Gnarly/silly/fun/pointless* new hardtail ordered!

Should be a beast! Nice to have a shopping list like that

I have one of those. Best bike I’ve ever had!

Pay attention @Northwind that’s not a shopping list it’s being transferred from the old Zero, otherwise the chief would have gone for some better brakes 😀

Reckon that’s going to be a great bike, will be interested to hear how it pans out

Just scuttled off the the Pipedream site, that does look like a fun bike, can't wait to see it!

Got rid of my V1 after 7 months. Hope you enjoy yours more than I did!

@howsyourdad1 care to explain why it wasn't enjoyable?

“ Pay attention @Northwind that’s not a shopping list it’s being transferred from the old Zero, otherwise the chief would have gone for some better brakes 😀”

Yes, it’s a Trigger’s Broom build - the parts from the Zero were previously on a Cotic Soul or a Banshee Spitfire (or two). It’s getting a bigger front disc (old one off the Levo)! In a shocking case of standards being slightly standardised, the seatpost and clamp, the BB, and the top half the headset match whilst the caliper post mounts and adapters work out neatly for the bigger front and same size rear rotors.

I’ve got an HG freehub for the old Levo wheels and am fitting an XD one for the 12 speed - so I’m thinking I should be able to singlespeed it with an adapter kit on the HG freehub and a shorter chain. Any suggestions? Can I still use the same chainring with a singlespeed sprocket? What sprocket size for a newbie single-speeder with 29” wheels and a 34t chainring? South Downs but the steeper parts of this locale, so not the fens but also not Welsh valley fall line trails!

I'm using an '11sp' thick/thin on my SS using 9 sp chain without any problems or a lot of wear for 4 1/2 years. Fwiw I've been doing ~ 100k and 2500m climbing per week.

I run a 17t on 27.5+ wheels and 18t on 29ers. The 18 does feel stiffer - I could go 19t without any trouble. So for you maybe a 20t? Even a 21t might be ok. You'll just have to suck it and see really. You'll get used to what you have.

Mate (luket of by yere) has the blue and it's a great looking frame. Good choice!

The mx3 rides really nice. Very smooth over everything in 29er 160mm form. You will not be disappointed. One the better riding frames out there.

A Moxie with a 140mm fork is near the top of my list, I'm just worried that the 'long', whilst has 10-15mm more reach than my SolarisMAX (120mm fork) , will feel short when climbing as the ETT is 15mm ish shorter!

I’ve got a long Moxie in vivid blue. It’s flipping brilliant

Sounds great OP. Love the look of them.

Personally prefer fork travel a bit shorter on hardtails but will watch this with interest. Roll on March!

“ A Moxie with a 140mm fork is near the top of my list, I’m just worried that the ‘long’, whilst has 10-15mm more reach than my SolarisMAX (120mm fork) , will feel short when climbing as the ETT is 15mm ish shorter!”

It’s hard to compare because Cotic quote geometry with 25% sag whilst the Moxie is 140mm static (the site says it’s similar to 160mm at sag but that’s only true if you run 12.5% sag). And the Cotic has a straight seat tube with no offset so the effective seat angle and ETT are consistent, whilst the Moxie has a significant bend, which means the true seat angle gets slacker and the ETT longer as your saddle height increases.

I only realised this after seeing the side on pics of BFeMAX and Moxie on bike radar:

Large BFeMAX @ 150mm

Long Moxie @ 160mm

The Moxie pic is more zoomed out but you can compare the wheel diameter to the ETT at that saddle height for an accurate reference.

Great choice. I’m a serial bike changer yet I’ve had my moxie for over 3 years now, it’s one of the original ones and I can’t see me changing it for a long time. I’ve got 2 sets of wheels so run mine 29 or 650b plus depending on how I feel.

The ride is fantastic, you’re going to love the bike. It’s an absolute animal on downhills and great at everything else.

Ooh!

I will follow your thread with interest Chief. Your musings on new skool HT geometry and riding are insightful and interesting.

"I run a 17t on 27.5+ wheels and 18t on 29ers. The 18 does feel stiffer – I could go 19t without any trouble. So for you maybe a 20t? Even a 21t might be ok. You’ll just have to suck it and see really. You’ll get used to what you have."

