My 2nd ever MTB was a SC Superlight bought from Stif near Sheffield in 2000 I think. Never had one since until yesterday. Very sad to see the demise of Stif but when they reduced this ex demo 5010, I couldn't resist it. Sold my Yeti SB140LR and Ibis RipMo this summer leaving my Propain Hugene as my trail bike. Which is is extremely good at. Hardtail for winter, keep the Giga for big days and that's an excellent bike collection.
Still no way I'm ever going to be able to create a mullet from what's left of my hair, so that's rationale enough. Plus it's in the fastest colour.
Ex-Demo, done 10-12 rides apparently. One of them ending in a crash looking at the scuffing 😉 Even been invisiframed. Not well, but not a job I now need to do. GXS RSV spec but with the oh-so-bling Reserve HD/I9 wheels.
Over time I'll swap the SRAM brakes for Magura MT7s, stick a oneup post in there and change the tyres which were a little worn for the increasingly wet ride today. It's a fun bike to ride tho, first mullet I've had. Going to very much enjoy it on our local twisty / darty trails.
Need to register it, anyone know where the serial number is?
Oh first time with frame storage as well so that's a job for this afternoon seeing what I can get in there. Also I have thew new shifter pod on my propain, but I much prefer this older one on the SC. No idea why they changed it?
Noice! How much overlap will there be with the Hugene in terms of what you'll be riding in them?
Oh a lot I expect 😉 I'm not really too bothered about it tho as while I'm sure my riding would be "better" if I just rode one bike, I like to have the choice/try out new bikes.
In my head - which is not a reliable witness for reality 😉 - I'll use the 5010 for local / night rides where it's super twisty and there's nothing I won't ride on my HT (there is stuff I won't ride, but that's not bike specific) and the Hugene is my trail bike so riding out the 10km to the Yat, riding for a day, riding back, other big days out etc. I think the 5010 would be a lot of fun at a trail centre if I ever go back to one.
Next time we're away unless it's monster territory, the hugene will be going in the bag.
I rode my giga as a trail bike for a year or so, so I'm not too hung up on what works best where. It's more "what do I feel like riding when I get up in the morning" 🙂
Nice bike.
Stif was in Headingly, Leeds before moving to summerbridge.
Stif was in Headingly, Leeds before moving to summerbridge.
I was driving up with my 1 year old in the car from South Bucks. I've pretty much attempted to blank that entire journey out from my mind 😉 I do remember debating the merits of a 110mm or 120mm stem!
I thought it'd be interesting to do a comparison between my two SC, 25 years apart. Bikes were short, tall and steep back then!
What a beast! Found a couple of photos from 2003 when @nickc and I headed out to Morzine for my first every non UK trip.
How did we not kill ourselves out there on those bikes?
Nice. I like the 5010, but MX wheels..? Not so sure. Like the colour though.
I've no idea. Maybe we were just going very slowly 🙂
I rode a mullet bike in Spain a couple of years ago. It was an eBike tho so I was mostly interested in that and didn't really notice Anu difference. I need to ride the 5010 lots more before declaring the Kool-aid drunk 🙂 I did have a good time tho but that might be just because I'm out on my bike!
Colour was what sold it to me. Yes I am that shallow 🙂
Also I have thew new shifter pod on my propain, but I much prefer this older one on the SC.
If it's the flat shifter with two buttons yes I agree with you it's horrible.
You can however buy a paddle style front face for it that makes it so much nicer to use.
This is the part number for it, it's about 20 quid so a cheap upgrade that's well worth it.
Oh almost forgot.
Your fence/hedge/grass is shocking.
Oh ta, I'm definitely getting that.
I agree on the hedge/grass/signage. Please direct all future complaints to noonecares@herefordshire.council 🙂
You do go through some nice bikes, so I find your posts interesting! Interesting that the yeti and ripmo have gone. I keep looking at the latest ripmo but limited stock here in the uk from what I can see.
