Flounder's ExPo Build: Form Cycles - COMPLETED

[Christophe Noel]

The Finished Bike

It's been a couple weeks since I got this bike fully assembled. In that time I've put a good 35 hours on it totaling more than 275 miles. It is - flawless. There are still a few tweaks and adjustments to be made. I think I will replace the fork very soon, but other than that, she's ready to take on some serious trail.


Here she is in full singlespeed mode. This is how I prefer to ride anyway.


The media blasted logos are really slick. It adds a beautiful texture to the titanium that I've never seen before.


The headbadge is handmade, and since Arizona is the copper state, is good old genuine copper. Note the internal hydraulic lines. This is more than just a flashy aesthetic feature. This will permit the use of frame bags without complicating cables and hydro lines.


The custom post is just as detailed and elegant as the rest of the bike, right down to the Form logo. I also really love the Lorica leather SLR saddle. Saddles should be Italian, anyway.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Because I plan to ride with gears on some of my bigger rides, I opted for internal shift cable guides.

I think they will make for one super slick geared bike, and look nice and lean in SS mode.


I went with a geared King hub so I could swap back and forth between gears and my sweet stainless Chris King cog. Note the hooded Paragon slider dropouts.


XT brakes are without a doubt one of the best things I've purchased this year.


At the final hour, literally, I received my RCR Fabrications chainring. This is a beautiful ring. $40. Should be twice that price, and by the time I order another, it probably will be twice that price.


And here she is all dressed up for a night out. The seat bag easily accommodates my 1 pound MSR bivy sack and my 8 ounce MSR NeoAir Sleeping pad as well as a couple odds and ends. The frame bag will store most of my food provisions and a few repair items. I do have a small 2 liter bar bag that will hold my Phantom 32 down sleeping bag. It's tiny.

What a fun process. At times the wait has been excruciating. I lamented for weeks on my choice of rims and fully blame Trailsurfer for selling me on the ENVE rims. There went my beer money for the year.

On the trail it's amazing. I can't wait to put this thing over the horizon. And again the next day. And again the next day.

 

[Christophe Noel]

And thanks to Bluedog for answering some of my PF30 questions!

 

[trailsurfer]

SWEET!!!

 

[nwoods]

Looks superb.

 

[29er]

Perfection.

 

[Jay H]

Nice!

I never thought about the increased ease of mounting frame bags with internal cables.
I am a big fan of media blasted logos as my Dean Ti features them also. What fork are you changing to. I have been none to impressed my 26er 32mm F120 RLC FIT first generation kashima coat, lots of problems and tons of maintenance and lame support. Only thing I like about it at this point is the stiff QR15. Are you running enduro bearings in your PF30. I have been super impressed with all the enduro stuff and recommend them as a replacement bearing all the time.

 

[Christophe Noel]

I have not decided which fork I'll run next. I just had PUSH totally pimp out my current fork and I like it so much I put it on this bike. Believe it or not, my wife said, "Yuk, new bike, old fork? You need a new fork."

After I regained consciousness I jumped up and down for about ten minutes.

I'm none too fond of the house of SRAM despite using their cranks on this bike. However, I have been tempted to run a Rock Shox, even though I've not had a bad experience with my current fork. We'll see.

 

[RacerAV]

Great looking bike man, wow... I've got a Stumpjumper 29er, but I've been thinking of going a similar route. Not sure if I can afford or even justify a Form bike, man I love it though... curious as to the price ranges of them?
Mainly, how is your gear set working for you. I mean, what are the ranges of terrain you can comfortably pedal through, up, etc... What size gears are you running?
Thanks! And great job!
Adamo

 

[Christophe Noel]

Great looking bike man, wow... I've got a Stumpjumper 29er, but I've been thinking of going a similar route. Not sure if I can afford or even justify a Form bike, man I love it though... curious as to the price ranges of them?
Mainly, how is your gear set working for you. I mean, what are the ranges of terrain you can comfortably pedal through, up, etc... What size gears are you running?
Thanks! And great job!
Adamo

Regarding my gearing, I have it set up for our local mountains. I often ride it with a 32x20 gear combo. That's for fast high performance riding and racing. Still, it's not a problem tackling our gnarly local climbs. It's impossible to ride around Prescott and not rack up several thousands of feet of climbing. I've even run a 32x24 combo for bikepacking on demanding trails like the Colorado Trail. Not a problem, but you do have to train for it just a bit.

As for the price of a bike like this, it's really not out of the normal range of custom ti bikes. As is true for most nicer custom frames, a Form with all the neat-o frame features goes for about $3600 at full retail. The rest of the build-out was a bit more money than that. However, I'd like to point out, this is the bike build that's been dancing around my noodle for years. Every rider eventually get's the bike. This is it for me. I spared no expense, but also realize I did so knowing a bike worth far less would be just as fun, just as fast, just as enjoyable to own.

Or, look at it like this. The world's most expensive overland vehicle probably registers in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. The world's nicest sports cars fetch millions. I could't even afford the word's top tier suit. By comparison, owning the zenith of bicycle technology - pretty attainable. And that's why bikes rule.

 

[Christophe Noel]

Thanks, Rob. I went with a hardtail because it compliments how I ride and where I ride. I prefer fast, flowy singletrack. I have owned many full suspension bikes over the years, but just can't get into them, nor do I like to ride those trails where a full suspension bike is ideal. I guess I just like the simplicity of a hardtail as well as the tactile feedback it gives of the trail. I do think a full suspension bike would be best for riders who enjoy very technical and demanding trails, or for those venturing out on 10+ hour epics.

I think I will eventually add another full suspension 29er to the mix, but I can guarantee it won't see as much action as my hardtail. Regarding my choice of titanium, I wanted this bike to be uber light, very durable, and timeless. There's no paint. If I get a little scratch, I buff it out. It also has a really neat lively feel. It has a springy feel that's hard to describe.