[Closed] on one codeine 29 - talk to me

i just got one, bought the frame and built it up, had my first ride yesterday, first impressions are very positive, rolls quickly and after a couple of miles it felt pretty normal,

I'm also interested in anyone experience with the cod 29 as I'm on the cusp
Of ordering the frame.
Cheers

Mate has one and didn't like it. Front end to high and couldn't ever get the shock to feel right. Its now for sale(medium) if anyone interested.

Have moved in a short succession from 29er Salsa Horsethief, 29er Transition Bandit and now the Codeine.

All large (i'm 6'2 i think with long legs).

have had to get some lower bars as like tpbiker's mate found out, front was a little high (did have 35mm rise bars before, now 10mm).

Really like it. Only ridden for about a month but find it does everything very well. Descents are a hoote.

Tis bloody heavy.

I'm half tempted with one of these - the 27.5 as well but the thing I can't get my head around is that the colours and graphics look like they were designed by a 6 year old.

there are very few reviews knocking around.

like I said I had pretty much decided the Transition Smuggler would be good for me. but comparing the geometry they are pretty close.

I'd imagine weight would be similar too.

the ON ONE would probably come in under 1k less!!!

http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBOOCODGX1/on-one-codeine-29-sram-gx1-mountain-bike

https://www.transitionbikes.com/Bikes_Smuggler.cfm

I'm in Huddersfield if you fancy throwing your leg over it.

not sure how tall you are, but the large codeine , seat tube, standover and stack are much higher than the large smuggler, im 6ft and would have preferred a shorter seat tube on the codeine, but other than that the rest of the geometry fits me well

i know that every new bike we buy is [i]the best bike ever[/i], but my Codeine might well keep it's title longer than most...

it seems well made; the suspension action was smooth and light when i took the shock out, and the welds look even and tidy. the seat-tube is a good-fit 31.6mm

the (grey) paint seems tough enough: i've given it a good scuffing, but nothing's chipped or scratched yet.

it's not light, but i wouldn't say it's 'heavy', just reassuringly sturdy.

i thought i might struggle with a single-ring specific frame, but it turns out not to be an issue.

'winch and plummet' seems to sum it up very well: it climbs well if you're not in a hurry and stamping on the pedals, descends great, it's even ok bimbling around on easy stuff.

i really really like it.

fwiw; i'm 6.2", 36" inside leg, frame size is Large (20"), and i'm happy with the 'fit'.

No complaints here, given the price, and the type of riding it was designed for. My large is around 7.5lbs without shock, full build nearly 33lbs with a sensible build (XT, Reverb, Hope hoops, 1kg tyres) so no lightweight. But the money saved by not getting something similiar in carbon has paid for a load of skills lessons, trips away, uplift days etc. and I'm very happy with that choice.

Re. high front end, I'm currently using 1/2" rise 760mm bars, 50mm 10deg stem without spacers, have been meaning to swap for a 40mm zero rise but two years in still haven't bothered so it's not upsetting me that much.

First 29er and first bike with new Pikes and a CCDB so I don't have any useful comparisons to make really, it just feels faster and more stable than anything else I've ridden.

how much lighter would a carbon frame be 2lb max?

[I]fwiw; i'm 6.2", 36" inside leg, frame size is Large (20"), and i'm happy with the 'fit'. [/I]

I'm your build and found my friends Large too short, catching my knees on the bars/shifters.

He likes it though, bloody quick.

Bloody short on reach though! Looks short and high and the reach and stack figures back that up. Suits some people no doubt but you couldn't call the geometry modern

Had mine for 2 years, been all over the place India, SA, Spain etc...I ride most weekends in the peak district. Its set up 30/42 with 150 pikes & a debonair shock. I call it the monster truck, as above - it destroys the rough stuff but still climbs well. Its no lightweight but its doesn't 'feel' like a lump when you ride it either.

It does feel high, especially on technical climbs, but you get used to it and frankly the solid descending more than makes up for it.

Had mine for 2 years now, no complaints, came from Kona coiler 6inch travel beast, so mine doesn't feel heavy to me. Tried an Enduro then managed to get a pootle round the carpark on a Codeine and haven't looked back, its the only bike I've sat on that made me feel like I was truly 'In the bike' I'll ride off far more dodgy stuff on this than my Kona with less travel. Climbs ok but then I'm no xc whippet, took a while to get the hang of uphill hairpins though, but I think that's the case with all Clownwheel steeds.I'm 5.10 30inch leg on a medium. Only issues I had were with Cane Creek shock and broken chainstay but both were sorted quickly under warranty.

