The Unno Horn arrived today. This promises to be the sexiest, fiercest, fastest, most innovative XC bicycle since Pivot released essentially the same product for far less money a few months ago. This is the bike that will finally take me from second to last in Cat 3 to the front of Cat 1. I have been held back for years by inferior equipment.
While this is as materialistic as any gear obsessed post, ultimately this is about an experience of trashing this bike over the next 5-6 years in places like Park City, Crested Butte, Whistler, Moab, Iceland, Costa Rica. This bike is not as much about the bike as it is about the experiences on the bike.
Who can help me piece together the build? I am bidding out build packages to my bike shops. Yes, a rational consumer drives a bike shop out of its profit margin when buying goods, while paying fair market value (i.e. upwards of $500) for service in a complex build. As we say in my business, “always bid it out”.
Unboxing photos coming soon. So far, my experience with Unno has been outstanding, like legitimately better than any other direct to consumer purchase of a product like this. These guys are pros.
Lefty Ocho is hands-down the best XC fork I’ve ever ridden. However, if it’s anything like previous Lefty forks, you might want to make sure your local mechanic is good with servicing them, since he’ll be doing that often. That’s why I’m putting a Fox 32SC on the bike I’m getting next week. Note that the SC is sub-1400g in almost every configuration I’ve seen. Since your options are all money-no-object (it appears?) why not Fox Live Valve?
Wheels: Consider Bontrager Kovee XXX. Superb wheelset and from what I can see in the local XC scene, far less fragile than ENVE. Light, good DT internals. Of course DT’s 1200 has to be considered.
I dig the Scott Fraser bars in theory, but never ridden them so I don’t know if the shape is actually my preference. If you don’t want integration, I’d do Ritchey WCS 220 stem + some German exotica for the bars. Schmolke TLO, McfK?
SRAM AXS is cool and all, but the new XTR is amazeballs.
Also: You need to choose brakes. Magura or Shimano XTR Race.
Tyres? My go-to are Bontrager XR1 rear, XR2 front. Maxxis Aspen/Rekon Race. Haven’t had the best experiences with Schwalbe.
Great looking bike I’ve been following for awhile.
Brakes, look at Magura MT8
XTR Di2 ðŸ‘ðŸ¼
I like Stan’s Pro Valor never had any issues after 2 1/2 years or so
Fox SC ðŸ‘ðŸ¼
What’s the head tube angle ?
40mm Stem?
Not Maxxis Aggressor 2.5s, heavy and slow.
I suggested some bits in drive, including wheels. Better to go with Kong over Prince/Princess from Tune as they build stronger wheels
Loaded Precision could be a source of rims and some other bits if you wanted to stay more with USA companies.
The Unno Horn arrived today. This promises to be the sexiest, fiercest, fastest, most innovative XC bicycle since Pivot released essentially the same product for far less money a few months ago. This is the bike that will finally take me from second to last in Cat 3 to the front of Cat 1. I have been held back for years by inferior equipment.
Congrats with the great frame. Were you able to ride it? Is that effective enough without remote lockout for XC racing application?
The Unno Horn arrived today. This promises to be the sexiest, fiercest, fastest, most innovative XC bicycle since Pivot released essentially the same product for far less money a few months ago. This is the bike that will finally take me from second to last in Cat 3 to the front of Cat 1. I have been held back for years by inferior equipment.
Congrats with the great frame. Were you able to ride it? Is that effective enough without remote lockout for XC racing application?
Pedaling efficiency ought to be similar to the newest (non-horst link) Epic. Much more efficient than the Horst-link Epics of the previous generation. Not as efficient as the Mach 4 SL previously referred to (But lighter). What’s interesting about this is that the pedaling efficiency is really good and the brake squat and pedal kickback are also pretty good. Usually as efficiency goes up, Squat and kickback do as well.
For the fork i would go with the new SID Charger. Fox 32SC are noodly and given the bike ability to tackle quite tough stuff i would prefer the SID. Also the SID can be modified for 120mm which would make the bike even more capable. Then i like to do technical races like Transvesubienne. If you’re riding smooth stuff the 32SC is fine.
If you look at the trend in top XC riding some are using 110mm+ SID and some Fox rider are even riding the 34.
Pedaling efficiency ought to be similar to the newest (non-horst link) Epic. Much more efficient than the Horst-link Epics of the previous generation. Not as efficient as the Mach 4 SL previously referred to (But lighter). What’s interesting about this is that the pedaling efficiency is really good and the brake squat and pedal kickback are also pretty good. Usually as efficiency goes up, Squat and kickback do as well.
Geometry is probably the most “progressive” of the 100mm XC race platforms.
Geometry is really good and unfortunately that doesn’t mean you wouldn’t wish to lock the suspension during out of the saddle accelerations.
Not as efficient as the Mach 4 SL previously referred to (But lighter).
I just my Mach 4SL a few weeks ago. Way rad bike. I was torn between it and the Trail 429, but the 429 seemed so much less lively and felt notably slower.
I don’t feel the need for the lockout very often except really long steady climbs. It is so efficient when pedaling.
Go with the cane creek headsetCannondale Ocho fork: 1446g; more stiff than Fox or DTswiss, smoother action; AngryAsian loves it (review forthcoming)scott fraser ic sl handlebar; 50+g lighter than Enve stem/bar combosyncros silverton sl wheels? 1250g but “only” 26mm ID (i9 ultralight’s are 23.5 ID 1380g, for comparison)or November Hotfoot 29s w/ i9 hydras 1450g BUT 30mm ID
(https://novemberbicycles.com/collections/all-29er-mtb-wheels/products/hot-foot-mtb-wheels-29er)As cool as the Fox Live rear shock is, I feel it belongs on a single pivot bike like the Scott and can revolutionalize WC racing. The kinematics of the Unno are worth riding with a near wide-open rear shock most of the time, in my opinion
Why not get a Fox 34SC and drop a custom tuned avalanche cartridge in it? It’s not the lightest fork but is plenty stiff for xc and some trail riding. Additionally you have the option of 120 or 100mm travel.
I did an avalanche cartridge in my Fox 34SC on my Sb100 and it greatly improved the fork
