The Singular Cycles Gryphon frame is built up and being ridden now on real dirt since winter has given up its grip on our trails now. Here are my first impressions on this drop bar specific frame and rigid fork. You can see my earlier posts on this bike here and here.
In transitioning from winter to spring here, I was able to ride the Gryphon in a multitude of conditions ranging from snow and ice to mud, to dry single track. This gave me a good feel for how this steel frame handles. I also was able to test the ride quality and handling traits in true single track conditions recently as well. So let’s get to it…….
In less than ideal conditions the Singular was a good handling bike. Stability was excellent, owing to the Gryphon’s lowish bottom bracket height, which is 11 3/8ths” as I have the eccentric set on it. (Approximately at six o’clock, or at the lowest setting) This gave me the distinct feel of being in between the wheels more so than some other 29″ers. The Gryphon is a bit more towards the quicker side of the handling spectrum in terms of turning. Not at all twitchy, mind you. No- Just not what I would call slow handling, or even neutral handling. The stability/quicker turn in combination may seem incongruous to some, but the one isn’t necessarily tied to the other. The Gryphon is a perfect example of this.
When using the brakes, I noticed that the feel was solid and chatter free in regards to the front fork. I am using a 185mm rotor on the front with an Avid BB-7 caliper. Even the rear brake felt noticeably more solid. These brakes came right off another rig I have and have been used before, so it isn’t a case of new parts here. I think the shorter fork, and Singular’s use of a beefy brace in the rear triangle are benefiting me here in terms of the solid brake feel.
Ride feel was smoother than some rigid steel rigs I have ridden. I noticed that the Singular rig uses a bit smaller diameter top tube and down tube than some other steel framed bikes I have here. That’s probably where I am getting some of that “smoove” steel feel from. Another very noticeable trait I found out about the Gryphon was the snappy feel upon acceleration. Stomp the pedal and the Singular squirts forward without winding up or feeling dead. Bottom bracket rigidity seemed very good as well. By the way, I have soaked the eccentric in snow, and even dunked it in a three foot water filled pot hole. So far- No squeaks or squawks. The bike feels pretty easy to loft. I was able to pop the front end up with ease, and afterward noted that the chain stays were a short-ish 17 5/8ths effective length as I have the eccentric bottom bracket set up. The fork tracked well and was a decent feeling fork on smoother trail. Of course it still is a rigid fork and it will remind you of that should you smack a trail obstacle hidden by last fall’s leaves!
Tire clearance is average. No- You are not going to have much if any room with the widest rims and 2.4′s and chain stay rub is a very real possibility with such a set up. 28mm wide rims will still leave little room with certain 2.4″ tires. But the Singular will accept most any 2.3″ or less tire on most any rim. I ran DT Swiss TK 7.1 disc rims with a Vulpine in the back and had scads of mud clearance. The front fork seems to have plenty of clearance, so a bigger tire here, where it counts most on a rigid bike, is certainly a possibility.
So far the Gryphon has impressed with ride feel, snappy acceleration, and a stable feel in less than ideal situations, (mud, ice, snow), with great turn in on single track. I want to put more time on it in off road situations before I make any further assessments on its off road prowess, but the outlook is promising. Consider the fact that we have a rigid specific ride here. It isn’t going to be a rock garden slayer, or anything you’d do much all mountain stuff on. No, this is a different type of ride and as such, it may not appeal to those of you who aspire to ride off the next biggest rock you can find. I would liken this to the bike you grab for most anything outside of the all mountain category, even for commuting or some road work at times.
Look for another post on drop bar set ups in relation to this bike and also a comparison head to head with Salsa Cycles Fargo in the coming weeks. Afterward I’ll post up a final review on this rig.
Note: The reviewed frame and fork is being provided to Twenty Nine Inches at no charge for review. We are not being paid or bribed for this review. We will give our honest opinion or thoughts through out.
Looks great, I will be building one like this too
Hello Ted,
This looks like a good steel build. Was wondering what bars and levers you’re running with the BB-7′s? I’m in the process of building up a multi-purpose ride and I’m leaning towards a Lynsky Ridgeline w/carbon fork. I’m researching wheels and would like to go with a wider rim (28-35 mm) wieght not a huge issue but durabilty/reliabilty are. Any suggestions? Look forward to your insights.
Happy trails
my daughter has raced an early super-small prototype gryphon for several seasons. got to agree with GT’s assessment by and large. this is a nimble 29er, crisp riding and very very dialed in. no idea on commuting and whatnot, for her it is her no 1 mtn bike plain and simple and she has had good success on it as such.
she uses normal bb7′s, and tektro/cane-creek mtn-style drop bar levers. we do not hold to the angly school of off-road drop ( such as the midge/WTB ), and prefer the older ibis / nitto style of a normal top, drop, with a flare at the bottom. currently she is using a ritchey bio-max and is very happy with it.
this is a very very well thought out bike.
@Buzz: I am using Tektro linear pull brake specific levers with a Woodchipper Bar from Salsa Cycles.
As for rims, you can find many great ones in your stated range. For 28mm wide ones I like Stan’s Flow, Bontrager Dusters, and Salsa Semis, (although Semis are 30mm wide)
For the wider rims I like the Velocity P-35 and Salsa Gordos which are 35mm wide. The Velocity rims are slightly lighter and slightly easier to set up tubeless though.
Thanks to #3 and G.T. for the useful info. Funny how things overlap isn’t it? I’ll keep you posted on the build…but Singular has piqued my curiosity now. My main issue is comfort as I am no longer able to tolerate road bike positions but unwilling to give up on the thrill of a certain ammount of road speed/ miles, hence the search for a more upright multi purpose ride.
you are welcome, buzz.
not to disagree with GT, but i do not see the bike as being in the same ballpark as a fargo, anymore than an old cunningham indian is. it is a drop bar mtn bike. my girl has won iceman by a half hour ( jr field ), and podiumed in theoverall elite field in a wors race on her mini-gryphon. don’t think a fargo is made for that. i suppose you could do some commuting and touring and stuff on the gryphon, but it is a mtn bike.
Anon,
I totally agree with you about the Gryphon. And congratulations on your daughter’s racing success. But, I think because of the novel nature of dropbar-specific mountain bikes, comparisons with the Fargo are inevitable.
While the Gryphon is SS, the Fargo and Peregrine are multi’s. Thats a necessity for me as I already have a SS. What intrigues me about the mtn. bike configuration is the ability to achieve a more upright posture especially if you ignore standover and size up using h.t. dimensions, say from a M to L. i.e. longer steerer tube=more stack highth. My most used bike is a GT ZRX but its still to unfriendly to my neck even in a frame thats a size larger (at least) than you would commonly ride.
Gryphon has a derailler hanger, so it can run gears if desired. For that matter, I’m pretty sure Peregrine has an EBB and can run SS.
Thanks John. I’ll be more thorough in perusing the Singular site.
@Anonymous, John B: I’ll be doing a hard look at both the Fargo and Singular in a head to head comparo real soon. I’ve already made some measurements and have been riding them back to back. So far, my findings are that there are more similarities than you guys are thinking here.
While it is true the Fargo and Gryphon have different intentions, they do their job in a very similar fashion. I’ll save the rest for my report.
Eagerly awaiting it, GT.