New Bike Day - Building Up My RSD Middle Child Steel Hardtail 

It's got routing for an internal dropper. I've got an exciting announcement for a dropper sponsor in a week. Can't wait to get it and a few other small upgrades, and it'll be ready to shred.

Its nuts, the importance of a dropper to an AM hardtail. More so than any other mtb.

@@hardtailparty How tall are you? How does this small size frame fit?

@@henryduran3899 Sorry Henry, I somehow missed this. I'm 5'6". I have super short legs, and the torso of a 5'10" person. The small is fantastic for playing around, like at a skatepark or a pump track. For super technical and steep downhill, I ride a size medium. They're very similar in feel.

Right back at ya, you shredded that trail!

Same here. It makes a ton of sense. Most bikes period should have adjustable chainstays.

Thanks John. We should connect for a ride while we're there. Let's hope it all melts in time.

I love it. It makes a big difference.

I totally agree! I LOVE building bikes. Hopefully we can ride together when we come to NC this year.

We live in East Tennessee .... Yall should Collaborate a video with Seth from Seth's bike hacks while in the area 👍

They have some pretty sweet colors for this bike. The turqoiuse looks pretty hot too.

They're an awesome company. And the fact that the owner is there, answering live chat all day is pretty awesome.

Congrats, it's such a great bike! I hope you used our code to save 5%.

I did use it thank you. What headset did you get for your bike? I need to get that stuff ordered.

When you buy the frame, it comes with a headset too. I'm running that stock Cane Creek zs 44.

Hey Steve just wondering if you were able to use a 150mm dropper? You and I are the same height with similar builds so I was curious if you were able to ride a 150 dropper on that bike.

@@JimmyRadloff It depends on which dropper you use. Some droppers have a tall collar and some don't. The dropper I'm going with won't fit as a 150mm. It's 1cm too tall. :( So I went with a 125mm dropper.

YOU da man Willie. I hope you're able to get out and ride during this time.

@@hardtailparty thank and i will you going to help coach this year

@@williamhunt7181 yup, I plan on it. I love being your coach!

@@hardtailparty that is rad

Sweet. Yeah, it's tough to find a good shop these days, and even tougher to find a friendly shop.

haha, good point! It's a safety thing. ;)

Thanks brother!

Its such a good bike. I now ride the Ti version and it's even better than the steel one.

Good idea with the product links. I'll have to do that eventually.

It's so amazing. Make sure to use code "party" to save 5%.

@@hardtailparty Pretty sure I just saw your truck and bike at the taco shop on 48th and Elliott. I didn't recognize you or would have stopped to say hi.

@@JimmyRadloff cool 👍we were there

I was checking out your bike and it looks sick. Is it Small or medium? That titanium bike on your rack was sweet too. That I9 back country wheel set on that titanium bike looked rad.

@@JimmyRadloff my bike is a small. It's a blast. We just got back taking it up and down National. It did really well. 64.5* hta, super short chainstays. Super fun. Yeah, my buddy had the why s7 with the i9 backcountry wheels.

It's such an amazing bike. There will be many more fun videos of it in the future.

Congrats and welcome to the club. What state are you in?

I’m in Southern California

Thanks, I think so too!

In the end, I prefer tokens over the mrp ramp control.

@@hardtailparty Good to know! Thanks👊

Thank you so much. They're an awesome company.

Congrats on the timberjack, what a great bike!

Thanks, it's a blast. I'm sure your meta am is awesome too.

Steel is real baby. But honestly, a few of the aluminum bikes these days ride just like steel. Not most, but a few. I'm stoked to be on this bike.

Yeah, it rides awesome!

@@hardtailparty awesome! Im full hard tail now rocking the Commencal Meta HT fully built! Im from Vancouver B.C but and state side for the next month and a half. lets sherd!

@@BenYorkeMrHardtail that looks like such s fun bike. I almost got a meta ht am.

Thanks, it's a blast!

Yes! Represent.

You can't run Anglesets on integrated headsets. Also, the bearings will slowly wallow out the frame on an integrated setup (especially on an aluminum frame).

It's an incredible bike, but I'm an ambassador, so I'm biased. It's my favorite hardtail I've ever ridden.

Yeah, thanks for putting them on our radar. They're exactly what I was looking for. I owe you big time! Shoot me an email, and when I have stickers available I"ll send you some.

Stoked for you..congrats!

Good question. I believe they're direct only, but you could always check with them to see. The owner, Alex, is always on the web chat during business hours. He's super quick and has great info. Tell him you watch hardtail party. He'll take good care of you. And don't forget to use coupon code "party" to save 5%

Did you buy it yet? A slack head angle will completely change how the bike rides. Most bikes older than. 2018 have a super steep head angle. I'd look for something in the 64-65.5* range.

Me too. I've tried to get the be for review, but no luck.

I'll keep that in the back of my mind. There are some great suspension tuning videos out there right now. Treat your ramp control like volume spacers. The ramp control will really only affect your last 20% of travel. Basically, if you're not suing all of your fork travel every few rides, soften up the ramp control. If you bottom out more than once every 3 rides, firm it up.

What are are you in?

@@hardtailparty Im in SoCal, aren't you in Utha?

@@arod4084 we are nomads. We live an rv and travel to a new town every week.

@@hardtailparty Nice I'll keep an eye where you head out to.

this is a 27.5 fork, so it's got the same atc as a 140mm 29er fork.

Yes

The middle child feels longer than its geo numbers to me.

Yes

No need to be jealous, just head over to RSDbikes.com and get one for yourself. Come join the RSD party.

Yeah, a lot of companies say that, but then RSD goes and proves you CAN have your cake and eat it too. I'm proud of rsd for making bikes with short chainstays, tons of clearance for big tires, AND a threaded bb. There aren't many other companies doing that.

