Nicolai Argon FR & Rohloff Speedhub 6 Month Up-date

Like many MTB’ers in the UK I have a hardtail for winter use, mine is a Nicolai Argon FR fitted with a Rohloff Speedhub. I have used the hardtail almost exclusively for the last 6 months during the winter of 06/07 and this is a report of the good and bad.

A hardtail is harsh compared to a full suspension bike. The Argon is fitted with Hope M4 brakes, the lever of the front brake became jammed in the ‘off’ position, it needed a full bleed and replacement piston set, not too bad after 3 years use with zero maintenance. The frame is stiff and the force from pedalling causes the bottom bracket bearings to wear out relatively quickly, approximately every 3 months. The chain has become stretched way past the limit where my chain length checker says it should be replaced. The single front cog (middle ring of an LX crankset) is also very badly chewed up and needs replacing this must be due to wear from the chain as the crankset is fitted with a bashguard.

On the upside the hardtail is very easy to keep clean during the muddy winter months, a quick squirt with the hoze, lube the chain and the job is done. The Fox Vanilla forks are great. The Rohloff Speedhub has been a revelation; I love it and would fit one to my other bike if I could afford to. The gear changing has been perfect and it is completely unaffected by all types of mud, snow and slush including the thick chewy mud that is common on the South Downs. I have become practiced in the technique of easing off the pedal pressure for a split second while twisting the grip-shift and never end up in the wrong gear. The ability to change gear while stationary is a fantastic feature that is more useful than I ever imagined.

The question ‘is a hardtail more suitable for winter than a FS bike’? From my experience the answer is a resounding yes if you get one with a Rohloff speedhub. The hardtail with speedhub enables me to ride wherever I want to go whatever the conditions, this is freedom that is worth paying for. Without the speedhub then cleaning would be a longer and much more fiddly job also the front and rear mechs would get clogged with mud.

In summary get a hardtail with Rohloff speedhub don’t worry about the cost it will pay for itself in the time saved cleaning the bike and the freedom to ride wherever you fancy whatever the conditions. Get one.

Santa Cruz Nomad

My new Santa Cruz Nomad in it's virgin state, it looks absolutely stunning.

It is not a lightweight bike and would probably tip the scales at 32-35 pounds. The bike has a blend of components that over the years I have settled on as providing the features and functions that I want. For example: 1) I use a coil shock instead of a lighter weight air one basically because it is very easy to set up, has never died on me and is very supple in swollowing both large and small bumps; 2) the brakes are Hope Mono M4 with 180 mm rotors front and rear these are reliable, always stop me and are therefore used on all my bikes; 3) the fork is coil sprung and is not lightweight but it is very reliable and is capable of more than I will dish out; 4) I use an XT Hollowtech crankset with Middleburn Hardcote inner and middle rings; 5) I replace the outer chain ring of the crankset with a simple low cost aluminium bashguard and finally, 6) I use wide (28 inch) high rise handlebars.

We assembled the bike in my buddies shed and during the next couple of weeks we will publish the complete build process including what went smoothly and what gave us a headache.

Santa Cruz: New Nomad Frame

My new Santa Cruz Nomad frame arrived this week. It looks very slinky in bare polished metal and I think it will build into a very striking bike.

Santa Cruz Blur

The Santa Cruz Blur is one of the best trail bikes there is. The current range is split into the XC (cross country racing), the LT (long travel) and the 4x (4X racing). This is one of the previous models when there was just the one Blur.

This Blur has cross country geometry; however the riding position is very neutral in the frame which means that by changing body position the bike is able to tackle most things. The VPP suspension design is fantastic but it is very sensitive to set up so you really do need to be prepared to 'fiddle' until it feels 'just right'. The suspension is so effective that the Blur really does feel like it has double the 4.25 inches of rear wheel travel. It swollows roots, rocks and drops with ease. The geometry makes the bike very flickable in singletrack and the light weight results in very fast accelaration. The owner of this bike hammers it around the trails, uphill and downhill and it comes back looking for more.

The Blur, a fantastic bike with a 'special' feel about it. For general trail work the Blur is difficult to beat especially for the lighter weight rider who prioritises speed uphill.

Intense 5.5 evp

I owned and rode an Intense 5.5 throughout the period March 2004 to February 2006, this review can be classed as a long term ownership experience of the bike.

