Rumble Ride

Not long ago I built myself a little Rumble play bike, from an assortment of bits and pieces I had lying around in my garage. It’s one of the 2005 Rumble frames, in medium, and it’s really surprised me just how fun it is for XC.

Even though we sell the rumble as a “do it all” bike, it is true that it’s been designed to withstand some serious abuse, and therefore gets categorised more as a free ride bike, than XC.

 

On the front I have a Revelation with 120 mm travel, which keeps the steering nice and lively, even though it’s a bit more travel than I’m used to for pure XC. Wheels are my trusty Mavic CrossMax,  which are running with big fat Schwalbe UST tyres.  I have got one of the new shadow rear derailleurs from Shimano on the back there, as well as a pair of well used, but still sturdy, set of Truvativ carbon cranks.  The brakes are a personal favourite, the formula K24 with a few factory fitted prototype parts.

Equipped like this, it’s a really nimble and lively machine on the single track. The backend is certainly stiff, but with those wheels and tyres it’s not at all uncomfortable. The great thing is I can get out and pedal,  just like on a traditional XC rig, yet things like the super short stem and height adjustable seatpost really do change the character of the bike.