Thanks! Hopefully the Levo's HG freehub is a steel one so the singlespeed cog won't dig right into the the spines. 20t is slightly higher than the middle gear on a 10-50 cassette so that sounds sensible. I guess I just need the cog and those spacers to position it in the middle of the freehub?

"Personally prefer fork travel a bit shorter on hardtails but will watch this with interest."

So far I've tried 100, 130, 140 and 150mm forks on hardtails - and 150mm is my favourite, so I'm continuing the more is more thinking! 😉 A 160mm Lyrik will put the geometry where I want it - plus I'm trying to make this hardtail as similar to my Levo as possible. So similar angles, dimensions, BB height (all at sag) and the same fork (and many of the other parts), so hopefully I can hop on the hardtail (after commuting via trails on the Levo the same day) and attack trails with a similar attitude. That's the lofty goal!

With 150mm of fork travel, the way the Zero and its Luftkappe'd Pike are set up, I only ever get into the last 20mm or so of travel when I huck to flat and the load through the BB from my feet (and all my weight) uses the fork to give what's basically very short travel rear suspension.

"Your musings on new skool HT geometry and riding are insightful and interesting."

Wish my riding was as interesting as my musings...

Good to hear the pro-Moxie comments above!

Haha in contrast I'm toying with going for a smaller hardtail.

Are your legs actually long enough to go full 29? 🤔😉😂

“Are your legs actually long enough to go full 29? 🤔😉😂”

Yes, I’m all legs and arms - also, I’d look taller if I was as skinny as you! 😜

Pondering a 27.5+ rear wheel/tyre as an alternate option for uplift days - is this a silly idea? Would be running the dropouts in the long position for trails like that. Would need to be a pretty tough casing to handle the rocks. Not sure on the tread, I’d be running something like a Magic Mary 2.35” Soft up front.

I think a smaller 27.5 would drop the BB too much for my liking. A fairly honest 27.5x2.8 on a 35mm rim should only be about 10mm smaller than 29x2.3 so about 4mm lower at the BB, right?

Are you really taking a hardta for an uplift day?

That aside, plus tyres always tended to be a bit fragile when I tried them, EBikes might have brought some better options since.

Sounds very good indeed OP!

“Are you really taking a hardta for an uplift day?”

I took my 26” Soul to Antur and BPW on consecutive days - that was quite hard on the hands but I enjoyed it! Thinking that a much better work with 20mm more travel, longer, lower and slacker geometry and bigger wheels might be rather good.

If not I’ll take the Levo but that would be a bit annoying on a full trail centre day with everyone else unpowered (I normally ride it unpowered if I’m with a group of normal bikes).

That aside, plus tyres always tended to be a bit fragile when I tried them, EBikes might have brought some better options since.

“ That aside, plus tyres always tended to be a bit fragile when I tried them, EBikes might have brought some better options since.”

That was my concern but you’re probably right about the ebikes - will see what’s on the back of the some of those sort-of mullet ones like the YT one.

“Sounds very good indeed OP!”

I’m very excited!

160mm Lyrik Ultimate RC2 42mm offset
Roval 29” 30mm wide wheels
Fatbar Lite 760mm 40mm rise

Are you of tyrexian proportions? 🤣

Isn’t that quite a high front end? I dropped to 10mm rise when I changed to 150mm forks on the Jeht (30mm being a touch high with 140’s)

@metalheart that's a similar set up to what I've got on my Squatch as it's got a really short headtube, from memory the moxie is similar. my rocketmax only has 15mm rise bars to get a similar bar height.

“ Are you of tyrexian proportions? 🤣”

Actually I’m more of a gibbon on stilts! The 40mm rise bars are on my current hardtail so I’m hoping they’ll swap across fine - on my Levo I also have a 29” front wheel, a 160mm fork, a 125mm head tube and the same 40mm rise bars (and one spacer under the stem), so I do like a high front end.

Not sure when the frame is arriving but I think I have everything for the geared build now.

However I've also ordered the singlespeeding parts - a Gusset XD adaptor, 16t (that came with it), plus 18t and 20t sprockets, a 30t steel chainring (thought I might as well save the wear on the alloy 34t) and an 11 speed chain (for cross-compatibility of spare chain and quicklinks with my Levo).

The current plan is to build it up as a singlespeed with the easiest 30:20 ratio and see how I cope. Had a brief go on a mate's a few weeks ago and enjoyed it rather a lot, just really depends on how my bad knee copes on full rides - and of course if I enjoy riding without gears for 15-20 miles and 2000' of climbing, because it is meant to be a fun pastime!