Firstly, the 5.5 is a hell of a lot of fun, it has the geometry of a XC trail bike with 5.5 inches of rear wheel travel combined into a pretty lightweight package. On the trail this means that the bike is very responsive in singletrack, accelerates easily and rapidly and can swollow any kind of rough ground that the general rider will encounter. It absolutely flies around the north and south downs and totally levelled all the trails we have visited in Wales. However the 'racy' indestructible feel does have a downside, the bike has to to be ridden hard and concentration is required; therefore as a cruising bike for south downs way type of rides it becomes tiring after approximately 3 hours.

The rear suspension is the VPP design licensed from Santa Cruz and it is fantastic with super smooth bump absorbance together with a real 'dig-in' when climbing. The bearings lasted pretty well and only required one change after riding through a south downs winter. The frame is very solid with zero lateral flex when riding. I built mine with Fox Talas 125mm forks, Hope m4 (180mm rotors) disc brakes and Mavic 717 rims. This build suited both the frame and my riding, it was light enough to accelerate hard yet it is burly enough to take my weight and riding style, large brakes were essential as it is very easy to get out of control at high speeds.

The 5.5 is a fantastic trail bike if you want to hammer the trails (no matter how rough) for a couple of hours, it demands and encourages hooligan behaviour which in turn requires and rewards maximum concentration. However it does get tiring after 30 miles of gentle riding as basically it is very difficult to relax when riding it. If these descriptions match your riding style then you will either love or hate this bike, make no mistake, if you love it you will fall head over heels for it and nothing else will come close.

Marin QUAD East Peak

The reviewed East Peak QUAD was bought in April 2003 and used exclusively up to February 2006. This can be classed as a long term review. The brakes were upgraded to Shimano discs on the day of purchase but apart form that the bike started as standard. Moving up from a hard-tail the bike seemed an improvement in every department; however limitations soon became apparent. The Stratos rear shock died after 9 months and was replaced with a coil version, the Pilot fork was flexi and significantly restricted the bikes rough ground ability, changing to a Fox float 100mm was an immediate and immense improvement. Prior to ditching the Pilot fork it had to be returned to the distributors after 4 months for re-building. The headset was a very cheap unit and only survived one brief clean and re-grease before it died completely. The bike also had a noticeable flexi rear end which provided sketchy handling on rough sections and a rapid ramp up over large bumps which could catch the unwary.

The main problem with the bike was incredibly high maintenance of the QUAD links and their associated bearings. Mud clearance is good however the position of the QUAD links means they act as mud collection points on a grand scale. The bearing problem is due to several factors: the sideways flex of the frame causing undue stress on the bearings, the grinding effect of mud, the quality of both the supplied and refit bearings and finally the poor seals of the bearings. Further research revealed American QUAD bikes had suffered from excessive warranty repairs and the bearings were supposedly upgraded to Japanese units. The combination of mud and the previously mentioned sideways flex of the frame rear-end killed the bearings. The bearings were changed continuously either in pairs or in full sets of eight. Some lasted a few months others as little as a few weeks. In total 32 sets of bearings were used to keep the bike running, this is unacceptable no matter which way it is looked at. The original two piece QUAD links were upgraded to one piece links and this did help to reduce frame flex but did not noticeably increase bearing life. After approximately 3 months two of the through bolts snapped and were replaced under warranty. Bushes and washers have also all being changed although this should be expected with high mileage. The designer of the QUAD has stated that the external mounting of the links was an area he revisited before re-designing the 2006 range of bikes. The rear trail arm of the current models might help to increase the rigidity of the frame but that may not be a complete solution. The overall aftertaste is one of mediocre quality.

Other kit lasted well, the best component was the brakes which have been 100% reliable with no leaks, few squeaks and with excellent dry and wet stopping power although less than a more expensive system, e.g. Hope M4 or Avid Juicy.

The strength of the bike is as a long distance cross country cruiser, it is not a singletrack or play bike but it can be encouraged towards anything as several thousand miles from the South Downs Way to Wales can testify. Buy it again? Perhaps. Keep it as long? No. Buy it now? I would rather have a Nomad.

