Crestline Bikes
- Thread starter jbrown15
- Start date
Epic. They replaced 3 of the tamer stages with more DH tracks. Stage 1 was a full on 300m descent through roots and chunk. I've never been so happy to have a long travel eBike.
Compared to last year (Merida e160) I moved up from 13th/60 to 5th/53, and I credit the bike for a lot of this.
AlumiPro
Active member
I highly doubt I’d be so lucky but if anyone knows of someone wanting to sell this silver color way in a size RH-3, please let me know! Built or just a frame.
Crestline only sold 10 of these frame sets in 2023. Not sure how many were size RH-3.
Crestline only sold 10 of these frame sets in 2023. Not sure how many were size RH-3.
Last edited:
Redders473
Active member
2 new builds getting announced end of this month sign up to the mail list to be first too know.
Wonder if these are the new bikes with the Gen 5 motors?
Redders473
Active member
They are
I’m sure the wife will be happyRace is on to get my warranty replacement built before it is outdated! Tough dilemma to either ride my old Merida, or spend my limited spare time fixing my Crestline.
Redders473
Active member
What's happened to it ??
What's wrong with it? One friend liked his so much that he bought another. Another didn't care for his and sold it. Everyone I meet on the trails loves theirs--but then again, I've never met anyone on the trail who totally hates their bike.
AlumiPro
Active member
I wonder if Aaron Gwin had any input on this round of Crestlines?!
My next Crestline purchase wishlist:
* Internal gears(I know, not happening this year
)
* No motor rattle.
* Incorporated rear mud guard(like the new Intense Tracer).
* Beefier motor bash guard.
* More compact 750ish battery for a smaller profile downtube.
My next Crestline purchase wishlist:
* Internal gears(I know, not happening this year
) * No motor rattle.
* Incorporated rear mud guard(like the new Intense Tracer).
* Beefier motor bash guard.
* More compact 750ish battery for a smaller profile downtube.
Pretty sure internal gearboxes are going to be limited to the Pinion motor since the motor isn't really the technology, the transmission is.
Although the Pinion has some advantages for sure and Aston sure likes it, the praise isn't totally universal and it does have some cons.
Although the Pinion has some advantages for sure and Aston sure likes it, the praise isn't totally universal and it does have some cons.
Redders473
Active member
Motor rattle has been solved
800wh batterys with no internal rail system down tube isn't smaller though. That would mean changing the mould.
800wh batterys with no internal rail system down tube isn't smaller though. That would mean changing the mould.
AlumiPro
Active member
No more motor rattle!?! That’s great!
I’m guessing I can’t mount the new no-rattle Gen 5 to my current Crestline?
shakazulu12
New Member
There is some chatter that the Gen 5 motor may be able to be retrofitted to some Gen 4 platforms. Guess we will find out in a few weeks though.
Saw these the other day. Seems like theyre wide release is a little behind pinion though. I imagine we'll be seeing more options soon
Effigear on Instagram: "Pourquoi avoir un dérailleur et un moteur pédalier quand il est possible de l’avoir en un ? La face cachée d’un système moteur + boîte de vitesses… By Effigear ⚙️ Valeo ⚙️ : ✅Cyclee ✅ • 130 Nm de couple • 7 vitesses —> 100
314 likes, 13 comments - effigear on May 14, 2024: "Pourquoi avoir un dérailleur et un moteur pédalier quand il est possible de l’avoir en un ? La face cachée d’un système moteur + boîte de vitesses… By Effigear ⚙️ Valeo ⚙️ : ✅Cyclee ✅ • 130 Nm de couple • 7 vitesses —> 100% automatique •...
www.instagram.com
AlumiPro
Active member
Yup, Effigear is a great gearbox.Saw these the other day. Seems like theyre wide release is a little behind pinion though. I imagine we'll be seeing more options soon
Effigear on Instagram: "Pourquoi avoir un dérailleur et un moteur pédalier quand il est possible de l’avoir en un ? La face cachée d’un système moteur + boîte de vitesses… By Effigear ⚙️ Valeo ⚙️ : ✅Cyclee ✅ • 130 Nm de couple • 7 vitesses —> 100
314 likes, 13 comments - effigear on May 14, 2024: "Pourquoi avoir un dérailleur et un moteur pédalier quand il est possible de l’avoir en un ? La face cachée d’un système moteur + boîte de vitesses… By Effigear ⚙️ Valeo ⚙️ : ✅Cyclee ✅ • 130 Nm de couple • 7 vitesses —> 100% automatique •...
