Dammit’s adventures in mountain biking

#26aintdead?

Raaw built the bike for Free Ride Fiesta, so it might be!

Hmm yes looks like 27,5

Slightly disappointed* to learn that e thirteen don't do those tyres in 26".

*Doesn't really matter to me, as I'm now on the 29" skill compensator wagon.

Extra strong wheels to be fully prepared for this years Rampage 😎

Not sure what that crap under the toptube is but the bike looks nice (and the wheels are 29")

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Some kind of shock and suspension sensors it looks like. The bike does look proper!

Yeah, suspension (and maybe brake) telemetry would be my guess- that’s a proper development mule.

I do think they look very good.

Raaw released their DH bike today.

When's yours arriving?

I have been looking at Ohlins DH forks and golly- I didn’t realise you had to buy the fork crown separately for £! on top of £! for the fork.

=£!!!!!

Interesting that Dan Roberts, previously at Scott, has done a lot of work on the Raaw Yalla and Neko Mulally's Frameworks DH bike - there's been something of a visual similarity between the two but also some clear differences.

It's going to be around £5,500 for frame and fork, doing some Googling. I think, much as I'd love this, it may have to wait.

No surprise then that it's very close to a Gambler but just a cm or so longer (comparing Yalla M and Gambler L).

The similarities to the Gambler had never occurred to me until now.
Fun fact - the chap who designed the Gambler obvs uses one as his dh bike but interestingly rides a Privateer 161 as his other bike rather than a Scott Ransom. csb.

I dare say it, three grand seems an awful lot for an alloy frame. The same money gets a complete alu Gambler dh bike. The downside is that it doesn't say Raaw on it.

It's going to be around £5,500 for frame and fork

Guessing they aren’t expecting to sell too many of those

I know you're keen on one, and I know I've already said it, but those geometry numbers have reinforced my thinking that DH bikes are a bit less relevant these days. Aside from 20mm of extra travel front and rear, it's a slightly more conservative version of my Geometron.

It does look prettier though, I'll concede that.

I’ve not totted it up but it would be a nine to ten grand bike fully built I think

About the same as mid-level Santa Cruz then

For what would be a world championship level race bike, yes- puts it into context.

nine to ten grand bike

3.5-4.5k on wheels and groupset?!
Interesting that the Yalla has a two year warranty versus five years for the Madonna and Jibb.

Are you dead set on the Yalla? Considering any other dh frameset?

Not dead set on anything tbh. Like the idea of the Yalla but it’s definitely money.

Complete groupset, wheels, finishing kit- uuu don’t think 3.5-4?

I imagine wheels would be easily over 2K with tyres and so on. I don’t know how much a DH groupset is mind.

I suppose if you went with Reserve rims the wheels would be close to 2k thinking about it.
Alloy wheelset and inserts would be about a quarter of that.

Just mad money for a bike that’s used a couple weeks in the alps and a few uk uplifts each year!
Having said that, I still think you should go for it. But I’d have a look at other frame sets too, quite a few interesting frames recently released and a few more on the horizon.

A DH bike really is the definition of the bike you buy second hand in terms of purchase price, but - I can't help thinking that a second hand DH bike would be absolutely flogged.

I reckon many are minced about on and they are designed to take a beating anyway.