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Nice in Orange
My large frame 2018 model, including rear axle and hanger weighs in at 2.65kg
if anyone is considering selling a large solaris max due to buying a new one, i would be very interested. Thanks all!
I’ve put a few more miles on mine, so a bit of an update (warning, it ended up longer than expected). They haven’t been the most ‘testing’ of miles, so keep that in mind, but this bike was always supposed to be a bike for riding anywhere so it’s part of the spec. (For reference- a ‘big day out’ ride round the purbecks last weekend, some sightseeing on the old drovers roads around Salisbury, some muddy ‘just off the north downs’ riding yesterday and a local loop on my ‘home’ woodsy trails this afternoon). Done about 150miles on it total now.
It’s a good place to spin out the miles over most terrain. So far not noticeably comfy, not noticeably uncomfy either. Ask me again after my first 50miler.
Going downhill, I think calm is the best way to describe it. Just seems to give you a little bit more breathing space. Nips around tight woodsy stuff well. I did fail to ride one steepish little bit today, but it’s a personal bugbear of mine and very much a ‘head thing’, so not a black mark on the bike.
Uphill is mixed. On steep, cranky stuff it climbs really well. You’ve room to stand up and turn a big gear if needed and it seems to hang on to traction really well, even in damp woods with an aspen as a rear tyre. Sitting and spinning gently up is a perfectly pleasant place to be.
Where it’s not good is the in between- rises in singletrack where you want to keep speed, accelerating up a climb, that sort of thing. Neither this or the mk1 was ever going to be the sort of Xc race bike that just screams at you to pedal harder, but the mk1 did feel like it came was up for it. The new one feels more like it’s saying ‘steady on there’ and seems to lack some pep.
Initially I put it down to heat or tiredness on the rides I’ve done but I think I’ve got enough variety to point at the bike now. Given that the only components that have changed between it and the mk1 are the frame, headset and stem, I figure it might be the weight. I was pretty disappointed by the 2.5kg when the site quoted 2.22 for the next size up so I could be expecting it to be heavy I guess. I’ll have to ride the FS as a comparison.
What the weight does bring me to though, is why the hell would I buy this and not a bfeMax? Unless the Bfe is similarly over specced weight, I could save over a hundred quid, take a 100-150g weight penalty and spend the difference on a light rear hub. Or the similarly purposed Alu hardtails like the chameleon. Weight isn’t everything, but on a trail hardtail it’s still fairly important.
I need to take it somewhere with a few more faster, rougher, steeper trails to see what that weight is buying me.
Well, a little over 100 miles this weekend on it, including my it’s first 50+miler and some more challenging trails, and yes, happily, I’ve remembered why I bought the thing.
What I’ve said above about the climbing still stands, it’s got this weirdly sluggish thing going on when you’re trying to hurry it up a hill. Trying to build speed and momentum on singletrack that contours up and down feels like really hard work.
But.
Good grief it’s fast when you put some beans into it and there’s a hint of steady gradient in your favour. More to the point, I think I’m going to get faster as I get a feel for it, it seems to buy you a wee bit more time than it should to figure out what you’re doing when things are going a bit squiffy.
It largely does that without being a monster truck too. Not a big trail flattener doing it for you, just giving you a little more space to do it yourself. I haven’t relearnt the timing of a front wheel pop on the trail quite yet, but other than that it’s just a nice bike to be on. It sort of feels as if the ‘sweet spot’ for your body on most bikes is more of a sweet zone where you have room to adjust. Seems to help at low speeds too.
So, much happier with it now. Still annoyed by the weight and quite why it feels so sluggish to accelerate but do you know what, it’s so much fun that I’ll start doing squats to get some acceleration back.
From my experience of about 3000km on mine I have continued to grow into it. I can definitely put the hammer down faster now, picking up PRs on tighter twistier xc tracks and sprinting up pinches where it felt laboured. I'd love to try a smaller fork with a lockout and some lighter wheels one day.
“So, much happier with it now. Still annoyed by the weight and quite why it feels so sluggish to accelerate”
Do you honestly think you can feel the difference between having an empty water bottle and a less than half-full bottle when accelerating?
I know what he means. I don't think it's just weight though. The geometry impacts too.
“I know what he means. I don’t think it’s just weight though. The geometry impacts too.”
I think it may feel slower but isn’t actually slower. The longer wheelbase smooths out the bumps, the slacker head angle calms the steering. The more wandering front end when going slow also feels more sluggish.
Depends what you're comparing against and how you're doing it. My Strava data says I was slower everywhere except downhill on my SMax compared to my Highball. But almost one year later the gaps are getting tighter (except for downhill).
Do you honestly think you can feel the difference between having an empty water bottle and a less than half-full bottle when accelerating?
I wouldn’t have expected to and as you say, the weight difference compared to the old one is less than swapping water bottles. At first I couldn’t think it was anything else when seated in a straight line. Standing up and sprinting, sure, geometry would change the feel.
My roadie has a 70deg head angle, my fs has chain stays ~455, I’m fully bought into the idea that ‘less twitchy =/= slower’, this just feels like the brakes are on. To the extent that I had it apart to check!
Reeksy, glad to hear your experience and that I’m not going mad.
Reeksy / Swanny, Are you running the Hunt wheels by any chance?
I had exactly the same feeling when I first built up my Soul, it just didn't feel as fast as it should. Eventually traced the drag back to the rear hub, which is very well sealed but also very draggy. Despite changing bearings and greasing the seals it never felt much better, until I swapped the wheel for a Hope / DT481 build and it felt like someone had taken the brakes off!
Interesting someone mentioned hubs. I’ve had massive issues with my Superstar hubs and also feel the only downside of the LS geo* has been a slightly sluggish acceleration.
I’m getting some Hope wheels which I’m hoping will improve matters.
*Mine is the last of the LS bikes in cosmic black for reference.
@davewalsh I'm running Hope Fortus 30 with Pro 4 hubs. Definitely heavy, but I wanted something that will take a pounding.