Review of the all new trail bike by the Forbidden Cycles. Introducing the Druid! [Links] Black's Cycles: www.blackscycle.ca [Socialize] Instagram: / island.bike.life
Hello there, first off I want to say great work on this one. Second, your trails are super beautiful. A few things I did't get from the video left me with some questions if can remember, I know its been while since you were on this. Would you say its as flickable as the SB130/Ripley/Tallboy lower link? How heavy was it on this build (28-29lbs)? Would you say its a very planted bike or would you say its very poppy and playful bike? On janky chundery downhill stuff is it super stable, plushy, muting the trail suspension (like the Hightower/SB150) or does it get bucked around quite a bite due to its progressive climbing nature? Would you say its a pretty noisy bike with that pulley? Seemed a little loud on the video but not sure if there were factors for that. Thanks again for you content, good stuff!
Thanks for watching. It is a very playful bike in most situations. I wouldn't consider it planted as say an SB150 but it isn't the same as say a Tallboy or similar travel bike. It is very stable overall but not at the sacrifice of feeling able to jump around or things like that. The pulley gets louder as it gets dirty but I didn't really notice it that much, though it is there. When it is clean it doesn't add much sound but as it got dunked up it did for sure. Great bike and the frame it self is on par with others and so the weight will be dependant on what you put on there. This one was sub 30lbs for sure but I didn't get a full weight on it.
Great review, how would you compare this to 2020 switchblade, gonna pull the trigger on one or the other this weekend. I can get a druid by Tuesday but have to wait until mid Jan for a pivot.
Great review - ride performance, tech spexs, etc. I'm guessing good portion of the price tag is based on the high pivot design. But can you tell me, if I drop that kind of $ on a frame, can it take a beating? I ride hard and tend to crash a fair bit. Thanks!
What a fantastic channel! I love your videos and the way you present them. I am currently looking for a new bike and wondered if you could help me with your point of view. the druid over the SB130 or would you rather go for a tallboy or hightower. I am living in Scotland and mostly ride trails, which can get gnarly sometimes. I am just an average rider who has to go back to work on a Monday morning, which means I wouldn't need anything bigger or longer travel... I will try to demo the bikes before choosing, but maybe you can help me shorten the list a bit.
Thanks for watching! I would probably lean towards the Druid or the Hightower if I was buying a new bike today. Both are great all rounders. I have a video for the HT also if you want to check it out.
Both are great bikes all around. They both pedal very well but I would say the SB130 is a bit more stable when descending if you run the Druid at 140 up front. If running it at 150 they are pretty equal. Availability for the Druid will be the biggest issue.
@@IslandBikeLife Thanks man! Much appreciated. What about playfulness between the two bikes with respect to suspension and geometry - getting the bike off the ground? Thanks again!
These bikes look sick but the Reach is definitely on the shorter end of modern bikes Side note: Corsair bikes (marque was their trail bike) did upper pulley's like this. Not as high up but similar idea. Unfortunately they were 10 years ahead of their time since trying to make an idler pulley that played well with front derailleurs didn't really work out too well. With 1x up front it would be a lot easier to implement.
Very interesting, now that they are coming with an XT built, I m really interested. I currently own an Evil Calling. Would you say the sb130 or Druid is more « fun » to ride ? Is the Druid better value ? Did you notice any chain issue with the extra pivot ?
They are both really fun bikes. The only thing I noticed with the high pivot was some increased noise when the chain was dirty. If kept clean I don’t think it would be an issue at all.
Ive owned both bikes, the suspension on the druid feels much deeper, it just blasts through things. The sb130 has a tighter feeling and skips over the top of stuff. I think the yeti pedals better, but the druid is much better on the downs. The sb130 feels like 130 mm of travel.
Nice bike. It would be super cool if you could try running the new orbea occam, which has 140 mm travel and 150 mm travel on the fork. Think it would be a good trail bike.
Thanks for your time and work, really the best reviews. im looking for a premium short travel trailbike, my weight is around 230lbs, so Ripley isnt really an option, frame is twichy and flexy for my weight. Im looking for comfort, efficiency , a fun bike who good on long multiday rides, and a good climber. T429 , tallboy 4, Druid ? Descending really dosent matter, as all of these bikes have more than enaugh travel, that i need.
