Endurance test performance: 3,925 km
As a staunch hardtail advocate of the first generation of mountain bikes, I was initially hard to convince of the merits of a fully with 120 millimetres of suspension travel. Over the past few years, I've switched to a fully every now and then because of the comfort, but in the end I stuck with the lightweight 26-inch hardtail. The first few weeks confirmed my scepticism: although the Conway rode comfortably around my home circuit on the Ammersee, I needed considerably more time to complete the loop - which was primarily due to the unfamiliar riding position. I somehow couldn't get any pressure on the pedals - exasperating. A modification was urgently needed: After what was now 400 kilometres, the spacers flew out, I switched to narrower handlebars and swapped the offset seatpost for one with a straight head. This at least compensated to some extent for the excessively slack seat angle (71.2 degrees). After that, the missing pressure finally returned. The steering was much more agile and I was now sitting much more centrally above the bottom bracket instead of behind it. I was finally fighting against the stopwatch again for a new best time on my home lap. Even after more than 3000 kilometres, nothing changed, as the flawless X0 groupset from SRAM reeled off the test distance without a murmur. In the meantime, I no longer want to do without the comfort, so my next bike will probably be a fully again.
Conclusion: Carefree everyday fully with a great and reliable equipment package. The aluminium/carbon bike requires a few tuning measures for sporty use.
Function ****
Shelf life *****
(max. 6 stars)
Defects / changes
1. cracking noises at the bottom bracket - 800 km: bottom bracket removed and thread greased
2. chain jumps between sprockets - 900 km: gears adjusted
3. outer cable housing worn through - 1500 km: Cables and outer sleeves replaced
4. front brake squeaks - 2500 km: Pads ground down
