Steammtb what wherls did the bike come with then? I don't think my sons has turned up yet
Never took the tyres off my mates, but let some air out the tubes . 'Think' the rims were Alex 30mm EXR30's. Cant exactly remember but they roll nice on the hubs. Even so, a roll of gorilla tape and a couple of stans valves is cheap enough to wop in there.
Apparently son has bike and has ridden it. Hopefully he'll with a longer review at some point
The Vittoria Saguaro tyres don’t sound fantastic (certainly not against the tyres on the Vitus) but I will give them a go
Post up again at some point as I was thinking of a set. Mine came with the Vittoria GOMA which are much more like a Minnion DHF (possibly with even bigger knobs!). Great grip in mixed conditions but not a quick tyre!
PSA for px bikes. The scandal is currently £999 which is £200 off. New offer is an extra 10% off everything which is automatically applied making the scandal, big dog and whippet £899. No idea if it’s supposed to work or not so get in quick.
COUPON DISCOUNT % OFF
COUPON: 10% OFF EVERYTHING ENDS MIDNIGHT 16/10 (EXCLUDES FLASH DEALS AND VOUCHERS) class=”save” £100.00 OFF
Code LCVIP 1510
Very tempted to buy one of these but put off by the damaged on delivery stories and general poor service but seems a bargain especially the current version with GX gearing and 35 forks. Also the sizing rant by Brant I'm 5ft 11 and the sizing guide says large do I ignore that and go medium if so why is the guide wrong ? My current bike is a Boardman MHT 8.9 (29er hardtail) in large which fits perfectly. Cheers guys
No idea why the sizing guide appears to be so off, but at only an inch shorter than you I definitely couldn’t have gone with a large, the medium is more than big enough!
Mine was very well wrapped and gears / BB all spot on. The only negatives were brake cables etc that were routed incorrectly and a puncture in the rear tyre, neither of which are anything but a very minor niggle. I’m more upset by the Vittoria Morsa tyres they gave me, which somewhat ruin the bike, going find time to swap them today 🙂
Very tempted to buy one of these but put off by the damaged on delivery stories and general poor service
The poor delivery was just for frame only with big frames as the headtube and drop outs were sticking out the box. Full bikes should be OK.
As for customer service if you buy the right bike and it arrives with no issues then their customer service if great 🤣
Its a £900 bike that punches way above its price point. I think it's worth the risk. If you want better customer service then they'd need more staff and these wouldn't be £900!
Also the sizing rant by Brant I’m 5ft 11 and the sizing guide says large do I ignore that and go medium
Definitely go medium. A large quite big for me at 6'1"
Back to how it rides, I got a frame during the second round of cheap frame/headset/seatclamp sales and built it up using kit of my V2 scandal with some boost adapters, new brand x dropper and some new cheap judy silver 120mm forks. It’s become my go to bike for most things in preference over my SC 5010 and Sonder Camino as covers the middle ground between them so well. I enjoy it so much that I’m upgrading the forks to 130mm higher spec ones and also upgrading the drivetrain from 10 to 11 speed. A long winded way of saying that it’s a great frame/bike that rides really well and proves you don’t need to spend ‘boutique’ money to get a really good bike.
I have given the bike some tyres that it deserves, a 2.6 vigilante up front and a 2.4 fast rolling trail boss at the back. I’ve also stuck on a 30 degree stem and SQ labs bars, clearly that’s my preference and I doubt most would appreciate those changes. I did a quick local spin and it felt transformed from my earlier ride, so I thought a proper test would be in order. Enter Eastridge from stage left.
I figured the bike would be ok at Eastridge and just planned to do the standard red and black; still pretty demanding on a hardtail and always left me absolutely knackered in the past. I needed to drop the tyre pressures pretty low early in the ride as I was having real issues when I hit root sections at speed, but after that, the scandal was superb, exactly what I expected from the bike originally. I still felt fresh after the red and black so did several more of the more severe runs, including some of the near vertical, fully committed (and quite slippy / rooty) trails from top to bottom; I was a bit nervous about doing some of them on a hardtail but really shouldn’t have been; just needed to make sure I didn’t hesitate and did hit the sections at speed. I’m mega surprised how well the Scandal tackled some serious stuff, although I have learnt a whole new level of respect for the rear wheel and greasy roots, I’m sure I will improve at that with practice and cut down on those special moments when the rear wheel shoots sideways 🙂 I hang my head in shame, after my first ride I almost put the bike up for sale, that would have been a huge mistake.
