Bird Aether 9C - Building Your Dream Trail MTB
In this video we attempt to build an ultra-fast trail bike, capable of taming the best trails centres and natural rides. The idea was to build something light and capable, with a focus on nimble and composed handling. In this video you get to hear about our plan and watch the build step by step - we introduce each of the parts and explain why they were chosen.
The trail bike is built as follows:
Frame: Bird Aether 9 C (carbon) 130mm
Forks: Rock Shox PIke Ultimate 130mm
Shock: Rock Shox Super Deluxe Ultimate
Wheelset: DT Swiss XM481 on Hope Pro 4 hubs
Tyres: Maxxis Dissector 3C EXO 2.4
Groupset: SRAM GX
Controls: Raceface Next R Carbon
Bash Guard and Guide: MRP AMG
Brakes: Formula Cura 2 200mm/180mm
Seatpost: Bird 200mm internal dropper post
Saddle: Ergon SM Sport
We feel that we built a really special trail bike. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments.
0:00 Intro to Bird Aether 9C build
0:48 We found ourselves a bike mechanic... And a Porsche!
1:37 Setting the scene for this trail bike build
3:00 Why bother building a trail bike?
3:35 The Bird Aether 9C frame
4:08 Rock Shox Super Deluxe Ultimate Air rear shock
4:51 MRP AMG Bash Guard
5:12 SRAM GX groupset
6:21 Rock Shox Pike Ultimate 130mm
6:41 RaceFace Next R carbon bars
7:43 Formula Cuda 2 MTB disc brakes
9:12 Installing the wheelset and tyres
9:58 How to install cushcore XC in less than 3 minutes!
11:53 Revealing the Trail Bike Dream Build!
If you are new to my videos then expect to see high quality riding vlogs shot in the same style as McTrail Rider and BKXC. I try to travel to the best MTB locations in Scotland finding you the best mountain biking trails to ride, enjoy and explore.
I am sponsored by Bird Cycleworks. To they make incredible bikes at really competitive prices. check out their range of bikes and more at their website: www.bird.bike/
I am sponsored by Mudhugger. They make the best MTB mud protection out there! www.themudhugger.co.uk/
I am supported by Endura clothing. This is one of the most respected brands in the industry. To see why check out www.endurasport.com/
My bike is maintained by Bspoke Cycles Peebles. They offer insanely good service and I cannot recommend them enough. Check them out at bspokepeebles.co.uk/
#ultimatetrailbike #trailbike #dreambuildvideo
Пікірлер: 78
The tyre on a bin trick always works!
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
It does! Clark swears by it 👌
Yea, looks pretty perfect to me lads
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Cheers Nick 👌
Great build vid, think Clark might get an Oscar nomination for the part he played in it 😂😂. Bike looks amazing!!!
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Ha ha. I'll let him know he's in demand! Cheers Alan 😁
Got my new bike from bird in Consett last year and love it the lads built what I asked for it’s a green company and great blokes run it 👍👍👍👍👍👍
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Nice! What did you go for bud?
@stephenbrown5672
Жыл бұрын
A went for the aeris am 9 a love it such a great bike for the money 👍
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, they are bonkers good. Rode one for 3 years and had so many good adventures on it. Hope you enjoy it bud 👍
Looks awesome….love the silver bits….I have silver hope and Burgtec on my trek rail 9.8 🤘🤘
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Cheers mate. Sounds like you have a bit of a beaut yourself 👌🤙
Very exciting. Now you just need an ebike and you'll have a whip for every single eventuality 👍
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Mmm. Eeeeeb 🤤
Very nice build, but I am biased cos Clarky built my 9c to similar spec 😂. I got it built for same reasons - mountains and trails centres.Mines raw carbon black, same forks but 140mm, and hope brakes. wheels, tyres, hubs, drivetrain the same 😊. It’s a brilliant bike, slays the climbs and ace at glenlivet. Had it up several big hills days on munros too, nice and light to hike a bike and handles the chunks on way down. Hope you like it and look forward to seeing it in action on vids.
