Opinions on this bike, please :)

[lulubel]

OK, I need your opinions on this bike before I go ahead and click the buy button.

Corratec X-Vert S0.2 2011

CRC have it at nearly half price, presumably because it's a 2011 model, so 2 years old now, and it's a small man's frame, and they're difficult to sell.

It will be my bike for messing around on (sorry, practicing technique!) and getting some experience before I move all the components over to a new Cotic Soul frame that I intend to buy.

The frame is nominally slightly larger than the Soul, but the ETT is the same length, so once I've got it set up right - probably shorter stem and straight seat post - all the components should transfer over without me having to change anything. The head tube of the 2012 model (I couldn't find a geometry chart for this exact model) is 10mm longer than the Soul, so there shouldn't be any problem with the forks fitting.

There's nothing about the wheels in the description, but the rims pictured appear to be DT Swiss, so presumably quite good. I'll be changing the saddle for my preferred female specific one.

Is there anything I should be wary of, or just go ahead and buy the damn thing?

 

[Motozulu]

Xt throughout and Roxshox reba - all looks good to me - I'd ask about the Avid brakes though - seem to see a lot of stuff about them being prone to failing? They can't be that bad though else they would'nt sell a bike with em equipped? Go for it I say!

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Xt throughout and Roxshox reba - all looks good to me - I'd ask about the Avid brakes though - seem to see a lot of stuff about them being prone to failing? They can't be that bad though else they would'nt sell a bike with em equipped? Go for it I say!

No. They really are as bad as everyone says. They don't fail exactly. They just stop working properly, become noisy, pistons stick, etc., etc., the once. Then you buy Shimano fitnforget brakes instead.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

dry weather tyres..... but you're in Spain! Other than that it looks tidy. For the money very tidy.

 

[VamP]

Well it looks gash

But for your purposes I think it's nigh on perfect. Not sure if it ships with those wheels, and it may be worth a call to CRC to check that it does.

See how the brakes pan out, unlike Greg I would point you at nice Hope brakes if they don't.

Obviously Rebas in white are twice as good as Rebas in black, but at that price I guess I could live with black.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Well it looks gash

But for your purposes I think it's nigh on perfect. Not sure if it ships with those wheels, and it may be worth a call to CRC to check that it does.

See how the brakes pan out, unlike Greg I would point you at nice Hope brakes if they don't.

Obviously Rebas in white are twice as good as Rebas in black, but at that price I guess I could live with black.

I'd point lulubel at Hope if she was in Blighty!

 

[Cubist]

Its great for the money if the wheels are half decent. Sell the brakes as soon as you get them and order some slx from Germany. Not Hope, not in Spain. Black Rebas on your Soul. White would be like black knickers under a white skirt.

 

[VamP]

Its great for the money if the wheels are half decent. Sell the brakes as soon as you get them and order some slx from Germany. Not Hope, not in Spain. Black Rebas on your Soul. White would be like black knickers under a white skirt.

Just because you have black Rebas on yours

White knickers under a black skirt if anything.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

Its great for the money if the wheels are half decent. Sell the brakes as soon as you get them and order some slx from Germany. Not Hope, not in Spain. Black Rebas on your Soul. White would be like black knickers under a white skirt.

This.

 

[Cubist]

I

Just because you have black Rebas on yours

White knickers under a black skirt if anything.

vodka was the answer I seem to remember.

 

[VamP]

I
vodka was the answer I seem to remember.

That's always a good answer

 

[VamP]

Its great for the money if the wheels are half decent. Sell the brakes as soon as you get them and order some slx from Germany. Not Hope, not in Spain. Black Rebas on your Soul. White would be like black knickers under a white skirt.

What maintenance woes are you guys anticipating with Hope brakes. My mono mini's have gone for years and years with the occasional bleed only. Genuinely

 

[Cubist]

I like Hopes, don't get me wrong, I put them on Cubester's Ragley, and they are awesome, even if they do need bleeding occasionally. I bought some original M4 monos off the 'bay set about fitting them with all the shims, brackets, IS to PM adapters and so on, before giving up, selling them and getting new Tech M4s. The experience with the M4s left me with two distinct opinions. One was that it was simple enough to go to anywhere that stocked Hope bits. They knew what you wanted and either stocked it or could order it. What's more the tech guys at Hope were great, answering even the most stupid of questions. The brakes themselves look beautiful, have parts that are sensibly modular and interchangeable, the fittings are chunky and easy to work with when faffing with hose lengths. So I went through a cathartic process along the way. About two weeks of choosing, swapping, researching, bleeding, shimming, and ended up with some pretty powerful brakes, nicely set up and fitted, at a cost of about £300 without rotors. They are very easy to bleed. But need regular bleeding. The second opinion was therefore that it seemed like an awful lot of buggering about to get some brakes fitted.

For my bike I got some SLX, £120 without rotors from Rose, shortened and swapped the hoses and rode the damn bike. I haven't touched them since, except to swap them onto another bike, which was ten minutes with an allen key. They are every bit as powerful as the Hope, if not more so, cost less than half, don't need to be faffed with.

 

[Cubist]

Oh, and I've changed my mind about the black knickers thing. More like black tights with white shoes and miniskirt

@lulubel

have you pulled the trigger yet?

 

[VamP]

Oh, and I've changed my mind about the black knickers thing. More like black tights with white shoes and miniskirt

@lulubel

have you pulled the trigger yet?

I think that you're trying to justify your colour choices a bit too hard you know you want white forks on that Soul really don't you?

I fitted this in replacement for my front Hope Mono this summer. Bolts direct to Reba (no bracket needed) and has been entirely plug and play. Not needed bleeding yet either.

I am not saying that SLX are a bad choice BTW.