Cloverleaf
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Triggers broom comes to mind when describing this bike. Back in 2004 I was without a trail bike having had my Orange EvO2 nicked 18 months before. My dad wanted to get out riding in the hills again, and I must say I was keen too, so he basically gave me a budget and told me to sort out a bike using the bits I had lying about (hey, I was a student and any spare money I had went on racing). Since then it's had a multitude of parts, it's done 100km+ rides, raced XC, DH and 4x, and generally been used as a bike should with lashings of abuse. Being a downhiller I knew I wanted something that was on the tougher end of the spectrum, and it was in was talking this conundrum over what to get with my mate Steve in Innerleithen's ProBikesport when he mentioned he had a Cove Stiffee frame sat there. It had originally been a demo bike, but barely used, and would I like it at a good price? At the time Cove were well regarded as producing some amazing bikes in their genres where the mainstream were still a bit of the same old, same old. So the answer was an emphatic yes, the price was definitely right, and it came with a Race Face Deus headset. Win.
Iteration number 1(ish)
It's been through so many configurations of gearing, finishing kit and forks that I have 100% forgotten much of it, but surprisingly only two wheelsets, and even then 97% of the riding was on one pair. It saw its fair share of winter training, broken bits, worn out bits and for a time was used for testing more 'trail' oriented stuff at Pinkbike. All in I reckon it's done at least 15k km which given how hard some of that riding has been is pretty impressive.
Frame: 2004 Cove Stiffee FR in 17.5". Black with maple leaf decals. This was the first year using the Easton RAD tubing rather than the earlier round stuff, but before they introduced the 3d forged dropouts. Personally I think it's the best looking one they did, in a simple, understated way. However, the one problem was that the powdercoat was bloody awful, and even by 2011 when I moved to an MSC Zion (and then KTM when I was sponsored by them for both Enduro and DH) was looking really tired (and all out missing in a many spots). In hindsight with my now melancholic retro head on I would have just had it redone in black but I decided to be different and went with a lovely shade of metallic grey thanks to now-no-more Colourworks in Innerleithen. The finish was about as good as I've ever seen from powdercoat and they had a great attention to detail with plugging threads and masking faces off but sadly their premises burnt down a few years later.
Iteration number 2(ish) with my old Vectra ST200 in the background
Forks: Oh if only I knew then what I know now. Originally I built this up with the mk1 Rock Shox Psylo SL I'd had on the EvO2 which had been away being warrantied when the rest of it was nicked. Then I picked up a pair of Manitou Milleniums which were great bits of kit, and annoyingly would now be perfect on the front end of my Tazer. Oh well. I then sold them when I picked up a pair of Fox 32 Talas RLC's with 140mm travel from Will Longden dirt cheap as I wanted something with more than 100mm travel. Then the Talas died, as they always do, although by then this frame was hanging in the workshop. When I rebuilt the bike after powder coating a few (erm, possibly 6) years ago, certainly pre-covid, I used a pair of old Z1 BAM's that I had sitting about. But they were always a little short and under sprung, and correct springs seemed unobtainium. Then I came across the Psylo Race fork it now wears. They're not perfect but about the right age, and they also have an early iteration of quick release 20mm axle with what Rock Shox coined the 'Tullio', a setup which needed no tools. It works well enough albeit what's required for trail riding on this bike is hardly cutting edge.
Headset: This is currently still the original Race Face Deus but when removing it for the powdercoating one of the bearings got damaged. I got it back together but in swapping forks about later it got worse so I'm on the lookout for something appropriate, or a replacement Deus bearing as it’s a really nice headset and has a low-ish stack height.