AlumiPro
Active member
I would gladly pay for an anti-rattle upgrade for my CX Race motor. It sucks riding a $12k bike that sounds like its falling apart through the rough terrain I ride. I’ve been enjoying my quiet MTB lately, but it really makes me work for it!
I'm a bit grumpy about Crestline after sales support...
Since day 1 I have had headset clicking issues. I kept tightening it and it would go away for a while then come back, so I dropped the fork to investigate. The lower cup dropped right out. Sticking a Vernier on there showed that the frame had been machined 0.2mm too big in all dimensions (i.e. round, not ovalisised). After asking for support we agreed to epoxy bond in a works headset which Crestline paid for. This worked for a handful of rides then the problem came back and the steering felt like a bag of spanners.
The solution I was offered was a bespoke machined larger diameter cup to suit the frame. This would have stopped me having future reach/angle adjusts, so my request was to post the bike back to the factory and have a new front triangle built onto it and returned.
I was refused this and pointed towards the warranty T&C (which incidentally didn't even exist when I bought the bike). In fairness to Crestline they posted out a new front and rear triangle very quickly and as a gesture of goodwill sent the 180mm rear link upgrade (zero hardware though, which would have saved me loads of build time).
So why am I grumpy... I never felt comfortable taking on this rebuild but I wasn't given any other option. I am 4 days into the rebuild and £300 down in expenses (ride wrap, new headset, headset press, Bosch motor TP40 bit).
Maybe I'm being unreasonable, maybe my mechanic skills should be better, I'll let you judge.
Incidentally I bumped into a guy in Morzine this year (on my faultless Trek Session), who was riding Dan Atherton's personal DH bike. Dan had lent it to him while he was having a warrant problem fixed. Now that's service!
Don't get me wrong I'll be up and running, and my problem will be fixed
and this is a good bike, but I've taken most of the week off to get this done.
#FirstWorldProblems
Since day 1 I have had headset clicking issues. I kept tightening it and it would go away for a while then come back, so I dropped the fork to investigate. The lower cup dropped right out. Sticking a Vernier on there showed that the frame had been machined 0.2mm too big in all dimensions (i.e. round, not ovalisised). After asking for support we agreed to epoxy bond in a works headset which Crestline paid for. This worked for a handful of rides then the problem came back and the steering felt like a bag of spanners.
The solution I was offered was a bespoke machined larger diameter cup to suit the frame. This would have stopped me having future reach/angle adjusts, so my request was to post the bike back to the factory and have a new front triangle built onto it and returned.
I was refused this and pointed towards the warranty T&C (which incidentally didn't even exist when I bought the bike). In fairness to Crestline they posted out a new front and rear triangle very quickly and as a gesture of goodwill sent the 180mm rear link upgrade (zero hardware though, which would have saved me loads of build time).
So why am I grumpy... I never felt comfortable taking on this rebuild but I wasn't given any other option. I am 4 days into the rebuild and £300 down in expenses (ride wrap, new headset, headset press, Bosch motor TP40 bit).
Maybe I'm being unreasonable, maybe my mechanic skills should be better, I'll let you judge.
Incidentally I bumped into a guy in Morzine this year (on my faultless Trek Session), who was riding Dan Atherton's personal DH bike. Dan had lent it to him while he was having a warrant problem fixed. Now that's service!
Don't get me wrong I'll be up and running, and my problem will be fixed
and this is a good bike, but I've taken most of the week off to get this done.
