I have the MK4 in raw with a Kitsuma which is easy enough to set up.
Does anyone have any comments to make on the Ohlins stuff. Often in tests it's made out that it's a bit harder to find a good setting, or implied that it works better for harder riders.
Looking forward to it once you are suitably recovered!
Managed a couple of hours on mine this morning before holiday. Early days but it rides like the v4 I had before but somehow feels faster, maybe the bigger front wheel?
I had a specialized enduro in between the 2 airdrops and coming back to the mx has made me realise that whilst the enduro was a capable bike it was no where near as much fun as this to ride.
Ohlins shock and fork felt good from the off, no complaints there although the fork did need a bit more pressure so needs a bit of fettling.
Right, here's mine.
Yesterday I drove 800 miles in 15 hours with a hangover so I'll see what I can actually remember...
I'm 6'2" and I bought an S4. The reach is 500mm so it's shorter than my previous 2 bikes and I didn't want to drop down as far as an S3.
It's a 170 fork with the longer stroke shock and 167mm.
Basically, the mullet does exaclty what I was hoping it would. It tips over easily making diving into corners and bouncing between berms and switchbacks so much more fun. It took some getting used to the smaller rear end and shorter chainstays after a few years on properly LLS bikes but it's way more fun to slash around on. Oh, and I only took a tyre to the arse crack once when I hung up on a big step up, not when landing drops or tucking for steep stuff.
I think the coil is a little light for me so I was running the fork to match and it was surpisingly good at just battering chunky trails. Very little arm pump and fatigue compared to previous years. I was being chased around by a lad on a V10 and he said it looked like I was on a DH bike. I wasn't going easy on it. I struggled a bit on the jumps due to running soft but I'll sort that out with a new spring.
Does anyone have any comments to make on the Ohlins stuff.
Yeah it's mint. There are 2 kinds of reviews for the forks. Those who complain about them being too firm and lacking suppleness at the top of the stroke, and those who have removed the negative travel spacer and massively improved it. It's an absolute mystery why they ship it in that configuration.
Also, it got loads of attention form people both out and about and other guests in the chalet. I haven't been asked so many questions about my bike since I took a Geometron out there in 2017.
Considering I threw it together in a couple of hours and then had my first runs on the Pleney I've had no creaks, squeaks, knocks or any issues whatsoever. I'm looking forward to riding it more asap.
One more thing about the Ohlins set up since you asked (and I've just had 12 hours sleep).
I think the adjustment range is pretty narrow. You can't set them up comically fast or uselessly slow like you can with other brands. It's like they're designed to work in all of the available settings. The upside of this is that you can just ride them out of the box with no messing around. The downside is that you could quite easily be outside of the range and looking for custom tuning. For a normy like me, they're bang on.
The factory recommendations for air pressure in the positive and negative spring is almost perfect especially with the negative spacer removed. I was riding with HSC and LSC wide open and rebound in the middle.
My Privateer 141 was my cut-price chance to try Ohlins and that's why I've splashed the cash on the Edit. It's a keeper, I'm very happy with it.
Thank you, I guess at 75kg I'm relatively normal.
So I'm having a proper heart vs head arguement with myself right now.
My heart says buy an Edit.
My head keeps asking me stupid questions like 'is the the bike for most of what I ride?', 'Am I riding at a level where a hooligan of a bike makes sense?' and 'Look at the new Trek Fuel EX, it's got adjustable geometry and frame storage'
I'm genuinely looking for a bike that can do a bit of everything. I like to go and find steep stuff and see if I can get down it - and so far I'm doing OK. Having a good amount of fun in FOD this week. I also love getting the wheels off the ground but this is still work in progress... I know the Edit is great for these. However I also want to be able to bang out a 25+ mile loop in the peak or a 40 miler more local to me which is flatter but means I can link up some of the sketchy woods nearby.
Other than actual workouts I am trying to trim down to one bike for all my 'leisure' riding. One bike to get used to, know how it feels and be completely comfortable on. I've done this with my current bike and it is helping me progress no end. I don't see many people who have an Edit talking about the pedally part...
For the folks that have one how is it to live with outside parks and winch & plummet type riding?
(I'm going to demo one in the next week or so anyway, but if my heart is wrong I'd like to know sooner)
I built mine with long travel and no consideration for weight. I thought it would be a tank but it's a surprisingly normal bike. I'm pretty sure I'm never going to have a DH bike again so that's what this is for.
I can sit in a comfortable position and spin the pedals no bother. I also ride it with a shotgun saddle and a 3 year old boy on the front and I've winched up all the steepest climbs in the local parks. I was doing multiple laps of Win Hill a couple of weeks ago and I was pedalling up, not pushing. That's huge for me because this time last year I was crippled with a lung infection.
For comparison my trail bike is a Druid V2 so full carbon with carbon rims, full 29er. Much lighter, same reach. Definitely slightly faster grinding uphill but not massively.
I live around the corner from Airdrop HQ so if you're in the area looking at demo bikes you can have a bounce around on mine if you like.
I'm not trying to sell you on it. If there's something more suitable you should try it but if you love the Edit just get it and shred it.
I've not managed to ride park or winch and plummet on mine yet. All I've done is day rides around the Peak. It pedals really well. That of course depends on what pedalling well means to you. I love how active this bike is. It's noticeably more active and gives more traction than the DW that proceeded it. It never feels mushy or bogged down like the weight travel or suppleness might suggest.
I have other bikes, but this is the only mountain bike I've ridden since I got it.
The green looks really dark and grim in those pictures. This is how it looks in the sun...
Have you ordered one yet?
I ride mine on everything from uplift parks to XC routes and it's fine even though its not built up light, a bit like sharkattacks. You're not going to break any records riding 40 miles on it but its comfortable, reasonably efficient and will be better than you imagine.
