Still early days for a proper review and also haven't had a chance to test the new wheels (flu) but here are my initial thoughts. First off, the Jeffsy has one of the most progressive frames in the market. So much so that the tune on the monarch shock is M/L3. L3 is lowest compression tune available. What this translates to is the most active suspension over small bumps I ever felt. Yet, thanks to the super progressive frame the mid stroke support is really good. I had a trail spec Pyga OneTen before this and always felt it was capable of coping with anything my limited set of skills can throw at it and it could (great bike btw)...but the Jeffsy more than just copes. My fist ride after purchase was on Paarl mountain's DH line and after dropping in I immediately stopped, convinced I had a flat tire The rear suspension is incredible and honestly puts the Pike up front to shame a bit. So much so that I added another token to the Pike to get it to feel as supple as the shock. The one drawback with the model I bought is that it only comes with a Monarch R, so no climb switch. The active rear suspension as described above can steal some of the efficiency on jeeptrack climbs yet traction on techy climbs is great. With the very specific tune upgrading the shock is also a bit of a challenge as a normal medium tune shock would feel horrible on this bike. Something like the Cane Creek DB Air would probably be a good bet as you can tune it the way you want...if that's your thing. Not sure it's mine. Descending in this bike really is a blast. They say it's not a full on enduro sled but more a playful trailbike and I love that. To me it feels super stable yet agile and accelerates great. I've played with the flip chip and while most reviewers suggest that they just put it in the low setting (slacker) I tend to leave it in the high setting. I just suffered too many pedal strikes in the low setting and where I normally ride doesn't warrant an even slacker head angle. On a day out to Jonkers I'd definitely switch it to low but just prefer the better climbing experience elsewhere. The first thing to have been upgraded was the drivetrain as a 2x10 just wasn't going to cut it. Made a nice deal with the buyer of my Pyga where he gets a discount and takes the brand new 2x10 and I kept my XT 11 speed with Sunrace 11-46 casette. Great setup. Then there was the matter of the wheels. The DT Swiss numbers with the 22.5 mm inner width rims and slow engagement hubs was a let down, especially since I had Arc 30 rims on Hope hubs on the Pyga. I bought an Arch MK3 Hope 4 wheelset on CWC's sale at a great price. I've gotten quite a bit of flack for not going with the flows rather but I'm convinced the Arches are the better rims for this bike. You can read my reasoning elsewhere in this thread but it comes down to my belief that 26mm is plenty wide and that this bike needs something that highlights it's playful nature. Size was another concern as there were only medium frames left and I'd have preferred a large. However after comparing the reach figures to my medium pyga I was convinced it would work. The top tube is a wee bit shorter so I had to swap out the 50mm stem it came with with a 60mm one to feel completely comfortable. I'm happy with the fit and like the maneuverability you get from a smaller frame anyway. I suspect the 150mm reverb would have been a problem on the large frame for me as well. So far, I've been blown away by this bike and can honestly say "I love Jeffsy" This bike suits my type of riding to the tee and I can see this one sticking around for a long time.
