[Pigglet13]

Thought I'd start a thread dedicated to the G1 for folks to share info and experiances.

I've been off a "proper" bike for 15 months due to pretty complicated wrist injury.
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to ride again at one stage so sold my G16 but recovery has gone better than expected.
I've been wobbling around on my fat bike for the last few months as I've built strength and fitness back up but now its starting to get a bit "exciting" trying to ride 5" tyres hard on loose and dry trails!

I've got a Longer G1 frame, Formula Selva R forks, Cura 4 brakes and 185mm Bike yoke dropper on order with Geometron.

The bike is going to be built up as 160mm 29er running the new shimano 12speed drive train.

I'm building up 30mm LB carbon rims onto 28hole XT hubs using CX rays and brass nipples. I'm trying to keep weight down to a reasonable level on this wheelset as I do quite a lot of climbing and long XC sections on my typical trail rides.

This bike will be my only bike as I found that swapping between the G16 and a more conventional sized trail bike was a recipe for disaster in terms of body English and riding position etc.

I'm a bit of an odd shape in that I'm relatively light and slim at 63Kg's and 179 - 180cm's but have short skinny legs and carry all my weight in my top half so forward of the saddle. I'm really interested to see how the higher stack of the G1 compares to the G16 as I tend to prefer a higher front end due to my physiology.

I'll post updates once it all lands and I start to build it up and ride it.

 

[the_pilot]

Sounds good, we are almost the same shape to I’m a touch heavier.

I must get around to checking sizing but was thinking of porting from my lOngest G16 to a Longer G1. Tho a touch worried about the drastic ETT change even if smaller reach change.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pigglet13]

In an ideal world I would have driven down to Wales to ride both the longer and Longest as I too was a little concerned about the ETT but I kept reasoning that the reach value was what counts so I've just gone with it.

There is now a beautiful frame plus an array of boxes of goodies sat in my workshop. Just waiting on the rims now. It took me a few minutes to work out where the port for the dropper cable was hidden, the frame is like a work of art!

 

[the_pilot]

Yeah, I told Chris I’d go with Longer this time. I’ll run a 35mm stem and put the bars back to std roll. Which will give me the same effective bb to bar reach which is my important measurement!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[polarflux]

Can I just pipe in here? I think the G1 may be the pinnacle in the new school geo revolution not to mention the multitude of ways it can be configured makes the G1 one the most interesting bike of the year, IMHO. Only 4 comments in this thread, and not a single major magazine review of the G1 either. Are we going into recession?

 

[Rumblefish2010]

Just ridden my G1 xl for a week now. Started with 29/29er and built up fir curiosity, a 27.5 rear wheel to try the hybrid concept.
First ride was really disappointing and actually ended with a crash, cause of the wet roots and rocks and me not used to the bike at all.
Had to go from a 33 to a 40 Renthal Apex stem and go to a more narrow bar at 780mm to force myself going more forward. Also rides with the Ergon flanged grips tilted so much forward that I cannot stay other then over the front wheel.

So after a few rides now, it starts to get more and more natural feeling. I need to remind me all the time about going more forward, but the bike is getting better and better.

The hybrid set up, was better than I thought too. The 27.5 wheel that I was afraid should hook up is not a concern, and it makes the bike turn more easy to handle in turns.

I have built up the bike with 200mm OneUp seatpost, 1x11 Sram XX1 with Race Face Next R and 28t chain ring. It climbs really well, but of course it is not a sprinter. Btw the 27.5 with same rubber as the 29er, Maxxis DHF is way more grippy, and brakes much better.

Uses a Fox 36 Kashima set at 174mm travel, with smash pot coil on it.

Thought I'd start a thread dedicated to the G1 for folks to share info and experiances.

I've been off a "proper" bike for 15 months due to pretty complicated wrist injury.
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to ride again at one stage so sold my G16 but recovery has gone better than expected.
I've been wobbling around on my fat bike for the last few months as I've built strength and fitness back up but now its starting to get a bit "exciting" trying to ride 5" tyres hard on loose and dry trails!

I've got a Longer G1 frame, Formula Selva R forks, Cura 4 brakes and 185mm Bike yoke dropper on order with Geometron.

The bike is going to be built up as 160mm 29er running the new shimano 12speed drive train.

I'm building up 30mm LB carbon rims onto 28hole XT hubs using CX rays and brass nipples. I'm trying to keep weight down to a reasonable level on this wheelset as I do quite a lot of climbing and long XC sections on my typical trail rides.

This bike will be my only bike as I found that swapping between the G16 and a more conventional sized trail bike was a recipe for disaster in terms of body English and riding position etc.

I'm a bit of an odd shape in that I'm relatively light and slim at 63Kg's and 179 - 180cm's but have short skinny legs and carry all my weight in my top half so forward of the saddle. I'm really interested to see how the higher stack of the G1 compares to the G16 as I tend to prefer a higher front end due to my physiology.

I'll post updates once it all lands and I start to build it up and ride it.

 

[honourablegeorge]

I'm trying hard not to order. I've got a G16 (and G13 ) in the shed, and even though the G16 is second hand and has a good few years on it, it's still basically as new. Hard to justify changing when the bikes are so durable and high quality.

