Review: Pipedream The Full Moxie
The UK sure has a soft spot for steel frames, with lots of small brands to choose from, and I must admit to having a penchant for quality steel frames too. Pipedream has been helping to keep steel real for the past 15 years, but has just launched its first full susser, The Full Moxie, a 29er dishing out 146mm travel from a single pivot configuration wrapped with a beautifully made steel frame and swingarm.
The frame without shock costs £1,499, or you can buy a frame with DVO shock and fork for £2,348, with a £100 coil shock upgrade option. If you prefer to buy a complete bike and not get your hands mucky with some spannering, the company offers two build options: Trail Kit uses a Shimano Deore 12-speed groupset and costs £3,948 and the Enduro Kit gets a Shimano XT upgrade and costs £4,448, with a Jade X coil shock upgrade for £100.
The frame without shock costs £1,499, or you can buy a frame with DVO shock and fork for £2,348, with a £100 coil shock upgrade option. If you prefer to buy a complete bike and not get your hands mucky with some spannering, the company offers two build options: Trail Kit uses a Shimano Deore 12-speed groupset and costs £3,948 and the Enduro Kit gets a Shimano XT upgrade and costs £4,448, with a Jade X coil shock upgrade for £100.
Pipedream The Full Moxie
Travel: 146mm (r) / 150mm (f)
Wheel size: 29"
Frame construction: 4130 custom butted steel
Head angle: 64-degree
Seat angle: 77.5-degree
Sizes: Long and Longer
Weight: L w/o pedals 36.05 lb (16.35kg)
Price: £1,499 (frame w/out shock)
More info: www.pipedreamcycles.com
Travel: 146mm (r) / 150mm (f)
Wheel size: 29"
Frame construction: 4130 custom butted steel
Head angle: 64-degree
Seat angle: 77.5-degree
Sizes: Long and Longer
Weight: L w/o pedals 36.05 lb (16.35kg)
Price: £1,499 (frame w/out shock)
More info: www.pipedreamcycles.com
Due to the delays caused by the pandemic my build has a few different parts; the result is you can’t buy this exact bike, but there’s nothing to stop you from speccing a frame this way yourself. For reference, I tested The Full Moxie with a complete Shimano SLX groupset, Hope wheels, OneUp v2 dropper and Schwalbe tires.
 | 'Steel is real' is an oft used mantra, but The Full Moxie is proof, if it were ever needed, that geometry and suspension design are the most important when defining how a bike rides, not the material it’s made from. But there is something inherently special about a steel frame that is tricky to put into words. |
Construction and Features
Pipedream is known for its line of steel hardtails and there’s long been a full suspension sized hole in its range. The Full Moxie fills that vacancy with a good looking single-pivot machine boasting 146mm rear wheel travel and designed around a 150mm fork. The wheels are 29", but you can go mullet if you’re keeping up with the latest industry trends.
More than just borrowing its name from the company’s hardtail, there’s a shared tubeset that has been developed over several years with no unsightly reinforcing gussets as is often the case with steel frames. The frame is made from custom-butted 4130 tubing - a shame not to get a branded tubeset like Reynolds - with a focus on ensuring there’s adequate strength in key places to avoid any strengthening gussets. The result is an incredibly clean looking bike that emphasises the traditional appeal of steel. It’s about as far removed from a swoopy carbon frame as it gets.
The asymmetric swingarm is hewn from steel as well with an oversized main pivot, and to ensure there is ample stiffness in the rear end a special X-brace has been CNC machined from aluminum to connect the swingarm just above the main pivot. It’s a small detail but one that has clearly been the result of lots of development time. The shock yoke and mount have also been CNC machined.
All cables are routed externally along the top of the down tube and along the top of the chainstays, with internal routing for the dropper post. The low slung top tube and short seat tube provides capacity for a generous dropper post. With the shock positioned in the center of the frame, the mandatory bottle cage mounts have been moved to the underside of the down tube, which is less than desirable if you care about not ingesting mud and poo from the water bottle nozzle.
The frame comes in three colours, the pictured signature pink plus electric blue and rust orange.
![Pipedream]()
![Pipedream]()
![Pipedream]()
Pipedream is known for its line of steel hardtails and there’s long been a full suspension sized hole in its range. The Full Moxie fills that vacancy with a good looking single-pivot machine boasting 146mm rear wheel travel and designed around a 150mm fork. The wheels are 29", but you can go mullet if you’re keeping up with the latest industry trends.
