Pipedream Sirius Review - BikeRadar

Last time we rode Pipedream’s Sirius back in 2007 its no-nonsense own-brand tubeset and sub-£200 frame price put it at the no-frills end of the market, but we liked the way it rode all the same.

A price hike to £349 may seem steep, but the frame has been comprehensively redesigned with Reynolds 853 main tubes and sliding, singlespeed-conversion-friendly dropouts headlining a long list of subtle improvements.

For heavy, abusive or particularly adventurous riders, the Sirius’s 130mm travel cut-off may prove a limiting factor. At the other end of the scale, we’re not convinced a 90mm fork will do the frame justice, and it’s probably overbuilt for pure cross-country race duties.

But fitted with the type of 120mm-ish trail riding fork that’s proving increasingly popular, this is quite simply all the bike most riders will need. Light, lively, versatile and a whole bunch  of fun, it’s also exceedingly good value.

Ride & handling: Super-light and lively; not the best choice for extended rock-bashing sessions

With its low weight, slick components and promise of 853-powered ride quality, we had high expectations of the Sirius – and it didn’t disappoint. Where the original frame, built from heavier and lower tech steel, offered just a tantalising glimpse of the potential for a ferrous frame to shine in the rough, the redesigned Sirius delivers in spades.

There are hints of the onerous fatigue-testing requirements of the new CEN standard in the head tube area reinforcements, but the extra strength hasn’t resulted in a harsh ride. The thin walls of the main tubes maintain plenty of comfort through choppy sections of trail, while the chunkier stays (19mm compared to 16mm on the old Pipedream) contribute to a snappy-feeling rear end that positively revels in being driven hard.

We expected the bigger stay diameter to result in a rougher ride, but our test Sirius was subtly but noticeably more resilient overall than another 853-tubed bike that we rode alongside it, the Genesis Altitude 30. The Sirius shrugs off fast, rock-strewn sections of singletrack with a floaty, wafting feel that belies its potential for lung-searing uphill speed.

The bike had us either scrabbling for a smaller sprocket on the climbs or braking harder and later. It doesn’t have the big-hit potential of some of the competition, but that may not matter. Fast, fit cross-country riders will love it for its instant responses; the rest of us will simply revel in its rider-friendly handling and day-long trail riding comfort. Truly the best of all possible worlds.

Frame & equipment: Reynolds 853 makeover turns a good chassis into a great one

Geometry designed to accommodate 90-130mm forks puts the Sirius in everyday trail riding territory, but don’t assume it’s a one-trick pony. Slender top and down tubes hewn from Reynolds’ superb 853 steel provide enough rigidity for stomp-and-go power with plenty of thin-walled steel zing for comfort – an apparently contradictory accomplishment that works remarkably well.

The head tube is 20 percent thicker than before and there are twin open-ended gussets at the top and down tube junctions, so the front end will withstand plenty of abuse from ham-fisted or plain unlucky riders. Seat and chainstays snake from seat tube to dropout with enough curviness to clear both ankles and tyres up to 2.5in, while the bridgeless chainstays provide yet more mud-plugging room.

Increased stay diameter doesn’t seem to have had much impact on ride quality. Bolt-on sliding dropouts, meanwhile, don’t have the aesthetic appeal of the minimalist socket alternatives, but allow for a very easy singlespeed conversion or a bigger diameter 650B rear wheel. Despite its ‘up to 130mm’ billing, our bike came fitted with a 100-140mm Fox 32, but this didn’t appear to upset the handling in the slightest.

Wearing a wishlist of British parts from Hope and USE alongside a full Shimano Deore XT transmission, our Sirius’s complete build price of under £1,500 came as a pleasant surprise. There’s nothing we’d change for general trail riding, but Hope’s good looking Race X2 brakes wouldn’t be our first choice for long, steep descents.

User Reviews

There are 3 reviews on this post

Submit Your Review: