You Don't Need More Travel, You Need This 

It’s al relative to the trails you ride. I have 140/160 and it’s more travel then I need for my local trails… but half the time when I ride other trails it’s just perfect

It depends 😂

looking at the jumps we built at our hometrails: you can't have enough travel (We skip building landings)

I think that doesn't exist. It depends on how the bike rides in the end. A bike with 140mm travel front and rear, but a 60° head angle and 470mm chainstays will be more strenuous to ride on S2-S3 trails than a 170/160mm bike with a 65° head angle and 445mm chainstays. You can also ride trails with a 180mm bike if you weigh 130kg and other bikes collapse under you 😂

Too much travel is definitely 100% objective, bikes shouldn’t be more than 150 rear, anything other than that is too much (i say half ironically because you will only reeeally need more than 150 if you’re absolutely ripping and wearing some stormtrooper armor against a clock, for everyday riding 140-150 rear keeps you from getting into too much trouble

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Oh yes it is impressive. It went up so fast

WOAH WTH you're right - didn't even notice!! Good content gets you subs ;)

@@DaleStone ya thats insane, was here a 9 i think.... i hadnt actually noticed you were at nearly 300k now... well deserved!

Same here!

It's really a fantastic bike, have a great summer on it! 🤘

How do you think the druid v2 compares? Is the Highlander 2 more capable?

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😊😊gyi l olle a

Jedi has been around for a while, a real trendsettter.

Like anything in mtb, people flock to the trends due to clever marketing

Although a true statement in general, Deviate has been making high pivots since long before most other brands. They certainly aren't doing it because it's trendy, they do it because it makes for better bikes.

@@DaleStone I more meant for end consumers purchasing things not so much for Deviate themselves. Seems like people will move on from perfectly good bikes, components, etc for something which may or may not help them ride better due to heavy media influence or current marketing.

@@CalgaryDynastar agreed! The power of marketing haha. 🥲

Haha thanks Duncan, it's been an amazing handful of years! 📈

12?!

Percentage wise that run was pretty ridiculous, but it wouldn't have been possible without the amazing work of the builders over the past year! 🙌🏻

Excited to see everyone's smiling faces again! 🥰

Heavier riders also tend to be stronger humans! In theory I agree to an extent, but we don't see DH racers with more or less travel depending on weight, they're always around 200mm. Would be an interesting test though! 🙂

Us heavy riders may be stronger but have no endurance! My excuse is always "I want to see Dale strap a 70lbs weight to his back and pedal 30kms."

@@DaleStone nah, I disagree... the thing with the weight is not about the muscular strength - it's about the load on your bone structure it's no secret that heavy animals can't run - they simply walk fast. the reason behind it is that the strength requirement is not linear at all, it's progressive. For example, if you weigh 50kg and run 15km/h, you won't require x2 Watts for 100kg person to get the same speed, it will require more - This is is the reason why T-Rex were slow AF compared to smaller predators I have a 160mm bike, and arguably I don't need that travel for my local trails at all. However, when I hit a flat landing, my body endures a significant amount of pain. It's one of the reasons I don't ride hardtails at all. My GF weighs 55kgs an hacks to flat without any issues without giving a F :) This is also the reason why crashes affect me a lot more than her, however, she tends to have more brutal crashes. If I do the same with my 90kg, my wrists and knees suffer a lot. And it's not like I'm fat or smth I'd wish I had a more effective pedaling bike for more poppy feeling, but 150-160mm tends to fit my needs. However, if there are no big jumps, I enjoy 130m bikes a lot As for DH riders - there is a reason why they have that amount of travel, as a 30cm obstacle is a 30cm obstacle and you have to roll over it and maintain speed.

Thanks Adam!

Nice brakes 💜

It's awesome! But since it's a two way hiking trail on the weekends it's probably best avoided, haha. 😂

We are very lucky with how natural our backyard is here. 🙌

Soon™!

Haha, give it a few years and I have no doubt you will be! 🙂

Exactly! I'm extremely lucky to have both, but I know which one I'm grabbing for big days or exploring new zones. 🙂

yooo, what are you ridding this year? Forbidden Dreadnought?

@@zombie981_ You'll have the confirmation in the new bike day vid pretty soon mate ;)

@@FreerideQuebec darn! Hope to see this soon! 😂

Hopefully next video... 👀

@@DaleStoneeverybody talks about their lever action, would be cool to see a similar experiment from the last brake review

@@FOTB407 thankfully I don't need a water bottle to combat misleading marketing here. 🙂

@@DaleStone 😂😂

Sounds like he needs some just like them to grow into! 😉

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Some smart nerds there for sure!

