I took the Paragon to the South Downs today for the first proper ride, just west of Findon to be exact. Weather conditions were about as perfect as they get, 27 degrees, no clouds, no wind, dusty trails. 
I have to say it’s amazing how smooth a suspension fork and 29in wheel makes the front end. Even with that really smooth ride the fork and head tube are still plenty stiff enough. This has to be one of the most effortless bikes to lift, keep stable and land smoothly I’ve ever come across for a XC bike. Not that I do much jumping but my last few bikes were pretty poor in that respect. The 185mm front rotor is a nice touch that helps deliver loads of braking power, even though the brakes aren’t fully bedded in yet. I don’t know exactly what Sram have done with the X.9 group over the last few years since my last Sram geared bike but this lot feels loads smoother and faster shifting. In the future I might have to change the tires but at the moment the large volume gives a comfortable ride and the XDX performs well enough on dust covered bone dry trails. On the whole I think this is a very fast and capable bike, can’t wait to try out the new bits this Sunday.
Seeing as I’ve already ordered Ergon grips and wider bars I don’t really need to mention how bad the stock stuff is. But the steering really does wander and the rubber grips feel awful after a little while. Other than that the Paragon is a really sweet ride.
I have to say it’s amazing how smooth a suspension fork and 29in wheel makes the front end. Even with that really smooth ride the fork and head tube are still plenty stiff enough. This has to be one of the most effortless bikes to lift, keep stable and land smoothly I’ve ever come across for a XC bike. Not that I do much jumping but my last few bikes were pretty poor in that respect. The 185mm front rotor is a nice touch that helps deliver loads of braking power, even though the brakes aren’t fully bedded in yet. I don’t know exactly what Sram have done with the X.9 group over the last few years since my last Sram geared bike but this lot feels loads smoother and faster shifting. In the future I might have to change the tires but at the moment the large volume gives a comfortable ride and the XDX performs well enough on dust covered bone dry trails. On the whole I think this is a very fast and capable bike, can’t wait to try out the new bits this Sunday.
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