This is a bike that deserves proper tyres!
steamtb
Full Member
I have given the bike some tyres that it deserves, a 2.6 vigilante up front and a 2.4 fast rolling trail boss at the back.
@Steamtb Can I ask what you didn't like about the Morsas and what sort of terrain you mainly ride on? I've got them on mine and set them up tubeless. I found the front end had a tendancy to wash out to start with but I put that down to me not being used to the LLS geometry. I've been making an effort to keep my weight forward and this seems to have helped. They seem OK on loamy and rooty areas around me but I've only been doing local loops so far.
@lankystreekofpee unless I put them at really high pressures (poor grip and felt awful) they squirmed really badly on hard corners, drops and jumps. Just not a tyre I liked in any way.
I ordered a GX in Medium (I’m 176cm) last night, semi by accident (don’t ask!), but was actually intending to buy a steel HT.
I know, trigger happy 🙄 but how compliant is this compared to the Big Dog, or should I get in touch (god knows how!) and go for the steel BD?
Is the Big Dog the same sizing?
Ex Solaris and Tarn owner. Dead comfy, forget traditional views of alu smashing your back. Especially true since they changed the cen for steel frames.
Great thanks!
Price of the builds hasn't gone up but bare frames BD and Scandal are presently £700.Perhaps they've had to invest in bigger boxes...
The twits that couldn't buy them 'cause they were cheap now can.
I think when the frames are at *full* pricing they are not actually intending to sell any - they will be getting used for builds.
When they run out of parts to do cheap builds or there are lots of spare frames on the shelf, the frame price will go back to something more sensible.
Still pleased I got in at £149 though!
Regards comfort/compliance - I haven't ridden a big dog, but I've had stacks of steel frames in the past, Cotic, Dialled, Genesis etc etc, always been a big fan.
Now, however, we are in the days of 29ers, short seat tubes, big low pressure tyres and very good forks, I think the 'advantage' of a steel hardtail is being gradually eroded, to the point where the build and geo make much more of a difference to the bike than whether it's steel or alloy tubing. I wouldn't base my choice on material alone these days.
Or to put it another way, I wouldnt choose steel purely for ride comfort these days. Looks, durability, coolness etc are all valid, reasons for steel of course.
Durability. I have had ally frames go baggy. No idea if that still happens. I agree that big tyres literally take the edge off the difference. On One must have bought a lot of frames though. I really liked my Dialled but I went 29 and they didn't so I got an Inbred. Think more would have been sold if they'd named the BD Sinbred son of Inbred. That's what it is.
Now, however, we are in the days of 29ers, short seat tubes, big low pressure tyres and very good forks, I think the ‘advantage’ of a steel hardtail is being gradually eroded, to the point where the build and geo make much more of a difference to the bike than whether it’s steel or alloy tubing. I wouldn’t base my choice on material alone these days.
I agree with this 100% plus years of experience designing and building frames have helped make frames better. Plus a kilo lighter makes a big difference.
Thanks folks... spoke to PX earlier and the chap echoed the comments above. Will stick with the scandal and use the £200 saved for a dropper and new bike trousers!!
Are the frames really £700 now. That's crazy money.
I'm only just in a position now to be looking to buy and kept my eye on the Scandal's but as is my luck they are either sold out or bloody £700. Maybe its not to be for me.
Cheers
Mike
P.S. If anyone has a XL frame they want to sell, please message me or call on 07584413433
Px prices go up and down all the time. Just sign up to the news letter (warning you get an email every day) and be ready for a decent price
Ordered a large last week, due to be built later in November. Then I found this site/thread...
I'm 6ft, and the planetx size guide says I should go large, but everyone on here says large is too large, and medium is ideal.
However, the size guide says I'm 3 inches too tall for a medium.
Is the planetx size guide wrong, and if so, why haven't they updated it?
Do I need to change my order?