Stem/Bars: This was originally built with an X-Lite Steve Peat edition 50mm DH stem and ProTaper bars from the Rotec (and previously M1), but then I stuck the adjustable Syntace bar/stem combo that came with my 2005 GT DHI. This went through various iterations which included an old DH Nukeproof setup from my V10, some Azonic carbon bars, and now the Mk1 Burgtec 50mm Enduro stem from my old custom made Zumbi F11, and some matching RideWide Carbon DH bars from the Mega. As a complete tart it annoyed me that the logo on these was obscured by the clamp on the Tech 2 Hope levers I was using on that, and so I got some of the later ones with a different logo that cleared the clamp and moved this pair to the Stiffee. At 800mm most would say they're ridiculously wide but I've now got these exact bars on most of my bikes and they just work for me, and the guys at Burgtec are an awesome bunch which helps. Old Santa Cruz grips complete the package as I prefer glue on Renthals on my bigger bikes for control (thin grips are better for arm pump normally) whereas these are more padded for less travel and longer rides.
Iteration who knows, post rebuild number 1?
Seatpost/Saddle: This is the biggest annoyance on the bike as the frame is an archaic size of 26.8mm which is of no use to man nor beast, and most annoyingly of all it prevents the fitment of a dropper post, an invention that improves any bike. I originally built it up with the classic mk1 Easton EA50 after twenty years it was pretty tatty and worn, and after snapping the original bolt 20 miles from the car also a boggo M8 thing in there with a nylok nut. I do have a Roox 'Save the World' S4 seatpost in bronze but it’s a very tight fit as I think the frame has closed down on the worn Easton post over the years, but then I came across a correct sized Race Face XY layback one on ebay in great condition. Right length, right layback, and spot on for provenance given the Canadian connection so it was fitted. Previous saddles were a mix of the classic SDG Ti-Glide and the equally classic Bel Air, but the Bel Air was sold with another bike and I've now got an ex-PB test Crank Brothers Iodine thing. It's comfy enough but not the most aesthetic so one of these days I'll replace it with another Ti railed Bel Air, but for now it'll do.
Brakes: Originally there were Avid Juicy 7's from my GT DHI, then the spare Hayes HFX Mags from my M1 complete with GRC levers (which I've still got), then Mk2 Mags, and then Hope Tech 2 M4's which I sold for silly little money years ago when I moved to KTM and had parts I had to run. Post rebuild in 2018 I stuck some ex-test Trickstuff Cleg 4's on it but they've since been swapped out with some spare SRAM Guide RS's that I had sitting about. But they’re crap. In the five years they sat in the spares box the plastic master piston had expanded thanks to SRAM not using a DOT compatible plastic. I solved that by turning the OD down slightly with a drill and bit of wet and dry however they seem to have expanded again and the last time I took it out were decidedly sticky and didn't like the heat. SRAM sucks. I was looking for some Tech 4 levers to use on the V4 calipers I have on the M9 and then came across a deal on some X2 brakes. The Tech 4 levers made their way onto the M9 and the X2 calipers were paired with the old Tech 2 levers from the M9 and fitted to the Cove.
Cranks: I first built it up with a spare set of M952 XTR cranks from the DH bike along with a Forge DH spider spider running 32/44 chainrings. Given how light the bike is if I needed a granny ring back then I’d have been quicker walking, and there wasn't anything I couldn't get up. Then some test Middleburn duo cranks went on there in 29/44 with the three armed outer ring that provided the spider for the inner one. These were the last ones it was built up with in original paint. By the time I came to rebuilding this they were long sold and I had a glut of M781 XT things as they were what I was using on the enduro bike. They were pretty bombproof aside from ring tabs, and cheap as chips so a spare set were drafted in for this. However, when a pair of Middleburn RS8's came up on ebay at a steal I couldn’t resist. They've got a chunky single ring spider on them at the moment in red which looks a bit tacky so I plan to strip the cranks back to silver, polish them and get a single spline mounted ring in 36T - even these days without any training a granny sized ring is still a complete waste of time (my normal trail bike weighs nearly 40lb so the legs are fairly well conditioned).