Either is a good choice. The Druid would be great but you need to build a kit yourself of course. If that doesn’t interest you then I would take the Tallboy over the Pivot.
Is it too much bike for flat-Ish trails? I live in Florida so I don’t want more than 130 travel in the back, but I also intend on traveling with the bike.
Another really unique bike to check out is the Marin mount vision. I pedaled one around yesterday and was blown away, magic carpet ride with crazy pedaling efficiency
Thinking of replacing my Evil Offering and Evil Following MB with one of these. How poppy and playful did you find it? My Following MB is my favourite bike to date because of its playfulness and poppyness, and i don't want to lose any of that. But at the same time, want to try a different bike.
Out of the way from your leg. After awhile, the more dirty the bike is, the more extra noise it makes. It was only thing I really noticed about the bike that bugged me, but is a worthwhile issue given how the bike rides.
That’s a hard one as both are great. I would probably go with the Druid overall. The pedal platform is excellent and while the Offering is great for an Evil bike it doesn’t really compete there. Both are very fun on the trail and descending. Cable management on the Evil is not as nice so as a quality of life feature the Druid wins there. Being very small I would worry about warranty frame availability with Forbidden early on but as they grow I am sure that will not be an issue.
Based on your fairly detailed review of this bike & the fact that you considered climbing, descending as well as 'flat' terrain riding - I would like to know what your thoughts & experience has been with Felt's Equilink & FAST suspension...
Nice review. The frame is a little out of my price range though. Coming from the Northeast, I could use a bike like this, though. Need to save my pennies!
Technology, cost, Taiwan vs China, bikes will be approaching the depreciation rates for vehicles soon. Love the idea of building something, what a great notch to have on a belt. $6, 7 , 8 grand for a trail bike? For a few grams of weight.... its becoming an expensive hobby.
Definitely a contender for my next bike, thank you for making this review
Thanks for watching!
"So, what kind of bike do you ride?"
"Oh, I could tell you, it's Forbidden, Druid."
"Whatever man, don't tell me, but don't call me a Druid."
.
Hahaa thanks for watching
Thanks for your in depth thoughts on this bike. Definitely worth a demo. New sub, cheers!
Thanks for the support and watching!
Love your work. Love supporting Canadian/local products. This would be the bike if my Exprezo broke.
Thanks for watching and the support. I really like this bike as a trail bike. Super fun to ride!
Great review. Great info
Hello there, first off I want to say great work on this one. Second, your trails are super beautiful. A few things I did't get from the video left me with some questions if can remember, I know its been while since you were on this.
Would you say its as flickable as the SB130/Ripley/Tallboy lower link?
How heavy was it on this build (28-29lbs)?
Would you say its a very planted bike or would you say its very poppy and playful bike?
On janky chundery downhill stuff is it super stable, plushy, muting the trail suspension (like the Hightower/SB150) or does it get bucked around quite a bite due to its progressive climbing nature?
Would you say its a pretty noisy bike with that pulley? Seemed a little loud on the video but not sure if there were factors for that.
Thanks again for you content, good stuff!
Thanks for watching. It is a very playful bike in most situations. I wouldn't consider it planted as say an SB150 but it isn't the same as say a Tallboy or similar travel bike. It is very stable overall but not at the sacrifice of feeling able to jump around or things like that. The pulley gets louder as it gets dirty but I didn't really notice it that much, though it is there. When it is clean it doesn't add much sound but as it got dunked up it did for sure. Great bike and the frame it self is on par with others and so the weight will be dependant on what you put on there. This one was sub 30lbs for sure but I didn't get a full weight on it.
BUZZWORDS
Great review, how would you compare this to 2020 switchblade, gonna pull the trigger on one or the other this weekend. I can get a druid by Tuesday but have to wait until mid Jan for a pivot.
Go with the Druid, I preferred it. Great bike, just a stellar all around ride.
For somebody sitting right at 6 ft tall what size would you recommend LG or XL...do not like to have a tight fitting cockpit...Thanks
These trails look awesome. Been thinking about making the trek over from Squamish. Which trail network is this?
This was filmed in Cumberland. Thanks for watching.
Thank you for creating this great insight..