You'll have read thread more carefully than me. I think my son is 5 foot 10 be bought a medium based on this thread. He has had two brief rides he says it seems big compared to his old geometry bike but not too big. He says he has space for a 170mm dropper so it's certainly not huge
I am still struggling with the sizing guide and a couple of staff at Planet x saying 5ft 11 ok for large where as customer experience seems to be go medium. My Boardman hardtail has a reach of 441 which seems very comfy and is closer to medium on the Scandal but my only criticism of the Boardman is it feels too short on steep singletrack but the head angle at 68 degrees doesn't help I'm sure. Please help me make my mind up haha
I’m 5’11”, I tried a mates large (With a 35mm stem) after reading what Brant had said on here and have sold my unbuilt large frame as a result, I’m sure I could’ve lived with it but it felt pretty big.
I’m 6 foot and really, really like my Large. I haven’t ridden a Medium but don’t feel the need to.
Taking a look at the Geo chart the medium Scandal has shorter chainstays , shorter reach, both by 10 or so mm than the Big Dog. The wheel base unsurprisingly comes out about an inch less. The seat tube angle eschews fashion and follows tradition for pedalling efficiency. It's slacker than the Dog. I have the seat on my Dog slammed back and definately would not buy a steeper seat tube frame without a test. It's easy to move the seat forward though and not one person has commented on this.
Based on my 5' 8" I can't see how a medium would be right for someone of 6' in the cockpit at least. Wheelbase is another matter. Bikes have got much longer and that does require some adjustment.
Bit of a story behind the purchase of my Scandal.
I broke my arm in two places at the end of June while on a local ride (Humerus & elbow fracture)
I'm usually pretty active so the downtime while on furlough & recovering wasn't something I particularly enjoyed so I thought I'd give myself a new bike build project.
On a restless Saturday I saw one of the Planet X flash sales and snapped up (or so I thought) an Orange Scandal with minor paint chips for the usual bargain price. The rest of the weekend I used planning & searching for parts to complete the build.
Now before we go on I've seen plenty of stories regarding negative customer experiences from Planet X. I've got to say my overall experience was very good albeit a little slow in response time.
Monday came & went without the frame arriving, only then to have an email from Planet X cancelling the order as out of stock. After I couple of emails back & forth with them I found that they'd sold the frame twice. As i'd already started ordering other parts a straightforward refund wasn't going to work. After another email exchange they agreed to send me a new frame at no extra charge. The only catch was they were out of stock until the end of August.
Great I thought. On with the build!
Then they dropped the price of the GX build to £999. Even with savvy buying there was no way I'd be able to build-up the bike with the same components for that price, so I cancelled the frame and bought the complete bike!
It arrived really well packaged and also a little ahead of schedule.
Just need to get back in to riding again now. Is it wrong that I don't want to get my new shiny bike all muddy??
I'm looking at frame protection for it before I start taking it out in the grime. Any suggestions from anyone?
Invisiframe is my go-to. Amazing quality and worth the money.
I just stuck some matt clear frame tape I had kicking around on my mates Scandal and works fine for his bike.
I’m looking at frame protection for it before I start taking it out in the grime. Any suggestions from anyone?
I'd just make sure you've cable guides/protectors on and just ride it.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/SODIAL-Housing-Covers-Protector-Bicycle/dp/B075FP6BSL
Internally routed so you aren’t gonna get much in the way of cable rub. I’ve always found that even wet grimy shorts will rub the frames paintwork. If you aren’t bothered, don’t use any protection, if you are, do. And if you don’t mind shelling out, Invisiframe is awesome.
Thanks all.
Been looking at the dyedbro kits. Will just use cable guides around the headtube.
singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/can-we-have-a-whats-the-new-scandal-like-to-ride-thread/page/3/#post-11448142
I am ordering a couple of the Dyebro kits this week after getting a look at them on a couple of Matt Jones’s bikes. Look cool, hope the quality is good.
I feel its worth pointing out - I dont think you will need any tape on the headtube - Despite being the cheapest frame I've had n ages the Scandal has the best thought out cable routing I've seen - there are NO points where cables can rub once installed - a design touch I really appreciate.
Chainstay needs some protection and possible sides of the top tube from your shorts. I just havent bothered, never do.
My large turned up on Friday, built up yesterday.
Packaged all perfect and not a mark on anything - I got the amber/orange one, looks superb.
Size-wise - I'm 6'2" but long, long legs and a normal body and arms - large fits perfectly.
Weighs 13.1kg as it came.
Wheelwise, mine came with WTB i29 rims.