#FirstWorldProblems
Did you get an entirely new frame for free? With the upgraded link? Also didn’t you just switch over the hardware from your current frame? I don’t know if I am reading that correctly I’d be pretty stoked on the time and few hundred bucks to be rocking a new frame. I guess I need to go get my calipers to check my headset!
Why would you want to swap frame if yours works?
Rando_12345
Active member
I had a similarish issue with a YT jeffsy frame where one of the frame bearings just fell out when I went to inspect it after 6 months. I sent a video, they told me to ship the bike back to them and they replaced the frame in under 2 weeks. That was a 2.5k bike. At 4-5 times the price, I would expect at least the same level of service...
Redders473
Active member
Let's not be trying to find reasons to get new frames folks it's not about that. If you have a genuine issues then troydon will help has much as he can, if your in the UK and need spare parts then troydon will more then likely send you to me for bashguards and frame protection and I will also help in anyway I can to get you back riding again.
Darren
Darren
AlumiPro
Active member
This is interesting because I too have headset clicking, all summer long. After messing with it for awhile, tighten-retighten, removing the fork, cleaning and re greasing all the bearings, the clicking went away for one or two rides then came back.
I contacted Troydon about it and even asked if anyone else had issues. He said to purchase new top and bottom bearing sets and try that. I now have the new bearing sets but haven’t installed them, figured I’d wait until I service the fork. And honestly these damn Bosch motors are SO noisy with the rocky terrain I ride, I have that to keep me irritated…….why not have a clicking sound along with a rattle sound, along with my ear buds turned up to drawn out some of it all. Thankfully Crestline is just flat out a bad ass emtb that’s more capable than most! This makes all the noises and a derailleur system(instead of gearbox) more tolerable! I’ve found Troydon’s service to be top notch, he has even answered one of my calls while he was actually riding his bike(talking to me through his hands free ear buds).
Be thankful you got the 180mm Cascade rear link free, I paid the $300 to give my Crestline 180mm rear travel over the original 170mm!
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Robstyle
Active member
I think Crestlines response is perfectly fair and reasonable.
Did you contact works components for a price on a custom headset cup?
Did you contact works components for a price on a custom headset cup?
AlumiPro
Active member
No I haven’t, nor was I aware of that option.
I will install the new headset bearing this winter when I service the fork, to see if that does the trick.
I’m not running any angle adjustment or offset. But I am at 190mm on the fork with high stack and 40mm riser bars.
I just think service should be at least as good as Specialized/Santa Cruz/YT/Canyon who would have undertaken to do all this work for free after dropping it off at the shop. I appreciate that it is hard without a dealer network and they do what they can, but it also sucks to be without my bike because the onus and stress has been on me to rebuild everything.
I was not interested in a new frame, it is about having a working bike.
I was not interested in a new frame, it is about having a working bike.
Sorry that you had these issues but I don’t think it’s realistic to compare Crestline to any of the brands you referred to (Specialized/Santa Cruz/YT/Canyon) as the scale of Crestline’s operations and annual revenue is not even remotely comparable to those long-standing major brands and their dealer network is still tiny due to their production volume - I think they may have produced less than 400 frames across their 2 product lines in the last 12 months.
Also, comparing them to Atherton is also not an apples-to-apples comparison; If you were in Washington State, I'm pretty sure Troydon would give you the shirt off his back if it would help. Atherton is based out Wales (not exactly next door to Surrey but closer than Bellingham, Washington), so yeah, they can do things like get someone a loaner bike. Plus, they have a frame that is not full carbon so it's repairable and their own factory to do the repairs in. All of this is possible because they are also way better funded than Crestline thanks to the nearly $4 million in funds that they have raised from Crowdfunding and VCs although the only own about 30% of the business now which could cause plenty of problems down the line when the board wants to cut costs.
While I get where you’re coming from -- you just want your bike…I honestly think what you wanted was a little unrealistic…the chance that your fully built bike would get over the pond and back in anything approaching decent shape is vanishingly small...I swear that every international shipper handles packages like Ace Ventura.
