Okay, what a weekend! I travelled down to my best mates place near Portsmouth on Saturday morning and did a little building work for him, then (and the reason for my post) we started on my new MTB!
There is a member on this site that has to go down as one of the generous people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting! I contacted Dibly asking if his company made a long travel Hard Tail frame? As I wanted to go back to a HT and was getting rid of my full susser due to being fed up with just flying down every trail without having to pick out lines and so on.
Anyway a few weeks went by and then a postman turned up with a big box filled with a gorgeous frame (well pretty much a complete bloody bike!!)
So after a few beers and general pissing ourselves laughing at everything! We’d stripped the full susser and put my bits and pieces onto the new Coyote!
So I slung on my XTR rear mech and XT discs, Hope wheels and my Fox 130R’s and we were ready for a Sunday session (and it’s proper maiden ride with new setup)
Well Sunday morning came round and blurry eyed we slung the bikes in the car and drove up to Westcott near Dorking (North Downes) and set the bikes up.
Right off we went! Started with a bloody great climb up to our first (and much needed) p*ss stop! And the bike climbed like a gazelle!! Gone was all the bobbing from my old Giant and wasted power and now I felt like I could climb mount Everest!!
Onwards and upwards! We’d only covered a few miles but were only half way up the first major climb of the day so after a bit of water and a nana we were back in the saddle………..the Coyote was really solid! I was picking real technical lines and she was eating them up and wanting more!
So eventually we’d managed to get to the top of our first climb and ready for the first short….but very steep and technical decent……….i was nervous at first as this was the first time in years I’d taken this decent on a HT, but the Coyote was so sure footed that it inspired me to let go of the XT brake lever, sling my arse over the back and hang on!! What a rush! Dancing over wet roots and dropping off 1 and 2 foot ruts taken out by the rain wash…………the bike was so easy to change direction and in a flash I was at the bottom!
What a great ride! Then came the long climb to the tower up at Lieghy Hill ('spelling) normally on the full susser I’d have to stop half way but we just kept on climbing and the tower was upon us!
After a much earned coffee and cake it was downhill all the way! A real tough technical decent over wet roots and a few walkers with dogs! Quickly got dispatched and we were off down (what we call) the huge switchback past the old cricket pitch.
Then the heavens opened!! So we slung on the Goretex and carried on down! Rocks, roots and drop offs came upon us and were history! The Coyote was quickly becoming an old friend and felt like I’d been riding it for years!!
Well the sad moment came when we reached the bottom, covered in mud and grinning from ear to ear! What a day and what a bike!!
A huge THANK YOU to Dibly for the frame and bits……if anyone is in the market for a new HT frame then you can do a lot worst than look at one of these Coyote frames/Bikes.
Here are a few more piccies from the day.