I used to have a V4 edit which i sold and missed so much I'm back on the MX now and have actually just bought a slacker as well - these are great bikes.
I live near the fod if you want to have a go on one.
I went from a V1 Edit to Aether 7 and then back to a V4 Edit. The slight difference in weight between the Aether and Edit is the fork and shock choice but the extra travel hasn't affected pedally stuff but does make rougher stuff more fun.
Funnily enough, I too was pedalling uo Win Hill recently 🙂
I've got an Airdrop itch that I'm sure I need to scratch. Now people have had them for a decent amount of time, how are you getting on with them?
Any regrets or still happy with the bike? Interested to get some long term feedback.
Currently on a Spesh Enduro which, while a great bike, is a bit of monster truck and I think the Airdrop would probably suit my riding a bit better.
Still got mine and still love it. No regrets and no issues with it. It's so much fun to ride i cant see me getting rid of this one for quite some time.
I also came off a Spesh Enduro to the edit, I definitely wouldn't go back.
Thanks Squealer. I've previously had a V1 and V2 and really rated them - so tempted to push the button!!
As is always the case, at just under 5'10", I'm right between sizes. What height / what size did you go for?
Still loving mine. I haven't ridden loads through winter but it's been to BPW a couple of times and Wharny a few so when it does go out it gets battered on rough, rocky descents.
It spends the rest of the time with a Shotgun saddle on and I can pedal it up hills with a rapidly growing human on the front.
I haven't touched the frame yet. Everything is tight, solid and silent. I love the Ohlins suspension but I don't think they supplying it anymore.
I'm tempted by a Rimpact chainring damper mostly out of curiosity but if it can mute the last bit of chain flappyness that would be appreciated.
As is always the case, at just under 5'10", I'm right between sizes. What height / what size did you go for?
I'm 5'9" and on a medium. I didn't try a large but I have a feeling that if I was any taller I'd be going for a large.
I'm tempted by a Rimpact chainring damper mostly out of curiosity but if it can mute the last bit of chain flappyness that would be appreciated.
I have one on a bike and it was a bit weird to pedal with for about 10mins then it was ok..
Cheers guys, good to see the positive feedback.
With the sizing, probably need to get in touch and sort a test ride out - I'm about 40 minutes away from Airdrop HQ so not too far
Not ridden mine anywhere near enough since I broke my ankle on it in November. Actually, I was off it when I broke my ankle, had I stayed on, I'd probably have been okay. The important thing is, I'm very happy with it and think I'll most likley be on this for the next decade.
I'm 5'10" first thing in the morning and probably shrink from there. I test rode the S2 and S3 out at Ladybower and went with the S3. The steeper seat angle compared to older bikes means that the seated distance to the bars was just too short on the S2 for all day riding. If I was getting it as a park bike, S2 probably would have been fine, but for ride all day, it had to be the S3. Then again, what do I know, I put Fox 38s on the front Double down rear exo+ front and ride it around the Peak. Not what it was intended for but it does it perfectly well.
I went for the S4 but I'm 6'2" with long arms. I've had longer and shorter bikes but at 500mm reach I think that's my sweet spot. The S3 was the same as my previous bike and I know that felt too snug.
I use mine as a DH/bikepark bike but as I've said before it's surprisingly happy pedalling up and along.
I just love the way a longer bike feels. I enjoy trucking over gnarly terrain not doing 360's on jumps so there's no downsides for me.
So, I've pushed the button and the frame arrived yesterday, went with an S3 in Raw. Frame looks mint!
Build starts this evening. Shock currently away at Mojo so probably have to wait until after the weekend before it's all finished and ready to ride.
Didn't fancy "Elastoplast"?
Actually think they look OK. Might not think that after a year or two though.
I’m not a fan of the ‘elastoplast’ colour,
I’d rather they’d gone either stealth black or something brighter like yellow.
Saw this yesterday on the book of face. Looks lush
Took me a minute (after a few beers) to work out what was going on with this bash guard 🙃
Actually think they look OK. Might not think that after a year or two though
Yeah, I keep my bikes several years so typically a raw, black, or colour I really love.
Not sure if it's been mentioned in the thread but the raw Airdrops are actually lightly polished with a clear powder coat and they look much nicer than a genuine raw frame in the flesh. And they should stay that way for longer too.
I've only had one raw bike before and it looked scruffy all the time. I ended up having it powder coated.
If I ever get an Airdrop I feel like it has to be raw with red fork and coil, that's how I always picture them! It really does look great. Same goes for Bird for some reason. Interested to see what the new Filter will look like when they release that, whilst I'd like an Edit or Slacker I suppose a Filter would be more my speed these days!
That's the thing about raw,v polished or black frames. Stick any colour fork on there and it looks great.
I remember having a polished manitou when marzocchi bomber was in it's hay day. Looked great with the yellow, the green, the red.
i almost got an airdrop, but went with a Raaw insted, and it is indeed a raw finish. Simple. Effective.
Tho i do like the look of the new 'plaster' colour they do.
Build pretty much done. Gonna swap the shock out for my EXT when it comes back from servicing and stick a chain guide on and that's about it.
Really pleased with it, looking forward to getting out at the weekend and seeing what it's like.
Very nice @Crag - just looks like a wonderfully under stated machine.
I'm heading up to see Andy next week (hopefully) to check between S2 and S3. Already got a factory 36 at 160mm which should work fine with the vivid air. I see they are all generally built with 38 or Zeb so hopefully 36 will be adequate!
I'm running a 38 on mine but I'd say 36 was the more typically suited fork. I only went 38 because of a silly bargain during the CRC fire sale.