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Brilliant. So far I'm very impressed. I just love how nimble and active it feels but with that reassuring Bird geometry that always gives stability and confidence. Very happy! Cheers for taking time to comment bud 👍
That is an absolute beauty Mate 👍
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Cheers buddy. She's a beaut ❤️
Great edit, cant wait for the test ride :D
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Can't wait to share the test ride location with you! A good time was had 😁
Enjoyed that mate.
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Cheers mate. Appreciate that 👍
A lovely build for big days out 👊
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
It should be 👌
Great looking bike 👌🏻 will look forward to the first video on it
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Thanks buddy. The first video is a good one. Just about to get on the edit 👍
Wow what an edit! Great job and looking forward to the first ride vid! Keen to hear how you get on with the Formulas too!
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Cannot wait to share the next vid with you! Cheers guys 😁😁😁
Stunning bike, love the matte black & silver. It really pops, hope you enjoy it
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Thanks mate. Been a good few rides already and it is proving a hard bike to stop riding!
Dude that’s a sick rig love the satin black the silver all over ties in great enjoy dude 🔥
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Thanks man. Feel like the black and silver really works. Thanks buddy 👍
Looks really nice,them forks look proper nice too👍🔥
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Cheers. Yeah, those Silver lowers are genius. It's the second set of silver Pikes I've had. They look so good 👍
You're building up a dream bike collection there! That black with silver touches go so well 👌🏻
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Cheers bud. Yeah, the matt black looks really cool in real life! Love it ❤️
Every time I check out your channel you’re getting a new bike 😮🤯. Stunning bike btw
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Ha ha. Yeah, it probably seems like that! Hopefully the roster will be stable for the foreseeable future. Glad you like the bike. Cheers for taking time to comment bud 👍
Lovely bike Jamie 😊
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Julia. I'm enjoying it very much. It looks great and is so much fun to ride 😁
Love it, the perfect compliment to the big bike and HT 💥. Love the editing and music including the Porsche drone shot 😎. Not that I really care about weight, but interesting point about the wireless shifter setup being heavier than a old school cable setup. Anyhoo, looking forward to seeing the adventures to come 🤟
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Thanks Marcus. Glad you enjoyed the video mate. I loved shooting the build - also getting to be a passenger in a sweet car! Looking forward to getting on a few different adventures with this bike. It is rapid!
Lovely rig, I’m tempted to pick up an air shock for my aether 9A at some point to mix it up a bit
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, I think on lower travel lighter bikes they make a load of sense. I love the plush, bottomless feel of the coil on my Aeris 9 - for rough and tough off piste I wouldn't change it. However, for trail and just pure fun, the poppy feel you get with air is brilliant. The 9C feels so fun and chuckable. I really like it.
Piggery Smokery ultimate in bacon rolls 😋😋😋
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
They are something special!
That’s a well thought out build. I reckon that bikes gonna be more capable than a lot of people will think, and I’ve got a feeling it’ll become your go to. It’ll be interesting to hear your opinion on the tyres after a few rides
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Thanks buddy. It's really interesting that you say that as I'm struggling to keep off it! I love that you can head out a ride and mix it between XC and gnarly enduro trails. It's so capable!
@RicardoPetrazzi
Жыл бұрын
I too was wondering about the Dissector tyres....wasn'y too sure about using them myself, but I see there potential also
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Hi guys. So far the Dissectors are a real surprise. As a trail centre tyre they work well. Less rolling resistance than your DHF/Assegai types with predictable grip. You can lean with confidence - quite different from something like a Rekon. What I like is they will take a decent amount of mud as well. If you are a trail rider who spends decent time off piste as well then these are great do it all tyres.
@stolimano3723
Жыл бұрын
Sold! I’m gonna hoy one on the back. I’m a big fan of the ss minions rolling resistance for trail centres, but their braking performance isn’t great in the off piste loam/mud here in the north east of England, hence I’ve went back to a dhr2. These could be the perfect tyre for me
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, I think it would be worth a shout mate 👍
Great video! Interested to hear what you think of the formula brakes. I’ve got the cura 4 on my orange stage 6 and love them
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Other than taking a while to bed in they are excellent! Similar initial bite to Shimano but better modulation after. I'm a fan already and would happily switch from Shimano to Formula.