I guess if I've got a choice of sprockets, I should set the chain length with the largest sprocket and the dropouts near the shorter end, and then each time I go down two teeth on the sprocket I'll need to move the wheel back by ~6mm (1/4")? It's got 16mm of sliding adjustment, 425mm - 441mm chainstays.

Sounds like a fun bike!

I like 30/18 as a general all-round SS gear on a 29er in hilly areas. Gets me up most of the stuff I'd get up with gears but is still quick enough elsewhere. I'd find 30/20 a bit spinny I think.

If you've got a duff knee, try and resist the temptation to sit and grind on SS. I'm pretty sure this is where the idea that SS is bad for knees comes from as it does put a shed load of strain through things. If you make sure you stand up for anything that's going to make you gurn it's a whole lot more knee-friendly.

“ I’d find 30/20 a bit spinny I think.”

I’m thinking that too but I’m hoping it’ll be a slightly less challenging starting point for singlespeed uphill stuff. Thankfully* the hills around Brighton don’t go on for that long before it’s time to go back down. I’m expecting to stand up lots. Hopefully I can upgrade to 30:18 after a short while.

*I’d rather they were bigger but it’s better than most of south-east England!

Trying to find anything possible to do to avoid a particularly dull yet complex bit of admin, and thus pondering which tyres from my pile should go on this. I’ve found that I’m really bad at bothering to swap them for the conditions.

Front choices:
Magic Mary 2.35 Snakeskin Soft
DHR2 2.4 Exo MaxxTerra

Rear choices:
DHR2 2.3 Exo Dual
Eliminator 2.3 Grid (got one fresh, one part-worn)
Rock Razor 2.35 Snakeskin SpeedGrip

They’re going on 30mm rims with Rimpacts inside. Do you need a toothier rear tyre on a singlespeed to avoid bad climbing moments or a faster one so you roll fast after spinning out, or like the gears, are you always on the wrong tyre?!

I think momentum is more important than grip on a singlespeed but then my SS has been hanging up in the shed for years.

The frame is here! It looks very nice and VERY pink. On the hand scales of truth it’s much lighter than my last full-sus frame (2016 Spitfire) but not as amusingly weightless as my 2010 Soul.

Now to try to find the time to assemble it. It’s getting different cranks SLX 165mm, I realised my faulty ankle needs shorter than 170mm to spin circles without my foot squirming and upsetting my knee - actually noticed a different wear pattern on the shoes I wear for commuting (mostly on the Levo which has shorter cranks) vs my shoes. Going singlespeed to start!

great to hear! look forward to some pics. I've only just picked up on this thread. I've had a similar mtb 'journey' (ahem..) in that I've got a 2014 Spitfire (languishing in bits in the shed) and just ride a hardtail now - a Scout. My next MTB purchase will probably be a Moxie or a BFEmax. Probably with a 150 fork and mullet set up. very interested to see how you get on...

But where are the photos of said frame - I love the pink Moxies!

Flipping love my Moxie. Mine's blue. A bit of me secretly wishes I'd got the pink. And it's longish/mullet because short legs. Otherwise similar. 150 Lyrik Ultimate.

Oh I see I get a mention up there. Hello Del!

Mine is 34(oval):18 on 27.5X2.8. I would say that's a shade longer than my old 33(also oval):16 on 26 Soul but that could just be the fat rider.

165mm cranks are a near necessity on my setup, with the BB pretty low. I had too many pedal strikes with a 27.5 front (all else unchanged). I suspect even with 29 F&R it's a good call.

I find the bike to be a great descender as you'd expect but also a lot of fun, which maybe surprised me a bit. Good paint job too.

Look forward to some pics...

Excellent!

*rubs hands together and peers intently at screen waiting*

I've been on wagon wheels for 9 years now so kinda take then for granted, and my LLS journey has included them from the outset, but I'm keen to hear your impressions on adding them to LLS.

A friend of mine recently put 29ers on his compatible 27.5/28 Kingdom Vendetta. Comments were it was better on the rough stuff and he felt he gained more advantage on a HT than an FS.

I've had a fully built up pink longer for about 6 months or so now and still haven't ridden it. You will have to let us know what you think, it might encourage me to get on it!

