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Forbidden Bike Co Druid

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#5,541 ·
To clarify my experience, owned the V1 and did not find it to climb well. I’ll spare all the details, but generally speaking I know how to set up a bike. Downhill, the bike was astonishing. Uphill, it has great traction and does well on technical bits (of which we have a lot in Phoenix). My experience was the bike would suck the life out of me on long extended climbs.

I am not trying to pour salt here; again, I really loved that bike, aesthetically and from a suspension performance and fitment perspective. But it was definitely one of the worst-climbing bikes in any travel bracket I’ve owned in awhile. Looking at the V2, but really need better uphill qualities. Thank you.
 
#5,542 ·
Blatant said:
To clarify my experience, owned the V1 and did not find it to climb well. I’ll spare all the details, but generally speaking I know how to set up a bike. Downhill, the bike was astonishing. Uphill, it has great traction and does well on technical bits (of which we have a lot in Phoenix). My experience was the bike would suck the life out of me on long extended climbs.

I am not trying to pour salt here; again, I really loved that bike, aesthetically and from a suspension performance and fitment perspective. But it was definitely one of the worst-climbing bikes in any travel bracket I’ve owned in awhile. Looking at the V2, but really need better uphill qualities. Thank you.
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Something was possibly wrong with your drivetrain/chainline, maybe suspension setup, IDK. Guy I met on trail had a V1 which I rode briefly, and unlike my V1, it had serious drag while climbing, immediately noticeable.
 
#5,543 ·
Blatant said:
To clarify my experience, owned the V1 and did not find it to climb well. I’ll spare all the details, but generally speaking I know how to set up a bike. Downhill, the bike was astonishing. Uphill, it has great traction and does well on technical bits (of which we have a lot in Phoenix). My experience was the bike would suck the life out of me on long extended climbs.

I am not trying to pour salt here; again, I really loved that bike, aesthetically and from a suspension performance and fitment perspective. But it was definitely one of the worst-climbing bikes in any travel bracket I’ve owned in awhile. Looking at the V2, but really need better uphill qualities. Thank you.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the point of the High Pivot that you can have high anti-squat, but since there is little to no chain growth the Pedal Kickpack is all but missing?

If they don't design the bike with 105-120% AS, what's the point?

Also, I get that the idler itself can cause additional drag and noise, but I think properly set up, that can be minimized. I'd recommend chain waxing for anyone in a desert environment.
 
#5,544 ·
nmxtrdr said:
Something was possibly wrong with your drivetrain/chainline, maybe suspension setup, IDK. Guy I met on trail had a V1 which I rode briefly, and unlike my V1, it had serious drag while climbing, immediately noticeable.
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You could definitely be correct. I can probably remove the suspension setup from the equation. Common shock size, I ran it with two different known shocks and with/without Cascade link. If memory serves, I did reuse a GX drivetrain obviously with an extended chain.
 
#5,545 ·
My V1 came with a stock Fox DPS and it climbed…. adequately. Forbidden seemed pretty serious about the 35% sag number, so I did not attempt t lo vary spring rate. As a tall person the seat tube angle on the XL wasn’t great - even with the saddle slammed forward you really had to sit way forward on steep climbs.

If you’re expecting it to climb like a Ripley or something, it’s not that bike - it gets there but it’s not a weapon for climbing. Mini-enduro bike is the vibe I got. I think they ship it with an Assegai for a reason.
 
#5,546 ·
Dabs For Everyone said:
My V1 came with a stock Fox DPS and it climbed…. adequately. Forbidden seemed pretty serious about the 35% sag number, so I did not attempt t lo vary spring rate. As a tall person the seat tube angle on the XL wasn’t great - even with the saddle slammed forward you really had to sit way forward on steep climbs.

If you’re expecting it to climb like a Ripley or something, it’s not that bike - it gets there but it’s not a weapon for climbing. Mini-enduro bike is the vibe I got. I think they ship it with an Assegai for a reason.
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the v1 seat tube angle wasnt steep enough? I thought my XL was one of the most comfortable bikes for seated climbing that id ridden at that time, and all i ever climbed on it was steep fireroad. I usually slam my saddle forward but left it in the middle on that bike because the seat angle was comfortable.
 
