born2bahick

30.9 x 400mm elite?

mtnbiker66

30.9X410 setback elite.

born2bahick

Sweet!

ed 

Tompson's suk

born2bahick

Yes, but a Thomson Rawks!

ed 

I've got a 27.2 layback just sitting on a shelf. Makes me sik, man. Still be luvin the GD though. That thing is the shizzle.

born2bahick

Oh yeah the 27.2 is a wimpy size, you should keep that thing on a shelf

santiago

I'll take it off your hands if you want to part with it. I could try a layback on my Big Dummy.

ed 

I should probably hang on to it for a while...my wife threw a hissy-fit when she knew I wanted an $80 piece of bent pipe for Christmas one year...though she still bought it for me, the angel. I'm kinda weird about gifts...I hate to sell them.

Thx though.

mtnbiker66

Snagged mine for half that. I also just picked up a set of Time pedals cheap.......ebay is the shizzzzzzle

ed 

66: Time clipless? Have you gone madd?! Good price on the post...I think mine came from the Point.

dougland89: all of who, and why is your ghey "dougland89" roadie crap sig any better than the narrowminded MTB hacks around here? Road biking in itself is sin...jeeeeez

santiago

I'll mail you an old aluminum pipe, bent of course, that I'll spray-paint black. Both you and the wife will be none the wiser.

ed 

I had thought about trying to find someone to trade me a 26.8mm identical one, but haven't had the gall to try it yet. I could run it on the crapper.

I'm sure I'll use it again one day.

dminor 

Sin doesn't annoy me nearly as much as b!tching does.

Theologic Bear

Just to let you know, dougland89, you can edit your options to not show signatures in your member control panel if they really bother you.

ed 

Alright, Rebel cheeseball...surf this site for a while. It's a good Euro site that'll give you an idea of what's out there. There are a ton of frames on here that are the shizzle!

-_RebelRidin'_-

Thanks again Chel.

ed 

Kinesis is a big contract frame manufacturer - plenty of prominent brands use Kinesis's expertise to get their designs into reality. But UK distributor Upgrade also markets a range of frames under Kinesis's own name, including the ever-popular Maxlight MTB frames. The UK bikes are designed by Upgrade, so should be a good fit for UK riding.

The Maxlight XC and XCPro gained critical acclaim amongst racers, but the new Pha5e is a more recreational item. It's designed to take a lot of abuse, but still be ridden all day long. Sitting at the upper end of the hardtail price bracket, it's something of a showcase for Kinesis's framebuilding technology, featuring Easton RAD tubing and hydroforming aplenty.


Easton RAD tubing and beefy head tube


Seat cluster shows of tidy double-pass welds


Stays are something of a hydroforming showcase


Plenty of clearance for tyres on the inside and heels on the outside


Chunky forged dropouts and brake mount
Frame
The design of the Pha5e makes its intentions abundantly clear. It's over-built in all the vital places to ensure it'll never fail you, yet if you're not busy dropping of cliffs it's fine for all-day riding. The top tube length on our 16in test bike measured 22.4in (21.6 on the 14in and 23.2in on the 18in), which kept the handling tight and responsive, and with the 50mm stem and wide bars it was easy to flick around.

It certainly stands out from many other frames on the market, with the hyrdofromed rear stays making a striking impression and the smooth double-pass welds (which look like being 2006's essential alu frame feature) making it impossible not to stroke them. The rear stays have received the most attention, being heavily manipulated and curving around the wheel. Flowing lines embossed into the sides of the seat stays are a nice visual touch. There's stacks of mud clearance and you won't be clipping your heels, but you can still fit your wide rubber - it'll take up to 2.5in tyres.

The Pha5e is a bit more conventional up front, with both the top and down tubes from Easton's RAD tubeset. RAD was the first widely-used heavy-duty square-to-round tubing, but you don't see the genuine article ever so much these days - most manufacturers tend to use less sophisticated but cheaper lookalike pipes. Both the tubes create a large contact area with the headtube, which is ring reinforced. The frame is designed to take a fork with between 135 and 150mm of travel. Despite the high front end that that inevitably gives you, there's plenty of nad clearance as the top tube drops several inches below the top of the seat post. There's an extra strut to help to support it.

