Glad to see you riding with Ron again, you are clearly best buddies and that chemistry comes across on camera - plus Ron never fails to deliver some great one liners. Good stuff.
I don’t know many cyclists with the mechanical acumen to remount disc callipers, most of which are more likely to loose those inserts. Two wheelsets on a crux or stigmata is impossible to beat.
Love this video...as always. Thanks for putting out high quality with low "stuffiness". NOTE: Gotta give yourself more credit on elevation in metric (9,697ft = 2,955M...missed the extra 5). #epicride. #goldenratio
I have a bike with the same feature: 8bar Mitte v3. It is really cool and was the reason I chose that particular bike. The implmentation is a bit different though from the look of the flip chips.
Love your videos! Glad someone reviewed this bike! I got the Tambora G8x and I am in love! Beast on the rode and on gravel. Just completed a 150 mile bike packing ride with it and it was flawless. Plenty of attachment points. Seat was switched out immediately not a fan of how grippy it was and tires are def a weak spot. Waiting on my s-works pathfinder to come in and go tubeless. Keep shredding homie!
As someone who often prioritizes simplicity and standardization, I've been curious if these types of features really make a difference. I always just swap road and rowdy wheels and roll on, with little thought to much else. Interesting take and I'd be curious to try one someday.
What they need to do is put this flip chip technology in crank arms: one "short" crank arm that covers 165-170mm; another "long" that covers 172.5 to 180mm. Short for small-med and large for large-XL bike frames. This would give a rider a bit of customization, without having to spend a fortune on a new crank set. Special flip chip kits could also be made to accommodate leg length discrepancies, which, many times are not handled well by moving cleats.
@@bengt_axle it is a 24mm spindle with the option to choose from either 3bolt or 8bolt SRAM interface which you can pair with different spiders to accommodate your preferred chainrings. I just got it last week and just had 35km on it indoors and it works just great!
@@visualpun650 i guess it won't. it's got a 'wedge' that offsets the position of the pedal thread and a washer of the same size that is placed in between the pedal arms. as long as the pedal is properly tightened, i don't think it'll cause any play.
I have done 3 gravel rides on my giant revolt 1 and i have forgotten 3 times that there is a flip chip in the rear for a longer wheelbase and accomodate 52c tyres. Now i learned there are many things to adjust if i change the position of the chip.
I have an Otso Waheela that likewise has flip chip tech in the rear. One neat thing otso did is make a top cap you can get that allows you to do the adjustment on the fly.
Tbh once you chose flip chip position most likely you won't touch it again. I have had flip chip in my RONDO RUUT for 3 years and I changed its position twice
Any adjustment on a bike that you can't do after you've put on your chamois cream might as well just be welded in place at the factory. Too much of a faff to change on an ongoing basis! Just buy the bike that suits most of your riding and live with a tiny amount of compromise.
I have my GT grade for almost 4 years, I 've never changed the default spacer position in the front wheel, hahaha maybe after this video I'll try, but change the brakes is too annoying.
This is really cool. It reminds me of some of the adjustments we have in our higher end RC cars for adjusting. Most of that is just adapted from big cars so its fun seeing stuff work its way into new markets!
8:07 great video. Been curious about this bike when i saw it some time ago, no one has given it such a simple and effective review. Thanks for the video and the knowledge, definitely putting this bike in my n+1 list
Great comparison review and recommendations. The flip chip thing just looks like marketing and not for someone liking to just jump on a bike and ride. I really like your idea on the lower cost Path bike.
Otso has been doing that for years in the rear. The brake mounts slide with the dropouts. They’re starting to make their Lithic forks with flippable dropouts… MTB right now. Enve also makes changeable dropout forks
Ive got a Ti gravel bike with Paragon swinging dropouts it offers more adjustment than a flip chip, lowers/raises the bb height, and the caliper mount is part of the dropout so no need to mess with the caliper, you can really feel the diffence its amazing! BUT after the first month or so I've never touched it LOL which I imagine will be the same for flip chip owners.
i'm from Indonesia country of origin of the Polygon brand, would like to know what the reviews are like from outside Indonesia, your video is amazing, really like the transitions, music selection and the way you explain.
I feel like these flip chip designs would work much better if it could be done without a calliper realignment - and really this only needs to be done on the fork. Flip chips for the rear of the bike (on a gravel bike) IMO are there purely for tyre clearance (making a chainstay longer for clearance is the least creative route, see Lauf Seigla and all the simple mods they did to give additional clearance for 57mm tyres while having the same length stays than this bike in all-road mode). Also means no chain-length compensation with B-Gap required. No one really needs longer stays (except more deliberate bikepacking rigs), better to just have a non-caliper re-alignment flip chip for the front (so it's a 3second swap from wheelset to wheelset).
I love the idea of the filp chips, even if there is some tuning to do each time you change over. If they could find some way to make the whole process smoother I reckon it would a winning idea.
i was seriously considering this bike, the spec polygon offers on their bikes cant be beat at those prices. but at the time i really couldnt find much info about it, so i own another salsa now and TBH im just thrilled with my new warbird! i do own a polygon trail bike though, although it is a bit heavy, its a great bike for the money
Ventum GS1 that I own does the dame thing. Ive played with it, and you notice the difference but I am NOT at the level to need to do it. The time it takes to change isn't worth it for me so I keep the wheelbase longer. I can definitely see the use though for more advanced riders! :) Thanks for the Video!
