alexdi profile

>  short offset forks limit stem length adjustment (only feel right with 30-45mm stem?) 

Provided your hands end up in the same place relative to steering axis, there won't be any difference in handling. Some high-sweep bars angle forward first so the sweep doesn't effectively shorten the stem. For bars that don't angle forward, a longer stem compensates.

I bought mine from AliExpress, if that's any better. It's essentially the same as this Enduro unit you reviewed 18 months ago-- 

https://nsmb.com/articles/searching-30mm-bb92-solution/

Just $40 instead of $200 and more compatible.

For press-fit bottom brackets, this is your huckleberry: Amazon

Pressing is easy and it has the drifts for that. More importantly, it removes bearings just as easily. None of that pounding crap. My local shop didn't have one when I let them borrow mine; now they do.

Tested the XTR version of this one today. It's fast, poppy, and pedals well. Good to very good handling. It didn't have much small bump compliance, though, and I discovered that a lot of my confidence at speed comes from not getting jostled around over low roots and rocks. Absent that, it might as well be a heavy XC bike. I thought Yeti's SB130 platform was a considerably better balance of pedaling performance and responsiveness, though was ultimately smitten by the Trance 29's combination of lively handling and smooth ride for my local (bumpy, but not super gnarly) terrain.

OneUp, WolfTooth, and Hope all have replacement alloy sprockets, though they're $90 or more. When I replace mine, I'm probably going to try something from ZTTO. They have an 11-speed 10-42 that's all steel, XD, 305g, and $170 or so. Lots of interesting alternatives here.

At 170 lbs and riding mostly XC in dry conditions, I find XX1/11 the best drivetrain available. Still haven't burned through the X01 cassette in over 2500 miles. Derailleur, shifter, good as new. It never misses a shift and nothing ever needs adjustment, just new chains every 1000 miles or so. Eagle is a downgrade to me.  

If I were heavier or riding in mud and rain all the time, I'd be all over the wide-range 9-speeds. Probably Advent over Box; it costs and weighs less for what I assume would be similar durability. Nine on a full-suspension means you can still sit and spin on the flats and hills, which is, to me, a big reason to bother with FS over HT. Going down to five or whatever would bring you closer to the SS experience: always out of the saddle to finesse a gear that's never quite right. Fun, but exhausting.

As a long-legged person who feels ridiculous perched behind the rear wheel on short-chainstay bikes, I'm all for a pendulum swing in the other direction.

It doesn't require permission. 

"SRAM offers the use of the standard and XD trademark to companies that conform to the technical specification and agree to abide by the terms of our license agreement."

It does require that you don't attempt to change it or patent some modification of it, among other things. Plenty to balk at if you're Shimano.

The caveat is that these are full-suspension bikes. It's not clear to me if geometry charts provided assume a certain sag, or if the profile shots I'm using to gauge the SAA show a sagged bike. And of course, riding is quite dynamic. This approach is really just a guideline for the approximate location of the contact points. It'd be more definitive with a hardtail or a road bike.

Good catch, I updated the comparison.

Excellent review, thanks for taking the time! I particularly appreciate the assembly notes.

I've made a worksheet of a potential build that brings the bike just under 27 pounds, though the bigger question is whether to go full-29 or take the plunge to a 69er.* How much flexibility did you have on the color scheme and logos?

• I just realized the 34T thing could be a problem with a 69er. I run 32T with a 29x2.5" and a 10-42. If I downsize to 27.5 in the back, the ring has to come up to 32 to keep the top end. Hmm.