Forbidden Druid Long Term Review

[@mitchwarren1600]

Great to get a better understanding of why my high pivot bike feels great! Thanks Guy

[@sixtysecondsofstephens2386]

Great explaination of what the high pivot idler does.

[@MTB_Derbyshire]

Very interesting bit of engineering. Yep the cricket ball analogy worked for me 😁👍

[@energ8t]

I'm about 18 months on my Druid. Still love this thing. I've added a PUSH coil, Vorsprung Secus to the Fox 36 (now at 160), and a Cascade Link (142 mm travel). Running Assegai front tire and Dissector rear. This thing is an absolute all-around beast now. The Secus is a really key upgrade which brings the front and rear in better balance, probably the best upgrade I've ever done to a fork. Likewise, the Cascade link is an incredible bump in performance as well. I've been noticing on Strava, while not conclusive, the Druid tends to be faster on a complete loop, but not necessarily the fastest up or down. It does perform up and down very well overall, with a slight benefit on the DH. Climbing, nevertheless, is very good on this bike. I almost never bother locking out the rear as the isolation is so good.

[@GuyKesTV]

That sounds super dialled, not tried the Secus yet but the Performance Elite was definitely being worked super hard on the bike I had.

[@Shred_Tube]

how does the druid do with climbing?

[@musbox]

I just put a deposit on one and was thinking about doing some similar mods. I'm curious to know what kind of terrain you're riding? My area has a lot of chunky, rocky trails that are full of roots, and that was making it difficult for me to pull the trigger. But I love the look and feel of this bike, so I went ahead with it thinking I could add the travel if it was lacking.

[@ericramin1576]

Thanks Guy, I own this bike and it rips! Good review man

[@kdl1066]

Pink bike just did review on 2 high pivot bikes and were shocked to say they had a harsh ride not what they were expecting.

[@GuyKesTV]

Think that was MBR? But yeah high, mid or low pivot, single pivot or linkage, whatever the set up you’ve still got to get the shock tune right for the kinematics

[@pauljellybeanjones5740]

Hi Guy long time no see ! Thanks for an entertaining insight into the Druid I’m so interested to test this out 🎯 keep it up mate

[@GuyKesTV]

Ey up mate, how are you keeping? Good I hope?

[@dirannelee-renwick8740]

Great review! I’ve been riding my Druid for about 6 months now and it is sensational. The one thing you articulated so well was the fact the rear is so good that you almost have too much grip. That hits the nail on the head with what I’ve been trying to work out - think it’s time to experiment with some different tyres. You said you’ve tried it with a semi-slick; what have you tried? And what’s your favourite type combo on the Druid?

[@LemonySnicket-EUC]

Did you keep it ?

[@lynnbattista787]

Great unscripted review… better than any I ve seen, and I ve seen many!

[@GuyKesTV]

Cheers Lynn, really glad you enjoyed it. I just can't be arsed to script as you lose the immediacy. Plus I'd forget it anyway and then get pissed off rather than just reacting to what I'm feeling.

[@kam1l0]

Love those bikes, wih I could order one and sell my Trek TF :P TF is very good but my riding style = Druid ^^

[@troyhudson2825]

Sticks like a slug on a dog bowl... indeed. That is brilliant. The mullet rig is all aces.

[@GuyKesTV]

Haha forgot I said that 🤣

[@sg410_mtb]

Nice vid! Have you had the opportunity to ride the Dreadnought? Would love your comparison if so!

[@limwellsingson]

Hello Guy what do you think about the Druid vs Hightower V2? Which do you prefer?

[@dim1983]

Hi there! Very nice and helpful review! What was the size of this bike, is it an XL? Seems that the seat tube length is too big !

[@GuyKesTV]

Thanks Dimitris. It's a large frame but I have short legs for my 180cm height so post is slammed

[@claudioisasi2914]

Hi! You mention that the rear suspension, due to the wonderful high-pivot design, with only 130 mm travel feels more capable than the front. Could you please provide your opinion if you think increasing the fork travel to 160 would be beneficial for the Druid, or would it mess up the overall suspension?

[@parkergohrick9936]

I've been riding mine with a 160 fork for a year its worked fine for me.

[@claudioisasi2914]

@@parkergohrick9936 thank you for the reply.

[@musbox]

Just put a deposit on one, and was wondering that exact same thing!

[@divedaz]

Guy, how does it stack up against the Deviate bikes?

[@ashleyscarth8363]

Stage 1 look very dry which day did you ride it, it's was bit wet on Friday top review guy 👍

[@GuyKesTV]

I asked Joe if I could go up there Thursday for a recce.

[@justinwbohner]

It's a pretty fast bike for 125mm of travel.

[@mrgravyman]

License to get lairy!

[@jameslines9794]

Reach is relatively short for today's standards?

[@GuyKesTV]

Yeah slightly but then the bike came out three years ago.

[@jameslines9794]

@@GuyKesTV interesting. I didnt realise that. Nice review as always

[@gweflj]

It’s always a compromise isn’t it? You add reach, you add wheelbase. If you want a bike that can be dynamic at slow (where most of the time is lost in races) speed you don’t want a 500mm reach large.

[@GuyKesTV]

@@gweflj yep it’s interesting how many top enduro racers run much shorter bikes than the current fashion because they’re skilful enough to handle the reduced stability at speed and it lets them absolutely rip the tighter sections.

[@gweflj]

@@GuyKesTV Exactly Guy. So the industry is pushing average non-pro's to ride bikes that they never learn the dynamic bike/body separation to be fast on a bike at slow at slow speeds and subsequently can never translate it to higher speeds....

[@archieleigh-wood6111]

hi gay