Gearing: When I built it originally it was 2x9 with the classic XTR M952 rear mech, a SRAM X-Gen front one, a SRAM Rocket RH shifter and X9 LH. These were then swapped out for some X0 Gripshift and XO medium cage rear mech from the Rotec I've previously posted here. I think I then reverted to XTR with shifters to match. The rebuild seemed a sensible point to bring it up to the modern age given I did actually want to ride it so I went 1X with an M8000 XT rear mech and 11-40 cassette and M9000 XTR shifter. I thought I could put the M9000 XTR mech from my Mega on there when I stripped that down but it was buggered, as were the top three cogs of the 46T cassette I'd planned on swapping. Oh well.
Wheels: These are simpler. I built it up originally with a pair Mk2 Mavic Deemax which were bulletproof considering the abuse they took (aside from a few freehubs), then they were on my Tazer HT when rebuild time came around, and now they're on my old M1 FSR. Luckily I had some spare Easton Havens from my Zumbi to hand, albeit the bearings were knackered despite very little riding, but of course that was easily fixed. When I first used them on this with the Z1's I had to get a 15mm front axle from Easton and then a QR conversion from ebay to step it down but with the Tullio Psylos this problem went away and I was able to revert to the proper 20mm axle they came with. They're really nice wheels and roll fast but the sealing is poor and the bearings are too small (hmm, maybe why they roll fast!). Then again the bike isn’t exactly used hard these days and gets ridden only a few times a year so it's unlikely to ever become an issue.
Tyres: Lots and lots have passed through this frame, from Michelin Comp 24's to their old grey compound 'extreme' ones, various Maxxis Minions (great) and High Rollers (gopping). Currently I've got some 2.3 HRII Exos that my dad got in the optimistic hope they'd fit on his old Cannondale. As they didn't they were brought into use here. They're marginally better than the first generation but still far from my favourite tyre. As I am still a descender at heart I've got some Nukeproof ARDs in there which were originally 27.5" but have subsequently been cut down to size and glued back together with cyanoacrylate. They don’t do anything for tyre support but they should hopefully help protect the rim while using such lightweight tyres (yes, Exo is ridiculously light, I use DH tyres for 'trail riding' normally).
And as it sits now (minus the brakes)
So there you have it, another bike that has had a lot of history with me and carries many memories of great rides with many friends in many places. Bikes are well gid, no matter what they are. To me this is a Mint Sauce bike; it's a frame, it has wheels, and it puts a smile on my face no matter where I'm riding it.
Iteration number 1(ish)
It's been through so many configurations of gearing, finishing kit and forks that I have 100% forgotten much of it, but surprisingly only two wheelsets, and even then 97% of the riding was on one pair. It saw its fair share of winter training, broken bits, worn out bits and for a time was used for testing more 'trail' oriented stuff at Pinkbike. All in I reckon it's done at least 15k km which given how hard some of that riding has been is pretty impressive.
Frame: 2004 Cove Stiffee FR in 17.5". Black with maple leaf decals. This was the first year using the Easton RAD tubing rather than the earlier round stuff, but before they introduced the 3d forged dropouts. Personally I think it's the best looking one they did, in a simple, understated way. However, the one problem was that the powdercoat was bloody awful, and even by 2011 when I moved to an MSC Zion (and then KTM when I was sponsored by them for both Enduro and DH) was looking really tired (and all out missing in a many spots). In hindsight with my now melancholic retro head on I would have just had it redone in black but I decided to be different and went with a lovely shade of metallic grey thanks to now-no-more Colourworks in Innerleithen. The finish was about as good as I've ever seen from powdercoat and they had a great attention to detail with plugging threads and masking faces off but sadly their premises burnt down a few years later.