Shipping your frame back to the factory for a fix is a non-starter for more than just the likelihood of it being damage during transit. The biggest issue with your idea is that Crestline doesn't do their own manufacturing, they use VIP Composites out of Vietnam for their frame manufacturing (and probably assembly); they don't have a factory to ship things back to. From my experience, everything just goes back to Troydon's house in Washington.
As a business owner, I can tell you that Troydon exceeds my expectations for what an operation his size should be able to accomplish. For instance, I had an issue with the shock that I bought through him when I ordered my frameset. I sent an email about the issue and he called me back on my mobile within 10 mins and then shipped me a new shock the same day telling me to get him back the one that I had on the bike whenever I got around to swapping them.
While I would love for him to have a dealer network and the revenue and production capacity to do what you think he should be capable of, they're just not there yet. That said, Crestline delivers an outsized product and experience considering the size of the company.
Honestly, I'm kinda amazed that he even had a frame to send you since everything is and has been sold out for awhile and I'm pretty sure that he sent it with the upgraded Cascade link as way to offset the pain in the ass factor/cost of a rebuild.
As someone who makes their living from teaching companies how to improve their Customer Experience I can tell you that Troydon and crew do an excellent job with the resources they have.
In fact, it's pretty ambitious for a company of their size to be doing international business at all and I think what you're seeing is the limitations of what is possible for them to do given the lack of a larger international presence.
It sucks that you had an issue from what was basically a VIP quality control issue...I hope you've gotten the build done and have been able to go out for a ride and remember why you bought a Crestline in the first place.
Also, comparing them to Atherton is also not an apples-to-apples comparison; If you were in Washington State, I'm pretty sure Troydon would give you the shirt off his back if it would help. Atherton is based out Wales (not exactly next door to Surrey but closer than Bellingham, Washington), so yeah, they can do things like get someone a loaner bike. Plus, they have a frame that is not full carbon so it's repairable and their own factory to do the repairs in. All of this is possible because they are also way better funded than Crestline thanks to the nearly $4 million in funds that they have raised from Crowdfunding and VCs although the only own about 30% of the business now which could cause plenty of problems down the line when the board wants to cut costs.
While I get where you’re coming from -- you just want your bike…I honestly think what you wanted was a little unrealistic…the chance that your fully built bike would get over the pond and back in anything approaching decent shape is vanishingly small...I swear that every international shipper handles packages like Ace Ventura.
Shipping your frame back to the factory for a fix is a non-starter for more than just the likelihood of it being damage during transit. The biggest issue with your idea is that Crestline doesn't do their own manufacturing, they use VIP Composites out of Vietnam for their frame manufacturing (and probably assembly); they don't have a factory to ship things back to. From my experience, everything just goes back to Troydon's house in Washington.
As a business owner, I can tell you that Troydon exceeds my expectations for what an operation his size should be able to accomplish. For instance, I had an issue with the shock that I bought through him when I ordered my frameset. I sent an email about the issue and he called me back on my mobile within 10 mins and then shipped me a new shock the same day telling me to get him back the one that I had on the bike whenever I got around to swapping them.
While I would love for him to have a dealer network and the revenue and production capacity to do what you think he should be capable of, they're just not there yet. That said, Crestline delivers an outsized product and experience considering the size of the company.
Honestly, I'm kinda amazed that he even had a frame to send you since everything is and has been sold out for awhile and I'm pretty sure that he sent it with the upgraded Cascade link as way to offset the pain in the ass factor/cost of a rebuild.
As someone who makes their living from teaching companies how to improve their Customer Experience I can tell you that Troydon and crew do an excellent job with the resources they have.
In fact, it's pretty ambitious for a company of their size to be doing international business at all and I think what you're seeing is the limitations of what is possible for them to do given the lack of a larger international presence.
It sucks that you had an issue from what was basically a VIP quality control issue...I hope you've gotten the build done and have been able to go out for a ride and remember why you bought a Crestline in the first place.
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