More than just borrowing its name from the company’s hardtail, there’s a shared tubeset that has been developed over several years with no unsightly reinforcing gussets as is often the case with steel frames. The frame is made from custom-butted 4130 tubing - a shame not to get a branded tubeset like Reynolds - with a focus on ensuring there’s adequate strength in key places to avoid any strengthening gussets. The result is an incredibly clean looking bike that emphasises the traditional appeal of steel. It’s about as far removed from a swoopy carbon frame as it gets.
The asymmetric swingarm is hewn from steel as well with an oversized main pivot, and to ensure there is ample stiffness in the rear end a special X-brace has been CNC machined from aluminum to connect the swingarm just above the main pivot. It’s a small detail but one that has clearly been the result of lots of development time. The shock yoke and mount have also been CNC machined.
All cables are routed externally along the top of the down tube and along the top of the chainstays, with internal routing for the dropper post. The low slung top tube and short seat tube provides capacity for a generous dropper post. With the shock positioned in the center of the frame, the mandatory bottle cage mounts have been moved to the underside of the down tube, which is less than desirable if you care about not ingesting mud and poo from the water bottle nozzle.
The frame comes in three colours, the pictured signature pink plus electric blue and rust orange.
Geometry & Sizing
![pipedream]()
Pipedream has used its Moxie hardtail as the starting point for the geometry to ensure it’s up to the demands of the modern trail rider. There are just two sizes on offer, understandable given the small size of the company, but with short seat tubes and generous reach, a wide size range of riders should be catered for. Reach is 470mm on the Long and 510mm on the Longer, and both feature 420mm chainstays, 602mm stack and 77.5-degree seat angles. Head angle is 64-degree with a 44mm offset fork.
![Pipedream]()
Pipedream has used its Moxie hardtail as the starting point for the geometry to ensure it’s up to the demands of the modern trail rider. There are just two sizes on offer, understandable given the small size of the company, but with short seat tubes and generous reach, a wide size range of riders should be catered for. Reach is 470mm on the Long and 510mm on the Longer, and both feature 420mm chainstays, 602mm stack and 77.5-degree seat angles. Head angle is 64-degree with a 44mm offset fork.
Suspension Design
For the company’s first attempt at a full-suspension bike they have kept things simple with a single pivot design, but look closer and there’s a lot of attention to detail on show. The neatness around the main pivot, the CNC brace and the yoke driving the shock all smack of tireless design and engineering to achieve a high level of quality. The compact asymmetric swingarm aids in the stiffness to ensure there’s no twisting flex to ruin the performance.
The Full Moxie delivers up to 146mm rear wheel travel from a 65mm stroke shock fixed to the down tube with the main pivot positioned just above the bottom bracket. A 62.5mm shock can be used to reduce travel to 140mm if you wish. The frame is designed around a 140 to 160mm suspension fork, with a 150mm travel 44mm offset fork fitted to my test bike.
Pipedream says it has developed a yoke-activated design using a long-stroke shock to allow it to tune the kinematics to provide a progressive spring rate that works with both air and coil shocks.
![pipedream]()
![pipedream]()
For the company’s first attempt at a full-suspension bike they have kept things simple with a single pivot design, but look closer and there’s a lot of attention to detail on show. The neatness around the main pivot, the CNC brace and the yoke driving the shock all smack of tireless design and engineering to achieve a high level of quality. The compact asymmetric swingarm aids in the stiffness to ensure there’s no twisting flex to ruin the performance.
The Full Moxie delivers up to 146mm rear wheel travel from a 65mm stroke shock fixed to the down tube with the main pivot positioned just above the bottom bracket. A 62.5mm shock can be used to reduce travel to 140mm if you wish. The frame is designed around a 140 to 160mm suspension fork, with a 150mm travel 44mm offset fork fitted to my test bike.
Pipedream says it has developed a yoke-activated design using a long-stroke shock to allow it to tune the kinematics to provide a progressive spring rate that works with both air and coil shocks.
Test Bike Setup
At 5’11” I tested the shorter of the two sizes, since the 470mm reach is in my preferred sweet spot for the trail riding this bike is designed for. Setting the bike up was a relatively easy affair with saddle height, bar rotation and tire pressure set to my preferred settings.
