Living with the No7 — Ride Holme

Having now owned my No7 for a year, I thought it was about time I gave you an update as to how I’m getting on with it.

I collected the bike from 18 Bikes in Hope on the 18th January 2020, from Matt Bowns, co-owner of the shop and the very man who made the frame.

You can read about how I built the bike up and the first ride in my previous blog here.

The following weekend saw its first big major outing with the Ride Holme Ride Out, with around a dozen riders enjoying the trails of Holmfirth, the pies at Addy’s Butchers of Hade Edge and a post ride beer at Magic Rock.

February saw a trip to Coed Y Brenin, where I had an enjoyable few days charging around the forest. The bike really came alive on the flowing nature of the trails.

I felt so at home on the bike I found myself throwing it into the many rocky features with the confidence that comes with owning a bike much longer than I’d been riding the No7.

Soon after this trip we went into a National Lockdown. We were only allowed out for essential shopping and exercise was to be taken from the door. No packing the van and riding in the peak or further afield.

However, we experienced some unbelievable weather. It had been hot and dry for weeks, so coupled with the fact I was furloughed from work, I went exploring, finding new trails and linking trails/loops I already knew to create some epic days out.

I’m so lucky to have some great trails right on my doorstep.

One such route found me hitting almost every type of terrain, loamy singletrack through the woods, smooth gravel tracks and rocky moorland trails, 55km and nearly 1200m of ascent and decent, the longest ride out so far and the No7 took it all in its stride.

I was lucky enough to get tickets for ArdRock again in 2020, but instead of riding the Sport version of the main Enduro on the Sunday as I had done in previous years, I chose to ride the Epic - a challenging 40 ‘country mile’ loop with special stages containing descents, climbs and flat out singletrack.

Anyone who has ridden in the area or indeed ridden the event itself will know it’s hard going, even on a full suspension enduro rig, so it was going to be a real test of skill and fitness on a hardtail.
However, with COVID, the event was sadly cancelled for the 2nd year running, which meant finding another challenge to test myself and the bike.

With the UK still under National Lockdown and no return to work on the horizon, I got the maps out and decided on a route (read about it here).

Soon after I returned to work and with an increased workload post lockdown I didn’t get out on my bike as often as I would have liked. Then winter set in and the trails turned to slop.

Heres a run down of how things have performed over the last 12 months.

Frame

The frame still looks like new with no major chips, dings or scratches.

Clever cable routing means there are no rub points as the cables and hoses are kept clear of the head tube.

I really like how Matt has routed the cables, held neatly in place with bolt on hangers, the lower two doubling up as bottle bosses, running along the top of the down tube and splitting at the seat tube where the dropper cable enters the seat tube though a neat little port, and the brake hose and rear derailleur cable each run along each of the chain stays.

With a summer of dusty trails there wasn’t much chance to check mud clearance, however once the rains set in and the trails turned to mush I had no issues with tyre/mud clearance running a 2.4 in the back and 2.5 up front.

Forks

The DT Swiss F 535 ONE forks have been fantastic, from the initial set up I haven’t altered the settings in anyway. With the On-The -Fly damping control I tend to switch between ‘Open’ or ‘Lock’ mode. I find there is enough support with the compression damping fully open that Drive mode is seldom used, and fully locked out helps on those steep tarmac climbs the Holme Valley is well known for.

drivetrain

The Shimano SLX drivetrain hasn’t impressed like I thought it would. While the cranks have been faultless as you would expect, the bottom bracket was soon replaced with a Hopetech unit and the chain was replaced at around 700km after checking it for stretch.

The gear changes are quiet and crisp, even under load, and the range is great, running a 34t chainring gives me the perfect balance between a high gear for those flat out sprints and descents and the 51t lowest gear makes winching up steep technical climbs a doddle.

I am however disappointed with the derailleur, the ‘clutch’ mechanism has worked intermittently, on more than one occasion there has been no chain tension and the chain has come off the top jockey wheel making pedalling and gear changes impossible without stopping and resetting the chain.

The ‘clutch’ switch stopped working recently. I removed the cover to discover the pin that holds the clutch adjustment screw had snapped, unfortunately this part isn’t replaceable so a repair isn’t possible, I am currently running the mech without the clutch and I haven’t dropped a chain and there doesn’t seem to be much chain slap.

As this detail of the derailleur is the same across the range I don’t think it would have mattered if I’d chosen SLX, XT or XTR.

All that said I will replace like for like when stock becomes available, I won’t be switching to SRAM or any other brand.

brakes

With the Hope brakes now on their third bike I don’t think I need to say how much I like these stoppers. I have however struggled to find a set of pads I’m happy with. I used to be a big fan of Uberbike Race Matrix pads but I’ve now had a few sets that lack bite and I’ve also had the springs bend on me leading to the pads not returning and wearing out prematurely.

I’m currently running a set of Gorilla Brake pads which come with, what they say is a super strong spring, so far I’m impressed with these pads but have decided to stick with OEM parts in future and have set of Hope pads waiting in the workshop. I usually run sintered pads year round but I’m considering trying organic pads in the summer.

dropper post

To take advantage of the massive stand over height of the frame I decided to fit a 210mm dropper post, and as I’ve been impressed with the One Up V1 on my Rocket, I chose the V2 for my No7.

In use, it’s action does feel as smooth as the V1, and fitting it was difficult. It would be good if the outer cable hose was held in place on the actuator to make fitting the post into the frame easier. After several bent/kinked cables I had to enlist the help of Mrs Budd to get the post in the frame.