I had one and liked it in a monster truck kinda way. But it's too short/too high. At 6' I couldn't fit on the large as the stand over is too tall and whilst the medium is OK the ETT is about 20-30mm short.

I really like the way it rides. I'm 5'11" on a large with a 35mm stem. The ccdb shock feels bottomless. Soaks up everything pedals well but has enough ramp up not to bottom out harshly.
Just put a superstar slack set in and is going even faster. As b r says it's tall and short so won't suit everyone.
It's a seriously fast bike both up and down despite the fact that the frame and shock weigh 3.25kg.

I loved mine (even though it had it's own gravitational field).But ultimately it was just too short (large frame and me 6'2").
Have since ridden an xl Mega290....it wants to be that size.

the geo of the transition is quite close (isn't it)? and thats described as a very modern frame geo wise?

seat tube is longer but is this even an issue?

smuggler reach: 432
codeine reach: 412

wouldn't a 20mm longer stem fix?

smuggler standover:686
codeine: 830

how does stand over effect the ride?

smuggler stack 610
codeine stack 644

Can't say they look all that similar to me.

20mm reach can be 'fixed' with a longer stem but then you change how it responds to steering input. 30mm on stack is noticeable but you could slam a negative rise stem to replicate close to it.

150mm (6") difference in stand over is huge. When your riding it's not an issue but it also manifests itself in a higher seat tube meaning you can't drop the saddle anywhere near as much. It also means that if you come off on anything other than smooth flat tarmac you are going to crush your nuts, for me it reduces my confidence in committing to techy sections.

It'll certainly affect your riding if you whack yer ballbag!

Is there any chance that someone with a medium and a tape measure could verify
The stand over height ?
The spec measurement appears to be very high!

sefton - Member

wouldn't a 20mm longer stem fix?

yes, but the gods of Enduro would disapprove of a 60mm stem...

(i'll get some measurements off my 'L' tonight)

not that bothered about standover - been racing and riding cx bikes for years, can't recall ever doing my nuts in on the toptube.

I can see the merits of a long TT and short stem though (as opposed to a longer stem)

The Codeine is "similar to" the Transition Bandit 29. The Smuggler is an appreciably different beast (I have the Bandit and a mate has a Smuggler).

looks like the smuggler is mainly just longer in the TT

590
571

wouldn't a 20mm longer stem fix?

590
571

Would you buy trousers an inch too short just because they were cheap, then compensate with longer socks?

the 590 / 571 is the difference between the smuggler ans the old bandit

the codeine and smuggler is 600/590 TT and 412/432 reach

I could just put the saddle back and that would be nearly the same as

would simply putting my saddle further back not give a similar feel?

Yes saddle back gives longer Ett, but does nothing to reach which has more effect on the way a bike handles when you stand up as it's the horizontal distance between bb and top of the head tube. And let's face it... who sits down for the descents?

I really like mine. Fast up and faster down. It is heavy though. I've had it over 2 years and ridden it a lot. I just overhauled the rear suspension bearings and only one of them is slightly graunchy. A pleasant surprise. I have the Monarch Debonair Plus on the back and it's very good.

I'm pretty sure that the stated standover height is wrong on the website. I haven't measured but I certainly don't notice it being a very high top tube.

could just put some flat bars on. I think I'm thinking about this too much. haha

anyone know the weight of the frame?

what would a fancy carbon frame weight? 2lb less max?

Personally if the numbers you have listed above are accurate I think you'll notice quite a difference in geometry, as per Frood's post above.

Stems, seatpost and rise of bars can make a difference but it's still not the longest bike.

Have you considered anything other than the transition or codeine?

like I said the Smuggler sounds Ideal but over twice as expensive

If you fit a medium this may be a good compromise?

http://www.bikescene.co.uk/Specialized-Stumpjumper-FSR-Comp-Evo-29-Frame-10833-92-0.html

I spent a bit of time on one of these. As has been said above, quite an odd, high front end. Seemed a bit short.

Also couldn't get the CCDB to feel just right, though this could have been sorted over time I'm sure

Weight didn't bother me.

In the end I plumped for a Banshee Prime, quite a similar bike which in my view is much nicer. But its much more expensive too. For the money the Codeine is superb value.

I guess the codeine 27 is far too much travel for the majority of the Lakeland routes etc?

it's the sizing that put me off, I quite liked how it rode but I had to go up a size and it was still short on reach while feeling pretty tall. Not helped by the fairly long headtube I think. For comparison, a small Remedy 29 has the same reach as a large Codeine (and I still went up a size on the Remedy, it's not that big)