Dialling in the suspension can potentially be a confusing challenge with lots of knobs and dials to play with but following the recommended settings got the bike to a really good place for quickly and then just a few adjustments after which I didn’t touch anything for the duration of the test period.
The DVO Topaz shock features an air bladder alongside the main air chamber for altering the spring curve, making it firmer or softer. I settled on 160psi for the air spring to achieve 30% sag and 170psi for the air bladder with 5 clicks of rebound and it worked well for me. The air bladder allows a big range of adjustment from softer to firmer and it’s worth experimenting with once you've set your sag. The Diamond fork is similarly highly adjustable, I opted for 105psi, 1 click for high-speed compression and adjusted the low-speed compression on the trail, from open when descending to firmer when climbing, with eight clicks of rebound and for the unique OTT (Off The Top) adjuster, I set that to three clicks from open. The DVO setup guide is recommended for solid base settings.
Testing was conducted mostly on local trails as lockdowns and travel restrictions have made trips to further away trails a little limiting, but conditions covered everything from dusty to muddy.
At 5’11” I tested the shorter of the two sizes, since the 470mm reach is in my preferred sweet spot for the trail riding this bike is designed for. Setting the bike up was a relatively easy affair with saddle height, bar rotation and tire pressure set to my preferred settings.
Dialling in the suspension can potentially be a confusing challenge with lots of knobs and dials to play with but following the recommended settings got the bike to a really good place for quickly and then just a few adjustments after which I didn’t touch anything for the duration of the test period.
The DVO Topaz shock features an air bladder alongside the main air chamber for altering the spring curve, making it firmer or softer. I settled on 160psi for the air spring to achieve 30% sag and 170psi for the air bladder with 5 clicks of rebound and it worked well for me. The air bladder allows a big range of adjustment from softer to firmer and it’s worth experimenting with once you've set your sag. The Diamond fork is similarly highly adjustable, I opted for 105psi, 1 click for high-speed compression and adjusted the low-speed compression on the trail, from open when descending to firmer when climbing, with eight clicks of rebound and for the unique OTT (Off The Top) adjuster, I set that to three clicks from open. The DVO setup guide is recommended for solid base settings.
Testing was conducted mostly on local trails as lockdowns and travel restrictions have made trips to further away trails a little limiting, but conditions covered everything from dusty to muddy.
David Arthur // Technical Editor
Age: 39
Location: Gloucestershire, UK
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 150 lbs
Industry affiliations / sponsors: None
Instagram: @davidjarthur
Age: 39
Location: Gloucestershire, UK
Height: 5'11"
Weight: 150 lbs
Industry affiliations / sponsors: None
Instagram: @davidjarthur
Climbing
There’s no easy way around this, the weight of the Full Moxie does mean the climbing ability is tempered to a large degree. That additional mass is the inherent drawback of a steel frame compared to lighter aluminum and carbon, so if weight matters and you want a fast climbing bike the Full Moxie won’t reward. Dial back your ambition and expectation, though, and get onto a smoother logging fire road with less severe gradient and the Full Moxie is much happier.
There’s more to a bike's climbing ability than just weight, and here the geometry gives a helping hand. The steep seat angle pivots your weight over the bike nicely and the reach combined with a short stem makes for a comfortable climbing position on longer fireroad drags when you have to settle into the grind for a long while. On steeper climbs, the front wheel can tend to wander requiring shuffling forward on the saddle to keep the tire weighted and pointing forwards and not sideways.
The DVO shock has a three-position compression lever which is easy to reach on the move and flicking into the firmest setting helps on smoother climbs, minimizing any excess suspension movement without locking it out completely. Even in fully open mode, as desired for lumpy technical climbs, there’s no excess of movement from the shock. It’s well mannered and controlled in all climbing situations helping you to get to the top without much excess energy expended.
Traction is in abundance when tackling a root-infested climb with a layer of wet leaves and mud. The excellent tire choice helped as well, and the suspension pushing the rubber into every little nook and cranny made it possible to scamper up the most challenging climbs. The extra weight probably helps a little here, and even in my most tricky local climbs the Pipedream just feels so calm and collected it lets you focus on getting the power through the cranks.