Great review - ride performance, tech spexs, etc. I'm guessing good portion of the price tag is based on the high pivot design. But can you tell me, if I drop that kind of $ on a frame, can it take a beating? I ride hard and tend to crash a fair bit. Thanks!
The frame is as robust as any other frame. It is well built but anything can happen in a crash. I wouldn’t base your decision on that alone.
What a fantastic channel! I love your videos and the way you present them. I am currently looking for a new bike and wondered if you could help me with your point of view. the druid over the SB130 or would you rather go for a tallboy or hightower. I am living in Scotland and mostly ride trails, which can get gnarly sometimes. I am just an average rider who has to go back to work on a Monday morning, which means I wouldn't need anything bigger or longer travel... I will try to demo the bikes before choosing, but maybe you can help me shorten the list a bit.
Thanks for watching! I would probably lean towards the Druid or the Hightower if I was buying a new bike today. Both are great all rounders. I have a video for the HT also if you want to check it out.
Island Bike Life thank you very much for the quick reply. I will book some demos. I already watched the Hightower video.
Nice review and reviews of other bikes - thank you!!! I am interested in your thoughts between the SB130 and Druid?
Both are great bikes all around. They both pedal very well but I would say the SB130 is a bit more stable when descending if you run the Druid at 140 up front. If running it at 150 they are pretty equal. Availability for the Druid will be the biggest issue.
@@IslandBikeLife Thanks man! Much appreciated. What about playfulness between the two bikes with respect to suspension and geometry - getting the bike off the ground? Thanks again!
Great review. Cool looking bike. Think I'd want something with a little more travel for park usage.
It's not about how much travel you have but how you use it
Seeing one locally in my size and dream build (a bit steep $) tempted to say the least!
Great review. Thank you!
Thank you for watching!
These bikes look sick but the Reach is definitely on the shorter end of modern bikes
Side note: Corsair bikes (marque was their trail bike) did upper pulley's like this. Not as high up but similar idea. Unfortunately they were 10 years ahead of their time since trying to make an idler pulley that played well with front derailleurs didn't really work out too well. With 1x up front it would be a lot easier to implement.
Dude..... great review, awesome looking bike....more importantly ...... NICE ASLAN tee!!! If you've ridden an Ibis Ripmo, how does it compare?
Thanks for watching. I have a RipMo review on the channel you should check it out!
Very interesting, now that they are coming with an XT built, I m really interested. I currently own an Evil Calling. Would you say the sb130 or Druid is more « fun » to ride ? Is the Druid better value ? Did you notice any chain issue with the extra pivot ?
They are both really fun bikes. The only thing I noticed with the high pivot was some increased noise when the chain was dirty. If kept clean I don’t think it would be an issue at all.
Ive owned both bikes, the suspension on the druid feels much deeper, it just blasts through things. The sb130 has a tighter feeling and skips over the top of stuff. I think the yeti pedals better, but the druid is much better on the downs. The sb130 feels like 130 mm of travel.
Chris Pobanz thanks ! I sold my Evil Calling and waiting for the Druid XT to be available 👌
Nice bike.
It would be super cool if you could try running the new orbea occam, which has 140 mm travel and 150 mm travel on the fork. Think it would be a good trail bike.
It looks like a great bike. Finding Orbea demos around here is tricky. They are not a very popular bike. I will see what I can do.
Thanks for your time and work, really the best reviews.
im looking for a premium short travel trailbike, my weight is around 230lbs, so Ripley isnt really an option, frame is twichy and flexy for my weight.
Im looking for comfort, efficiency , a fun bike who good on long multiday rides, and a good climber.
T429 , tallboy 4, Druid ? Descending really dosent matter, as all of these bikes have more than enaugh travel, that i need.
Either is a good choice. The Druid would be great but you need to build a kit yourself of course. If that doesn’t interest you then I would take the Tallboy over the Pivot.
Excellent review
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the review and just subscribed
Thanks for viewing and the sub! Enjoy
Is it too much bike for flat-Ish trails? I live in Florida so I don’t want more than 130 travel in the back, but I also intend on traveling with the bike.
It isn’t too much but there are better choices out there. But if you travel with it, it could be a good trade off
Best Vid I’ve Seen Bud! Nice Job & I’m Stoked to one day try and review one myself! 👍🏼🚲💨
Thanks for watching! You will love it, great bike!