Great vid, dodgy mechanic though 😂😁
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
I know. I'm not sure about him at all 🤣
Nice build! It’s going to fly a the trail centres. Hope you get to enjoy it soon. For someone with only a single bike doing a variety of riding do you think the Pike or the Lyrik would be a better all rounder?
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Ooh. Good question. If you hit rough, off piste trails more than half the time I'd say Lyrik. I'd say of you really are an all rounder then the Pike is a magic fork. It's really light, performs brilliantly in all but the roughest conditions - even in the super rough it works well: you just don't get quite the same stiffness as the Lyrik or bomb-proof Zeb 👍
Wow I can’t believe this I watch your vids and noticed the Porsche and thought wait a minute that’s the bike shop I pass every day on my way to work (Kirkwood Homes) we passed that bike shop and went in past a few weeks ago. Cool stuff I take it your from this area too? Ps I have a THOK mig v2
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
Nice. Mate, I'm not from the area sadly. Down in the Tweed Valley though so it's all good!
@scottmo31
Жыл бұрын
But I was correct about that shop yes? How you get in tow with him?
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
I think it's the right shop buddy!
I have learnt something from your video. I didn't know you could get bikes with less than 150 travel. Will you have to wear lycra to ride this bike? 🤣
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
🤣🤣🤣 You'll not be saying that when you see today's video! This is a legit fast bike on the more trail centre orientated trails... Saying thay, the lycra has cut down the wind resistance 👌
Like, drool, comment, subscribe, drool some more, max out your Credit Card on new parts lol 😂😂🤘🤘
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
🤣🤣🤣
7:43 I am curious to know how these perform in the long run, curious to see if you will have issues with bushing wearing fast, like I did with Cura 4. I read they use plastic bushings, no wonder mine wore out somewhere between 300 and 400km. Other than that, perfect. So I think I will get the RG Components levers, as they have bearings.
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
I've only ridden the bike for a hundred kms or so. So far I've loved the brakes - my only criticism is they took probably two rides to bed in. I like that the initial bite feels similar to Shimano but the modulation after the initial bite is better and more controllable.
@mtbboy1993
Жыл бұрын
@@streetpigeonmtb I like to bed in the brakes be for ei go for a long ride. Brkae down a hill on repeat, it gets the job done. I've not had any unusual bed in time. I think both the organic and sintered pads perform well, much better than shimano, as Shimano meyallic/sintered crack, and the resin/organic wear super fast.
What Ergon saddle is that Jamie? Fancy trying one myself.
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
I think it's a Ergon Mountain SM Sport. I'm slowly adding them to all my bikes. They are so comfy. Think Clark has some, sure he'll sort you out 👍
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
This is similar amzn.to/3I0fIpZ
Wants to make the bike light so puts the heaviest hubs he could find and cushcore in just to make the wheels as heavy as he could. Just use DT hubs
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
You have a point to make. Maybe try doing it in a less needlessly negative way 🤷♂️ Building a light bike was a priority but it wasn't the only part of the remit. The bottom line is this bike will be out in the mountains and will be riding trail centres such as Laggan. Riding those places without cushcore and solid hubs would be pretty pointless IMO. As I say though, you are entitled to an opinion. Why not just make your point without being passive aggressive?
@CM9999999999
Жыл бұрын
@@streetpigeonmtb Sorry if it came across that way. That wasnt my intention. Personally I havent found a better hub that DT for weight to strength and whilst hope hubs have their place they are heavy for no real benefit IMHO.
@streetpigeonmtb
Жыл бұрын
No worries. I can't say I know a lot about the DT hubs themselves. The Hope have proved to be dependable for sure but I can understand why you'd go for a lighter hub. I was very dubious about the Cushcore XC but I honestly think they are good on two fronts: 1) They are definitely taking chatter out of the trail that the shorter travel suspension doesn't 2) They have already saved me from a flat (I think) when I misjudged a gap over roots and smashed my rear wheel onto a root - big hit but no damage to tyre or rim. I suppose the challenge with a trail bike is where you compromise. It's always going to be a battle and a talking point. Thanks for clarifying your comment bud.