Soon...™ And I've parking lot tested the Formulas before. I remember they had quite an aggressive lever spring. I'd be keen to try a set but they'd be towards the bottom of my list for now.

The builder has done a great job reviving it this year indeed! 🙌

I believe I watched that specific video a few years ago, haha. My intuition says that this is something that makes more sense in theory than in practice. There are definitely certain impact directions that are better tailored to certain axle paths. But even if the impact direction is at an angle to the axle path (which I think your comment boils down to), I would argue that the idler isolating suspension forces from pedal kickback plays a more important role in reducing rider fatigue overall, even if the suspension isn't working as efficiently under certain conditions. Anecdotally I don't feel this argument holds up while riding either, though its effects are probably very small. 🙂

@@DaleStone Fair point, I think that comment alone can sum up the majority of the bike industry haha. Conversely many "advancements" are very theory based and don't actually have much effect in practice. For me personally I think switching to a 29er would give me the largest benefit over anything else right now but I love my Evil Calling too much. When riding in a group I notice by buddies on 29ers can coast and maintain speed on flatter and small downgrades whereas I have to give my bike a pedal every now and again to keep up. When it gets steep though all bets are off in fact I am faster in a lot of cases as I can maneuver and pop around things much quicker. If you haven't done any videos on Mullets I'd definitely be here for 'em as would I imagine many. 27.5 is too playful and fun to completely give up.

@@on1ytheb3st I used to be a diehard 27.5 fan too, haha. No debating how much fun those smaller wheels can be! Could be a good video... 👀

@@DaleStone You said it! There's also something to be said about pushing a shorter travel sled to its limits like with your Highlander and being able find the red line and bounce off that limiter. Cheers Dale!

LOL, I only use that for setting up sag, never to measure fun. But good eye. 😂

Going back to a traditional suspension layout, I can say with confidence that the reduced pedal kickback on an idler bike is a noticeable advantage when descending. Less fatiguing compared to non-idler bikes at the same travel, and your feet won't come off! 🙂 You're right about chainrings wearing out slightly quicker, but I still find I can get ~1500km per ring, which is okay by me.

@@DaleStone My ride is a Horst link Norco Range with lots of travel... I test rode a Druid and couldn't feel any difference in kickback while descending - but I am not smashing trails like you are lol! The Druid was a total couch. Going up, the bumps just disappeared. Well they disappeared going down too 😝 Definitely confidence boosting bikes!

The majority of pressure and friction at the chain and chain ring interface happens on the first couple of links. The remaining links don't carry much load, so chainring wear should be very similar.

@@DaleStone I find the idea of less pedal kickback -> better retention to the pedals interesting. I don't have a HP rig to try, but it might be a good experiment with my 3* engagement RF hubs vs the 10* dt Swiss.

It's my bell of course! 🛎️

That isn't something that I'm looking for while riding, so it must be minor enough that I haven't noticed any substantial differences so far. 🙂

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I believe that's coming soon!

It's an old Elemnt Bolt

Sounds like the logic is to pick the smallest bike you can get away with... haha

I rode with him on the weekend! I'm sure he'll be posting again soon as summer ramps up. 🙂

@@DaleStone Fantastic news! Thanks for the update!

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@@DaleStone oh my Bad 😅

I honestly can't remember the last time I hit a tree, especially not on my ring finger haha. I have friends that swear by them though!

@@DaleStone Same, its one of those things that I only "use" them once in a blue moon but when I do I thank my lucky stars. I also just like the feeling of something small on the end of my bars when it gets squirrely to let me know where the ends of my bars are

My friend calls them "clipless for his hands" for this reason. 😂

@@DaleStone too good 🤣

+1 for the Counterpunch, saw it on some PB or GMBN bike check, had close calls with both hands and then ordered them, since then they saved both my hands countless times.

I love both bikes, and they're different enough that I'm glad (and lucky) to have both of them. The Claymore is the best pedalling long(er) travel bike that I have ever ridden, and will encourage you to go faster and faster. It's less precise as a result, but still one of the most fun bikes I've ridden. If I only had one I'd probably choose the Highlander, but don't overthink it haha, you're going to love it! 🤘

​@@DaleStone stoked on it so far! First ride was Pangor at Seymour which was incredible, but I still need to work on tuning the suspension since it felt a bit harsher than I expected. I saw you at IMBY but didn't want to bother you haha, cute golden retriever!