That said - the heart wants, etc. I sort of have the money squirrelled away for a frame and fork.

 

[PUNKY]

Is the G1 using Metric shock or Imperial? If Imperial; 8.5x2.5 or 8.75x2.75?

 

[polarflux]

The G1 uses a 230x65 metric shock.

 

[NG13]

Thoughts on 5'11" (180cm) person on a Long (small) G1 in 29er configuration?
Would it be too small?
My sweet spot for reach is about 470-480mm, based on the bikes I've demo'd in the past 6 months and felt comfortable on. (Transition Sentinel, Whyte G-170, Bird Aeris).

I owned a Longest G13 in the past but it was simply too long on some of the tighter trails. Totally fine on the steeper, wider stuff.

 

[WilliamK]

HI NG13,

I am 181.5cm and went with a Longer G1 (medium). I wouldn't want it any shorter in the reach.

I have had 2 bikes the same as the longest to, about 515mm reach and I did okay on them but wasn't 100 percent happy. However I did ride a mates X longest at 535 reach on a particular track and I had fun to. But I know for use over varying terrain it would be unwieldy. I digress, coming back one size from the longest (515) has brought the bike back to me and I can utilize it more to my liking.

The Longer reach seems pretty sweet. I get good manoeuvrability and still have speed stability. And you can mutator to, so when I go to higher speed bike park stuff I use a longer rear end. The G1 is so good, tune it to your ride.

A longer with a 30mm stem would do you well I think.

Cheers

 

[PUNKY]

I’m ~175cm on a G16 MOJO 29er Longer w/35mm stem. What that means to you; likely nothing but I feel apart of this conversation now.

 

[WilliamK]

Hey Punky, You were always apart of it, you are a mojo bro, can't get any better than that.

Here is a pic of my mate and his Extra Longest G16 and me crouched down by my G1

Both sensational bikes

 

[NG13]

HI NG13,

I am 181.5cm and went with a Longer G1 (medium). I wouldn't want it any shorter in the reach.

I have had 2 bikes the same as the longest to, about 515mm reach and I did okay on them but wasn't 100 percent happy. However I did ride a mates X longest at 535 reach on a particular track and I had fun to. But I know for use over varying terrain it would be unwieldy. I digress, coming back one size from the longest (515) has brought the bike back to me and I can utilize it more to my liking.

The Longer reach seems pretty sweet. I get good manoeuvrability and still have speed stability. And you can mutator to, so when I go to higher speed bike park stuff I use a longer rear end. The G1 is so good, tune it to your ride.

A longer with a 30mm stem would do you well I think.

Cheers

Thanks, I appreciate the reply. Food for thought!

 

[the_pilot]

Thanks, I appreciate the reply. Food for thought!

I agree, longest to long is a huge change. At your height Longwr would be the go to recommendation but if aggressive or very dh focussed Longest is good but not for everyone.

I have Longest and very happy, I'm 178cm but am going to go Longer this time as my riding is more all round than totally descent focussed these days.

I set up the Longest to have same key dimensions and effective reach as my previous Longer using stem/bar/crank adjustments so it feels familiar but is just physically a tad longer in wb with the stability that brings but also the extra commitment and effort which can be more tiring on a long day (and I'm getting older)
So on balance I think a Longer would work well and you could adjust it + or - 20-30 mm with stem and bar position if necessary.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Pigglet13]

My rims finally arrived, typically on a Thursday so by the time I got the rims measured and spokes ordered it was another weekend gone. Anyhoo, got the wheels build up on Friday night, finished the bike on Saturday so got out for preliminary set up on Sunday.

If you've not seen one of these in the metal then they really are a work of art. Everyone who sees it comments on the quality of the frame.

Anyway, initial thoughts...
The back end is in another league compared to my G16. I'm not comparing apples to apples as the G16 was running 27.5 hoops whereas the G1 is running a 29" rear at the minute but I always felt my G16 with X2 was a over damped for me. Not so with the Storia. It's plusher than a super plush plush thing, really composed and yet still supportive and not wallowy.
Believe the hype kids, it's the badgers nadgers!

I have been making use of the climb switch which isn't a full lock out but firms up the shock significantly for longer, smoother climbs. I'm currently running an oval chain ring because on my hard tail and shorter travel bikes I found they offered a noticeable advantage on technical climbs but on the G1 it feels as though it may be fighting the suspension and initial thoughts are that a regular ring with the shock open may work better on rocky, rooty and technical climbs. Tonight I switched out the spring I was running on Sunday for the 5KG heavier spring and initial thoguhts are that it has resulted in a better balance between the front and rear of the bike from a suspension perspective.

On to the front end: The Selva R seems a really nice fork straight out the box. For a set up nerd like myself the CTS system is a great feature as is the dual air system. I'm just waiting for a socket to be able to open up the air shaft to try removing a Neopos as I'm not getting full travel out of it at the moment.