Iteration number 2(ish) with my old Vectra ST200 in the background
Forks: Oh if only I knew then what I know now. Originally I built this up with the mk1 Rock Shox Psylo SL I'd had on the EvO2 which had been away being warrantied when the rest of it was nicked. Then I picked up a pair of Manitou Milleniums which were great bits of kit, and annoyingly would now be perfect on the front end of my Tazer. Oh well. I then sold them when I picked up a pair of Fox 32 Talas RLC's with 140mm travel from Will Longden dirt cheap as I wanted something with more than 100mm travel. Then the Talas died, as they always do, although by then this frame was hanging in the workshop. When I rebuilt the bike after powder coating a few (erm, possibly 6) years ago, certainly pre-covid, I used a pair of old Z1 BAM's that I had sitting about. But they were always a little short and under sprung, and correct springs seemed unobtainium. Then I came across the Psylo Race fork it now wears. They're not perfect but about the right age, and they also have an early iteration of quick release 20mm axle with what Rock Shox coined the 'Tullio', a setup which needed no tools. It works well enough albeit what's required for trail riding on this bike is hardly cutting edge.
Headset: This is currently still the original Race Face Deus but when removing it for the powdercoating one of the bearings got damaged. I got it back together but in swapping forks about later it got worse so I'm on the lookout for something appropriate, or a replacement Deus bearing as it’s a really nice headset and has a low-ish stack height.
Stem/Bars: This was originally built with an X-Lite Steve Peat edition 50mm DH stem and ProTaper bars from the Rotec (and previously M1), but then I stuck the adjustable Syntace bar/stem combo that came with my 2005 GT DHI. This went through various iterations which included an old DH Nukeproof setup from my V10, some Azonic carbon bars, and now the Mk1 Burgtec 50mm Enduro stem from my old custom made Zumbi F11, and some matching RideWide Carbon DH bars from the Mega. As a complete tart it annoyed me that the logo on these was obscured by the clamp on the Tech 2 Hope levers I was using on that, and so I got some of the later ones with a different logo that cleared the clamp and moved this pair to the Stiffee. At 800mm most would say they're ridiculously wide but I've now got these exact bars on most of my bikes and they just work for me, and the guys at Burgtec are an awesome bunch which helps. Old Santa Cruz grips complete the package as I prefer glue on Renthals on my bigger bikes for control (thin grips are better for arm pump normally) whereas these are more padded for less travel and longer rides.
Iteration who knows, post rebuild number 1?
Seatpost/Saddle: This is the biggest annoyance on the bike as the frame is an archaic size of 26.8mm which is of no use to man nor beast, and most annoyingly of all it prevents the fitment of a dropper post, an invention that improves any bike. I originally built it up with the classic mk1 Easton EA50 after twenty years it was pretty tatty and worn, and after snapping the original bolt 20 miles from the car also a boggo M8 thing in there with a nylok nut. I do have a Roox 'Save the World' S4 seatpost in bronze but it’s a very tight fit as I think the frame has closed down on the worn Easton post over the years, but then I came across a correct sized Race Face XY layback one on ebay in great condition. Right length, right layback, and spot on for provenance given the Canadian connection so it was fitted. Previous saddles were a mix of the classic SDG Ti-Glide and the equally classic Bel Air, but the Bel Air was sold with another bike and I've now got an ex-PB test Crank Brothers Iodine thing. It's comfy enough but not the most aesthetic so one of these days I'll replace it with another Ti railed Bel Air, but for now it'll do.
Brakes: Originally there were Avid Juicy 7's from my GT DHI, then the spare Hayes HFX Mags from my M1 complete with GRC levers (which I've still got), then Mk2 Mags, and then Hope Tech 2 M4's which I sold for silly little money years ago when I moved to KTM and had parts I had to run. Post rebuild in 2018 I stuck some ex-test Trickstuff Cleg 4's on it but they've since been swapped out with some spare SRAM Guide RS's that I had sitting about. But they’re crap. In the five years they sat in the spares box the plastic master piston had expanded thanks to SRAM not using a DOT compatible plastic. I solved that by turning the OD down slightly with a drill and bit of wet and dry however they seem to have expanded again and the last time I took it out were decidedly sticky and didn't like the heat. SRAM sucks. I was looking for some Tech 4 levers to use on the V4 calipers I have on the M9 and then came across a deal on some X2 brakes. The Tech 4 levers made their way onto the M9 and the X2 calipers were paired with the old Tech 2 levers from the M9 and fitted to the Cove.
