2021 - Full Suspension Bike Thread

Nice Privateers! If I hadn't bought the Meta AM last year, it would have been a 161, but I wanted to let them a year in the wild to see how they'd do. Now that I know, that's what I'd get if I was to buy a new frame!

How is the alignment/finish on those Privateers? That's the main thing that let me down with the Commencal and I'm looking forward to replace it with a 161 when the time comes (might be a few years though!). Cheers and happy trails!

Proper looking bike that Privateer. 

I'm short-listing 6 frames now. LOL

Damn that is a sweet 141. Considered them last fall. Decided on a Marin Alpine Trail XR instead. Bit more travel then the 141 and better seat angle than the 161.

Thanks for the compliments everyone. 

Gdharries: sleep is secondary… or I do shift work and have young kids so my sleep schedule is whack

Martin: everything is looking awesome. I didn’t take it fully apart; just checked the torque on the pivots. I did pull the lower shock bolt and there’s no side loading on the shock. It lined up with the mount perfectly. The matte raw finish is pretty deadly if I’m honest. 

Single ride impression:

Took the kids to the Kamloops Bike ranch… so I could only open it up in short segments. Suspension feels good over the moon craters. Had a first gen Norco Optic with a works -2 headset before; and the privateer feels easier to commit to the front without the rear losing traction or skipping around. Super solid feel, and I was comfortable on the table top jumps after a couple laps. 

The thing I noticed immediately though was the climbing geo. The front stays planted better than my 110mm travel Optic did. It’s crazy. The thing is a yacht so I have no illusions of effortless uphill switchbacks, but this aspect surprised me. 

I’ll post another update when I have some more time in the saddle.

Posted by: Vandy

Thanks for the compliments everyone. 

Gdharries: sleep is secondary… or I do shift work and have young kids so my sleep schedule is whack

Martin: everything is looking awesome. I didn’t take it fully apart; just checked the torque on the pivots. I did pull the lower shock bolt and there’s no side loading on the shock. It lined up with the mount perfectly. The matte raw finish is pretty deadly if I’m honest. 

Single ride impression:

Took the kids to the Kamloops Bike ranch… so I could only open it up in short segments. Suspension feels good over the moon craters. Had a first gen Norco Optic with a works -2 headset before; and the privateer feels easier to commit to the front without the rear losing traction or skipping around. Super solid feel, and I was comfortable on the table top jumps after a couple laps. 

The thing I noticed immediately though was the climbing geo. The front stays planted better than my 110mm travel Optic did. It’s crazy. The thing is a yacht so I have no illusions of effortless uphill switchbacks, but this aspect surprised me. 

I’ll post another update when I have some more time in the saddle.

Crap your out of Loops area?? I,m up the 5 and inland from Barriere(East Lake area). You ever ridden Chu Chua? I gotta get in shape and start riding again LOL. Had my bike since Jan and only have a few rides around the yard.

Posted by: DemonMike

Posted by: Vandy

Thanks for the compliments everyone. 

Gdharries: sleep is secondary… or I do shift work and have young kids so my sleep schedule is whack

Martin: everything is looking awesome. I didn’t take it fully apart; just checked the torque on the pivots. I did pull the lower shock bolt and there’s no side loading on the shock. It lined up with the mount perfectly. The matte raw finish is pretty deadly if I’m honest. 

Single ride impression:

Took the kids to the Kamloops Bike ranch… so I could only open it up in short segments. Suspension feels good over the moon craters. Had a first gen Norco Optic with a works -2 headset before; and the privateer feels easier to commit to the front without the rear losing traction or skipping around. Super solid feel, and I was comfortable on the table top jumps after a couple laps. 

The thing I noticed immediately though was the climbing geo. The front stays planted better than my 110mm travel Optic did. It’s crazy. The thing is a yacht so I have no illusions of effortless uphill switchbacks, but this aspect surprised me. 

I’ll post another update when I have some more time in the saddle.

Crap your out of Loops area?? I,m up the 5 and inland from Barriere(East Lake area). You ever ridden Chu Chua? I gotta get in shape and start riding again LOL. Had my bike since Jan and only have a few rides around the yard.

Logan Lake only moved there a year and a bit ago. Only kinda know the main spots in Kamloops.

Posted by: Vandy

Posted by: DemonMike

Posted by: Vandy

Thanks for the compliments everyone. 

Gdharries: sleep is secondary… or I do shift work and have young kids so my sleep schedule is whack

Martin: everything is looking awesome. I didn’t take it fully apart; just checked the torque on the pivots. I did pull the lower shock bolt and there’s no side loading on the shock. It lined up with the mount perfectly. The matte raw finish is pretty deadly if I’m honest. 

Single ride impression:

Took the kids to the Kamloops Bike ranch… so I could only open it up in short segments. Suspension feels good over the moon craters. Had a first gen Norco Optic with a works -2 headset before; and the privateer feels easier to commit to the front without the rear losing traction or skipping around. Super solid feel, and I was comfortable on the table top jumps after a couple laps. 

The thing I noticed immediately though was the climbing geo. The front stays planted better than my 110mm travel Optic did. It’s crazy. The thing is a yacht so I have no illusions of effortless uphill switchbacks, but this aspect surprised me. 

I’ll post another update when I have some more time in the saddle.

Crap your out of Loops area?? I,m up the 5 and inland from Barriere(East Lake area). You ever ridden Chu Chua? I gotta get in shape and start riding again LOL. Had my bike since Jan and only have a few rides around the yard.