Stif did have a 2023 5010 very cheap with great kit, but having sold my Hightower I wanted something different. Lovely colour though. Like you I’ve not had a mullet before so keen to hear your thoughts once you get more miles in.
@superstu - had loads, enjoyed riding most of them. A lot bought second hand as I know what I'm like, and won't be keeping them for that long. The Yeti was an itch I wanted to scratch but not at new prices. It was a great bike but I'm not sure that switch link has more benefits that problems. Superb suspension feel to be fair. That was my second RipMo after I bought pretty much the first one off the boat in 2018. Been a Ibis Fan since my original Mojo3.
Rode that 1500km before getting the Yeti and then the Propain. So while I like buying/trying bikes, I don't like them sat in the shed not being ridden. Now both are getting some use- although the Yeti had a crack near the BB (I never noticed and rode it like that for 18 months, it was hidden under the down tube protector) so that was sold with a discount reflecting the cost of a top notch repair.
I did nearly pre-order a V3 RipMo even at full price. But the shop massively let me down and after a few months I lost interest and went a different way. Always happy to do ride reports, always knowing I'm not going to be fully testing the bikes anywhere close to their limit!
I wrote a thing about it here: https://www.pickled-hedgehog.com/shedofdrama/
If you're seriously starved of entertainment on a damp Sunday morning, there's links in there to all the bikes I have and have sold in the last couple of years. Appears to be quite a long list 🙂
👍
Wasn’t a criticism in any way.
The tale of the cracked Yeti doesn’t do much to improve my thoughts of their reputation!
I didn't take it that way 🙂
To be fair to the Yeti, it had has a rock strike that had punctured the rubber frame guard. I could never get a replacement guard (always out of stock at silverfish) so didn't remove it. Only when selling did it become obvious that what I thought was a bit of paint flaking was some "soft" carbon meaning a void underneath.
I don't expect previous rider knew about it, and even if he did it's buyer beware so it was on me for not checking it thoroughly enough. Like I said I rode it over 1200km in a year and never noticed!
Yeti offered me a crash replacement SB130 at a price a bit more than I could buy a discounted one for 😉
Need to register it, anyone know where the serial number is?
there will be some QR codes on the under side
Thanks, found them. Amusingly the SC website talks about removing the swing arm bolt so you can see them! No need. I do need to register the reserve wheels tho, not sure the serial numbers on the rims survived it being a demo.
I don't have reserve wheels so i can help sorry, visit the reserve web site it should tell you
#manmaths confirms that as the bike was such a bargain, a few carefully curated targeted upgrades are justifiable.
- a pair of the same tyres it is currently shod with. Only with a bit more tread.
- My lovely MT7s with Oak Levers which are a bit wasted on the bikepacking hardtail are getting snaffled. G2s are going the other way but if I really can't get on with them, it'll have to be some SLX 2 pots when there's a sale on. Took me a while to find some black ShiftMix 3s to connect to SRAM Pod/Dropper lever. Been caught out there before.
- Cushcore? Hmm I really like cushcore on the Hugene. Might be placebo but they do feel different to Rimpacts. Maybe just one in the back as I am so clumsy when riding through rock gardens etc.
- Set of pike decals to replace the trailer-rash/been down the road one.
- Tiny "will it get me home" tube and a granite tubeless repair cylinder to stow in the one frame storage. Surprising how much you can get in there if packed carefully.
Saddle is staying until I've done some longer rides to see if it's compatible with my big unit 😉 Much as I cannot see the point of hydraulic droppers, spending the thick end of £300 to get a oneup v3 and lever for 35mm more travel is even a man-maths stretch!
Had a good look round to see if anything else needed fixing. But apart from some invisiframe patching, nothing was obvious. Few little scratches on the wheels and one on the frame and that seems to be it.
If it'd just blooming well stop raining for FIVE MINUTES, I might be able to ride it. Might be a muddy baptism of fire on the Weds night ride.