If you like ripping up technical trails the Full Moxie will frustrate you, but get onto longer smoother climbs and it’ll settle into a nice rhythm and big trail rides from sunrise to sunset aren’t at all out of the question. Though with a sub-optimal water bottle mount you’ll be digging out your old hydration pack...
![Pipedream]()
There’s no easy way around this, the weight of the Full Moxie does mean the climbing ability is tempered to a large degree. That additional mass is the inherent drawback of a steel frame compared to lighter aluminum and carbon, so if weight matters and you want a fast climbing bike the Full Moxie won’t reward. Dial back your ambition and expectation, though, and get onto a smoother logging fire road with less severe gradient and the Full Moxie is much happier.
There’s more to a bike's climbing ability than just weight, and here the geometry gives a helping hand. The steep seat angle pivots your weight over the bike nicely and the reach combined with a short stem makes for a comfortable climbing position on longer fireroad drags when you have to settle into the grind for a long while. On steeper climbs, the front wheel can tend to wander requiring shuffling forward on the saddle to keep the tire weighted and pointing forwards and not sideways.
The DVO shock has a three-position compression lever which is easy to reach on the move and flicking into the firmest setting helps on smoother climbs, minimizing any excess suspension movement without locking it out completely. Even in fully open mode, as desired for lumpy technical climbs, there’s no excess of movement from the shock. It’s well mannered and controlled in all climbing situations helping you to get to the top without much excess energy expended.
Traction is in abundance when tackling a root-infested climb with a layer of wet leaves and mud. The excellent tire choice helped as well, and the suspension pushing the rubber into every little nook and cranny made it possible to scamper up the most challenging climbs. The extra weight probably helps a little here, and even in my most tricky local climbs the Pipedream just feels so calm and collected it lets you focus on getting the power through the cranks.
If you like ripping up technical trails the Full Moxie will frustrate you, but get onto longer smoother climbs and it’ll settle into a nice rhythm and big trail rides from sunrise to sunset aren’t at all out of the question. Though with a sub-optimal water bottle mount you’ll be digging out your old hydration pack...
Descending
No doubt about it, The Full Moxie is happiest when you’re hurtling down a fun steep trail with lots of natural obstacles. With momentum behind you, it’s right at home with good balance and an appetite for tight turns and wide-open berms. To really make the most of its potential, the trails need to be steep and technically challenging because when they are, the Full Moxie rewards. It really does come alive and the weight fades away; it’s a good payback for the climbing efforts.
The geometry, great suspension and grippy tires make tackling technical descents hugely entertaining and very rewarding. It really is a very fun bike to ride and the stable ride, calm suspension, relaxed geometry all make it a very highly capable trail bike that excels on the descents. And as a skills boost, the Pipedream is quite impressive, helping me to master some tricky switchback descents that I’d previously struggled to conquer on other bikes. This bike can pivot on a dime, which helps to kick the myth that long 29ers can’t do tight corners into the long grass. So if you want a bike to make a better rider of you, take a closer look at the Moxie.
The handling is good and lets you focus on picking your line and where you want to place the tires, and the Full Moxie displays a pleasing level of agility that pins a massive grin on your face every time you’re descending. The balance is good, but as with many long bikes you do need to push your weight forward to get the front tire to grip and carve, but if you want to hang back the suspension is capable enough to soak up everything in its path. Going faster is rewarding on any bike, but with the Full Moxie it’s key to unlocking its full character and potential, and it’s really happy going flat out. There’s enough suspension travel to get out out of trouble in most situations; it’s predictable and will never catch you off-guard if you’re not paying attention 100% of the time as can sometimes be the case with lighter, more skittish bikes.
The suspension coped with everything nicely. It feels plush and soaks up impacts well giving a smooth ride through chundery roots. There’s ample progression to handle big impacts and drops well with no heavy bottom out. It’s easy to see the Full Moxie is aimed at trail riders wanting a bike for big rides in the woods, but the weight does favour a more gravity-oriented riding style where it’s about getting to the top as unflustered as possible and eking out one more run before the sunsets.
![Pipedream]()
No doubt about it, The Full Moxie is happiest when you’re hurtling down a fun steep trail with lots of natural obstacles. With momentum behind you, it’s right at home with good balance and an appetite for tight turns and wide-open berms. To really make the most of its potential, the trails need to be steep and technically challenging because when they are, the Full Moxie rewards. It really does come alive and the weight fades away; it’s a good payback for the climbing efforts.
