[djbutcher13]

The reviews on this bike have been laughable. I have two "very playful's" noted and one "not at all playful" so far, along with one "perhaps the best descending non-DH bike I've ridden" and one "nothing special". My two cents; a "first ride" is not the right venue for a review of this type of bike - it's too different and requires some setup and adjustment. I bet the Dreadnought rips but anyone who owns a Druid can likely speak to the break-in period. In this case, it's not the bike getting broken in - it's you. It DOES take 4-5 rides to adjust to some of the ride characteristics of the bike and make final suspension tweaks. Stuff that's been said like "the bike is hard to manual"... well, if you suck at manuals, then you will suck with them on this bike too, but if you can manual, it might take a few days, but you'll figure it out and be able to manual a Druid. I'm guessing the Dreadnought is the same, only moreso.

The longer you are in this hobby and the more bikes you buy the more you realize that reviews are useless. There's too many variables. Weight, height, skill, components, weather, trail location, did their girlfriend break up with them the night before...

In the end all modern bikes are fantastic and the only thing that will make them not fun is your own preconceived notions from reading too many reviews. If you can, test ride a few bikes and see which one makes you smile the most. Otherwise look at a bunch of photos of them and see which one makes you the most excited to go ride.

I bought this bike because I saw the photo of the nerds color and had to have it. It made me excited to ride. Simple.

 

[HubbaMan]

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My L stealth is mid build in Comox atm, looking forward to the call saying it's ready. I agree with what has been said, from everything I've read on the Druid and this bike, seems this design rides quite differently and takes time to get used to so the quick reviews don't tell the whole story imo.

I'm not a huge jumper guy so this will be perfect for Shore and Sea to Sky corridor riding. I went EXT for the shock and 38 up front.