Mantis Valkyrie ride report
Finally managed to get some time to get out on the trail and check out the Valkyrie. I was a little worried that this bike was going to disappoint, and I really wanted to like it. So, there was a lot of emotion on the line.
First Impressions - Under-promise & over-deliver
I was really worried I was going to hate this bike. Several of my friends with similar riding styles had the elevated chainstay Valkyrie and all really disliked the bike. So, it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I pedaled off on my first ride
The thing I noticed immediately about this bike is that it's damn stiff. Not quite like a Klein maybe, but stiffer than any other steel bike I've ridden, and definitely stiffer than the Merlin. For comparison sake I ran it with Fisher Fattrax 2.2 in the rear at 42psi, and Dusttrax 2.2 in the front at 40psi. This stiffness made it seem a bit twitchy and combined with my not so perfect setup of the roller cams resulted in a few off trail excursions. But seriously, I did not expect the bike to feel this way. I was anticipating a soft, flexy and forgiving ride. This is exciting!
Ride characteristics - Not your grandfather's steel bike
The setup of this particular bike made for a fairly upright position which in turn made the cockpit feel a tiny bit on the cramped side than I might want, but not in a way that makes the ride uncomfortable. Perhaps, just a bit more upright than I'm used to. Probably a nod to the slightly more slack angles that some of my more modern bikes.
I've never ridden a bike with roller cams on the front, it takes a little bit of getting used to and probably some more time fiddling with the cam setting. I think I had some beginner's luck with the roller cam on the Merlin, these didn't feel anywhere nearly as good as that one. Another comment about the front end of the bike goes back to the stiff ride. For whatever reason this setup doesn't do as good of a job of damping high frequency vibrations. This is about the only bike that on occasion makes my hands feel numb. It's just got a bit of a buzziness to it, I don't know how else to describe it. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, then this bike might aggravate that
I've been getting into WTB stuff lately, this is the 2nd bike I have equipped with nearly a full WTB kit, so far I am pretty impressed. The hubs looks great, are much tighter than Bullseyes and spin very smoothly. These parts are a all together different class of bike jewelry, especially when compared with the more flamboyant and boy racer Ringle/Grafton/Kooka batch. There is a certain level of understated class about them. The whole GG system is a bit of a joke in my opinion (at least when applied to hubs, BBs and headsets). It basically solves the problem it creates. But, they are very nice parts and seem to work rather well.
Fisher Dust Trax tires. Never even knew these existed until recently. These are a good alternative for a front tire compared to the Fattrax, which is pretty happy being relegated to rear tire duty.
The rear brake needs a little more work, but it's getting there. It took a little while but I made a custom setup for running the twin cable ends, I think it's pretty good. I used a short section of brake cable which is pretty stiff, and still impacts the cam angle. I may try some braided cable instead and see if that helps things out further. Fortunately the stays are pretty stiff, and unlike the later XCRs and Flying Vs there is very little flex. So, I was able to run the brakes without the stiffener plates and still maintain solid brake feel.
The drivetrain setup worked virtually flawlessly, surprisingly crisp shifts with very few mis-shifts. I guess all that work I did on adjusting the chain-line late last night paid off.
The straight blade Mantis fork definitely contributes to the rigid feel of the Valkyrie. I think maybe dropping the front tire pressure will help a bit with that. But overall, the turn-in was great, the bike tracked great and more or less went where I wanted it to go. Similar to the Attitude, and I suppose many other race bikes (I feel like a broken record here), you need to be on your game in technical sections. A lapse of concentration and you're in the bushes or jamming on the brakes to keep you on trail. This is not a bike that you can just ride, you need to be on it if you want to go fast. There's no looking around and checking out the scenery, if you want that sort of bike look elsewhere.
One thing I didn't love about it, and maybe it's just a matter of being out of shape but I found it hard to climb some of the steep sections (Mt. Zion for example) that I normally can at least make an attempt on. Here I found myself running out of traction, juice or balance. Just didn't get as far on this bike as I normally do on some of my other regular riders. I'll try another time or two and see if it maybe was just a case of weak sauce rider, rather than anything to do with the bike.
Verdict - Keeper!
All in all I like this bike. I think I'll put on some more modern tires, adjust the brakes, go over everything and hit the bigger trails. I'm pretty sure it'll earn a permanent spot on one of the hooks.
I think I'm definitely starting to see that my personal preference for bikes is race oriented bikes. I like aggressive geometry, stiff frames, fast steering and strong descenders. This will undoubtedly steer my reviews and may make them somewhat predictable. I hope that still makes for some interesting reading.
