Because you keep asking - Cooper's bike checks and updates

There are certainly a lot of batteries. But no, despite its propensity to go uphill like a scalded rat, it's certainly not an ebike.

Flex stays. So hot right now.

looks good! nice to see they're still resisting downtube bloat (tm) on this one.

That borderline doesn't even look like a new front triangle mold - which if true, fair enough, it doesn't need one, Everything looks identical as far as I can tell from photos except the cable ports. Linkage and rear triangle different. Apparently they landed at my LBS this week too but I haven't gone down to look.

Posted by: cooperquinn

Haha, no no. Not the Element platform itself... I dunno when the next one will launch. But we're due for a re-up because *my* Element has changed. 

And sorry to Sebov, but there's more batteries... 

After the Ohlins review, I swapped over to a RockShox Flight Attendant setup. 120mm SID up front, Sidluxe rear. Along with this change, as I needed a powermeter, I'm now on 175mm XO1 cranks with a 34t ring (+5mm and +2t over original). I ran the 120mm Ohlins w/o, but to play around I've added a 10mm spacer under the headtube to preserve geo, as the Element is designed around a 130mm fork. I've moved over to Transmission, with a GX derailleur and XO1 cassette. I'm also playing with a pod shifter, and.... I don't love it. I like the V1.2 AXS paddles the best, at the moment. Brakes, cockpit, and wheels remain the same. We'll talk about those tires in a full review at some point, so you'll just have to hold tight. 

The whole setup is currently built to be a bit more XC than previous, and increase separation between my bikes in an attempt to force me to make rides more different. It doesn't always work, and now I'm just more undergunned on the same trails sometimes, but I still think this bike is one of - if not the - best in class. 

I still really love the lines on this bike. and in this current setup, its light AF (for around here, anyway). 

+10mm spacer for geo preservation. I 

34t is a bit stout at times, but it's good encouragement to just redline uphill, which this bike encourages anyway. 

I'm not a pod-lover. But gotta try these things, right? Fresh OneUp bar, the last one was old, tired, and cracked on me at the brake lever clamp area. 

More pedaling efficiency, brought to you by quiet bzzt noises. 

More bzzt; its quieter than the enduro-sized FA. 

Haha! I LIKE your build! I don‘t like batteries for switching gears cause it works fine with cables - no huge benefit. But in my eyes (haven‘t ridden it yet) FA should bring a huge benefit for XC application! So these batteries are OK for me. 

I had the same inspiration and ordered a Huhn Chabo from Ralf Holleis after a test ride around his home town (he really let me ride the flashy rosé prototype). And after weeks of debating with me, my wishes and usecases I decided to go for a pretty solid XC build. No fancy light stuff, solid but with weight in mind. 

My daily driver is a dad bike (Heckler SL) 160/150 and after selling my Stumpy Evo this spring I do need a very different bio bike to justify the money and time invested. 

For me the decision comes down to wheels and tires. With a burlier fork, you need more stable wheels and tires. And then you start thinking when it‘s wet: the Assegai on my 150 bike is much better. And when it’s dry you start thinking: with lighter tires I‘d be flying up the mountain and it would be enough for a good descend. 

So separation wil be the key for me as well!