#5,547 ·
MyDadSucks said:
the v1 seat tube angle wasnt steep enough? I thought my XL was one of the most comfortable bikes for seated climbing that id ridden at that time, and all i ever climbed on it was steep fireroad. I usually slam my saddle forward but left it in the middle on that bike because the seat angle was comfortable.
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All bodies are different, I dunno, that was just my experience. With 165mm cranks, my bb center to saddle height measurement comes in at 815 to 820mm.
 
#5,548 ·
Blatant said:
You could definitely be correct. I can probably remove the suspension setup from the equation. Common shock size, I ran it with two different known shocks and with/without Cascade link. If memory serves, I did reuse a GX drivetrain obviously with an extended chain.
Click to expand...
Yeah, shock unlikely culprit unless running excessive sag.

I had to shim the v1 BB to perfectly align the chainring and idler, just 1-2mm iirc, but it did spin smoother after. My v2 idler came with a solid lube bearing that barely turned, out of spec or bad concept, idk. Replaced it with a standard bearing and problem solved. The idler is integral to the HP design, but certainly adds complexity and potential drag issues.

Removal of the lower guide netted the largest efficiency improvement on my v1.

Anyways, the v2 does pedal better than v1, and the overall design and execution is also much improved imo. My v2's pedaling performance is on par with horst link bikes I have owned. There are suspension designs that pedal more efficiently.
 
#5,549 ·
Dabs For Everyone said:
All bodies are different, I dunno, that was just my experience. With 165mm cranks, my bb center to saddle height measurement comes in at 815 to 820mm.
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I think i was just surprised that was the part of the V1 you didnt like but it makes sense.
i sold mine because i felt the downhill performance wasnt what everyone had raved about, so when the idler chewed up a pair of my riding pants, i was over it.
 
#5,551 ·
Im enjoying the v1 VS v2 Druid discussion. My v1 is the longest ive ever kept a bike/frame since I started mountain biking. Done a few mods to keep it fresh, and really don't have many complaints. If I wanted a climber, I'd probably get a Spur as it seems to check a lot of boxes. The only thing is it's been hard to part with the stability of a high pivot platform, so the v2 makes some sense for me.

Also, I think the increased chain wrap and larger idler on the v2 is a huge step in the right direction.
 
#5,552 ·
Blatant said:
To clarify my experience, owned the V1 and did not find it to climb well. I’ll spare all the details, but generally speaking I know how to set up a bike. Downhill, the bike was astonishing. Uphill, it has great traction and does well on technical bits (of which we have a lot in Phoenix). My experience was the bike would suck the life out of me on long extended climbs.

I am not trying to pour salt here; again, I really loved that bike, aesthetically and from a suspension performance and fitment perspective. But it was definitely one of the worst-climbing bikes in any travel bracket I’ve owned in awhile. Looking at the V2, but really need better uphill qualities. Thank you.
Click to expand...
I'm with you. I'm 4 season on a V1, a few different configurations and I've never felt like it climbs great from an energy perspective, just kind of slogs along. The traction is great, but I feel like it's slower or similar to the Commencal Meta Am 29 that it replaced.
 
#5,555 ·
aguezou said:
View attachment 2132518
Hello, incredible bike with the Cascade link, the Ohlins shock and a +1° angleset. The bike goes fast and keeps incredible pop. It's not a bike made for flat terrain. It goes up very well in the technical, and it goes down very well in the rocks garden while remaining playful.
❤
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That is some serious stack you are running under the stem!
 
#5,556 ·
hookem34 said:
That is some serious stack you are running under the stem!
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keep in mind that a lot of forks will void warranty on the steerer for over 40mm of spacers. Better to run a riser bar or stem. I think it has to do with increased risk of buckling as the spacers don’t do anything to reinforce the steerer, and kinda slide over each other freely.

edit: correction; 30mm of spacers. Page 34. https://www.sram.com/globalassets/d...-manuals/rockshox/front-suspension/single-crown-suspension-fork-user-manual.pdf
 
#5,560 · (Edited)
Edit: solved (tap it out)

I'm assembling a v2 druid, but feeling embarrassed I can't get the seat stay pivot shaft removed in order to get it attached to the front triangle.

44, 41, 42 removed no problem, but having a hard time removing 37. Just spins when I put the 8mm on the non-drive side.

Assuming I'm missing something super obvious.
 

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