That is a good historical insight. I have always wondered what would happen if the seat tube was the nominal diameter all the way down. Now I know!
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Finally got it back from the powder coaters this week and did the final build. Iāve had a couple of short round-the-block rides which feature a small amount of mud and gravel but today was the day where I got to experience it properly off-road for the first time.
Todayās ride was a few miles. The first half mostly flat or moderate climbing on firm and dry(ish) mud with a little gravel in places, undulating double and single track with some protruding rocks. The second half features a fast and fun rolling descent on grassy track with a few sharp, bumpy turns, and then a mile of road back home (into a headwind today).
Itās certainly noodly, and more than I think I like, so it will be rebuilt at some point with larger diameter main tubes. But I donāt think itās bad enough at this point to push it up to the top of my build queue 
The most obvious flexing is when pedalling hard in the saddle, with the saddle moving noticeably side-to-side in opposition to the bars. Itās unnerving but I donāt yet know how much effect it will have on control in technical conditions. Thereās not so much obvious flex when out of the saddle - the back-end with the short stays and sensibly-sized tubes is really tight and responsive.
The geometry is new and will take me time to adjust to it. I remember when I went from my 2010s-era 26er to my Voodoo with 27.5 tyres and 67.5Ā° head angle - it felt really floppy and seemed like the wheel was miles out in front, but I got used to it fairly quickly. This bike is longer, lower and slacker. I can definitely feel the advantage on descents where it was really stable. Whether that length becomes prohibitive on rocky technical tracks remains to be seen.
The front end isnāt as light and floaty as I was expecting. Considering the chainstays are around 415mm, it feels about right - fun without being a handful. Same when climbing - it feels light but balanced rather than poppy. The RAD is about 20mm longer than Iām used to so it doesnāt feel quite so agile, but some of that may be because the bars are too high - theyāre 40mm risers and the stem is slammed so Iāve ordered some 20mm risers to see what effect that has (with a slightly longer stem to offset the RAD change). I also didnāt take account of the dropper setback in my designs so my saddle is about 10-15mm further back than designed. Iād originally planned to replace the dropper with a longer one but I havenāt yet decided if Iām going to splash out immediately.
The positive effect of all the flex, of course, (especially with 2.6" tyres and the thin-gauge spokes) is that the bike feels like a magic carpet ride over bumpy ground, so itās not all bad. The 28lb overall weight and the light wheels made the hills and headwinds less challenging than Iām used to - itās been many years since Iāve owned a properly light bike which wasnāt a rigid single speed! Itās also the first time Iāve ridden 4-pot brakes and I love the extra power and control they offer. And, most importantly, I love the colour (RAL 4007 āPurple Violetā)
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Nice! It looks great. Very modern looking mtb. The silhouette and color look great.
That is a good data point. Now we all know.
Just for reference (if someone is browsing the thread) this was the tube spec posted earlier.
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A related data point: Iām around 65kg, 1.84m tall, with an inside leg measurement of 84cm. These main tubes might be more suitable for a smaller and lighter rider.
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