Alrighty, so I haven't slept much this week and I've just thrown together the new steed. I said I'd be throwing up a review of my Polygon Collosus AX3.0 as there isn't much literature on them. What better way to procrastinate my final uni assessment before graduation than to write out a heap of bike related banter?
So I had
this rig (it looked very different when I got rid of it). A bike that rode like a dream; it pedaled great, cornered great, soaked up the rough amazingly. It was super poppy and I spent most of my trail time in the air on it. It honestly was an absolute ripper 'fun' bike. But it became unsuitable to me. I've just wrapped up a four year study stint and have aspirations to relocate. Part of this means I want to cut from 4 bikes down to one bike. I had a couple of niggles with the BB system and 32mm forks of the Commencal so I made the decision to get rid of it. My DH bike (Giant Glory), XC bike (Charge Duster) and roadie all remain disposable in terms of value so I'm holding onto them for the last second. Anyway, when the Commencal finally sold I set about to replace it with something. The criteria was basically built around ease of conversion to 1x10 and a stiff front end (not 32mm), I mean this bike has to cover DH duties when I do finally dispose of my Glory.
In the end I nabbed a Polygon Collosus AX3.0 from Bicyclesonline.com, much to the dismay of my LBS who offered me a heavy discount on a RM Altitude..... after I'd already paid for the polygon :drama:. Anyway, I came to not regret they purchase anyway, but LBS owner dubbed it the "Polywobble". This quickly caught on amongst my ride buddies. Oh well.
The to-do list includes black-ifying the cable outer, chainguide and tyres, destickering the rims, trimming the steerer tube and maybe swapping that seat out (or black-ifying the red). No lever for the dropper, but I do supposedly have one kicking around somewhere... No cash for the bikes at the moment, but should some come my way I'd probably swap the rear derailleur and chainring out for a clutch + wolftooth setup and shift the guide to the Glory.
Spec:
Shock: DHX Air 5.0 Kashima
Fork: 36 Talas R
XT everything bar the X0 guide
Mavic Crossline wheels
DMR Defy Stem (looks tits)
Sunline V1 bars
There's been some trial, trail and error in the parts list. Wheels were my old Hope/729s, but these are lighter, I've got to these Time Z's instead of the spindley carbon Time Atac's I had on there, homebrew mud guard manditory in Tassie. Some things I really like about the frame: Everything is stamped on there (eye-eye of shock is written on the mount, sizing for BB/Brake mount/axle etc all written on frame), not necissary, but I can see its use. I like the carbon mudguard - Commencal Shock was a nightmare (both Commencal's I've owned actually. The Supreme's shock ate mud like no other). The welds are all huge - perhaps not the work of art as seen on brands like Santa Cruz or Nukeproof, but definitely beefcake. I should have weighed it as I was building it up, but the frame didn't feel too heavy. The complete bike does, but that's mostly due to the seatpost and irresponsible tyre choice
.
Other comments: The cable routing is pretty nice for the most part, except its a little messy as it passes under the BB (similar to new-age Glorys). Nothing is retained there due to the linkage, seems to be asking for trouble, but I haven't had an issue yet. I might have a play around with possible alternate pathing at some point. Additionally the shock has really poor access. The linkage components also don't look as spiffy as other brands - this isn't something I really give a shit about though, Polygon isn't exactly a boutique brand. The linkage is highly functional in my opinion. This bike pedals really well - I've had a lot of internal debate over whether this pedals better or worse than the Commencal Meta AM. I'm leaning towards worse but they are so close that its hard to tell, and they both ride very differently and feel very different making judgement hard.
As far as ride quality goes, I'm pretty darn happy with the rig. Compared to the Meta AM its super stable, perhaps not as playful but I think thats more to do with how the linkage works than anything. I had a little ride on a Banshee Legend MkI once and then went for a little ride on a TR450. The comparison feels similar to that (Commencal = Legend, TR450 = Polygon), one bike super playful, other super stable and grounded, but both awesome. This is really subjective, but I think I had more fun if I was dicking around on the Meta AM (all I did on the trails was bounce around, air, be an idiot etc) but I do feel faster on this. Just to add to the suspension comments, I thought I wouldn't use the travel adjust on the fork, but I actually do a LOT. Its a little wandery up really steep, straight climbs at full travel, its a bit much bike for XC (for me anyway, as I'm used to the rigid Charge) or stuff that isn't steep gnar, however, its pretty much perfect with the travel on the 120mm setting. When the speed goes up or the trail drops off the full travel feels great.
This kinda leads into the geometry, which is different to other modern AM bikes. It falls basically inside the cookie-cutter norm. Steep seat angle, longish reach, short chainstays, slack head angle (its slacker than my Glory). It feels a lot smaller to ride than other bikes (mate's RM Altitude and Slayer feel much, much bigger) but its really comfortable. Off the saddle the bike feels really snappy. I think the reach is a little shorter than the Commencal, coupled with the super short chainstays its all go, really. I don't think its the geometry that keeps it super grounded as much as the suspension platform and suspension products.
Now, suspension products are kinda seperate to the bike - its an outside influence. I've said this before but I've never really had a good time with Fox. Always some crappy stuff wrong with it. In this case the adjustment range just isn't useable. The rebound (both fork and shock) goes between slow and "holy shit is this ever coming out". As someone who likes a pretty fast return it makes me cringe. It has less stiction than the shock and fork on the Meta, though. They were bloody well dry out of the box!
Anyway, on the whole I'm pretty stoked on the bike. Its the first bike I've owned that's been truly silent, despite some serious trail hooning. I've decided that point alone is so calming and refreshing. Pretty stoked on how it rides. She'll get a whole 'nother level of testing when I beat her around Queenstown in a month!
Oh, to anyone wondering, the bicyclesonline crew are actually pretty good to deal with. I've dealt with quite a few shops, importers and distros over the years and they have definitely been one of the better experiences.