After the first few rides the bike developed a rattle which at first I put down to the cable within the frame. But, when the post failed to function properly I removed it from the bike to give it a service. Following the excellent instructions on the One Up website, I found it was the actuator at the base of the post that had come loose causing the rattle, once tightened with a drop of thread lock the post has worked faultless since.

One thing to say about the One Up is stripping home maintenance is very straight forward with good instruction videos on their website along with a list of spares available.

Tyres

I’ve always been a fan off Maxxis, and once the trails turned to dust I switched out the Shorty for a Minion DHF up front, and for the first time I opted to fit a Minion SS on the back replacing the DHR. I was sceptical at first but pleasantly surprised at the amount of grip even in the mud.

This summer saw my first experience of a ripped sidewall. With the trails bone dry I decided to have a run up Cutgate. It was on the fast decent back down Mickleden Edge that my back wheel hit a square edge, I felt the loss of pressure immediately. Stopping to check the situation I found my tyre had two holes one in between the side knobs and one just above the edge of the rim (basically a snakebite in the tyre itself) and although sealant had sprayed out it had failed to seal either hole. So I bunged in a tube and finished the ride.

Back home I repaired the tyre with a patch on the sideway and a tyre plug.

I have to confess I was running my tyre with much less pressure than normal so a flat really was inevitable. I usually run 28psi in the rear and 25psi up front, but riding up the track the rear felt soft. I was just too lazy to put more air in and besides I was enjoying myself to much to bother, lesson learnt.

With winter and the return of the usual slop fest, I swapped my tyres back to the Shorty up front and the DHR on the back. My Shorty has developed a warp in the casing which has led to a noticeable wobble, I’m not sure if this has happened in storage or after refitting, but the DHR2 on the back is fine.

After a few rides I found the wobble too much and a little distracting and have ditched the Shorty and put the DHF back on. I think I will leave switching tyres to suit conditions to the pros and stick with the tried and trusted Minion DHF and DHR combo year round.

Contact points

The Burgtec bars and stem are spot on, I like the 800mm width coupled with the 35mm stem. The Bartender grips are wearing well and the Cloud saddle has proved to be a good choice in terms of cost vs comfort, having tried more expensive saddles in the past.

Finally my Saint pedals took one rock strike too many and the right pedal seized causing it to unscrew from the cranks, these have now been replaced by a pair of XT Trail pedal with a smaller platform. The Saints are in the shed awaiting a strip down to see if they’re worth repairing.

I also have a pair of DMR Vaults as I usually switch to flats in the winter but as I don’t own a pair of flat shoes at the moment I will remain clipped in for the win.

The ride itself

As I said earlier the No7, despite the aforementioned component issues, remains my go to bike. I just know I’m in for a fun ride every time I take it out, whether it’s a steady ride on easy going trails or a blast on my local tech.

As you’re balanced centrally between the wheels, when the trails turn steep either up or down, I found I don’t have to shift my weight back or forth as much as I have had to on other bikes. No hanging over the back of the bike on steep descents.

With its long low and slack geometry you’d have thought climbs would mean a wayward and wandering front wheel unless you’re sat right on the nose of the saddle and hunched over the bars. This isn’t the case at all, in fact I’ve managed to get up climbs I’ve found impossible before.

With a clever choice of tubing Matt has managed to balance stiffness and compliance. No unwanted lateral flex when putting the power down. This doesn’t mean you aren’t left feeling battered on rough rocky descents, the rear triangle seems to manage to take the sting out of the trail. Don’t get me wrong you still have to choose your lines carefully, but thats the joy of riding a hardtail, you’ve got to be the pilot and not just a passenger.

There seems to be a resurgence in popularity of the humble hardtail and I can see why. The You Tube channel GMBN have been putting up loads of hardtail features recently, go check them out.

Cheaper Not Better

Yes there are cheaper hardtail frames on the market, but save that bit longer, spec it with a cheaper groupset, as other owners and members of #ClubEighteen will tell you, you won’t regret it.

Products I’ve used this past 12 months to look after my ride

76 Projects
Enduro Computer Mount to keep my Garmin secure and out of the way.

Piggy Integrated Storage, allowing me to still run a bottle cage, while keeping my tools and tube out of the mud with the optional Piggy Dry Bag.

HKT Protect Frame Protector
Another quality product ‘Made in Sheffield’. Available in a variety of designs, including and 18Bikes design. Theses kits come in various sizes allowing you to choose your level of protection.

Peatys Products
Loam Foam, Link Lube, Foaming degreaser and P17 Maintenance spray.
I’ve been impressed with these products, especially the Link Lube and Degreaser, they do an amazing job of keeping your drive train running clean and quiet, and who doesn’t love that minty fresh smell every time they wash their bike.

Stans No Tubes Sealant
I ran Peaty’s Sealant for a while but have since switched back to Stans No Tubes, as I had been running this stuff since converting to tubeless many years ago with zero problems, plus I now carry a Stans Dart which is designed to be used with their sealant and looks way easier to install than those bacon strips. Time will tell.

Kingud
Polish and Protect. I’ve used this stuff for many years now and is in my opinion the best way to prevent mud sticking to your bike, plus as it isn’t a spray application there is very little chance of contaminating your discs.

All the above are available from 18 BIKES with the exception of Kingud

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

Have you demoed a No7 or No9?
or,
Have you had similar experiences with certain componants?

What stuff do you use to care for your pride and joy?

and finally………

Thanks for reading ;-)