Been watching for a bit & just needed to say great honesty & “realness”! 👏🏼
Thanks for the feedback!
Deviate is a HPP trail bike I think
Another really unique bike to check out is the Marin mount vision. I pedaled one around yesterday and was blown away, magic carpet ride with crazy pedaling efficiency
Thinking of replacing my Evil Offering and Evil Following MB with one of these. How poppy and playful did you find it? My Following MB is my favourite bike to date because of its playfulness and poppyness, and i don't want to lose any of that. But at the same time, want to try a different bike.
It is a very playful bike. I don’t think you would be disappointed at all with it.
@@IslandBikeLife Thanks! Sounds like this might be the bike for me then. keep up the great work
Is the offering not that playful. Looking at Offering/Ripmo & gg smash
@@MattPayne1 Mine had a push coil in the rear, and i found it didn't get that ramp up i was looking for when trying to pop off of things.
Nice review, I really like the look of these. A bit out of my price range though.
Thanks for watching!
Will the oval chain ring can make a difference to that design?
No an oval ring will work just fine.
Does the idler wheel on the frame shred your leg or is it pretty out the way
Out of the way from your leg. After awhile, the more dirty the bike is, the more extra noise it makes. It was only thing I really noticed about the bike that bugged me, but is a worthwhile issue given how the bike rides.
@@IslandBikeLife o right. Thanks and a great review
How tall are you? Was the size L good for you? I’m 1.86cm and didn’t get one because the XL isn’t available yet :/
About 6’1”. I would go with an XL at my height. They will be available late August I am told.
@@IslandBikeLife Cool, thanks man! I'm between the Druid, the Pole Stamina 140 ans the SB130. Hard to choose when you can't test ride them all!
@@germi1 I also interested in the difference between Sb130 and Druid!
Between a Druid and Offering, what would you pick and why? Right now riding a Following V1 and wanting to upgrade. Great reviews. Thanks
That’s a hard one as both are great. I would probably go with the Druid overall. The pedal platform is excellent and while the Offering is great for an Evil bike it doesn’t really compete there. Both are very fun on the trail and descending. Cable management on the Evil is not as nice so as a quality of life feature the Druid wins there. Being very small I would worry about warranty frame availability with Forbidden early on but as they grow I am sure that will not be an issue.
This bike looks so strange but I imagine rides so smooth!
Yeah it really does, very great and unique bike for the trail segment for sure!
if the Island is in the extreme southwest corner of BC, it's it the Pacific South West??
Haha no it is considered the Pacific Northwest, though fair point.
@@IslandBikeLife you sure like to say 'Pacific North West' a lot in your videos.
Based on your fairly detailed review of this bike & the fact that you considered climbing, descending as well as 'flat' terrain riding - I would like to know what your thoughts & experience has been with Felt's Equilink & FAST suspension...
I have never ridden a Felt so I can really comment on that.
What's the difference between the XT and SLX?
Very little. Some weight savings and a few little things that most people wouldn’t notice.
Nice review. The frame is a little out of my price range though. Coming from the Northeast, I could use a bike like this, though. Need to save my pennies!
Thanks for watching. It is a great bike and would suit the northeastern trails nicely for sure!
Technology, cost, Taiwan vs China, bikes will be approaching the depreciation rates for vehicles soon. Love the idea of building something, what a great notch to have on a belt. $6, 7 , 8 grand for a trail bike? For a few grams of weight.... its becoming an expensive hobby.
Totally agree
Yeti Switch over DW for efficiency? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm
I prefer SI over the DW for sure.
This video just reminded me how much i hate noisy hubs !
Haha I know. The Onyx hubs I have on my personal bike are great.
that hub is soooo loud lol
Haha yes it really is!
oh whats up jason statham
Haha I have heard that before.
ryan’s setup is better- 14k
Yeah, his build is pretty amazing!
Island Bike Life man tell me about it
to much money for to little bike imo
The new full SLX and XT kits are comparatively very good value.
I would have liked to see the bike more, rather than you while you talked. Nice work though. Thanks.
feels like lot of them copying Santa cruz set up!!!! boooo!!!!!
May look similar but this is completely different to santa Cruz's vvp