AM Craftworks ENR

Jpez

Down on the left!
Alrighty, after far too long of a wait the bike is built! Initial car park tests don't say much but it certainly doesn't feel AS short as people make it out to be... And it'll still pop a manual with its axle path, so no complaints there. Only negative comment so far is that while the works headset does offer a 5mm gain in reach, it adds about 30mm of stack (just eyeballing it) which sort of negates the horizontal real estate gained. Will post a ride report ASAP.
Moar and better photos please. That thing looks cool as hell!
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
I am very interested in a ride report. Please call in sick for work and/or any family commitments and ride this bike now!! :)
Any chance you can share some close up pics of the headset setup?
I found the large demo bike was too small for me being 6'3 with long legs. The bars felt a bit low so the 30mm of stack you mentioned would probably be a good thing for me. I think the seat post height is my issue. Ideally I would also like a bit longer chain stay length, but I think the plan for craftworks was to look at a bigger front triangle if they were to do an XL.
Best to wait a while I think. I e-mailed them over the weekend and there's longer frames coming. It's early stages, but sounds like XL sizing is happening - though it won't be until sometime next year by the sounds of things.

I'm 6'2" and thought the same thing regarding reach. I didn't want it a mile longer, but definitely wouldn't have been comfortable/well-fitted on the current size L.
 

jrewing

Eats Squid
I’m 6’1 and if it was 5mm longer it’d be just perfect. I’ve had mine for 1.5 years. Still love the acceleration after a good size drop.
I’m thinking of going 29 front
 

jenk0s

Likes Dirt
Alrighty, so I've got 2 rides clocked on the bike now. Initial thoughts match the demo, the bike becomes more stable the harder you push it (it's the only time that pinkbike cliche has been applicable to a bike I've ridden) and as a rider you feel very centralised on the bike. On the second ride I switched back to a 40mm stem, it seems to have far more 'normal' steering tendencies as opposed to the 60mm which had some weird leverage sensations when pushing on the front end.

The bike is absolutely killer on rough and demanding trails, and as I mentioned in the demo, once set into a turn it rails hard. There seems to be a decent amount of anti squat worked into the linkage too, so when you're really pushing on it the whole rear end stiffens up and the bike rockets. The only learning curve with the bike so far is that it requires a slight preload of the rear end to change direction abruptly when you're trucking through a section (this will shorten the chain stays). I guess it's the reaction to the rearward axle path and resulting stability.

The Manitou fork has totally impressed me, especially considering its asking price. The action is smooth and consistent, albeit slightly under damped (will re shim this in the near future). The 34mm stanchions seem to hold up reasonably well too in terms of stiffness. Not quite on par with Lyriks, but pretty close. That's understandable though, the grip and resulting torsional loads that the XR5 tyres generate is pretty impressive.

Also as a side note to potential buyers, 2.6" is probably too large of a tyre for the rear triangle. I got a little ambitious with my rubber selection and am now paying for it.
 

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beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
How's this beast going @jenk0s ?

Also as a side note to potential buyers, 2.6" is probably too large of a tyre for the rear triangle. I got a little ambitious with my rubber selection and am now paying for it.
Out of curiousity, what do you reckon the maximum tyre size is you could squeeze in there? And where is the clearance actually tightest?

I'm quite interested in getting one of these when the next production run rolls around, so keen to learn more about it! :)
 

jenk0s

Likes Dirt
How's this beast going @jenk0s ?


Out of curiousity, what do you reckon the maximum tyre size is you could squeeze in there? And where is the clearance actually tightest?

I'm quite interested in getting one of these when the next production run rolls around, so keen to learn more about it! :)
You certainly wouldn’t be making a mistake buying into the club! If I recall correctly, the demo bikes had 2.5” minions which cleared without a problem. At current I’ve got 2.6” Bontrager XR5’s which will buzz centre knobs at pressures over 40 psi and will rub side knobs when under significant pedal power. Clearance is probably tightest at the centre knobs, but there’s not much in it either way...
 

Boom King

downloaded a pic of moorey's bruised arse
Are you running an IRT on the Mattoc? Also, Dougal at Shockcraft in NZ has made a high flow piston for the Mattoc, worth checking out.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
You certainly wouldn’t be making a mistake buying into the club! If I recall correctly, the demo bikes had 2.5” minions which cleared without a problem. At current I’ve got 2.6” Bontrager XR5’s which will buzz centre knobs at pressures over 40 psi and will rub side knobs when under significant pedal power. Clearance is probably tightest at the centre knobs, but there’s not much in it either way...
Haha, it's going to be snug! I'm planning an Aggressor 2.5", so fingers crossed it'll fit...

They had 2.4's on the demos when I saw them (IIRC), but it looked like a 2.5" would work, albeit just.
 

jenk0s

Likes Dirt
Are you running an IRT on the Mattoc? Also, Dougal at Shockcraft in NZ has made a high flow piston for the Mattoc, worth checking out.
I don’t have the IRT, yet... consider me interested re the piston as well. I’m a bit of a tinkerer, hence buying into the Manitous. Once I get the db inline running just right I’ll turn my attention to the front of the bike
 

jenk0s

Likes Dirt
Haha, it's going to be snug! I'm planning an Aggressor 2.5", so fingers crossed it'll fit...

They had 2.4's on the demos when I saw them (IIRC), but it looked like a 2.5" would work, albeit just.
Ahh my bad re tyre size! The aggressor should fair better than something with bigger side lugs, you’ll be fine ;) That being said, the I track linkage can produce that much grip that super wide tyres are proving to be pretty overkill, in my case at least anyway...
 

Tubbsy

Packin' a small bird
Staff member
Is anybody from Craftworks on here? Must say I'm tempted if an XL is coming...
 

wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
My mate just got an ENR and yes, they have new larger sizes coming out.

Just haven't heard any of the details just yet...
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
There is new sizes coming. In effect it's a Version 1.1, which updates the front triangles with more reach (all they really neededfor taller riders).
 
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wkkie

It's Not Easy Being Green
Keen to hear some thoughts on it - is he on here?
No, he's not on here. But he's very happy with it. Only the 1 ride so far, and he's mostly spoken about how well it kept speed everywhere.

He's still got a lot of riding to do on it though!
 
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