Logan Lake only moved there a year and a bit ago. Only kinda know the main spots in Kamloops.

Did you get evacuated? I know of people who have in that region. I have only been here for a year next month. Have yet to ride, been over a year for me  now.

Was going to say, I thought there was an article on PB saying the bike ranch was effectively burned down?

My new Spire arrived yesterday. First ride was this AM. I was hoping to beat the heat and the smoke - WRONG!!!

Anyways, size Medium, which is the first Medium bike I have bought in awhile. I went with a medium because Im 5'9 and, while I would prefer the longer reach of the Large, my god the wheelbase on these modern big bikes is long. The 460 reach is fine (feels tight next to my hardtail but its the same as my (prev gen) Slayer in size Large) but I dont think that I would want a longer wheelbase for the type of riding I do (its 1257). Think about that: 460 reach with a 1260 wheelbase. Thats longer ratio than many DH bikes. You get tighter reach vs wheelbase with slack headangles and steep seat tube angles.

Its very light relative to its competition at about 33lbs. I love the color. The tubes are burly - wide if you look at them from above. Spec is the spec (full XT with Fox factory kashima, DT, etc...). There are a few things that I dont like after just one ride. This is a BIG bike and Transition, seriously you stock it with a 150 dropper? That front triangle is BARELY enough to carry a normal bottle. I have my one up pump bracket under the front cage which probably robs a few mm of space but I cannot take it out without getting off the bike. I thought those days were gone! Ill have to use my fanny for the active bottle and the bike to carry.

I pedaled up the Seymour trails and it took me about 30 feet to get my first pedal strike. Im a terrible person and I pedal up Ridge Trail (a descent trail on TF, but its not signed as such) from Hyannis - Ive never ever seen anyone on it - and its a rocky and rooty blue meant for descending, not climbing...I quickly learned that the bottom bracket height on this Spire, while the same as on my hardtail, goes to hell on a climb as the rear compresses and so pedal strikes are much more of a thing climbing on this one than the HT. Nothing kills your momentum faster on a climb then having to place your pedals between stuff. Im aware that this bike was not built for this! I thought that my other bikes were low - this is a whole new meaning of low (on a climb with the rear compressing). Rear climbing traction was good on rocks.

It pedaled up pretty well. Its weight is good all things considered. Comfy position. I was a good 2.5min slower up GSM than usual but it was hot and I dont ride well in the mornings - but Im not going to set any climbing records on this bike. Who cares. It got me up to where I wanted to go without drama. I was able to navigate the wheelbase around all the climbing switchbacks easily and once I got out of the janky rooty rocks and on to the actual climb trial, it all went smoothly.

Into Dirty Diapers and I was laughing within 50ft. The hilarity continued all the way down C***ia. Im on previous generation Slayer (which is a trail bike NOT a big bike) and a hardtail, so my reference is just that. The Spire soaks everything up. Its stable on what I previously thought were steep slabs. It was ok on some of the undulating terrain but I hope that that frame protection near the bottom of the down tube and bottom bracket is good because Im going to need it! Up and overs and janky rocks and some smaller drops were non-issues - it just did them and the wheels held some bizarre lines - but I need to be aware if the rear is compressed because that will hugely impact clearance.

Im probably not the typical buyer of this bike as I never shuttle. I dont like fast flow trails. I like to ride raw jank old school techy lines. I knew that this bike wasnt exactly meant for that but what I also know about myself is that I adapt based upon the bike. Because I have spent so much time on my Naked hardtail, and while its a very capable bike, Ive steered clear of some areas of riding that I want to progress in. I bought this Spire because its made for those - im sure it will do the jank trails just fine as long as theyre not flat and I can keep the pedals and the BB out of the weeds, but I hope that it drags me to do things where my confidence has been lacking on the other bikes. All bikes are compromises.

New bike days are good days.

EDIT: Should say its a 170/170 bike with two positons, high and low. Im riding in high which means 63deg HA, 446 chainstays, 1257 wheelbase,BBheight of 350 (no compression) and an effective seat tube angle listed at 79deg, but thats at a saddle height of 660 and mine is 750 (so it will be less than 79)

You'll learn quick to ratchet your pedals at the right moment and with enough practice it becomes automatic. Nice ride.

Looks to be a good spec on that bike minus the hilariously short dropper.  Get a side loader cage if you haven't already.

Congrats on the new trail weapon! 63° head angle in the *steep* setting, whoa.

I agree with the BB advice, I had low rider BB's on my last two bikes and was surprised when it started feeling perfectly normal.

Good call on prioritizing wheelbase, especially for the turn-downs on Tall Cans.

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Anyone here have an opinion on the Pivot Switchblade?https://store.pivotcycles.com/en/bike-switchblade-1 Kinda polar opposite of that Spire, but maybe a good all-arounder with good pedalling...and I think I can get a team discount.

Nice review Ddean, like you say, I think you'll adapt to the BB pretty quick. My XT/Fox Patrol showed up at Kinetik today but I didn't have time to drive out to Coquitlam, probably get a ride on Monday and will report back. I went with a large, I'm 5'10 with a long torso and stubby legs so the mullet idea has intrigued me. Similar geo to Spire, I expect I'll run it in high which is 63.5 HTA, 78.1 STA, 480 reach (40mm stem), 632 stack, 440 chainstays, 340 bb height and 1266 WB. Gonna be a heavy boy though, gonna guess 36-36.5lbs with DD tires and pedals on.

Posted by: Hepcat

"I think I can get a team discount."

so, why are you asking then?