The geometry, great suspension and grippy tires make tackling technical descents hugely entertaining and very rewarding. It really is a very fun bike to ride and the stable ride, calm suspension, relaxed geometry all make it a very highly capable trail bike that excels on the descents. And as a skills boost, the Pipedream is quite impressive, helping me to master some tricky switchback descents that I’d previously struggled to conquer on other bikes. This bike can pivot on a dime, which helps to kick the myth that long 29ers can’t do tight corners into the long grass. So if you want a bike to make a better rider of you, take a closer look at the Moxie.
The handling is good and lets you focus on picking your line and where you want to place the tires, and the Full Moxie displays a pleasing level of agility that pins a massive grin on your face every time you’re descending. The balance is good, but as with many long bikes you do need to push your weight forward to get the front tire to grip and carve, but if you want to hang back the suspension is capable enough to soak up everything in its path. Going faster is rewarding on any bike, but with the Full Moxie it’s key to unlocking its full character and potential, and it’s really happy going flat out. There’s enough suspension travel to get out out of trouble in most situations; it’s predictable and will never catch you off-guard if you’re not paying attention 100% of the time as can sometimes be the case with lighter, more skittish bikes.
The suspension coped with everything nicely. It feels plush and soaks up impacts well giving a smooth ride through chundery roots. There’s ample progression to handle big impacts and drops well with no heavy bottom out. It’s easy to see the Full Moxie is aimed at trail riders wanting a bike for big rides in the woods, but the weight does favour a more gravity-oriented riding style where it’s about getting to the top as unflustered as possible and eking out one more run before the sunsets.
Swarf Contour
Cotic FlareMAX
How does it compare?
There’s no shortage of steel bikes in the UK, with many small brands specialising in steel as it offers more freedom to design and engineer a bike over the big costs and lead times involved with aluminum and carbon fiber. The Cotic FlareMAX is a shorter travel steel bike that I’ve ridden (the RocketMax is arguably a better comparison but I haven’t ridden it) which is lighter and uses Reynolds 853 tubing for the brand snobs, and offers a similarly highly capable bike, but which is arguably a bit easier on the legs on the climbs. The Swarf Contour is even shorter on travel, but still big on character and uniquely individual in its design and appearance. Compared to them, the Full Moxie is more capable on technical and rough trails with more willingness on fast descents, but isn’t quite as fast a climber. What these bikes all prove is that steel is an appealing choice for those that want to buck the mainstream choices.
Technical Report
Shimano SLX/XT 12-speed: I’m glad to see Shimano finally back in the groupset game with some solid 1x offerings and SLX provides exceptionally good shifting performance and the brakes are good, with none of the vague bit point issues, though I’d prefer four-pot calipers on this bike.
DVO Topaz T3 Air shock: This is a highly tunable air shock with lots of customization available that will delight or scare riders. As well as being able to add additional volume spacers to the positive and negative air chambers, you can adjust the bladder pressure to soften or firm the shock. It’s a small range of adjustment, between 170 and 200 psi, but I found this adjustment adequate to get the shock into a happy place on the Full Moxie. If you love to fiddle with your suspension this shock clearly appeals, but even if you prefer to set and forget after some initial fiddling I’ve been very impressed with the performance of this DVO shock.
Schwalbe Magic Mary/Hans Dampf tires: Simply a winning tire combination that works well in all conditions from dust to mud, and is capable of finding tenacious grip even when faced with evil roots and jagged rocks.
OneUp 180mm dropper: Longer dropper posts are better and the 180mm works well, giving lots of bike-shaping room when descending and a strong pedalling position when climbing.
![Pipedream]()
Shimano SLX/XT 12-speed: I’m glad to see Shimano finally back in the groupset game with some solid 1x offerings and SLX provides exceptionally good shifting performance and the brakes are good, with none of the vague bit point issues, though I’d prefer four-pot calipers on this bike.
DVO Topaz T3 Air shock: This is a highly tunable air shock with lots of customization available that will delight or scare riders. As well as being able to add additional volume spacers to the positive and negative air chambers, you can adjust the bladder pressure to soften or firm the shock. It’s a small range of adjustment, between 170 and 200 psi, but I found this adjustment adequate to get the shock into a happy place on the Full Moxie. If you love to fiddle with your suspension this shock clearly appeals, but even if you prefer to set and forget after some initial fiddling I’ve been very impressed with the performance of this DVO shock.