Finally managed to get some time to get out on the trail and check out the Valkyrie. I was a little worried that this bike was going to disappoint, and I really wanted to like it. So, there was a lot of emotion on the line.
First Impressions - Under-promise & over-deliver
I was really worried I was going to hate this bike. Several of my friends with similar riding styles had the elevated chainstay Valkyrie and all really disliked the bike. So, it was with a fair amount of trepidation that I pedaled off on my first ride
The thing I noticed immediately about this bike is that it's damn stiff. Not quite like a Klein maybe, but stiffer than any other steel bike I've ridden, and definitely stiffer than the Merlin. For comparison sake I ran it with Fisher Fattrax 2.2 in the rear at 42psi, and Dusttrax 2.2 in the front at 40psi. This stiffness made it seem a bit twitchy and combined with my not so perfect setup of the roller cams resulted in a few off trail excursions. But seriously, I did not expect the bike to feel this way. I was anticipating a soft, flexy and forgiving ride. This is exciting!
Ride characteristics - Not your grandfather's steel bike
The setup of this particular bike made for a fairly upright position which in turn made the cockpit feel a tiny bit on the cramped side than I might want, but not in a way that makes the ride uncomfortable. Perhaps, just a bit more upright than I'm used to. Probably a nod to the slightly more slack angles that some of my more modern bikes.
I've never ridden a bike with roller cams on the front, it takes a little bit of getting used to and probably some more time fiddling with the cam setting. I think I had some beginner's luck with the roller cam on the Merlin, these didn't feel anywhere nearly as good as that one. Another comment about the front end of the bike goes back to the stiff ride. For whatever reason this setup doesn't do as good of a job of damping high frequency vibrations. This is about the only bike that on occasion makes my hands feel numb. It's just got a bit of a buzziness to it, I don't know how else to describe it. If you have carpal tunnel syndrome, then this bike might aggravate that
I've been getting into WTB stuff lately, this is the 2nd bike I have equipped with nearly a full WTB kit, so far I am pretty impressed. The hubs looks great, are much tighter than Bullseyes and spin very smoothly. These parts are a all together different class of bike jewelry, especially when compared with the more flamboyant and boy racer Ringle/Grafton/Kooka batch. There is a certain level of understated class about them. The whole GG system is a bit of a joke in my opinion (at least when applied to hubs, BBs and headsets). It basically solves the problem it creates. But, they are very nice parts and seem to work rather well.
Fisher Dust Trax tires. Never even knew these existed until recently. These are a good alternative for a front tire compared to the Fattrax, which is pretty happy being relegated to rear tire duty.
The rear brake needs a little more work, but it's getting there. It took a little while but I made a custom setup for running the twin cable ends, I think it's pretty good. I used a short section of brake cable which is pretty stiff, and still impacts the cam angle. I may try some braided cable instead and see if that helps things out further. Fortunately the stays are pretty stiff, and unlike the later XCRs and Flying Vs there is very little flex. So, I was able to run the brakes without the stiffener plates and still maintain solid brake feel.
The drivetrain setup worked virtually flawlessly, surprisingly crisp shifts with very few mis-shifts. I guess all that work I did on adjusting the chain-line late last night paid off.
The straight blade Mantis fork definitely contributes to the rigid feel of the Valkyrie. I think maybe dropping the front tire pressure will help a bit with that. But overall, the turn-in was great, the bike tracked great and more or less went where I wanted it to go. Similar to the Attitude, and I suppose many other race bikes (I feel like a broken record here), you need to be on your game in technical sections. A lapse of concentration and you're in the bushes or jamming on the brakes to keep you on trail. This is not a bike that you can just ride, you need to be on it if you want to go fast. There's no looking around and checking out the scenery, if you want that sort of bike look elsewhere.
One thing I didn't love about it, and maybe it's just a matter of being out of shape but I found it hard to climb some of the steep sections (Mt. Zion for example) that I normally can at least make an attempt on. Here I found myself running out of traction, juice or balance. Just didn't get as far on this bike as I normally do on some of my other regular riders. I'll try another time or two and see if it maybe was just a case of weak sauce rider, rather than anything to do with the bike.
Verdict - Keeper!
All in all I like this bike. I think I'll put on some more modern tires, adjust the brakes, go over everything and hit the bigger trails. I'm pretty sure it'll earn a permanent spot on one of the hooks.
I think I'm definitely starting to see that my personal preference for bikes is race oriented bikes. I like aggressive geometry, stiff frames, fast steering and strong descenders. This will undoubtedly steer my reviews and may make them somewhat predictable. I hope that still makes for some interesting reading.