The whole frame provides a level of solidity that is welcome for the style of riding that it's intended for. The frame is stiff, especially the rear end. In theory the hydroformed ridges in the tubes increase stiffness, although whether that's detectable to the rider is debatable. It's not especially uncomfortable thanks to the low-slung frame requiring plenty of seatpost sticking out, but on longer jaunts you'll know you're on an exceptionally stiff chassis.

Two colours are available, Battleship grey as tested and Matt Anti-Radar Green.

Components
Kinesis only sell frames, so you'll have to build it up yourself. Our test frame came already built up with the kind of spec that many frames will find themselves with - a 20mm through-axle Manitou Nixon Elite fork, DMR Revolver hubs laced to Mavic XM819 UST rims, curiously-named Geax BarrowMarathon TNT 2.10 tyres. Discs were from Hope and transmission was Shimano's dependable XT.

It all came to 28lb, which is entirely reasonable. Obviously the bike could be built lighter, or there's room for some burlier components, depending on what you want the frame to do.

Ride
The frame is meant to be on the stiff side of stiff, and we certainly noticed this on the trail. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. You get a very direct feel and the power is laid down with an instantaneous reaction. And you always know what the bike's going to do next. The handling is precise and assertive, thanks to the short top tube and short stem/wide handlebar combination. And with the bolt through axle up front, it's a reassuring bike to chuck off things.

If you're anything over about 5ft 10 you'll probably benefit from the longer top tube on the Large frame. Get the size right and you'll find that you can stick the saddle up for all day XC riding, or drop the seat for some high speed antics with plenty of air time - the Pha5e readily leaves the ground over any lump in the trail.

mtnbiker66

I did a bad thing. On my ride yesterday I had to ride about a 1/2 mile of paved road to catch the next dirt. I pop out on the pavement and I see a roadie climbing up to the blue ridge parkway(I'm heading down). He's an older guy and not going fast. I'm going slow at this point a as well so I give him my big friendly "It's a great day" wave. He looks right at me ,sticks his nose up and turns away. I cut hard over to the yellow line,(at this point he right across from me) he looks up and I give him a good one finger salute about 3 feet away from his nose.........Man I hate snobby people.

ed 

Nobody's perfect...least of all him, sounds like.

I really don't get it, man. What's with that anyways? There are a few people around here like that, but for the most part...if you got pedals, you're in the super-secret club

-_RebelRidin'_-

^HAHA 66, thats classic


Thanks for the information Chel. When I get over there I'm going to look at my options, maybe the LBS there has one built up already that I can ride and see if I like it.
I'd need the large frame as I'm almost 6'1 But I like the looks of that frame, and it sounds solid, something that wont break on me. I like air time, but am afraid to leave the ground on my 3900 (nothing more than 2 feet at most.) Doesn't sound like an Ideal race frame, but I'm a weekend warrior racer for now. I race for fun, and if I win, all the better. I'm just ready to get away from the 3900. I can't even run disks in the rear because of the lacking abilities of the frame. It doesnt have the agressive feel I like of some of the other bikes either

Luke52

Argh.

After waiting for 7 weeks for a new derailleur hanger, it FINALLY comes in..

Spot the difference.

(Piece of) the old hanger..





And the new hanger...





The fact that it's the wrong part is just a tiny bit annoying, and by a tiny bit I mean incredibly frustrating.

ca7erham

You might want to go SS for now just to get riding.

ed 

Whoever is taking care of you needs fired. Dude why did you wait 7 weeks anyways?

You can order on line and have it within a week c cheap shipping.

Luke52

I waited 7 weeks because my LBS have always treated me well, and I'm a loyal customer.

This is the only time they have let me down.

I checked on derailleurhanger.com or whatever that website is, and they don't have a category for Apollo, nor do they have one for Pacific (who make Apollo or something) so that was quite annoying.