I’ve had a fully built up pink longer for about 6 months or so now and still haven’t ridden it. You will have to let us know what you think, it might encourage me to get on it!

What more motivation could you need than a shiny new bike??!!

I know but I bought another bike very soon after, which I shouldn't of really, and it kind of took the shine off the moxie.

I’ve taken one photo - of the serial number on the BB shell because I always forget to record them! I shall take some tomorrow, I have a load of product photos to do tomorrow so I might as well shoot the frame whilst I’m at it (IANAProperPhotographer).

I popped into my LBS to arrange the build (too much work on to do it myself!) so it’s booked it for a few weeks’ time. Funnily enough they’d just built up another Moxie from the same batch in the same Long size and in mustard yellow, which looked rather nice. A few hours later its owner arrived up at work to show me his new bike (turns out he works in the same building, just a few floors up!) So I had a ride around the corridors and it felt pretty great. His build is lighter/smaller than mine, 150mm Pike, smaller brakes, faster/lighter tyres, lower rise bars, shorter stem, shorter dropper. All the changes for my build should tweak it further towards my ideal so that bodes well!

Fast tyre on the back, grippy on the front, IMO. You don't have the same advantage to get a rear wheel to slip on steep stuff when climbing and you can also adjust weight balance easily as you'll be stood up to maintain/regain grip.

Luke is pushing some kind of monster elephant gear on his but I think he likes to get his money's worth out of his shoes...

You'll be fine on 30:18 IMV. 👍

You basically want to be breathing through your eyes on the very stiffest part of your rides and you'll get used to it. Adjust gearing to suit. 😬😀

Pics!

perhaps I should do a 'moxie v bfemax' thread rather than crowd out this one but if all the moxie's owners are having a look..

just looked at comparative geometry - is the website moxie chart based on a 150 fork?

seems like moxie is slacker HA, shorter seat tube (big deal for me), steeper seat angle, shorter chain stays and lower BB than the Bfemax (reach numbers are similar)

does this accord with the riding experience of Moxie owners?

Not a direct answer as I don’t have a Moxie, but when I was looking at hardtail frames a year or so ago (I went Marino and 650b in the end) I had a look at the bfemax vs Moxie and concluded the Moxie was a better bet. Mine would have been for a bit of everything - some flow trail centres, some steeper techier stuff and perhaps a few 3-4 hours bridleway rides. I don’t really see a downside to a slack head angle (within reason) as long as the rest of the geometry adds up.

Luke is pushing some kind of monster elephant gear on his but I think he likes to get his money’s worth out of his shoes…

I love how you see me wheezing up a hill and blame my gear ratio. Reality = rider fat, ratio quite normal.

34:18 x 27.5 = 32:16 x 26 if my maths is right, which was the old rule of thumb starting point wasn't it? 32:18 x 29 should be a fraction easier but it's close. Accepted the wheel diameters are inaccurate but presumably they're near enough.

Honestly, I think I'm just less fit. And we're all getting old.

I’ve been on wagon wheels for 9 years now so kinda take then for granted, and my LLS journey has included them from the outset, but I’m keen to hear your impressions on adding them to LLS.

I only changed the front. The back is still 27.5. My impressions of the change are positive (better cornering grip, got rid of the pedal strikes, maybe feels overall faster) but my change also affected angles, and the tyre wasn't like-for-like, so it's not very scientific.

With a 29" inside leg measurement there are parts of me that vote against a move to a 29" back wheel.

I like a sturdy back tyre on mine - have cut a few and I really like lowish pressures on it. Currently 2.8 DHR with insert, although it's overkill on grip/drag I'm enjoying it nonetheless.

In other news: THEY DO MUSTARD YELLOW? Hubba Hubba.

Got a mustard yellow arrive today. A few purple hope bits going on.

Will get a piccy up when it's built.

This will be an awesome build!

Anyone spotted a torque setting for the rear sliding dropouts?

Can't see one anywhere. Just thought I'd ask before emailing pipedream.

My own swapping a frame story took me from a medium Pace RC127 to a large RC627.

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Old 127

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New 627

Not had a proper ride yet, due to being struck with the Covid, but it feels much more spacious.

