Here it is folks, what you've all been waiting for......The Opus Bike Test! I wanted to do one final death thrash on it before I wrote the final review, and one such thrash happened last Sunday. Four and a half hours of riding, going from super mellow trails to gravel road climbs, to downhill only trails. Yes, all the way up to the snow pack again, then back down.
Initial Impressions
As you saw in previous posts, I built the old girl up at Dodge, and when opening up the box the first think you notice is the pearly white paint. It catches your eye and doesn't let go. As you look around the bike you notice the carbon fibre chain stays(a new thing for me on a MTB) and then the insane graphics that make it look like some sort of Euro Pro Team Bike. Like most Opus color schemes, you either love it......or hate it like no other. For me, it looks hot.
The frame itself is insanely curvy and the tubes have more butting, tapering and molding than an extra large ribbed condom. I switched out some components, because I'm a bike snob and tuned it to my liking. Some of the major changes from the build in the Opus catalogue were upgrading the wheels to the very hot Mavic Crossmax SLR's and the brand new XTR cranks. Other small bits include swapping out the bar/stem/seatpost from RaceFace to my own mix of Ritchy, Easton and Thompson.
Off came the Hutchinson Pythons and on went "A Gentleman's FreeRide Tire" as they are called in Dodge, 2.35 Maxxis Hansventures. Or my "training" tires as Mike from Maxxis calls them. Before I came to Dodge, the biggest tire I ran was a 2.0, and now I spend most of my time on 2.35's. Its a must in the area.
The Ride
Despite all the help I'm getting from Opus. I was very apprehensive about riding the New Fhast 1. I didn't know what to think when ordering the bike for a few reasons. One, Opus had only made road bikes before, and this being first production can sometimes lead to weird happenings or geometries.
The second reason being I am a bike snob. I have gotten high end, expensive, custom frames before and only ridden them for a few weeks before buying back the previous bike had been riding. Stick with what works.
I also found that I was DIRECTLY in between sizes according to Opus's catalogue, but on closer inspection of top tube sizes, I realized I was a Medium. Which was odd because I would normally ride a 19", but the Medium was a 17". After riding the bike for a few weeks, I realized the Medium was the right choice. If any readers decide to get an Opus...LOOK AT THE TOP TUBE SIZE.
Upon hopping the Opus and riding the shit out of it from everything to downhill trails where no hardtail should be, to the downtown coffee shop to look more Pro than I actually am, I found that the Opus's handing is surprisingly just where it needs to be. After 3 weeks of riding, I have found NO surprises while riding the Opus. Which is a good thing. This has been one of the only bikes where I've hopped on it and have been comfortable. I've only had to do minimal changes to my seat position and that's it. I'm riding it pretty much how I set it up right out of the box.
For being a cross country bike the Fhast 1 is at home with everything BC has to offer for gnarly trails, but at the same time is also at home on long ski hill climbs where you bite your lip, and grind all the way to the top. The weight is just where it needs to be, with full saddle bag, and "training tires" at 850grams a piece with heavy tubes, the bike still comes in under 25 lbs.
Other than the cranks, I've left the drivetrain exactly as Opus has spec'd it. It is a first for me riding the new(ish) Sram XO, and as far as I'm concerned, it is the second coming of Christ. I'm VERY impressed with it, and I can easily say I am now a Sram guy. I've ridden the old XTR, the old old XTR and the new newXTR, and I wouldn't switch from the Sram build for anything. (Other than a Rigid Single Speed of course) So far, it has been nothing but reliable, and next to no maintenance.
I sighed a little when I saw I would be riding a Manitou R7 this year. My last fork was the previous generation Manitou Skareb, and it caused me to revert to a rigid fork. Yes, it was that bad. Surprise surprise, Manitou, (so far) has gotten their shit together for this one, and the fork has worked great! I'm very impressed with it. Its much stiffer than the old Skarebs, while being extremely smooth, and also deadly light. Even mechanics who hate Manitou in the Valley have been surprised how smooth it is. Manitou has even managed to tackle successfully the handlebar lockout issue. Instead of going super complicated like most companies, Manitou went simpler, and my lockout, (with proper maintenance) has worked great.
The Beefs
Everything has its downsides. While riding the new Opus, I can honestly say I haven't run into any major problems that have caused me to freak out. So far the bike is working great, the geometry is great, and it rides how a good bike should ride. BUT, there is little things. This is digging deep, keep that in mind.
The rear dropouts are very tight to the chain stay on the Fhast 1. So, even with a 6 inch rotor on the rear I find its impossible to put the rear wheel in without scratching the inside of the chain stay. Like I mentioned, its the first year production.
After a few rides I checked over the bike and looked at the derailleur hanger to look for any bends or cracks and noticed that 1 of the small allen headed bolts that hold on the hanger was stripped right from the factory. Since I haven't taken the hanger off, someone else must have done it. Again, a small thing, but might prove to be a pain in the ass later on down the road.
Since OGC is no longer a Manitou dealer, It is going to be a nightmare if I ever have to get any work done to the R7. But at the same time, OGC(dealer of OPUS) is also the new Canadian distributor of FOX, which I'm considering, and I think if I ever run into any major problems with the Manitou, I would hope they would help me out with a deadly Fox Fork.
On my very first ride, 15 minutes in. I hopped on a log and slipped off. When I got up I noticed that one of the Mavic spokes had slipped out of the joint in the hub. Bollocks, I thought to myself, hoping it wasn't a sign of things to come. I walked the bike back the bike shop which was 10 minutes away, and trued it up again. Since then they have been great. Other than that, the Mavic's work supreme, are super light, and look insanely flashy on top of it all.
Also, the white Selle San Marco was cool out of the box, but not so cool after the first ride. The dye from my shorts ran into the saddle which has turned it a pleasant purple. At least its unique.
Conclusion
After rocking the Opus for a few weeks now I'm very impressed with it. The handling can be described as neutral, but is exactly where it needs to be. It seems at home with everything I've been able to throw at it. All of the components have (so far) worked flawlessly, and I would have to think hard about switching them out to anything new.
Opus has gotten the Fhast 1 correct right from the get go. They have obviously put a lot of thought into this bike, and have the experience to know what works, and what doesn't. Every time I hop on the new bike, I seem to like it more and more, and one thing is for sure, if your going slow on it, its not the bikes fault.
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