There can be only one: The Highlander

[Patensie]

After almost 2 years of going back and forth on with what to replace my trusty Santa Cruz 5010, I finally left holy ground and pulled the trigger on a Deviate Highlander frame. A FREAKIN' 29er...    

 

I'm getting the black edition with 150mm rear travel. The aim is a more trail orientated bike, rather than full enduro, ie. no Zeb or 38 or piggy back shock. I haven't 100% decided on the build, but it will most probably be:

 

RS Lyrik Ultimate 160mm;

CaneCreek DB Air IL

DT rims laced to Hope hubs 

Hope X2 brakes from my current bike

SLX 12x group set (this is a big change for me: I haven't ridden Shitmano since before 2004)

Bike Yoke Revive dropper.

 

It's been great to deal with Ben from Deviate. I wish the SA distributors of bikes I was looking at, were this keen on doing business.

 

Now for the long wait until July...

[V18]

Noice. Was excited to hear about deviate cycles 29er... Untill I saw it wasnt going to be pinion gearbox. Nonetheless. High pivot intrigues me. I would only change one thing so far on your build. XT 11s and shock to dvo topaz if ar all possible.

Have you looked at the forbidden druid?

[Patensie]

I had a long chat with Ben about the shock. He feels that the CC goes well with with the frame. I wanted to pair it with a Helm, but CC may only have forks available in September. And I like the look of the DB air IL ????‍♂️

 

I contacted Forbidden and they don't ship to SA. Also no stock. I'm waiting as is and not too keen on sukkelling to ship. I also want a bike that is leaning a bit more towards Enduro than trail, but is still a trail bike.

 

I seriously considered getting a Microshift Advent X drive train. Just to stick it to the man. But couldn't find stock.

[V18]

Lekker. Keep us posted. Phenomenal bike that.

[Patensie]

Does refreshing UPS's tracking page every 2 minutes make shipping go faster? It;s been a long wait since Feb!???? Hopefully its over come Monday ????

The final build: I changed the Lyrik to a CC Helm (160mm)  and got new brakes: Hope E4 front, X2 back with 203mm and 180mm rotors and a bunch of One-up stuff.

[BaGearA]

Just out of curiosity why did you go for the smaller caliper on the rear ?

 

Don't you get a slightly different lever feel now that the master cylinder has to displace more/less fluid to get the pads to the rotor ?

[Koos Likkewaan]

38 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

Just out of curiosity why did you go for the smaller caliper on the rear ?

 

Don't you get a slightly different lever feel now that the master cylinder has to displace more/less fluid to get the pads to the rotor ?

Following the response here with interest. I am planning on mixing a set of XT M8000 & a set of M8020 on 2 bikes.

4 piston (8020) on the front and 2 piston (8000) on the rear. 

Got the idea from reading reviews on the Magura MT Trail set.

[stefmeister]

53 minutes ago, Koos Likkewaan said:

Following the response here with interest. I am planning on mixing a set of XT M8000 & a set of M8020 on 2 bikes.

4 piston (8020) on the front and 2 piston (8000) on the rear. 

Got the idea from reading reviews on the Magura MT Trail set.

Why would you want to do that? Weight savings is negligible, although cost might be a factor. In theory, quad piston calipers give better modulation. On the rear that helps with controlling speed. 

But with that said, it all depends if one can actually feel/notice the difference in performance.

[Patensie]

34 minutes ago, stefmeister said:

Why would you want to do that? Weight savings is negligible, although cost might be a factor. In theory, quad piston calipers give better modulation. On the rear that helps with controlling speed. 

But with that said, it all depends if one can actually feel/notice the difference in performance.

Cost and weight, as well as my weight played a part. Being hobbit sized I can get away with a lot; very low pressure on tyres, not as powerful brakes, etc. 

[Koos Likkewaan]

1 hour ago, stefmeister said:

Why would you want to do that? Weight savings is negligible, although cost might be a factor. In theory, quad piston calipers give better modulation. On the rear that helps with controlling speed. 

But with that said, it all depends if one can actually feel/notice the difference in performance.

In my case, I already have the M8000 on the bike, but do experience brake fade from time to time on the front when doing technical descents. I see this as an "upgrade" to M8020 on the front. Rear is not a problem.

Thought if I am going to do this, I can just as well do it on both bikes, instead of going full 4 pot on one bike, which I feel would be total overkill.

[BaGearA]

Overkill is underrated 

[Koos Likkewaan]

1 hour ago, Patensie said:

Cost and weight, as well as my weight played a part. Being hobbit sized I can get away with a lot; very low pressure on tyres, not as powerful brakes, etc. 

I do not have this in my favour.????

Apologies for the thread hijack.

[Patensie]

No hijack! Its either great minds think alike or fools never differ????

[Jewbacca]

I'm hobbit sized and went full 4 pot with Shimano Zee brakes but with the XT levers for on the fly adjustment.

180mm front, 160mm rear. Love it.

Either way, it won't be 'worse' than what you have now, so go for it!

[Patensie]

18 hours ago, Jewbacca said:

I'm hobbit sized and went full 4 pot with Shimano Zee brakes but with the XT levers for on the fly adjustment.

180mm front, 160mm rear. Love it.

Either way, it won't be 'worse' than what you have now, so go for it!

As long as we get one thing straight: I'm not the "stupid, fat hobbit"... I'm Gollum????

 

[Patensie]

The Highlander is here after months of patient waiting! I took it on a shakedown ride last Friday night at G Spot and the all the tech sections in Stellenboschberg and then did a proper ride in Jonkershoek on Saturday morning. I really love this bike for my type of riding, which is not fast, but I enjoy technical riding.

Quick review: This thing really climbs well., You wont win xc hill climbs on, but the traction is incredible. I haven't played around with the suspension. Just got the sag about right and rode it in factory settings. The bike feels really good. Poppy and lively yet it soaks the hits, big and small. It turns well and I made the tighter switchbacks with ease. This was a bit of a worry coming from a relatively short bike (2015 Santa Cruz 5010 650B). The Highlander handled everything I threw at it. It coaxes me to ride faster and to ignore the brakes. I reckon the geo is spot on. 

I'm VERY happy that I scratched the midlife itch with this purchase???????? ???? (Pity about the overcast day and that I didn't catch Jonkershoek in all its splendour)