“ seems like moxie is slacker HA, shorter seat tube (big deal for me), steeper seat angle, shorter chain stays and lower BB than the Bfemax (reach numbers are similar)”

I spent a while looking into this (and there are probably posts from me on STW about this) but if I recall correctly with the same fork on both the BFeMAX has a slightly slacker head angle, slacker seat angle, higher BB, similar reach and slightly longer chainstays (but the Moxie’s are adjustable to a lot shorter).

The review on bikeradar shows them side on with 150 and 160 forks respectively which helped me compare visually as the BFeMAX chart is with 25% sag on 120-160mm fork lengths but the Moxie with no sag on a 140mm fork so the numbers are pretty confusing.

The Moxie seat tube angle at pedalling height is less steep (in a good way) than the chart claims because the seat tube has quite a big bend in it.

With a 140mm fork on the BFeMAX and 160mm on the Moxie the front ends are v similar but the Moxie is still lower with a steeper seat angle.

The Forge was another top choice and it’s very similar to the Moxie but the BB is lower.

Anyone spotted a torque setting for the rear sliding dropouts?

@chrisdw I asked the same question on their Facebook owners group when I got mine. The response was, IIRC, 25Nm. For me, that seemed a lot to put through a 5mm hex bolt and I replaced with 6mm. I also leave the set screws butted up. However folk don't seem to have an issue with the dropouts so it's probably just me.

Edit: I'll try to find the post but I'm not really a Facebook user and it's a long time ago so I'm not confident. You'd be quicker joining the group and asking there. It's often Pipedream themselves responding.

Typical torque for an A2 stainless bolt is about 5 or 6Nm isn't it? 25 sounds like a lot?

The reccomended torque on my RSD Middlechild Ti sliding dropout bolts is 17 - 20 nm. They are the same shape as the Pipedream dropouts and use the same bolts if that helps.

I rounded out my original bolts with a knackered socket on my torque wrench, so I replaced them with Pipedream bolts. The Pipedream bolts seem just as soft as my originals. You need to get a good allen key not to round them out at 20NM torque. I'm using a Wera hex.

I ran a Pace RC627 as a single speed but the dropout design isn't ideal. The dropout itself doesn't slide far enough to tighten the chain in some ring combinations and it doesn't have enough material to hold the bolts, which makes it easy to damage.

All the parts have been assembled, my LBS is hopefully putting it together today, otherwise I'm not sure how I'm going to get home... Might need a clean before a photograph due to a mix of new and some rather dirty old parts!

Voila!

That is magnificent! Enjoy muchly

Nice! Although the dropper post routing looks weird. Should go behind the chainstay under the bb and up no? Sorry to be that guy

It does look like Pipedream do it like that on some of their photos but image searching I see others do it like this. It works fine with this bend in it and keeps it away from under BB bashes and rear wheel mud so I think it can stay as it is!

At the moment the dropper cable looks weird because it’s too skinny for the clamps (they must be sized for hydraulic Reverb hoses) so I need to shim the clamps with some tape around the outer in the right places and then clamp it nice and straight instead of the silly wiggles it’s doing now.

My dropper is routed the same - like you I checked the pipedream site and that’s how they do it. Works perfectly in use.

It’s an amazing bike. You are going to love it!

Looks great! The best color (yank) for them! Get some tape under the brake and shifter cables at the seat tube. Also under the the dropper cable in two small strips running between the hose mount/clamps. . It will save that paint.

Also some mastic on the chain stay. Easy to shape.
[img] [/img]
Found the below style worked better
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I’ve just started adding bits of clear Gorilla tape at the likely rub points, will add bits as suggested, thanks!

At the moment it’s set up singlespeed so I was thinking I might leave the chainstay bare but maybe that’s tempting fate? Could do the Gorilla tape on that too. Running 30:18 so the chain is a fair distance from the stays. (Yes, despite being singlespeed it has a OneUp bash+guide - I like having the bash for the log rolls around here and thought it might as well have the guide in case I revert to gears).

Only ridden it home from work but it felt right immediately, dropped off a small wall and rode up through the park and it’s boding well for a proper test tomorrow night.

After lots of tyre pondering it got a Magic Mary up front (can’t go wrong with that, can you?) and a fairly worn Eliminator out back rather than sticking on a new semi-slick. DIY low budget semi-slick?!

seems like moxie is slacker HA, shorter seat tube (big deal for me), steeper seat angle, shorter chain stays and lower BB than the Bfemax (reach numbers are similar)

As a relatively recent BFEMax owner the one thing I'd like to tweak about mine is the bb height if I could.