I'm still sussing out bike fit, mainly bar height and roll and reach adjustment. On my first ride the cockpit felt too short so I was fighting the bike a bit going into turns and nose diving landings but rolling the bars almost 90 degrees forward made a huge difference when I went out tonight. I didn't ride the same trails tonight as I rode on Sunday so will go back to compare performance with the revised bar position hopefully tomorrow.

The Formula brakes are great, really powerful yet with great modulation. I was a bit concerned as the lack of lever adjustability compared to my trusty Hopes but there's plenty of reach adjustment and initial thoughts are they are a solid option.

 

[Pigglet13]

Been out out again on the local DH track this morning which is a great testing ground as there are a lot of features in a short run and at the moment its hard as hell and dusty so if your weight distribution isn't spot on then you will lose either the front or the back.

My first ride on Sunday left me with the feeling that there was a front to rear suspension imbalance and that the bike was too small. I was struggling with front end grip and the back was bucking/nosediveing up over jumps which in the past I've found has been caused by my hands being too low and too close to my hips.
I was also struggling a bit with getting the bike to turn in properly.

After a chat with the guys at Geometron they suggested rolling the bars forward and lowering them.

I've never run bars in anything other than a standard roll position before so this looked weird when first adjusted. I've rolled the bars from a "normal" position to around 60 to 70 degrees forward. This has resulted in the bars rise now moving the bars forward and the rear sweep contributing to the rise.
It looks weird and feels a bit strange but what it's done has moved my hands 55mm forward from the standard position.
I've measured this by clamping a string at the centre of the grip ends and then measuring the distance from the string to the centre of the steerer and the top of the head tube.

Initially I was running 35mm stem, 40mm riser bars set up pretty flat/zero roll with 30mm of spacers under the stem. That resulted in my hands being pretty much central/level with the steerer in terms of forward axis and 108mm above the top of the head tube. (I deducted half the grip diameter from my measurements to give a measurement to the centre of the bars/grips)

With bars rolled forward I've ended with my hands 55mm forward of the steerer and about 110mm above top of the head tube. My hands are now sitting in front of the stem which seems a little weird but hey ho!

With this set up I feel I have noticeably more room to move on the bike, turn in and grip has improved dramatically and the bike now feels natural and balanced in the air.

If you'd tried to convince me that it would have made such a difference before trying it I would have called BS!

I did try removing some stem spacers but this instantly flet worse in terms of turn in and flight attitude. so went back to 20mm with the exaggerated bar roll.

In terms of fork performance, the Selva has around 20mm of stantion still showing at bottom out so I was actually getting more travel out of the fork than I initially thought.

Now I've got bike fit sorted I'm going out tonight to start pushing the bike harder to fine tune suspension as I have a 2 day enduro race in 10 days, my first post accident so keen to get as comfortable with the bike as possible before the red mist descends on race day!

 

[Pigglet13]

A few more pics

Please don't judge me on the state of my garage, my mother has dumped a load of stuff I have had stored at hers with us and it's become a bit of a tip this last week!

 

[gt4130]

Made some build progress this week, waiting on a bb tool to finish.

Still need to figure out the chain length. I'm used to air shocks where you can bleed all the air out to compress suspension for chain length. Not sure what to do with the coil spring.

 

[Pigglet13]

Looks good!

I went out last night and got a few hours out on the DH track and local trails and the bike is feeling better all the time.

Without doubt the back end of this bike is the best suspension platform I've run on a trail/enduro bike. The faster I go into rocks and step downs the better it's feeling. It just begs you to push harder. It's so well damped and responsive.
My G16 with X2 didn't feel quite as refined as my Switchblade or SB6, but the G1 with Storia is next level.

Now I'm going faster and hitting stuff harder I need to up the pressure in the fork and possibly put the Neopos back in.
Annoyingly my shock pump hose blew out while adjusting a mates rear shock on the first run so I couldn't tweek my forks.

Based on last nights ride I'm now pretty convinced I've ordered the wrong size and should have gone large/longest. The bike is infinitely more balanced with the bars rolled right forwards and the attitude in flight is now pretty neutral but I'm still feeling a bit too far over the front wheel on really steep terrain.
​

On the subject of chain length, I made a cock up due to rushing to get the bike finished.
Earlier in the thread I said that it felt like the oval chain ring was fighting the suspension when climbing. That was due to me cutting the chain too short.

I wrapped it round the big ring and front ring as normal and just added 4 links.

The new shimano XT 12 speed derailler has noticeably bigger jockey wheels than the 11 speed range so coupled with the longer travel it was pulling a bit tight in 1st and 2nd gear.

After my first ride I put a new chain on with 6 extra links and it's fine.
Super smooth shifts and no pedal feedback when climbing in 1st and 2nd.
With the chain fitted correctly through the derailler the cage is just off it's stop in 12th gear ie there is just a little bit of tension on it with the chain on the smallest sprocket on the cassette.

I'm running XT 12 speed with a hope upper chain guide and the clutch on the mech disengaged and it's super smooth, completely quiet with no chain slap or noise.
It's the quietest chain set I've run on a mountain bike.

The XT hubs are an absolute bargain at £150 for the pair as well. The only negative is that the rear hub is almost silent so doesn't give hedge creepers lurking round a blind bend any advance warning of your approach!