Gavin Richardson
18 March 25
Crestline DH Bike - Special Edition
Here for the hot laps
Crestline DH Special Edition | 9 of 20
"The Leg Powered Downhill Race Rebel"
When your frame is 1 of only 20 in the world then its pretty bougee right... Well.. When you custom build that frame with your own components then its 1 of 1 in the world.
If you have ever read any of our custom build blogs then you may recognise the components on this one.
Basically our customer is racing DH this season and we built a Forbidden Dreadnought into a DH bike. But he has a great relationship with Crestline after riding their ebikes for a while. Then the opportunity arose to get his hands on this frame.
Queue the phonecall to strip the last build and recreate it on this beautiful frame! I Cant complain.
What's The Cog
We contantly get asked what the idler wheel is for and if its an ebike? No its not an ebike and the idler wheel is due to its linkage providing a rearward axle path.
This helps the rear get up and over those square edge hits and stops it from hanging up.
Because of its rearward axle path, it would have whats known as 'chain growth' which would negatively effect suspension performance as it fights against a tensioning chain.
But the idler wheel eliminates that from happening as it sits on or around the pivot point.
Check the video below from Trek explaining how it works in more detail.
Trek Explain how their high piviot bikes work
What Even is Crestline?
Well this is what they have to say about themselves -
"Established late in December of 2020 by two friends with a unified vision and no compromise approach to DH and Ebike performance."
"Crestline is perfectly positioned to shake up the status quo when it comes to a focus on bikes that like to get down."
"One of the up-sides of being a smaller company is not having the pressure to follow the usual market trends and this allows us the ability to hone in on unique ideas that ultimately produce authentic and unique products."
"The first offering from our brand, the RS 205 VHP, really showcases all of the above."
" Inspired by the terrain that surrounded the founders homes in Southern California, and even naming the company after Crestline CA - a renown local DH shuttle zone - should go some way to explaining the heritage of our bike brand."
"Our combined love of the decent, plus year-round riding conditions experienced in Southern California, coupled with the sheer variety of trails, make for countless hours riding downhill."
"In addition, one of our founders is now cutting his teeth on all the goods that the PNW has to offer having recently moved to Bellingham WA. This has really provided the ideal situation to design, test and develop some cutting edge gravity biased mountain bikes and ebikes fit for all terrains and weather conditions. "We only go up to come down!"
Aaron Gwin has a big part to play in Crestline these days too. Runnning the Crestline DH team and taking partnership in the Crestline brand.
The Build
We littered this one with some of the finest components.
Lets start with the main attraction, Ohlins Suspension. Obviously when you're racing, suspension set-up can make or break your race.
It can be the reason for seconds lost. So if you want to win, you have to invest in tunable components that you're confident in.
Our customer is well versed in Ohlins so he feels right at home on this rig.
Next up rubber! Tyres are another breaking point when it comes to racing. Make the wrong choice and you'll be sliding like a seal on an iceburg. Continental is our customers choice, Kryptotal on the rear with an Argotal on the front. These obviously get changed depending on race conditions.
The rubber is wrapped around a set of Hope Pro 5 Fortus wheels.
Finishing Kit
Most of the finishing kit is Burgtec as seen on most DH builds these days and for good reason. Seatpost, Stem, Bars, Saddle and Seat Clamp to finish off.
The tubeless valves and the all new Monarch grips from Peaty's.
One thing that isn't clear on the pictures is the Hayes Dominion brakes. These things are unreal anchors. I have only had the pleasure of testing them on an ebike but believe me they can stop you on a dime. The lever is nice and short and feels really comfortable.
I cant recommend these brakes enough. Our customer has had them on numerous bikes so that says it all.
Whats the spec?
Frame - Crestline DH RS205
Drivetrain - SRAM GXDH Derailleur and Cassette. (We went for GX as the cassette is about a third of the price of XO1.)
Forks - Ohlins DH38 M.1
Shock - Ohlins TTX22 Coil.
Brakes - Hayes Dominion Bronze.
Wheels - Hope Pro 5 Fortus 30 Peaty's Bronze Tubeless Valves
Tyres - Continental Kryptotal Rear 2.4, Argotal 2.4 Front
Handlebars - Burgtec 31.8 DH Bar 30mm Rise
Stem - Burgtec Direct Mount 31.8
Grips - Peaty's Monarch Grips - Bronze Clamps
Saddle - Burgtec Cloud
Seatclamp - Burgtec Bronze
Seatpost - Burgtec
Pedals - Crankbrothers Mallet DH
Final Words
Crestline have designed some real stand out bikes. All very limited, all very bougee.
Whenever it's in the shop it gets a lot of attention from customers, its a real stand out bike. We look forward to seeing what results it gets in the UK DH races this year.
We created a fun little video below of our build. Have a watch, its only short. Let us know what you think in the commments.
Our Magic Build Video Of The Crestline
MEET THE AUTHOR
GAVIN RICHARDSON
Some say Gavin invented the wheel. They are lying of course, but he does build a mean set.
Chief of Cykel House, aging rider and father of 3. Gavin has been riding the majority of his life in multiple different forms. He created Cykel House out of passion and enthusiasm for the sport which cannot be matched.
Always on the hunt for the best products and latest trends his finger is right on the pulse.
Interesting fact - Gavin won a handwriting competition at age 7. What a legend.
Likes - A well built berm, beer and raw sprouts
Dislikes - Stainburn woods, headset cable routing and lycra