Head angle is quite slack (slacker would be fine by me althought angleset is a possibility), seat angle is fine, and I quite like the longer chainstays.

But the relatively high BB compared to my previous bike is twisting my melon a bit when tipping into steep slow-speed techy things, it feels like there's decidedly more forward rotation going on before my rear wheel follows me down whatever we're going down.

Other than that though it's a grand bike and I imagine a Moxie is fab too. Especially in That Pink 😍

That looks epic! Very purposeful

That’s a lovely looking bike, enjoy!

That looks great!

My chainstay has been ok unprotected for 1.5 years singlespeed.

A few bits of heli tape elsewhere but generally this paint is good and quite tough, I'm finding.

Holy ****, this bike is incredible!

Absolutely yes. I’m choosing mine over the full suss at the moment. So much fun!

Holy ****, this bike is incredible!

Ha ha!

Welcome to the new nu-skool!

Moxie stream of consciousness:

It just feels so right. Like my Levo’s “storm into everything, steamrollering, maximum confidence” front end but with so much immediacy when I pump or pedal. It’s freakishly smooth. I was expecting it to carry speed better than my old hardtail because of the bigger wheels, I expected it to feel a bit less bumpy/harsh over the rough but not to this degree. How much of that is 29” vs 27.5” or steel vs aluminium or brand new 160mm Lyrik vs 150mm Pike that’s due a service, I don’t know. All I know is it’s bloody brilliant!

Popping off everything, building confidence in the balance to get some more air (I’m far from a great jumper but I am a frequent jumper). Singlespeed was awesome - far less unpleasant than I was expecting, I actually preferred it to geared hardtail or my weird Levo habit of full power solo and zero assistance with the group. We don’t have big hills here although there are some steeper bits. 18 miles and 2000’ of climbing on that ride. Quads were aching more above my knees but the rest of my legs felt less tired if anything. The rest of me feels great, not beaten up like with the Zero.

Set up details - the excellent chaps at my LBS built it up, seat and dropper came straight from my Zero, likewise bars and stem and brakes and I think nothing has changed regarding clamping positions because all feels right. Two spacers under the stem (10mm?) and 40mm bar rise so the front is high but so’s my Levo’s and I love it on that too. Added some LSC to the Lyrik but haven’t even checked the sag or fork pressure or adjusted the rebound - feels great and I’m a really fussy sod!

Tyres were at 22F / 24R. Part worn Eliminator 2.3 is a really great dry rear. Magic Mary 2.35 obviously a great front. Rimpact normal front, Pro rear. Brakes were pretty weak to start with because the rear had new pads and the front had old pads from the Zero that didn’t match the old disk from the Levo. Thankfully they bedded in and felt good towards the end of the ride. Gearing is 30:18 with 165mm cranks and a big 29x2.3 (it measures 2.4” wide, slightly bigger volume than the Magic Mary). Think the chainstays are on the slightly shorter side of middle, so maybe 432mm?

Noticed I used most of the fork travel at times (only by checking the dust marks), about 140 of the 160mm. Despite that I never felt that unbalanced thing or the head angle steepness near full travel that people say is an issue with a lot of travel on a hardtail. I never considered it an issue on the Zero but there were moments when you’d land a bigger (for me) drop with a flatter transition and you’d have to “give the bars away” (this is a horsing term from showjumping - substitute reins). The Moxie doesn’t even need that. So balanced!

Had two celebratory pints and then had to ride home via some trails and discovered that I ride better when lightly lubricated (I am out of practice at drinking!) - more confident and looser. Will have to try to find that vibe when sober!

I've had some great 'flow state' rides after a beer or two!

Bike sounds ace btw

@chief…… great description of the bike. They’re magnificent aren’t they, LOVE mine!

(FYI: Carefully placed without treading on anything I shouldn’t!)

Popped out for a little ride yesterday evening with my eldest small. I can’t get over how smooth it is. If I had the time/money I’d love to work out how much each element is contributing: Big wheels, nice steel frame, fairly big tubeless tyres, singlespeed, rims/wheels, bars and grips, lovely fork. It’s just magical!

It’s not that it feels like it has rear suspension at all, it behaves very much like a hardtail. I’m just shocked how much less harsh and vibrating and buzzy it is. And how much less any bumps slow it down.

