High pivot / idler bikes....

[frorider]

Lotta good options these days. I’m intrigued by the obvious advantages on chunky descents. Hear / read conflicting conclusions on the added drag of the idler, and related maintenance issues.

Anyone got experience to share?

[smartyiak]

Smmokan to the white courtesy phone...smmokan...

[evdog]

A friend of mine just picked up a druid and has been raving about it. And he's very particular about bike suspension and setup

[roverdoc]

Druid and spur owner. Amazing on chunky downs, drops and general trail riding. It has some extra drag. Have bike packed using this bike, 5k plus climbs etc. I would rather be on the spur for the latter. For 1-2 hour rips it is super fun bike. Yes there is alittle more maintenance but not a big deal. On original bearings, went through three idlers cogs and broke it down twice to chase squeaks. Anything longer and I want a more efficient rig. I even put ceramic bearings in idler, removed lower chain guide, full xtr 12 speed etc.

[smmokan]

Smmokan to the white courtesy phone...smmokan...

Yep... been riding a Druid for the last 4 months, and have a Deviate on the way in the next couple of weeks. I'm a HUGE fan of the way the Druid rides, and I expect more of the same from the Highlander given the extra 20mm of rear travel. It's hard to describe, but the bike just floats over super chunky stuff, both up and down. It's smoother on the rowdy DHs, no question about it. I do find that it's harder to manual and pull up the front end a bit, but I also suck at that so I keep it to a minimum anyways.

On the climbs, I'll echo what Roverdoc said- there is a little bit of drag due to the idler, but it's not something that concerns me all that much. I'll have a Ranger for huge highcountry epics, but I wouldn't hesitate to take the Druid on 20+ mile rides. Otherwise the bike climbs really well, especially in tech/chunk.

With my Druid, I found that it needed some fiddling to get it dialed in- I took off the bottom chain guide, tightened the chain, and made a few other small tweaks. But now that I have some time on it, I really like the suspension design.

[frorider]

The Deviate (150 version) kinda grabbed my interest....my current build kit would fit it 100%. But punkbike review indicates tge 140 version climbed like a dog, albeit with good traction, whereas a review on Bikemag (or the new version of Bike with the forgettable name) loved it for climbing.

Obviously I’m not expecting a 32 lb 150/160 sled to be an XC rocket on the hills, but for a lot of my rides it needs to be decent.

It’s also not clear if these brands have figured out an idler bearing seal solution that combines effective sealing with low drag.

[smmokan]

Fro, read the Enduro Mag review on the Deviate too.... they loved it on the climbs. I'm wondering if the pre-production version PB had wasn't setup right or something, because everyone I know that has one loves it.

[frorider]

Good to hear, thx