Heinous profile

I just saw that. I've got to wonder is their full suspension bike wasn't a throwback to cannondale's motorbike?

The quality of the welding in that frame looks very good. That's not always the case with overseas sourced Ti. I'd love to see it checked for alignment too, as weld quality, tubing, and final alignment are the places mass produced Ti often gets in to trouble.

SQLab were recently sold which has seen distribution shuffles around the place. Hopefully it'll lead to more development and availablility.

The Big S paid significant amounts (rumour was well in to 7 figures) after someone died on one of their bikes where the fork failed. This was pre internal routing and judging by the recent recalls I think it'll happen more. It's enough to kill it if it can't be made safe, or people stop buying the bikes because the resale is cratered.

Amen. You can see a massive spate of recalls in road bikes that adopted this early - fork failures and injuries, plus hugely complex basic safety checks (like inspecting steerers). 

If the customer doesn’t kill this early it will be the insurance companies and lawyers that do.

The sad irony of Ellsworth pushing Turner over the edge…

Turner’s demise was really sad, they were iconic rigs that did ride great. That transition from alloy to carbon and from 26 seemed to just overrun their design/capital.

I had two of these and they were great except for the fact that the MIPS liner works so well the helmet slips and moves a lot on large impacts / drops, to the point I was often trying to move it back to preserve field of vision while still riding. I think that's become a thing with lots of MIPS, so I was totally blown away when I tried a new Merit Spherical and it just stays put.

I was planning on putting some light friction fabric between the two planes in the A3 and probably still will so it's a usable spare.

How do you find the mod? Any other coils you’ve ridden a lot you’d compare it to?

This is gold, the Ripmo V2, Arrival, and maybe the 130LR seem like they’re not miles apart on paper, all coil (and Push) compatible. I’m really leaning towards an Arrival right now.

I owned a 27.5 Switchback. It wasn't bad, but it sure was heavy. 

I wonder if building their full suss bikes wasn't a fools errand that sunk them?

More sizing options isn't so important when you're building a one off. For people who need it, it makes sense to support the extra steerer with extra HT.

The 2022 Firebird apparently has a little more rearward path engineered in. It does move under pedalling if I watch it, but it's not noticeable and seems to just pop forward. 

In all honesty, it feels like an evolved and refined version of my Devinci Spartan 29 (also a DW designed split pivot), if Devinci had stuck with that platform instead of going High Pivot...

I’ve recently built up a 2022 Pivot Firebird and I’m very, very, happy with it. Coming off the Druid the efficiency, playfulness and extra comfort are really noticeable, plus it’s lighter. The pedalling performance is the best I’ve encountered - super eager to pop forward but still surprisingly plush.

It does loads for everything, especially tech climbing.

If you’re drilling a seat tube I’d consider:

- the lowest stress / strongest place to drill is the BB shell itself, so if you’re running a configuration where you can route around the bb and spindle (zero contact or you’ll wear the spindle, a centre sleeve to protect is probably a must), do it that way.

- mock up the bend. If it’s in a bad place you won’t be able to undrill.

- don’t drill opposite bottle cage bosses or anything else applying stress to frame.

- centre punch is a great start.

- low speed drill. A pilot hole with a 2mm will be a big help.

- 20-30mm from bottom of tube should be enough to avoid compromising but also still be in the thicker butt rather than the thin central part of the tube. Depending on your frame manufacturer they might actually have the tube spec which would be helpful. Knowing where the butts are is really helpful, I recommend it.

- if it’s steel, use some sugru / kintsuglue / silicone sealant once installed so you can keep water out of the tube. Some nail polish or paint is a good idea.

- if it’s not steel or Ti then it’s probably going to shorten it’s life span drilling it.

- AXS 🫤

A key feature of Cinch rings is they can be flipped to alter chain line. The Shimano 12s NW tooth pattern looks ever so slightly hooker forward so I imagine it doesn't flip I could run a different ring and chain, but would prefer not to. I'll run a longer spindle which isn't a terrible thing asides from cost.

Totally agree, but not enough clearance at the chainstay on this frame.

I’m building up a super boost bike and The SH12 ring profile doesn’t look flippable like other cinch rings. 

That just leaves spindle length to achieve spacing, which isn’t ideal. 

Does any one have any direct experience with cinch running SH12 rings for superboost?

If it’s the older 36 I would spend money in an MRP ramp cartridge with fulfill, a grip damper, and a service. You’ll get a kick arse fork,as good as anything else out there, maybe better.