I can tell you about the Honzo ESD's capabilities as I see them, but only in isolation and in comparison to what I'm capable of on bikes like the Santa Cruz Nomad, Trek Slash, and Yeti SB150. I haven't ridden anything from Chromag for a couple of years, and that was the last time I rode a hardtail off road. In case it wasn't obvious already, my reviewing powers are somewhat compromised here, because I don't have recent experience on any bikes that might be considered direct competitors. Assuming I get the post up to perfect health that is. I could make some upgrades but, aside from fork travel, I can't see any reason to. It's rare that a selection of components suits my needs and wants so well.
The wheels were good, although protected by inserts, I really liked the WTB saddle, and even the grips were to my liking. The tire selection was seemingly taken from my wish list, and while I'd take a MaxxGrip up front and a little more volume, I never found them wanting. The shifting and braking, provided by a mix of Shimano Deore, an XT shifter (an excellent touch), and an SLX cassette, never let me down for an instant. It improved some after I cranked the air pressure and applied some lube, but it remains less than perfect. After six months of riding, the only minor gripe I have is that the Trans X seat post has become a little grouchy recently, getting stuck during extension. In my First Impressions piece I couldn't find much to fault about the well-chosen component mix on the Honzo ESD. And come on, it's not even made of aluminum FFS. Well, nothing but your buddy stealing your beer and threatening to throw your steel steed into the hollow stump that's filled with beer cans. I am instead feeding off some hardtail cred, which is worth nothing in my skewed circle. Despite the cliché, the boost that comes from that symbiotic gravity train might be my favourite mountain biking sensation. Another issue is that we weren't ' feeding off each other' while riding close to our limit, because I was generally a little slower. I guess it's not only ego, although my competitive nature always lurks just below the surface.
2021 CANFIELD NIMBLE 9 FULL
Which means, the only thing keeping me from riding a hardtail full time, besides my age and my vocation, is my ego. Who likes getting moved back on the grid? Despite keeping up much better than I feared, and even better than my riding buddies expected, I wasn't able to challenge the fastest riders on today's ride. The missing link was comrades riding similarly constrained technology.
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