If it wasn't such chaos in there with their big remodel then you should have said hi! Haha 🙂

I run Rugged Reinforced on both sides and they've been great. Of course I'm biased, but I think they're the best rock/slab tire available. Very competent at the rest too. 🙂

Borrowed brakes with long hoses for testing/review.

I've been on idler bikes for nearly three seasons now and won't be going back any time soon!

I sure didn't, haha. DJI OA3!

It is the best colour for a reason! 💛

The hard parts would also be great with this bike, as I hope I've demonstrated! 🙂

Strava usually, but I mostly compare against myself by lining up my footage! 🤓

Considering this Highlander is my test platform, absolutely! 👀

Medium at 176!

@@DaleStone Thank you very much!

Purple anno is truly our weakness as a community.

@@DaleStone haha, too true

DJIOA3

@@DaleStone great Camera, Great videos, Please just don't use a 360 cam, keep up the good work.

He certainly has, but I'll let him fill you in on the details. 😉

Nope, 3

Depends on where you live and the trails you ride of course. 🙂

I live in Kimberley. I'm worried about being overbiked all the time, but I feel like the 140/150 is a sweet spot, not only for here but for a lot of BC. I haven't looked much into the high pivots to see what the advantages are (I'll wait for your video on that). I honestly just assumed that the majority of people wouldn't notice the differences.

They're definitely noticable! Should have a more detailed piece up in a few months or so.

I'd definitely be a border collie after 3 cans of straight red bull.

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Not yet! But tons of black bears every year. 🐻

176cm and 64kg ish

I picked up a Claymore at the end of last year and only have a few rides on it. It's a bit much for the terrain in my area, but with me being 191cm and 95kg it's just right when things get rowdy.

Reasonable head angle keeps things in check haha. Trust that I like a playful bike! Still cleans Upper Oil Can and Imonator first try. 📈

@@DaleStone I know you like a quick pedal, how does it fair in getting up ?

@@Seebema it's a very competent climber. I don't notice the idler at all if that's part of the question!

@@DaleStone can you compare it to any of Evils bikes? Specifically the Offering?

Don't have enough experience on their bikes to draw an accurate comparison unfortunately

I no longer work there, so I can choose what I want to ride. 🙂

@@DaleStonehope you don't have hard feelings about those bikes. :)

@@Manetty6 no doubt they're great bikes, and I'm still good friends with the 8ish people I worked directly with!

You'll have to wait and see. 😉

I've had no problems with either so far, and I have with some competitors.

This is what happens when you borrow brakes and cut them intentionally longfor a review/test, haha.

@@DaleStoneha, glad to hear it's something simple and temporary!

When a mid travel bike breaks PRs on trails I've ridden with long travel bikes over 100 times, that's all the reasoning needed. You 100% would not PR on a hardtail or an XC race bike. And I make videos I want to watch. 🙂

@huckfin1598 I wouldn't say its lame but it is essentially a marketing video. most youtube channels have some sort of sponsorship that they need to promote as its their fulltime job. Look at any mtb youtube channel with 100k+ subs and there all showcasing you some sort of product. In my opinion its probably more cost effective for the brand to have one youtube ambassador or even a roster of them than to run a race team now. If you gave sam hill a hardtail to ride down these trails he would still be faster than all of us. It is really about rider skill than bike. Look at all the old bikes guys used to shred 20 years ago on the UCI dh tracks, they still rode extremely fast.

@99MrJ99 modern bikes are definitely getting pretty good, but not to the point where equipment choice doesn't matter. And at the end of the day, It's 1:42 of talking and 11:59 of some of the best footage I've filmed, IMO. 🙂

@@DaleStone Yeah the bikes within 130mm to 180mm and HA from 63-66 are pretty relative for the general rider. Its more when you increase the speed to a high level often on gnarly terrain that more travel is beneficial. Fatigue is also more of a factor if your riding like that for a long time on a short travel bike. I'm also a tank at 6'3 215lbs lol so I need the extra travel 😅. I enjoy your vids man great footage as always. cheers 👊 Oh and dont mind my comment about marketing lol its just an observation of the current state of youtube/socials really. I was bored at work and the brain is in marketing mode 🤣