Bird Aeris Build

BloggingFit

Been looking forward to getting for a while now and has happy to go and collect this morning.











Currently running an Atlas bar as waiting on stock for SIXC bars and using the Monarch Plus from the Nomad until I've made a decision on what rear shock to run. Pike ar 150mm up front and running 140mm option on the rear.

Those with keen eyes may notice a SRAM cassette with the XT 11 speed which is a bit of an experiment and appears to shift better then the stock XT cassette bizarrely plus there is a decent weight saving and visually it looks miles better on the bike with the black finish.

The Rims are also a bit of a try out and are silly light for a 30mm. Final wheel weight came in at 1360g with DT 350 huns which aren't a bad weight but by no means super light. The finish on the rims is very good and could put some expensive alternatives to shame.

Will get graphics coloured at some point for fork, shocks and possible rims.

Riding position feels good and front feels easy to pop up despite the extra length. Maiden voyage in the morning.

bob6397

Looks awesome.. What size frame is it? Looks quite small..?

BloggingFit

Medium.

BloggingFit

Final spec:

Frame: Bird Zero Medium, Invisiframe protection
Fork: Rock Shox Pike Solo RCT3 150mm
Shock: Rockshox Monarch Debonair Plus RC3
Rims: Super Light Carbon 30mm Hookless
Hubs: DTSwiss 340, 15mm front, 12/142mm rear
Tyres: Maxxis Minion DHF front, DHR2 rear, 2.3 3C
Headset: Cane Creek 40
Stem: RaceFace Atlas 35mm, 35mm clamp
Handlebar: RaceFace SIXC cut to 750mm
Grips: Santa Cruz Palmdale
Crankset: RaceFace Next 170mm Cranks with Cinch 36t ring
Rear Mech: Shimano XT 11 Speed
Cassette: SRAM X1 11 Speed, 10-42t
Chain: SRAM 11 Speed
Shifter: Shimano XT 11 Speed
Brakes: Shimano XT M8000, 180mm front, 160mm Rear
Seatpost: Rockshox Reverb 125mm Drop
Saddle: Bontrager Evoke Carbon

John Wh

Let us know how the first ride went. Looks really smart that.

BloggingFit

Didn't get out for long enough today due to riding partner running late so had to keep to a short 14 mile local loop to work out initial suspension set up. No much tweaking required; dropped stem down by 5mm, took out some LSC in the fork and added a few clicks of rebound into the shock.

Initial impressions are that it's a very comfortable riding position for me and pedals really well. The bars are a touch wider than I'm used to at 780mm but by the end of the ride I had got used to them. I will still cut my SIXC bars down to 750mm when they arrive though as things can get a little narrow on the trail at times but a bit more time on them may change my mind.

I guess the main aspect of the bike I was keen to test out was how the longer reach and short stem combination would affect weighting the bike more over the front when cornering which is something I have to make more of an effort to do when riding the Nomad. However no such issue here with ample front end grip on tap in a more neutral body position making it easier to ride a little more relxed if desired. Don't be fooled though as you can also really make the bike shift if you push it with it being easy pump, pop, and manual if you want it. Perhaps wider bars may stay after all.

It climbs surprisingly well, even with the shock wide open, with plenty of rear traction and no issue of the front end feeling light on the steeper ascents despite the 35mm stem. I'm running 8 bands in the shock which would also go some way to help with the extra support.

The XT with SRAM cassette was smooth and flawless and the XT brakes are just starting to bed in and feel almost identical to my XTR. In terms of performance I would say there's little between XT and XTR now with weight and cosmetics being the only difference. I think the XT levers look better but the XTR rear mech is a work or art.

So overall all positive things on the short time spent so a few weeks more varied riding should give a better idea and feel for it.

dirkpitt74

Lovely!
How do you find the medium?
I'm 5'10" and not sure what frame size to go for.

John Wh

Sounds like it's made a good first impression. I'm looking at the 35mm SixC bars and was worried that 800mm maybe too wide (I run 760mm at moment).

On my old Voodoo, I went from the stock bars and stem to a 50mm stem and 760mm bars and it felt like a new bike, so much more controlled. I'd give the wide bars a chance

BloggingFit

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19696985#p19696985]DirkPitt74[/url] wrote:

Lovely!
How do you find the medium?
I'm 5'10" and not sure what frame size to go for.

I'm 5'9" with a 33" inseam and find it fits really well with the saddle bang in the middle of the rails. Probably could have managed a large but the medium feels right to me. If you stick to a wide bar like 780mm then a medium should be good unless you have a long torso.

They recommend Medium up to 5'10" and feel if you do more bike part riding where you can use berms to maintain speed the a large is good otherwise more natural trail riding would find a medium to be more manageable.

BloggingFit

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19696988#p19696988]John Wh[/url] wrote:

Sounds like it's made a good first impression. I'm looking at the 35mm SixC bars and was worried that 800mm maybe too wide (I run 760mm at moment).