All very nice for £1k and my OH would not believe that's all it cost - based on my normal spending...
Ok, so rode it yesterday - 40 miles and 5000ft.
Real impressed with it, nice feel and the RS35 fork is decent.
I did though use a different wheelset (for the tyres) as I didn't fancy a big day out on unknown tyres. The bike did deliver as I felt safe & secure even though my 'winter' tyre combo was a Mary front & Minion SS rear.
I reckon though that I could've gone XL, paired with a shorter stem - if for nothing else to get a taller stack. As it is, I'll play about with the stack/stem to lift it up.
I've not ridden an alloy HT for +10 years, still got and riding (until a couple of weeks ago) my old 456Ti - but I didn't feel beaten up, I reckon it's a keeper.
And I've spent the £200 saving on a 200mm dropper 🙂
I’m building mine up now and reckon large would be borderline for my height but I’ve long ape arms and I’ll whack a sun 40mm stem on a riser bar as per my full suss.
I have a C456 so I expect a more compliant frame and 29” wheels and tyres should be more comfortable- or that I ever got too battered on the C456.
How do people think it would ride on a set of Exotic rigid forks?
Says they're corrected for up to a 130 fork on a 29er.
Running selcof rigid fork on mine. Rides great bit choppy over rough stuff as expected but upper body workout guaranteed 😉
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What's the biggest fork anyone is running?
I've got a nice light Reba, low rise bars, skinny mavci wheels etc on my build which is great given I use it as a second/XC/local rides only type bike.
I need to do a bearing change on my Hightower which means stripping it - I'm tempted to put all the 'good stuff' onto my Scandal, which would be a Fox 36, 4 pot brakes, 30mm wide dt wheels and big tyres etc and run it as my only mtb over winter.
Fox34 29er 140mm
That works fine but yr 36 may be quite a bit longer
What’s the biggest fork anyone is running?
Mine's got the RS 35 at 130mm that came with it, but measured up my X-Fusion McQueen is the same axle-to-crown at 140mm.
I've ordered a Medium....
What length seat post are folks using?
Thinking of a Brand X dropper...
Im 5ft10 and run a 125mm dropper, I could fit a 150 when riding clips but when on flats its just a little too tall at full extension.
I've got short legs/long body mind!
Measure and check carefully is my advice, although it means a bit of faff and delay, I'd wait till you get your frame (and maybe try a spare regular seatpost) to make your measurements before ordering a dropper.
I’m running 150mm dropper on medium. I’m leggy
I'd ordered a 170mm, but, once I'd got the seatpost it came with at the right height I changed my order to a 200mm.
Large.
Cheers folks-will have a measure with an old dropper. 👌🏼
Planet X selling scratched frames via ebay. Just got one.
Planet X selling scratched frames via ebay. Just got one.
£250 for a damaged frame. Makes my early order of £150 look an absolute steal.
£150 was obscene and £250 is still a snip depending on just how paint chipped they are?
I got one of the earlier batches of slightly damaged frames. One small chip on the head tube and that was it, obviously the bargainous of this was cancelled out by the forks and wheels I had to buy but ho hum.
Well, nothing is ever as cheap as we plan when building a new bike up. I was gonna swap bars n stem from one frame to the other and then decided I must have 35mm clamp, saw a bargain set of RaceFace bars and then I’ve had to buy a stem too - I validated this by telling myself the coloured bars on the old frame won’t match the Orange Scandal frame.
Oh and the green composite pedals will probably need to be black and the new Peaty Tubeless Valves would be ideal at £25 rather than use the old ones which are fine but probably gunky 😂
Couple of threads on oval chainrings and I’m now wondering if the 32t oval I’m about to swap onto the Scandal build will fit? Anyone got one and done this?
I'm running 32t normal ring. Apparently 34t oval works
Mine had the ally showing about the size of a match head. Kept quiet about the frames until I had a delivery note...
Thanks Plus-one. Sounds like I’ll be more then fine with a 32t oval then. That’s £40 saved.
32t oval on mine, on a 4 bolt deore crank. Plenty of clearance.
Cheers Snotrag
Anyone else measured up the fork travel?
Mine's measured at and giving 140mm.
Only noticed as I have a spare set of X-Fusion McQueen's and thought I'd measure up as they're 140mm and I wondered about their suitability as they weigh loads less (1.95kg rather then 2.35kg) and when I looked at the A-C they measured the same. Then I measured the travel...