Cranks: I first built it up with a spare set of M952 XTR cranks from the DH bike along with a Forge DH spider spider running 32/44 chainrings. Given how light the bike is if I needed a granny ring back then I’d have been quicker walking, and there wasn't anything I couldn't get up. Then some test Middleburn duo cranks went on there in 29/44 with the three armed outer ring that provided the spider for the inner one. These were the last ones it was built up with in original paint. By the time I came to rebuilding this they were long sold and I had a glut of M781 XT things as they were what I was using on the enduro bike. They were pretty bombproof aside from ring tabs, and cheap as chips so a spare set were drafted in for this. However, when a pair of Middleburn RS8's came up on ebay at a steal I couldn’t resist. They've got a chunky single ring spider on them at the moment in red which looks a bit tacky so I plan to strip the cranks back to silver, polish them and get a single spline mounted ring in 36T - even these days without any training a granny sized ring is still a complete waste of time (my normal trail bike weighs nearly 40lb so the legs are fairly well conditioned).
Gearing: When I built it originally it was 2x9 with the classic XTR M952 rear mech, a SRAM X-Gen front one, a SRAM Rocket RH shifter and X9 LH. These were then swapped out for some X0 Gripshift and XO medium cage rear mech from the Rotec I've previously posted here. I think I then reverted to XTR with shifters to match. The rebuild seemed a sensible point to bring it up to the modern age given I did actually want to ride it so I went 1X with an M8000 XT rear mech and 11-40 cassette and M9000 XTR shifter. I thought I could put the M9000 XTR mech from my Mega on there when I stripped that down but it was buggered, as were the top three cogs of the 46T cassette I'd planned on swapping. Oh well.
Wheels: These are simpler. I built it up originally with a pair Mk2 Mavic Deemax which were bulletproof considering the abuse they took (aside from a few freehubs), then they were on my Tazer HT when rebuild time came around, and now they're on my old M1 FSR. Luckily I had some spare Easton Havens from my Zumbi to hand, albeit the bearings were knackered despite very little riding, but of course that was easily fixed. When I first used them on this with the Z1's I had to get a 15mm front axle from Easton and then a QR conversion from ebay to step it down but with the Tullio Psylos this problem went away and I was able to revert to the proper 20mm axle they came with. They're really nice wheels and roll fast but the sealing is poor and the bearings are too small (hmm, maybe why they roll fast!). Then again the bike isn’t exactly used hard these days and gets ridden only a few times a year so it's unlikely to ever become an issue.
Tyres: Lots and lots have passed through this frame, from Michelin Comp 24's to their old grey compound 'extreme' ones, various Maxxis Minions (great) and High Rollers (gopping). Currently I've got some 2.3 HRII Exos that my dad got in the optimistic hope they'd fit on his old Cannondale. As they didn't they were brought into use here. They're marginally better than the first generation but still far from my favourite tyre. As I am still a descender at heart I've got some Nukeproof ARDs in there which were originally 27.5" but have subsequently been cut down to size and glued back together with cyanoacrylate. They don’t do anything for tyre support but they should hopefully help protect the rim while using such lightweight tyres (yes, Exo is ridiculously light, I use DH tyres for 'trail riding' normally).
And as it sits now (minus the brakes)
So there you have it, another bike that has had a lot of history with me and carries many memories of great rides with many friends in many places. Bikes are well gid, no matter what they are. To me this is a Mint Sauce bike; it's a frame, it has wheels, and it puts a smile on my face no matter where I'm riding it.