Schwalbe Magic Mary/Hans Dampf tires: Simply a winning tire combination that works well in all conditions from dust to mud, and is capable of finding tenacious grip even when faced with evil roots and jagged rocks.
OneUp 180mm dropper: Longer dropper posts are better and the 180mm works well, giving lots of bike-shaping room when descending and a strong pedalling position when climbing.
Pros
+ Confidence inspiring geometry and handling
+ Great suspension
+ Looks lovely
Cons
- It’s not light
- No room for a water bottle inside the front triangle
Pinkbike's Take
| There are many factors to consider when choosing a new mountain bike. If value, weight and components are important than the Full Moxie is a tough bike to recommend against lighter rivals, but there’s something special about steel, its toughness, durability and classic looks, that ensure it continues to be a viable and valid alternative to mainstream choices. And for that, I salute the Full Moxie. It’s a hell of a bike. |
Author Info:
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At most the frame will be about 1.5kg heavier than the lightest (but totally un-durable) carbon frame. Very similar to most ally frames and not much more than tough carbon frames.
Lots of brands (probably more savvy ones) put lightweight wheels and tyres on their bikes for tests. They are not appropriate for the riding being done, so the reviewers very quickly change them for something more suitable. However, the published weight is the one of the delivered bike with the incorrect tyres.
Reviewers shouldn't publish frame weights, rather run stock wheels and tyres! Weight will then suddenly be less important and all the comments will go away.
I do agree about a standard wheel and tire setup for testing. Wheels have an outsized impact on the overall performance of a bike. Since wheels can be a very expensive proposition to replace maybe just a standard tire setup would be more reasonable.
Honestly I don't think I'd feel 3lbs of static frame weight enought to make it a deal breaker. But on the flip side at 200lbs I have been hucking the carbon Trance and riding an old DH track for a year straight with no frame issues whatsoever...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=fweWB0wNzpw
That will never happen tho.
I just wonder how much difference the frame material makes in terms of compliance when you have 2.3+ tyres and suspension front and back. Based on the comments I guess there is a difference. (When it comes to steel i'm careful and I take everything with a grain of salt, because I noticed that there are a lot of steel fanatics with pretty radical views, opinions
Either way I love the bike, it just climbs not as good as I'd expected (and I've been single pivot for yeeearrrs)
www.cotic.co.uk/news/2016/shocktuning
Just remember, Knolly makes very high end aluminum frames, not your usual big brand aluminum frame.
I would argue that you can feel the weight difference and hear the difference more than you actually feel the difference in compliance.
And the radical views? Thats just experience talking. Those views dont seem radical anymore. The steel builders have been at the forefront of the geometry changes that everybody and their mothers builders have adopted.
I noticed that steel can attract a certain kind of person that critizies everything and talks BS, sometimes with zero experience behind their "facts"/opinions (again not talking about anybody here).
@HollyBoni I sure can. Aluminum feels dead-stiff and just very "standard" or neutral. Carbon feels more hollow and plasticy and maybe a bit more lively-stiff, and steel feels more solid and simultaneously compliant. I think I notice the benefits of the steel around bumpy off-camber corners (feels grippier than other frames, which have literally been built up with the same parts), but can somewhat feel less precise at times. (hopefully my made-up terminology here, like "lively-stiff", gets the point across, ha.) That all being said, I think a lot of it has to do with how things are built. I have had burly steel hardtails that, although they feel solid like a BMX bike, are every bit as stiff and chattery as a burly carbon hardtail (Transition Vagrant vs. Chromag Primer, both horrendously stiff. Chromag was maybe a bit less "chattery" but "compliant" was not a word I would use to describe either, whatsoever.) Get on a lively XC carbon hardtail and it will feel super compliant, relatively speaking.
I still stand by that I love the bike, it just doesn't seem that efficient (or didn't until I wound LSC all the way in, and built some muscle) as I'd expected
The XT spec gets 4pot brakes.
But adding 2kg to the wheels, rotating mass that constantly needs to be accelerated on technical climbs makes a massive difference.
Conversley, heavy wheels help massively with downhill stability.
I can't believe reviewers still don't understand this.
single pivots aren't bad
What I noticed between heavier and lighter bikes is that the difference is very noticeable at first, but after riding the bike for a while you kinda just get used to it.
