When I first asked Walt to build my V2 frameset I was satisfying a rabid curiosity that stalked me every time I rode my V1. There were these trails that I loved, like Pipeline or Upper Digger on Fromme, that I could ride on my V1 and there were trails a couple degrees easier that I could comfortably ride on my V1. 

I know this doesn’t sound like much of an epiphany, but I felt that a longer and slacker bike, with a more balanced ride between the wheels, could bridge the gap between trails that were much more fun on a bike with suspension and my obsession with riding a rigid single-speed. 

I felt it, but I didn’t know it. My doubts are evident in the fact that V2 is suspension-corrected and has a much less expensive powder-coat finish. Credit to Peter Simonson here, I was going to get it painted white and only ended up with Cosmic Lilac after he told me I was old and boring (or something to that effect – thank you, Peter). 

My first ride was on Mt Seymour, on trails I was happy to ride my V1 up, down, and across, in an effort to discover where my V2 was less fun. I know that sounds negative but I needed to know what I’d given up with the more truculent geometry. Which didn’t seem to be anything?!

I’d kept the seated climbing position similar, with my relatively slack 73.5° seat tube angle, and with a 20mm shorter stem, my standing form was approximately the same. The stable bike was actually easier to navigate around some of the tightest uphill switchbacks as it could be comfortably leaned over more out of the saddle. Traction was improved with the longer stays, especially standing and trying to hook up the rear tire on loose climbs. Amazing! 

After my first ride, I knew I’d hit on something that was going to work for me everywhere. In the parking lot, looking at my bike, I remember being relieved. It was a lot of thought, never mind treasure, invested in my need to know and it paid dividends. 

As I started to explore our boundaries the V2 made fun challenges out of sections of trails that had been terrifying on my V1. It was not without a learning curve, the bike wants to go fast but doesn’t have any suspension so it’s important to always be engaged in good line selection, under control of the momentum, and balanced between the wheels. I still occasionally roll into something that’s fine at the top and too rough and fast at the bottom. 

A couple years on, with (tens) more riders adopting modern rigid rigs for mountain biking, it’s sometimes weird to me that I still haven’t seen anything as mean as my V2. Actually, most of the stuff I see out there isn’t as mean as my V1. But then, who’s to say that the idea would work as well for anyone else? 

I’ll warn you now, that it’s not always love at first use. There may be an adjustment period, and there may be a period of adjustments. But (almost) everyone I know who’s been so enthralled by their custom idea that they’ve pursued it through time, dollars, and doubt to a completed product was happy to have taken the trip. 

The ride is the final step in the custom process and as long as your new rig, wrap, or widget brings you whatever kind of happiness you were seeking, from a relaxed improvement in comfort to a stoked improvement in capability, it’s a success.