Another ride done, same but different group (some slower missing, some faster present) so it was a bit quicker both up and down. It really is very very good. Loving singlespeeding, turns some mildly challenging steep bits into much bigger challenges, gets all the hills done faster and forces a real focus on flow downhill.

Foot bounced off a pedal at one point (no wounds!) which was very strange for me - I think I was too focused on weighting the front and because it’s so smooth at the back much of the time I’d taken for granted that my feet would stay in place. Sorted my balance after that and AOK.

Still can’t get over how much less harsh it is, even landing flatter drops there’s less of a sting to the sudden ankle flexion, so it’s not just the way the bigger wheels smooth out the edges. Lyrik Ultimate is pretty damned ultimate!

Holy cow that is Pink! The colour looks photo shopped!! 🤣

i remember getting a really long bike (for the time) and it feeling like my FS bike at the time. I got bored of the smoothness and bought a shorter bike for the extra challange.

looks rad though - definately wont miss you on the trails! i`m suprised it gets around some of the stanmer corners! but i guess a lot of the tight stuff has gone now.

I really enjoyed my SS summer. i was definately fit after! gave up in winter as it was too slippy to put the required power down and i ended up pushing too much. going back to gears felt like i was on cheating for the fist few rides!

Glad you're liking it. I love mine. I have no idea why but I think it remains quite playful despite the length (although mine is the smallest size, also lacks the weight of gears and I went spendy on the wheels). And I do think has something about it that distinguishes it from lots of other hardtails that feel harsh to me. Mine has the Pike version of the same fork in 150mm. I could never get my Lyrik Ultimates on the other bike anywhere near as nice initially but after a TF Tuned service I think they are finally as they should be.

If you ever fancy sticking a 27.5 in the back, it'd be interesting to hear your comparison. I like mine as a mullet better than with 27.5 F&R but I haven't tried 29 F&R.

gave up in winter as it was too slippy to put the required power down and i ended up pushing too much.

I gave up singlespeeding because I felt it restricted the capabilities of a bike as capable as these nu-skool hardtails.

Sometimes I miss it, but mostly I think I made the correct decision.

I’ll be surprised if this stays singlespeed all the time but on the small hills and dry trails here and now it is very satisfying! I’ve got a bigger rear sprocket I could try when the mud arrives to lower the gearing slightly.

A shorter bike would definitely be quicker around the tightest corners here but I’m so used to my Levo which has basically the same wheelbase (depending on sag and chainstay adjustment) that the line I take and the manhandling required is normal to me.

90% certain it’s coming instead of the Levo next time I have an away trip to gnarlier terrain, 50/50 on whether I’ll cave and add gears before then. Not having an expensive 12 speed mech waiting to get smashed off is a nice thought.

I don’t think I’ll try mulleting it - I like the BB height and angles as it is and my legs are pretty long so I’ve yet to get attacked by the rear tyre, which does sometimes happen (but very lightly) on my Levo - but that has 157mm of upward movement at the rear rather than 0mm.

I gave up singlespeeding because I felt it restricted the capabilities of a bike as capable as these nu-skool hardtails.

For me, it doesn't affect my choice of descents, and it is rare it affects my speed on descents significantly. It would if I did a lot where I wanted to pedal at higher speeds, but that's rare, ours tend to be slower and techier. And I think there's an advantage in that it forces you to find other ways to maintain speed. For me at least, I think that's helped me be a marginally better rider. I love this hardtail as a singlespeed more than I did an older geo hardtail.

What it does mean is that I rarely use it where longer climbs are involved. I've ridden singlespeed at the Golfie but only once and I didn't get many runs in! But I can go a long time between opportunities for such rides, so circumstances dictate that it's not much of a compromise for me. My local rides only climb <200m at a time generally, up to c.1200m in a ride is common but rarely much more, and I don't think singlespeed makes much difference on that.

At the other end of the scale I did the SDW on my Moxie singlespeed. I enjoyed it for that too.

I agree about the descending, mostly my descents are free-wheel affairs.

200m at a time generally, up to c.1200m in a ride is common but rarely much more, and I don’t think singlespeed makes much difference on that.

My climbing is similar in height, most are short and punchy, rocky and rooty affairs. My ability to make it up these is improved markedly by having gears. I'd be pushing alot on SS. There are smoother, more civilised climbs locally if I were singlespeeding, but I prefer things with a bit more interest.