On my old Voodoo, I went from the stock bars and stem to a 50mm stem and 760mm bars and it felt like a new bike, so much more controlled. I'd give the wide bars a chance

I usually run 750mm bars with a 50mm stem or 720mm bars on a Hardtail so using the donor 780mm bars is a bit wider than I would normally go for but it seems to be good with the 35mm stem. Will see how I feel once the SIXC bars are available and whether I cut them down or leave them 'as is'.

The SIXC now come as 780mm wide as standard.

John Wh

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19697597#p19697597]BloggingFit[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19696988#p19696988]John Wh[/url] wrote:

Sounds like it's made a good first impression. I'm looking at the 35mm SixC bars and was worried that 800mm maybe too wide (I run 760mm at moment).

On my old Voodoo, I went from the stock bars and stem to a 50mm stem and 760mm bars and it felt like a new bike, so much more controlled. I'd give the wide bars a chance

I usually run 750mm bars with a 50mm stem or 720mm bars on a Hardtail so using the donor 780mm bars is a bit wider than I would normally go for but it seems to be good with the 35mm stem. Will see how I feel once the SIXC bars are available and whether I cut them down or leave them 'as is'.

The SIXC now come as 780mm wide as standard.

Is the 780mm SIXC available on the 35mm versions too now? That sounds more like my cup of tea to be honest. Damn these nice bikes. I've only had the Stumpy for nearly 3 months and I'm constantly browsing for the next one!

BloggingFit

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19697620#p19697620]John Wh[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19697597#p19697597]BloggingFit[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19696988#p19696988]John Wh[/url] wrote:

Sounds like it's made a good first impression. I'm looking at the 35mm SixC bars and was worried that 800mm maybe too wide (I run 760mm at moment).

On my old Voodoo, I went from the stock bars and stem to a 50mm stem and 760mm bars and it felt like a new bike, so much more controlled. I'd give the wide bars a chance

I usually run 750mm bars with a 50mm stem or 720mm bars on a Hardtail so using the donor 780mm bars is a bit wider than I would normally go for but it seems to be good with the 35mm stem. Will see how I feel once the SIXC bars are available and whether I cut them down or leave them 'as is'.

The SIXC now come as 780mm wide as standard.

Is the 780mm SIXC available on the 35mm versions too now? That sounds more like my cup of tea to be honest. Damn these nice bikes. I've only had the Stumpy for nearly 3 months and I'm constantly browsing for the next one!

Apparently although I still see them at 800mm online. It could be an OE option as opposed to retail.

John Wh

Yeah, maybe. Anyway, get some muddy pics up after (or during) the next ride

dirkpitt74

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19697589#p19697589]BloggingFit[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19696985#p19696985]DirkPitt74[/url] wrote:

Lovely!
How do you find the medium?
I'm 5'10" and not sure what frame size to go for.

I'm 5'9" with a 33" inseam and find it fits really well with the saddle bang in the middle of the rails. Probably could have managed a large but the medium feels right to me. If you stick to a wide bar like 780mm then a medium should be good unless you have a long torso.

They recommend Medium up to 5'10" and feel if you do more bike part riding where you can use berms to maintain speed the a large is good otherwise more natural trail riding would find a medium to be more manageable.

Thanks for the reply.
When I spoke to Dave at Bird he said a Medium - and sizing it up against my current bike the ETT & reach are longer, so Medium would probably be right.

Have you ridden it much more yet?
How's the climbing capability?

Thanks

BloggingFit

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707546#p19707546]DirkPitt74[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19697589#p19697589]BloggingFit[/url] wrote:

[url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19696985#p19696985]DirkPitt74[/url] wrote:

Lovely!
How do you find the medium?
I'm 5'10" and not sure what frame size to go for.

I'm 5'9" with a 33" inseam and find it fits really well with the saddle bang in the middle of the rails. Probably could have managed a large but the medium feels right to me. If you stick to a wide bar like 780mm then a medium should be good unless you have a long torso.

They recommend Medium up to 5'10" and feel if you do more bike part riding where you can use berms to maintain speed the a large is good otherwise more natural trail riding would find a medium to be more manageable.

Thanks for the reply.
When I spoke to Dave at Bird he said a Medium - and sizing it up against my current bike the ETT & reach are longer, so Medium would probably be right.

Have you ridden it much more yet?
How's the climbing capability?

Thanks

With the stock 35mm stem it's not the noticeable. All I would say is that for descending you really need a dropper to put you in the right place on the bike.

Had a few rides on it now and really enjoying it. Took a couple to adjust to the difference in travel having exclusively ridden my Nomad for the last 5 months on some of the more rowdy and rooty trails but was just a case of leaving the brakes open and trusting the bike. The faster you go, the better it gets. I'm enjoying the wider bar as well.

Climbs pretty well, not XC, but not exactly hard work either and no issues with front wheel lift where it gets steeper. Popping extra bands in the shock helps for a better platform and support from the Monarch Plus shock. Some faster rolling tyres and it would make a fair difference.