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Forbidden Druid

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Forbidden Druid
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flag newbermuda
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Posted: Dec 6, 2023 at 12:13 Quote
i thought the druid had plenty of pop. havent ridden a dreadnought but people i know that have them have no problem getting them off the ground when they need to.
flag radicalpugilism
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Posted: Dec 6, 2023 at 13:15 Quote
JoeBristol wrote:
Just posting on here as trying to decide what frame to get.

Just about to sell my alloy Sentinel 2022 frame I think - assuming it goes through this week. Love the way it rides but want something lighter and maybe new and shiny to me.

I’ve found a 2nd hand carbon Sentinel which is probably my first choice, but I’ve also found a Druid v1 and Dreadnought. Both the forbiddens are new - one with warranty and one without.

I’m on a medium sentinel - running with a cascade link and coil some of the time - and cascade with float x when I fancy a bit lighter : more pop.

Looking at either a medium v1 druid or medium dreadnought. I suspect the dreadnought is too much bike and maybe glued to the floor too much - but the colour is a thing of beauty (the blue and pink one).

Druid is the bluey / grey sort of colour with a fox dpx2.

How do people find the Druid v1 for:

‘Poppyness’ - as the chainstays lengthen as you load the rear suspension does it make it hard to manual / bunny hop / jump etc?

Maintenance - I’m in the uk and see lots of mud - is it a real pain keeping the drivetrain / idlers running properly?

Any other common issues?

Thanks in advance

I've spent plenty of time on the Sentinel V2 and Druid V1.

The "poppiness issue" on the Druid is super overblown IMO. It's a small adjustment that you'll get used to pretty quickly. I've never met anyone who has a problem getting the Dreadnought airborne either.

Cleaning and greasing the drivetrain after every ride did make a big difference and put me into the habit of doing it on every bike now. The problem was that I felt I would need to lube the chain mid-ride. Never actually did that, but the feeling did annoy me.

I wish I got to spend time on the Dreadnought. Ultimately went with the Sentinel after selling the Druid as the weight wasn't worth the 130 mm of travel and the drag of the drivetrain.
flag JoeBristol
Posted: Dec 6, 2023 at 14:47 Quote
Was the Druid drivetrain that draggy? From what I’ve read the Cascade lower guide is a decent improvement over the standard E13 one…..think it would be on my list of things to purchase.

Which v2 sentinel are you comparing to - the alloy or the carbon? From what I’ve read the carbon sentinel frame is a touch lighter than the Druid one. But both are comfortably lighter than my alloy Sentinel.
flag radicalpugilism
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Posted: Dec 6, 2023 at 16:26 Quote
JoeBristol wrote:
Was the Druid drivetrain that draggy? From what I’ve read the Cascade lower guide is a decent improvement over the standard E13 one…..think it would be on my list of things to purchase.

Which v2 sentinel are you comparing to - the alloy or the carbon? From what I’ve read the carbon sentinel frame is a touch lighter than the Druid one. But both are comfortably lighter than my alloy Sentinel.

It wasn’t that noticeable until I went on a trip and road a different bike for a week. Like I said, not as big a deal after some lube. I’m sure the Cascade guide would have helped.

Carbon. When you take into consideration the frame weight, drivetrain and suspension - the Sentinel was a more livelier bike.
flag JoeBristol
Posted: Dec 6, 2023 at 22:56 Quote
Cool - I’ve read the Sentinel carbon is a more lively / poppy / lighter bike than the alloy Sentinel too. So maybe the Druid might feel similar ish to my alloy sentinel but lighter.

Food for thought.
flag vermontana
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Posted: Dec 13, 2023 at 8:28 Quote
S3 29er frame just ordered through my shop, so excited to piece together the build over winter.

Inspired by Rhys' EDR build, going to beef it up a bit and race enduros on it next year. Big change coming from my Spire but I think it'll actually be faster for most races and a bit more fun on mellow trails and slower desert tech.
flag Dirt-Gaper
Posted: Dec 13, 2023 at 12:22 Quote
@vermontana I'm also on a S3 29er inspired by Rhys' EWS build. Running a 160 Z1 Coil on mine. Feels incredibly planted and smooth through chunk and under breaking. This think is quick and only feels better and better the more I dial it in.
flag tkrumroy
Posted: Dec 15, 2023 at 8:25 Quote
JoeBristol wrote:
Was the Druid drivetrain that draggy? From what I’ve read the Cascade lower guide is a decent improvement over the standard E13 one…..think it would be on my list of things to purchase.

Which v2 sentinel are you comparing to - the alloy or the carbon? From what I’ve read the carbon sentinel frame is a touch lighter than the Druid one. But both are comfortably lighter than my alloy Sentinel.

It’s the primary reason I sold mine. The drag felt like I had been pedaling around slightly holding the brakes. It descended better than any trail bike I’ve ever ridden though. The problem was I have to be pedaling 98% of the time in this bike so the drag (maybe even more so the sound of the drag) was what bothered me the most.
flag JoeBristol
Posted: Dec 16, 2023 at 0:24 Quote
Thanks for all the comments on the Druid / dreadnought vs Sentinel. After flipping backwards and forwards I picked up a secondhand carbon v2 sentinel.

I reckon in a couple of years time I’ll pick up the V2 Druid as that seems a more sorted bike with less quirks than the v1 Druid - but is out of budget at the moment!
flag jaydawg69
Posted: Dec 16, 2023 at 20:05 Quote
all Druids are 25% off... sweet deal
flag vermontana
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Posted: Dec 20, 2023 at 13:42 Quote
jaydawg69 wrote:
all Druids are 25% off... sweet deal

Yeah I ended up switching my V2 order from frame only to the GX FX, makes way more sense with pricing through my shop now.
flag Austink
Posted: Dec 23, 2023 at 2:02 Quote
Dirt-Gaper wrote:
@vermontana I'm also on a S3 29er inspired by Rhys' EWS build. Running a 160 Z1 Coil on mine. Feels incredibly planted and smooth through chunk and under breaking. This think is quick and only feels better and better the more I dial it in.


Im also running a beefed up setup. 160mm zeb and a super deluxe coil out back. The bike handles much more than the numbers suggest.
flag stevemokan
O+
Posted: Dec 23, 2023 at 8:07 Quote
FWIW, I have a Cascade guide/guard on my Dreadnought (replacing the E13) and it's a huge difference. No perceptible chain drag, and I haven't dropped a chain once. Also, when I had the V1 Druid a couple of years ago I removed the E13 guide and didn't run anything, and never dropped a chain either.
flag bikehard11
Posted: Feb 20, 2024 at 8:19 Quote
vermontana wrote:
S3 29er frame just ordered through my shop, so excited to piece together the build over winter.

Inspired by Rhys' EDR build, going to beef it up a bit and race enduros on it next year. Big change coming from my Spire but I think it'll actually be faster for most races and a bit more fun on mellow trails and slower desert tech.

How tall are you? I'm 5'10" and thinking S3 mullet
flag vermontana
O+
Posted: Feb 20, 2024 at 13:18 Quote
bikehard11 wrote:
vermontana wrote:
S3 29er frame just ordered through my shop, so excited to piece together the build over winter.

Inspired by Rhys' EDR build, going to beef it up a bit and race enduros on it next year. Big change coming from my Spire but I think it'll actually be faster for most races and a bit more fun on mellow trails and slower desert tech.

How tall are you? I'm 5'10" and thinking S3 mullet

6'0 with a long torso for my height, S3 29er felt great for me. I think the S3 mullet would work well at your height.

 


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