Santa Cruz Nomad

Since July 2005 my main bike has been a Santa Cruz Nomad. It has been my bike of choice for 99.9% of the rides I have done in the last 14 months, including singletrack bashing, epic South Downs Way and 'all mountain' riding. The Nomad is suited to all these types of riding, although it does have its compromises for epics. It is built-up with FOX36 Van forks, Hope M4 mono brakes, FOX DHX5 coil shock, and XT kit. I don't know what it weighs, its not light-weight but on the trail it pedals a lot less than it is.
The geometry is very relaxed but not ridiculously so; however in combination with the FOX36 Van forks keeping the front wheel on the trail requires a little effort on very steep climbs. Cruising long distances (30+ miles) is very relaxed and it just swallows all the general trail bumps and dips; however I never get to the top of the hill first, but I do always get there! Going downhill the Nomad is fantastic and very quickly reaches speeds that are on the dangerous side of my limited ability. Rocky descents are a breeze and technical singletrack with rocks and logs are made very easy. Truly brilliant.
The VPP suspension really digs-in on climbs and technical climbs in particular are often despatched while a couple of buddies give up on their bikes (Specialized Enduro, Scott Ransom & Kona Dawg), when we swop bikes they make it and I don't. On long steady climbs I find myself at the back of the bunch, the bike doesn't feel heavy but obviously it is more effort to pedal than those of my buddies. The Nomad is not a XC or enduro-race bike. One of our gang has a Santa Cruz Blur and this just flys up all the climbs.
I changed the bearings in May of this year, I don't think this is unreasonable after 10 months of riding including through the 05/06 winter in South Downs mud.
Would I buy a different bike after the Nomad, no for my general riding this is perfect. A couple of things to be aware of if you are considering the Nomad or Santa Cruz Blur LT. The Nomad requires more effort to ride uphill than the SC Blur LT (one of our gang has an LT) if you are a light-weight rider or don't have strong legs go for the LT. Going down hill the Nomad reaches phenomenal speeds very quickly, I would recommend always staying on the side of caution and within your safety limits until you are sure of riding a tricky section and get big brakes with at least 180mm rotors.

Nicolai Argon FR & Rohloff Speedhub

For the last two winters I have been researching ways to eliminate the effect of South Downs mud on my MTB. After many months deliberation I came to two conclusions; 1) use a hardtail frame and 2) eliminate the rear and front derailleur. The obvious solution is a single-speed; however my aging legs together with my lack of masochism eliminated this choice. The only other solution I could find was a Rohloff Speedhub. After many telephone calls and searching I was advised / told to get a frame that is designed specifically for the Speedhub (sliding rear disc-brake mounts, Rohloff cable routing and symmetrical seat-stays). I opted for the Nicolai Argon FR for three reasons; 1) it can be specified as Rohloff Specific, 2) it is a hard hitting frame that will take my weight and lack of finesse and finally 3) it is available in some amazing colours at no extra cost, I also got a belting deal from Ed at iBike in Crowthorne Berkshire. I ordered the large frame in red/orange colour with glitter. I had to wait 7 weeks for the frame to arrive from Germany and a further week for iBike to build it, not too painful as the trails were dry and my FS bike was in constant use.

I have been riding the Argon for 2 months (I had it in my hand at the beginning of March 06) and so far I have nothing but praise for it. The geometry is relaxed for a hardtail (68deg head-angle and 73 deg seat-post angle) and the frame is compact rather than long and rangy. In view of this I think the bike is more suited to fun and play than long all day epics. On single-track it is a blast the neutral riding position is very central over the bike which makes digging into corners a breeze, leaning back slightly makes it much more relaxed and the front wheel is very easy to lift over obstacles and holes. In a word the bike is ‘fun’. The speedhub is simple to use and is much more intuitive than a derailleur system. The gears can be changed while the bike is stationary for example at the bottom of a hill or through a gate and then just pedal off. I was advised to ‘relax’ the pressure on the pedals while changing gear which on up-hills means going slightly faster than expected due to the loss in momentum while changing gear, not a big problem but worth mentioning. Going from a FS bike to a hardtail has required a modification of my lazy technique as there is no increased traction from the suspension movement; I find all the hills need to be gently cruised while trying to avoid any bursts of power as this causes the rear wheel to slip. The maintenance of the bike is very simple, a quick wash / hoze with water and the job is done!

So far I am very pleased with the bike; however the coming winter, and the South Downs mud-baths around Brighton single-track will be the real test. Oh yes, red/orange with glitter the utter bollocks!

Bike Build

Frame: Nicolai Argon FR (Rohloff Specific)

Forks: Fox Vanilla R

Wheels: Mavic 717 disc rims on Rohloff and Hope hubs

Brakes: Hope M4 Mono-mini 180 mm rotors front and rear

Crankset: Shimano LX Hollowtech

Headset: Chris King

Bars: Easton DH

Stem: Thomson Elite

Seat-post: Thomson Elite

Tubes: Dr Sludge (slime tubes)

Tyres: Continental Gravity 2.3 inch