@@hardtailparty I might have considered RSD (amongst others) but I live in Hong Kong so I got the Chameleon. It's the next best option cuz I can actually find a dealer lol

@@Goodman-4525 yeah, rsd is direct to consumer. Congrats on the chameleon, they're fun bikes.

I haven't ridden an eccentric, but based off the geo charts, I like the slacker head angle, the super short chainstays and the handwelded frame of the rsd. This is such a cool bike .

What bike do you have now, and what don't you like about it? Slack head angles aren't necessarily for "expert" riders, they just handle more technical terrain and steeps better. I've put brand new riders on my RSD before and they ride so much better with the slacker head angle. San Quentin 3 is a cool bike, but I think there are better values out there. And that bike rides reall small. I typically ride smalls on hardtails, and I fit best on the medium or even large. I also didn't like how you had to buy new rims if you wanted to ride plus tires, and the stack is super low on those, making it feel like you're hunched over. Out of the options you mentioned, I'd get an RSD Middle Child. Seriously, it's a fantastic bike. You get a handbuilt cro-mo frame with amazing geo, lots of versatility, and room for 27.5+ or even 29x2.6. The Marin, Commencal, and Gorilla gravity are indeed slack, but I thiink you'll appreciate the salck head angle, unless you're staying away from rocks bigger than a baseball or if you don't go down steep terrain. The Marin and Commencal will ride very similar. I think the commencal is the better value for the money. I've never ridden a guerilla gravity, but those square chainstays look like they'd be too stiff. I hope to ride one someday. The big honzo st is a swete bike, but it will ride quite differently than a slack hardtail. Some people like the steep head angle. I definitely prefer 65* or slacker, even on mellow trails. It all comes down to the feel you want. But seriously, give the RSD Middle child a look too. It's a fantastic bike, otherwise I wouldn't have become an ambassador for them. If you want a steeper head angle for that precise steering feel on easier terrain, the salsa timberjack is a fantastic value for the money. It's not going to do well on a black diamond trail, but it'll be fine for beginnger stuff that's smooth and not steep.

I have a Cannondale trail 7, I don't like how my body is slouched forward and when I hit some small rocks and roots the seat comes up and hits my ass when I'm off the seat. It also doesn't stop as quick as I'd like it to. Also when I'm going around a corner too quickly my bike tends to slide out from under me.

Gotcha. Lots of things at play. Does your bike have a dropper? You should definitely have your saddle all the way lowered when descending. Also, are your tires soft like an orange, not hard like an apple?

I was wrong! RSD is nice.

Spot makes a sweet hardtail, and I ride their Enduro bikes, but the RSD middle child has much better geo for how I like to ride.

Bike looks awesome. Looking forward to your initial impressions.

@@derekmann4317 Coming soon. Spoiler alert: it's amazing.

You should have a spacer between the bb shell and your drive side bb cup.

@@hardtailparty thanks for your reply, that makes sense I have only bin using a spacer for the drive side 4,5mm but seem a too short

@@piano2597 you'll need a boost chainring if you don't already have one.

Right, now I notice that my chainring is not boost, it’s got a 6 mm offset so I’m going to look in to that, thank you

It depends on what you're looking for in a bike, how you ride, and what your trails are like. I ride a full suspension too, and each bike has their pros and cons.

Same here.

To me, geo is way more important than weight. For more $, you can get a titanium version of this frame that's 2lbs lighter.

Excellent question. Traditional headset cups are replaceable if something gets damaged. In other words, with an integrated headset, the bearings sit directly on the frame (not in cups). Over time this wears grooves into the frame and it's not replaceable/fixable. Also, traditional frames allow you to run an angleset and change your head angle. That's not possible with an integrated headset.

I haven't ridden an Eccentric, but I love NS bikes. Congrats on owning a sweet bike.

It's up to you. Id get a 29er fork if I were you. Standard offset will be just fine.

@@hardtailparty Why a 29er fork? This is my first bike build, so lots of research, questions and learning. I appreciate your feedback!! Thank you!

@@boulderstrongliveRSD built this frame around the geo of a 29er fork and specs their builds with a 29er fork. All plus bikes come with 29er forks because they have increased tire clearance over a 27.5 fork. Additionally, if you ever want to run 29" wheels on your rsd, you can only do thst with a 29er fork. your fork will allow it. A 140mm 27.5 fork will have a lower axle to crown measurement and will steeped the head angle and mess up the geometry a bit.

@@hardtailparty gotcha. But wouldn't a 27.5 plus Fork work just the same as far as tire clearance?

@@boulderstronglive They don't make specific 27.5+ forks. 29er forks are marketed as 29/27.5+

I've got it up for sale. It's a size small.

Just asking for a friend thanks

I sold it. It was posted for sale on my Instagram for a while, and a friend bought it.

@@hardtailparty Darn it, but I just bought a 2019 Specialized Pitch hardtail anyway... 4th hardtail in my arsenal, that Chameleon would have looked good mixed in with the others though!! Great Channel!!

Its a 3.0 high roller 2

Good question. You'll have to shoot em an email. They're super quick to respond to email or phone calls

Thanks dude, really loving the channel 👍🏻

@@ollydickinson2196 thanks for watching. If it wasn't for great viewers like you, this channel wouldn't be possible.

I like it a lot more than my santa cruz. Check out my "first ride on my rsd middle child" video. Tge chameleon has too steep of a head angle for me, and it's crazy expensive for the cheap parts that come on it.

What you gonna do with your old chamelion, do you have plan to sell, if so how much.

@@ramonskepweng333 I already sold the chameleon a while back. Zero regrets.

I went with a small and I really like it, but I'm going to experiment with a medium next week. The small feels like a BMX/DJ bike. I expect the medium to feel more like a plow/attack bike.