But again, I get used to it pretty quickly and i'm not hunting KOMs so I don't care that much about weight.
But really, i'm not trying to argue about this. Strap some weights to your bike and see for yourself.
"if you like ripping up technical trails the Full Moxie will frustrate you"
WTF? Which is it? Makes hard climbs possible or frustrates you? This whole thing is full of contradictions.
so many riders are stressed about bike weight but couldn't it be mostly in our heads, seeing as how depending on the ride we might have nothing on our backs or many pounds of weight clinging to us?
Loads of fun though, so next summer the hardtail will be set up on fast and light tyres
But as an early owner of a Starling, I would add that there is quite a few differences : Reynolds & Colombus tubeset, bespoke geo, handmade in UK... Could make a different riding experience too.
enduro-mtb.com/en/steel-enduro-full-suspension-mtb-review
No Murmur, but close.
The shock yoke will increase stress on the rear shock, and with the steel rear end allowing for even more flex I'm worried that it will further increase the rear shock stress. Thoughts?
I have killed 5 shocks over the last 20+ years - One on a Hot chili singlepivot 1997, one on a GT DHI, one on a Salsa horsethief with shockyoke and a rearend that could be riddden way out of its comfortzone, two on my early Starling swoop. There were plenty of bikes in between and while many other factors may have played a role, I remain worried.
Moreover, I doubt the rear triangle is even going to flex more than an aluminum design. Tubes aren't that much thinner as they need to fit between tire and cranks. So replacing aluminum tubes with steel ones within that same amount of space won't really decrease lateral stiffness. Even reducing wall thickness won't matter that much because tubes there are thin already. But that's my bit of armchair engineering. They may allow for a little bit of lateral flex at the axle end but that shouldn't necessarily imply that the shock mount is going to shift proportionally more too.
I actually wonder if the initial high failure rate was partially due to Specialized being the only OEM user of the inline at the time.
Yokes killing shocks on non specialized bikes is a myth imo
No rub under sprinting on mine, must have been due to early design as others suggest ?
Yet you have completely ignored the fact, that the real perceived reach is a function of the number of spacers run under the stem, the HA and stem length and handlebar setback. So in fact you have no clue what is your preferred reach. It may be as well 460 as 480.
according to their website....
www.pipedreamcycles.com/shop/the-full-moxie
What excess movement is the firm mode minimizing? Since allegedly there is "no excess of movement" even in open mode...
Sounds like the balance isn't actually great since you have to worry about managing front grip...
Sorry I'm confused. What tubeset are you using? Gussets are bad?
If it's a steel frame it's probably butted steel all decent steel frames are. I would call 4130 steel generic. If it's custom then tell us in detail why. Tripple butted? Yep there are old school mountain bikers that remember butting thickness , tube diameter, tube guage. Un like carbon fiber it's rather easy to explain the details of the frame construction. Hopefully your website is more informative.
Umm...?
Guess looks are subjective
I am sure someone will correct me if required but as far as I know, you can make (or have made) bikes in low volumes from steel far easier/cheaper than aluminium or carbon. This allows more flexibility in design and continual development if desired. They can also be more niche, the target market doesn't have to be massive to pay off any fancy molds or tooling etc.
Ultimately it comes down to what you want, if you want on trend geo, standard sizing or on a budget then there is nothing wrong with off the shelf Alu or Carbon.
But if you want or need something a bit different then there is probably a steel rig out there for you (or at least someone willing to build it you).
www.singletracks.com/mtb-gear/europe-is-aswim-with-stout-steel-full-suspension-mountain-bike-frames
Unless you don't weight that front wheel, because the balance is soooo good...
"the extra weight probably helps a little here, and even in my most tricky local climbs the Pipedream just feels so calm and collected it lets you focus on getting the power through the cranks."
So which is it? Weight good or weight bad? Because you said both, but also mentioned that traction is super important...
Or... Maybe... you just got mullet if that's what fits you and forget what's "trending" or not.
420 would be out of Balance.
A tubeset that might require some of those "ugly" gussets? Silly to want a brand name even though it would take away something else that's good about the bike
weight is just a number
Well that's a shame, climbing tech is fun if you have a good climbing bike, clearly this is not that kind of bike, so then what's it good for?