Did the Craftworks Demo day at the You Yangs today and got to try a couple of different rides both with different specs.
Have been off the bike for a few months so was not able to directly compare back to back with my previous rides and fitness/skills were down. Last couple of bikes have been Specialized Enduros (2012 26in and 2016 27.5in) which I think provide a good baseline (read generic) enduro to compare to.
First bike I rode was Hugh's, which was size large and specced with Eagle GX, SRAM Guides, Cane Creek DB Air CS, 170mm Cane Creek Helms, and 1.5 degree angleset, but was running 29er forks and 29er front wheel. Took it for a hammer down Boulder, then Cressys. First up was the fire road climb. Didn't bother with the climb switch on the shock, the bike just motored uphill. Seated there was no perceptible movement in the suspension and buckets of grip. Pointed downhill it took a little while to adapt to the 29/27.5 combo, and it probably wasn't my favourite - steering flip flopped a little. It felt a little short in the top tube with an approx 50mm stem, but had fairly narrow bars with quite a lot of sweep.
There's no discernible drag, noise, or frame contact from the more complex drivetrain.
Suspension is very playful, nice ramp up and easy to pop off every feature. Best I can say about it is that its really unnoticeable - it just does its thing and that's a damn good thing. There's plenty of support in corners,and it feels like quite a firm platform. It doesn't wallow and is easy to get up to speed. On bigger hits there's a nice progressive ramp up deeper in the travel. The setup on the bikes I rode definitely responded better to a hard charging riding style. The suspension was not particularly supple, but I think this was down to setup, as the fork also had quite a firm tune. There's a square edged hit on a slight uphill section of boulder, which the bike just ate up. I found that on Cressy's I was comfortably clearing the gaps with 1-2 pedal strokes less - it just feels fast and makes you want to sprint every section. Wiht the 29er front and the rearward axle path, this thing absolutely destroyed rock gardens.
My Strava times on Cressys were in the ballpark of my regular times even including a couple of supremely shit line choices, and general decline in fitness and skills having been off the bike.
Then had a go on Jordan's bike. Size large, SRAM XO1 drive train, Cane Creek DB Air IL, Formula Cura brakes, and Formula forks (can't remember if they were 35s or Selvas). Straight away I felt perfectly comfortable on the bike, there was no need to adapt riding style or adjust setup - it just felt right. It's still not a long cockpit, but it puts you squarely in the middle of the bike and results in a very balanced feeling ride. Again approx 50mm stem and relatively narrow bars, so a wider set might make it feel a bit longer. I was a bit unsure on the previous one with the 29er front, but fell in love with it when I rode the second one. The 2 degree angleset feels absolutely spot on
This bike had obviously been ridden hard - there were a few creaks from the headset and bottom bracket - but despite the hard life there was zero noise or play from the linkage. Even when getting rowdy I never got the sense there was any flex or play in the rear - it's a very stiff frame.
With the more comfortable setup this bike absolutely charged. It's a damn fun bike to ride, which makes you want to boost every side hit. I took it down Travs and Cressys. It just feels fast. It pops nicely off every lip you can find, and is super stable in the air. It feels planted through the corners, nimble in the tech and stable once the speed rises. Managed to badly case one gap and the rearward axle path noticeably ate it up.
Cheers to Hugh and Jordan too - great blokes to deal with. Now someone buy my Enduro frame so I can get one of these ...
