Really liking the Middlechild V2!
Really snappy, loves to be pumped and driven into the trail. Good feedback without feeling harsh (at least when compared to my old Timberjack).
The slack HTA inspires a ton of confidence and helps the bike just plow through rocks and roots. But the front end does get pretty light when climbing. I’m going to swap to a 50mm stem to see if I can get it a bit more planted.
The only real complaint I have about the frame, the bolts RSD used to secure the sliding dropouts were pure garbage.
Very little engagement with a 5mm hex and rounded out right away when trying to torque to spec (17N/m).
I went to my local hardware store, but they didn’t have any stainless bolts in the size I needed So I went on Amazon and ordered up a much better set of bolts.
far more engagement with the hex and it’s now a larger 6mm hex. No issues now and it was $9 for 20 new bolts, so plenty of spares.
I’ll end up being a set it and forget it person for the chainstay length down the road. But I am experimenting with different settings, so I need bolts that will actually stand up to being used.