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My epic procrastination about a new bike is continuing having seen new Mondraker Crafty 29er.
What's the general forum thought on Mondraker? Mags seem to rave about them, comments on here about them seem pretty mixed. I only know one person riding one, he loves it, but it's a small sample of 1 person.
Worth adding, I'd be getting a test ride before buying anything, so I'm less concerned about the actual ride, more about ownership- Reliablity, any issues, aftersales etc.
I have owned four!
One Foxy, two Dunes and a Summum. All were really nice riding bikes and I love the feel of their suspension system.
Two had terrible problems with bolts working loose, mostly cured with threadlock. I didn't break any of them, but the bloke who bought my last Dune cracked the frame (he does appear to go quite big though).
I probably wouldn't get another TBH, too many other good options with less pivots around now!
Love my foxy, nice to ride, fun downhill and good warranty.
plus the 2015 crafty looks awesome - http://www.tweekscycles.com/bikes/full-suspension-mountain-bikes/mondraker-crafty-29er-full-suspension-mountain-bike-2015
Any other thoughts? Only 2 replies backs up my original observation that Mondraker owners either don't exist or are very quiet. Any others out there?
Only people I know who ride them are sponsored to.
I had a shufty at those bikes now, very nice looking frames eh?
One point I'd make is that these kind of slack 130mm 29ers are extremely fast and capable - and unless you're really light or an utter mincer, it'll be crying out for a Pike instead of a wimpy 32 or Rev.
So buying a complete bike might be a frustrating experience.
EDIT: OK, so they may actually come with a Pike or 34 - which is encouraging.
They remind me of James Bonds film Moonraker
Couple of mates have them and yes all the bolts fell out. But easy enough to sort that as long as it doesn't happen at some pain in the arse moment, which it obviously will
If I bought one, it'd have to be a new one based on the number locally that have broken.
Sorry this is a late addition.
I bought a Crafty XR late last year. I wanted a single bike to do everything on; recreational AM riding and XC endurance racing. The Crafty fitted the bill. Ditched the dropper post, trigger shifters and cranks and replaced them with a Thomson Masterpiece post, Gripshift and XX1 crank set. That cut nearly 1 kg from the bike. Use the CrossRocs with Conti Mountain Kngs for general riding and AC Wide Lightning wheels with Conti X Kings for racing. Race weight is 12.2 kg with pedals which isn't bad for a long travel 29er duallie with alu frame and Pike 150 mm fork.
Very happy with the Crafty. It is a tiny bit off the pace in super slow, very tight single track but a better ride than my previous Intense Spider 29 everywhere else. Long travel and 29" wheels means that I can ride straight over most things.
Main suspension pivot bolts are loctited from the factory and began to creak after a month or two. I removed and greased and they're quiet since. I went over everything when new and found that the rear derailleur hanger bolts and the bottom bracket cups weren't particularly tight. The standard, low end Formula CR1 brakes were a bit of surprise. Much more powerful than the XT's on the Intense. Love them now that I'm used to them but that kind of stopping power had me inadvertently locking wheels during the first few rides.
Overall, very happy and would buy another.