incredible trails there, including stuff from an EWS qualifier last year

Always had size 45 Shimano shoes.
Got myself some 5.10 Impact Sam Hills by Christmas and had to go up for size 46

Such a bummer…
She’s my favourite after Rachel, really enjoy watching her ride

Had both a Lyrik and a 36 in the last 2 years, both in 29 160mm.
The Lyrik always felt smoother and more comfortable, as well as easier to open for maintenance.
The 36 seems to be stiffer, better midstroke support, less dive, more progressive and better on big hits.

Splitting hairs here, but would go Lyrik for longer trail/AM stuff and 36 for balls to the wall riding.
Both killer forks

I don’t adjust forks by sag anymore.
I find it works great for rear shocks but was never a fan of the method for forks. Also, it seems to work even worse for bike with modern geometry.

I start by either the fork manufacturer table or by the rider weight in kg = pressure in PSI. I then go up or down a little depending on feel and travel usage

Supposing they have the kind of bike I want, I’d always go to Bird.
Top notch, well thought bikes, unparalleled costumer service

I remember when I started MTB circa 2008 and the 29er rigid SS steel thing was in full swing, Salsa used to be right up there in desirability.

I felt like they kind of held it with the fatbike craze and the bikepacking crowd, but they seem to be missing the boat more and more on the MTB side of things.

Nowadays, it seems like the only time I see a mention to their FSs is when a bikepacker wants to try a mountain bike and already knows Salsa

I should have clarified that my comments are not strictly for UK use, so that is for sure a factor

Had an AM9 for an year, loved it but always felt more like a big burly trail bike rather than an enduro one. Not ragging on it, it was an absolute killer bike for long rough AM rides, it’s an unbelievable climber. Also limited to a 150mm fork which shapes the front end feel somewhat.

There would be definitely room for a 170mm front, 160mm rear or so 29er in their lineup

I’m sure Bird knows what they’re doing but this release comes up as odd, at least to my perception. Most people I ever heard commenting on Bird’s range was either wishing for a trail 29er or for a longer travel AM9