Short travel 29'ers

The new version could be totally amazing so take my comments with a grain of salt. I haven't followed the changes in that model too closely.

I have a bit over a year (although a pretty light riding one) on a Wildcat V2 and I really like it. I’m an experienced rider but don’t do anything crazy anymore but know what I’m doing out there. I don’t tend to be fussy about suspension, but seem to appreciate the difference when’s suspension master sets up my shit.

There is some less than refined cable routing but the external cable routing actually drew me to the frame and I’ve been dealing with full suspension cable routing for over 20 years now so nothing some zap straps can’t sort out.  

Mine fits a 150mm dropper and looks like it could take a longer one. I’m on a large and 5’9”.

The purple paint is lovely, I didn’t actually like purple until I got this bike.

It seems to ride well, I think of it as a poor mans Optic and it basically rides as nicely as the optic I’ve ridden. I may put a fancy shock on it one day.

Mine has had issues with dropout and pivot bolts coming loose and cost me a couple rides and a few dollars. I think they may have skipped the loctite in a few spots. Replacements have been at my cost, I think a bike shop would have warrantied them but I’m still over $1k ahead of comparable bike shop bikes so 🤷🏼‍♂️

Workmanship on these two images don't look half bad...

Yeah it’s all pretty straightforward robot welding (I assume) with normal shaped tubes which has been sorted for a while now. Taiwanese I believe. Build quality welds etc) on mine looks excellent. Internal routing should tidy things up nicely for those who like things a bit more refined.

I avoided those before because of the outdated shock sizing. Now that it's metric it seems like a great value, similar to the IBIS aluminum builds. Cool that they spec DVO. Would like to ride one.

Posted by: tashi

Yeah it’s all pretty straightforward robot welding (I assume) 

Not robotic. And upon closer inspection, not all that shit hot.

Funny, I just ordered a Wildcat V3 for May 2022 delivery. I’ve never sat on one, looked over the geometry chart for a bit and chose a size. This has the potential to majorly backfire but I also see the upsides - the other RSD bikes I have seen all looked ok and it’s a Horst link so everything should be fine. 

Went for a frame only L in green. 

Fingers crossed.

To be clear, I'm not suggesting the welds are substandard or prone to failure or anything like that. Just sayin' that some are flawed cosmetically. Like there's a variable skill set amoungst the welders producing these frames. 

As an ex frame welder I'm picky that way. I hope your V3 rides great and gives much enjoyment.

Can't speak to the quality, but there a lot right about that RSD. It reminds me of a process but with a horst and sliding dropouts. Clean lines overall. Complete bike with race face turbine cranks, bars and dropper and DVO suspension for 4800 CAD is pretty sick. Let us know how the bike rides when you get it.

Yeah, I figured for the price it looked like it had all the big things in the right place. The Process I had before felt pretty unrefined so I’m guessing it won’t take much to have the Wildcat feel better (and lighter!)

In terms of build quality I have it mentally in line with a Commencal or a Marin. Not perfect but functional and it’s not like it costs Yeti-dollars so I expect final QC accordingly.

Will post an update once I ride it and also will LocTite the hardware, as I picked up a good suggestion to do that on the last page of this thread. If it holds up, the value proposition here is where the appeal is.

I think it looks like a pretty nice frame!  My only nitpick is how far the seat tube protrudes above the top tube.  It could limit your choices on dropper post.

The sliding drop outs however are a very nice touch.  Whether it's sliding drop outs or a flip chip I would like to see more bikes include that feature on the frames so that people can experiment with chainstay length.

I’ve mostly thought that I would prefer that they NOT slide, but I think that’s because they haven’t stayed put. hopefully with some threadlocker they’ll be reliable and I can experiment.

Posted by: tashi

I’ve mostly thought that I would prefer that they NOT slide, but I think that’s because they haven’t stayed put. hopefully with some threadlocker they’ll be reliable and I can experiment.

These bolts should not require thread-lock, just grease.

If you are open to suggestions, this is a very common issue when brands spec bolts with, clean looking, tiny or shallow heads. They’re M8 bolts for a reason!

When I’ve had this issue in the past I’ve replaced the bolts with Kona’s stock steel slider bolts (note that you never hear Kona customers complaining about unplanned slider movement - and they’ve sold tons of bikes with sliders) which are also M8 but have a deep 6mm hex head. It’s like tightening up a pair of pedals v. a water bottle cage.

I don’t see the bolts in Kona’s online parts store separately from dropouts but any dealer can get them. I don’t know if RSD gives you enough spacer between bolts to also run Kona’s washers but either way your slippage issue will be gone once you can properly tighten the bolts and you won’t have replace thread locker to play with wheelbase adjustment.

———

Edit: $2.95 at BikeMan if you don’t have a local Kona dealer. I think dealer can get you bolt sans washer if you don’t need them.

Just a +1 to the no issue with sliders or horizontal dropouts with the correct torque on the fasteners. I don't use thread locker and I don't go nuts on the torque. My sliders and hubs on horizontal dropout bikes don't move. 

On my friend's V2 WC there are adjuster bolts in the dropouts that also prevent the wheel from moving forward when you are really cranking so that makes the sliders moving pretty unlikely. I assume it's the same setup on the V3. That setup also makes adjusting the dropouts a breeze.