I haven't opened them up to check the air shaft though.
On what fork? RockShox 35?
Anyone know what the correct rear axle is? Big Dog one doesn't thread in.
Ok done my research, know why, just have to find one....
On what fork? RockShox 35?
Sorry, yes. The one that came on the full bike (shown as 130mm).
Sorry. Never worked out how to quote after all these years.
But. 140mm doesn’t seem to steep a leap so if it’s weight saving you’re after and it all fits then I’m sure you’ll get away with it. Though I’m equally sure someone will be along to say it throws the geo out too much 😉
I'd be more concerned that the frame has been tested to 140
I’d be more concerned that the frame has been tested to 140
They delivered it with 140mm travel forks, so it's 'implied' - and I'm only 80kg.
For those like @Snotrag that have a 32t chainring, oval or not, did you use any drive-side spacers on the bottom bracket? I’ve got one spacer in there and wonder if that’ll cause chain line issues?
Ta.
Going with one spacer drive side and see how I get on.
Mine arrived yesterday, got it at the £999 offer and also got the 10% off thanks to @damascus - cheers!
First impressions are that the saddle is terrible, and the gear indexing is a mile out, and the brakes are pretty feeble, hopefully they bed in.
Looks lovely though!
Mine arrived earlier, built up this evening.
One of the the stem front bolt threads stripped at about 3Nm 😔; thankfully I had an old Thompson X4 stem which went straight on, the bolts from the On-One stem were nicer than the 2.5mm Thompson ones, so I've used those 😎
Otherwise, its looking great in black. Tubeless conversion tomorrow morning and a tyre swap; I'll put a dropper on next month.
Think it's going to be a fab bike; fits well. I'm 176cm and I bought a Medium. I wouldn't want a large.
Can't wait to ride it!
What dropper are you going for Mikertroid? I have BrandX on the other bike after years of annoyingly faulty Reverbs but was thinking I may try something different as I couldn’t see any BrandX deals.
@P76
Probs a B-x again. I've got an old 125mm one I'm going to put in to check how much more room I have and see if a 150mm will go in.
In the meantime, I'll whack on a QR collar from my spares box.
@liam99 definitely swap that saddle out! The brakes are excellent when bedded in, I’ve used mine on some pretty long downhill tracks with no issues (I’m 72 kg). Luck of the draw with indexing, mine was perfect.
I am really getting on with the Scandal now. Yesterday, I managed some very steep climbs that have always been near impossible before and jumping / drop offs are feeling a lot smoother than they did initially; all very relaxed and comfortable. My WTB tyres suit this time of year perfectly too, never a drama with grip. 🙂
The scandal is currently in offer at £999. Not quite as good as last time but not bad considering the covid tax and its in stock!
So I thought I would give an opinion on my Scandal, I have rode it about 6 times now and very impressed with how it handles steep gnarly going and fills me with confidence but also pedals well on the landrover type tracks and seems a quality bike. Compared to my previous hardtail a Boardman MHT8.9 it is slower up the hills but faster down as the slack front end and quality fork seems so good so I am happy with it, had to make to changes straight away the supplied tyres are purely summer only and lethal on roots and the saddle is a torture device. I am 5ft 11 and after all the conflicting advice from people on this forum and On one staff and Guy Kesteven I went with the large frame which I like as its very stable on the steep descents and I dont feel like I'm going to be sent over the bars at any time like I was on the Boardman I also fitted a Brand X 150mm dropper post as the bike is very capable for gnarly tracks. I would definetly recommend this bike especially if you can get it for discount like I did for £999, just one complaint the delivery was on time but I would have liked to be contacted the day before to check someone was going to be about (luckily my wife was) but it could have been a wasted trip for the courier
I’ve built mine, swapped to tubeless, added a DyedBro kit, and cassette spacing aside, was fairly smooth sailing. Fork setup and Dropper post aside, cos the BrandX I prefer is bound to go on sale soon, its ready to roll.
I’ve only done a ride round the block as I’ve been out of action for two weeks (non Covid), so not got it trailside yet, and the size feels pretty good - large frame and I’m 5.11 with ape arms. Perhaps borderline but feels good. Been a long time since I last built up a new hardtail (c456 8 yrs ago - in classifieds) and it feels good.