Adjusting the brakes everytime seems annoying, until I remember that I've got a Crockett that goes back and forth from SS to 1x12 and needs swaps everytime for: RD, cassette, chain and the sliding dropouts.. Probably takes about the same time as adjusting calipers.
I imagine you could go somewhere in between and have it set up long WB in back and short WB in front. That way you wouldn't have to mess with the B-gap adjustment.
I've been rocking stock saddle (some sort of specialized bodygeometry), road shorts (not bibs), and no chamy cream for the past 3 years, including 7.5 hours of gravel washboarding in one sitting with no chafing or anything. Not sure how but it saves me money I guess
My Rondo Ruut (from 2021) does the same transformation trick. It's neat, but... ultimately I don't use it. It takes time, isn't as fun as just riding, and meaningfully changes my fit geometry when swapped.
even the color and tube shapes look great, I have to said some brands like ALLIED , Ventum and others have a similar chip solution for chip flips pain in the *, haven't experience any of those but this looks like a fun bike ! cheers!
Call me skeptical but I just don't think that the little change in wheel base when repositioning the flip chips will make a noticeable difference. Also there is an advantage with using 2 wheelsets in that you can use lighter and narrower road tires without dealing with the hassle of swapping tires and adding sealant etc. Finally.. that was a epic ride and I'm glad Ron was along to keep you company. 👍
So funny - a friend and I encountered those *same dogs* this past Saturday! We gave the furry a little treat so he'd be nice. (Mosier-Rowena SuperG course).
I would assume that you want the agile and snappy short wheelbase for gravel and terrain and the more stable longer wheelbase for road? So exactly the reverse. No?
I've been rocking the R9X and enjoy the anonymity of the Polygon brand in a sea of Diverges and Asperos. I'd contemplate the Tambora as my 'gravel race' set up and the R9X as my 'lets get lost' bike. Thoughts?
I have found these sorts of adjustments eventually get left at the most useful setting and forgotten about. I have a bike with rear sliding drop outs and an angle set headset that achieves the same thing without the brake adjustments.
I had a Giant Revolt Advanced 0 that gave +/- 10mm of wheelbase, could not for the life of me feel the difference. After 3 or 4 times flipping chips I realized it was an utter pain in the ass, so I flipped it the bird and left it in the long config. Until it got stolen that is.
I have a skinny, nimble little road bike and a full-size, full sus mountain bike. Being that those two are worlds apart, obviously, they're also gonna feel worlds apart. That being said, I'm really curious about how much that little bit of change to the wheel base actually makes? I feel like intuitively, it's gotta be almost identical, but he makes it seem like the difference is night and day
Great vid, bike is good idea but too much hassle for me, I’m mechanically useless!😂😂 Yeahaaaa!! Winston last week and RON this week!! Things are looking up!!😂😂💪💪❤️🏁🏁
Dustin, What did you think of the apex 12 speed mechanical? I put it on my Poseidon X gravel bike and love it. This variant hasn’t gotten a lot of attention on RU-vid, interesting to see a video showcasing a bike with it. I’d love to hear your hot take. Stay Rad, Johnny B.
Love the concept of this bike. Do you think trying just switching the front or just the back wheel might give it another completely different ride? Could be 4 bikes in 1.
Very good question obviously it depends on each person, but I would say it can happen fairly quickly roughly tend to 15 minutes. It's essentially a blood sugar issue will get you back, but you need something to sustain.
The early Canyon Aeroad's had the front drop out that you could turn around. This bike and the innovation is good. Maybe they could use a metal sliding bush set-up instead of taking things out, turn them around and put back in. The same could be applied to the calliper mounts and use captive nuts on the inside. Like anything thats first time, you need to develop it and that takes time, money and a lot of 'how dod I make it do that'. But when all said and done would you really mess around swapping thing it between rides or just buy dedicated road and grav bike?? I have Aeroad and Grail, each excel in their own way.
I swap 2 wheelsets and adjusting the brakes each time is what I dislike. This swap guarantees wear on the brakes hardware and also pain in the rear to adjust.
...may have your flip-chip analysis fundamentally wrong. For "all-road", that means a 72º head angle, 1026mm wheelbase (all for size large). Switch to "gravel" mode and you have a 71.8º head angle, and 1045mm wheelbase. Shorter WB=road, Longer WB=gravel. The frame has a fixed "head angle" with respect to other geometries. The fork chip changes the offset...which changes trail. As the WB shortens, offset shortens and related trail grows, giving a slower, more stable ...desirable "gravel" steering response. The head angle change of .2 degrees is inconsequential. The accompanying trail growth of 10-12mm or so I'm guessing , surely will be noticeable. Am I missing something here?
I was watching this on a hotel TV not signed in. Had to switch to account to give it a 👍🏽 Was great to see Ron hadn’t been swallowed up by chunder monkeys. Weird head tube on that rig but pretty cool
Hey man, I have a Cinelli King Zydeco that has the flip chip on the fork. Never flipped it though. Keep it in its comfy gravel position. Always wondered if it was worth flipping. Thanks.
I don't think this is a new thing right? Pretty sure Giant have had these for a while, but don't think I've ever seen them front and rear and be anything more than slightly gimmicky. Gravel bikes it's always been the thing where you could swap wheels for different surfaces, but it's always compromised either way, this looks really interesting.