Very nice. I just converted my stumpy evo to mullet with the linkage change. Took it on holiday and have to say I was a fan. Same stability as the wheelbase doesn’t change but noticeable better at cornering. I also didn’t get the wheel bum interface issue and I doubt that was improved technique
Interesting. I have a vague plan to try the 5010 and the Hugene back to back. Or do a day at BPW and switch at lunchtime. My drop technique would certainly benefit from a bit less wheel out back as well!
Quick update if anyone is interested. Coming up a month old. Ridden it seven times. Local Ross Trails, FoD East (Dowies etc) and a long day riding out to the Yat and back. Short version: I like it. A lot.
Longer version. As per previous posts, I dumped (gave away, just do not like the feel of SRAM brakes) the G2s, replaced the tyres with the same but new, after much dithering went with a pair of "trail" cushcore, replaced the damaged fork decals and stuck some uberbike pedals on as my Burgtec need a service and I had these knocking around.
Bought a cover for the AXS mech battery which looks proper exposed without. Saddle is fine, maybe comfier than my preferred Ergon SM. Grips are great but tired so replacing those with some Peaty Monarchs. And I found a very cheap 165mm GX crankset which is ordered but not fitted.
So starting with stuff that isn't so much dislikes as a bit annoying.
-BB is low. It's why it corners so well I guess but even after moving the flip link to high, it's proper pedal strike-y. That's with the recommended shock sag. Hence buying shorter cranks.
-Magura ShiftMix and SRAM AXS pod do not play well together. Got a bolt on mount to try.
Er, that's it 🙂 It doesn't climb as well as my Hugene even tho it's lighter, defo more bob-y but I never flipped the climb switch. I realised belatedly it's a Deluxe rear shock not select and I'm a big fan. Feels almost Yeti plush on small Stuff. Pike up front prob needs at least a lower leg service but it's not desperate.
Riding wise, biggest difference is definitely cornering. Not one of my best skills and I'm still not 100% "back" from injury. But when I let it go a bit, it proper rips (or feels like it does) around corners. Even tho it's not really, it feel smaller than the Hugene and just a bit easier to hustle in the very tight trails we have locally. On the steeper stuff, I'm not really missing the extra travel of the Hugene, but again it does feel like a smaller bike. Also seems to have a faster pick up on the pedals - might be i9 hubs, might be smaller wheel.
It also needs cleaning. Not the easiest but it won't be ridden through the winter anyway.
The more I ride it, the more I like it. It wasn't an instant "oh wow this is a big step up/away from what I've had before" but as my confidence has increased so has the fun. For some reason I'm struggling to jump on it (I mean I'm rubbish anyway but somehow more rubbish).
It does need a longer dropper tho. Waiting for something in a sale. Be interesting when I next ride the Hugene to see how different, or not it feels.
You sound happy 😀
-BB is low. It's why it corners so well I guess but even after moving the flip link to high, it's proper pedal strike-y. That's with the recommended shock sag. Hence buying shorter cranks.
Yep, it's why my Tallboy has 165mm cranks even though it's an XXL and I'm not shy in the height department - I'm used to a low BB after years of similarly low BBs on other bikes, but I still get the occasional strike. I'm sticking with the low flip chip position though.
Also seems to have a faster pick up on the pedals - might be i9 hubs, might be smaller wheel.
Are yours the i9 1/1 hubs? I've got those (also with bling Reserve HDs). I find them very quick pick up too, all my other wheels are Hope Pro4s so quite a change.
It does need a longer dropper tho.
OneUp V2 240s on Leisure Lake's eBay outlet for £165?
Oh thanks @a11y - only just over half the price of a V3. I don't think I need a V3 that badly.
Once I have the 165s, I might drop it back onto the low setting. Not sure how much difference I can tell.
Yep I9 1/1 hubs. They are very nice indeed.
And yes defo happy with the bike. Not bothered about riding any of my other bikes at the mo.
Out of interest where’d you get the fork decals? Need some lyrics ones and CBA to search 🤣
After some searching, found them here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/388841594209?var=655972300113 about half the price of Invisiframe. They were a bit "shorter" than the ones I removed but very good quality. And a tenner with free postage. Turned up 2 days later.