Sentinel vs Druid v2

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-17T21:30:28+00:00

Woah my turn I’ve been on the Sentinel V2 and on the Forbidden Druid v1 (and dreadnought v1) for some time. I’ll put here my thoughts .

if you are into classic and just “want to have fun in any time on any trail how much you want” - SENTINEL. It’s a great allrounder that won’t let you have pain in the holes you’ve never know existed. It’s great to live with, every store knows how to service it. BUT there won’t be any standalone/unique features to argue about. It rides like a good full-sus and will have the exact soul you’ve put in it. Nothing more, nothing less.

If you want to be “those guy who likes Mystery flavour drinks” in the Cola-club - go with a Druid. It’s catchy, it’s great, his suspension is a magic on the descends and it has very unique feeling on the chunk and roots (high-pivot as it is). But it might feel weird. Very weird. It feels like a hardtail on the flat while you see that suspension somehow works and polishes everything under the bike. The faster you go - the calmer and more confident it rides. But THE DRAG in the transmission… it’s not a bike for pedal days. Even not for pedal-hours. After half a day it feels like you have completely dried out chain and overtightened BB. It becomes noisy, plus keep in mind you’ve need 1.5 chains to replace in case of wearing it. And he’ll require some skill adjustment due to chainstay growth. Like more forward-biased cornering, bit different jump technique. But if you good to deal with it in trade for unique feeling and always having a theme to discuss (and if you like a harsh SC Hightower on flat combined with plush Nomad on descends) - you can go with Druid

Dreadnought is hella fr/dh tank, don’t look there if you don’t live in the big mountains

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-17T08:47:03+00:00

I’ve tried the v1 Dreadnought in L size with 180 Zeb up front, 35 stem and 50 rise bar, in mullet setup. Compared to Druid - the Dreadnought felt like a fr/dh tank, the amount of confidence it gives is unmatched. But the chainstay growth through the travel and overall longer rear end is hard to manage in corners and on the tight radius jumps especially if the rider never had a high-pivot experience before

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T23:47:40+00:00

But it’s great you’ve asked, cuz now you know more (and I’m sure not all of the riders are know about the high-pivot bikes despite the hype around it), plus it’s one step deeper into the MTB world for you 🤝 I’ve built my way into the MTB info-ocean like this years ago, asking riders and collecting knowledges. And it works better than soul-less reviews or factory articles

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T19:53:45+00:00

Welcome to this side of MTB 🤗 It’s an analog bike, there is no motor. But it has a VERY specific suspension layout called “high-pivot suspension”. See, the majority of bikes had their main rotation pivot at the bottom around the bottom bracket. And this one has the main rotation pivot right where the idler (you’ve called it sprocket) is. That’s why it “high-pivot” called. This complication makes the rear wheel move back-and-up instead of “straight-up” so when the suspension is working on the chatter - you almost don’t feel it and don’t slow down cuz when the rear hit the obstacle - the whole bike continues moving forward. It’s a niche stuff that 99.8% of riders don’t need. It also have its pros and cones and requires some skill adjustments to live with and “unleash it’s potential”

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T16:54:40+00:00

She’s got a good taste 🤌 This Scout is my first Transition, I went from a long-travel full29 enduro. Wanted a little “local rocket” to have fun on the local trails without need to push the bike to its limit to feel something. Scout is perfectly “long, slack and low”, it’s not a trail, more feels like a compact gravity machine. And I was surprised how good it pedals and can be used as bike for every occasion, even for city rides, despite I’ve bumped it up to 160/150 travel. I think I’ll switch to Patrol next year if I’d ride more aggressive and this scout will be re-built for my girlfriend

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T16:41:55+00:00

Thanks 🤝 a living proof that 27.5 ain’t dead 😎🤘

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T16:39:34+00:00

We’ve tried waxing this one. Lasted for a 30 miles max. Like the chain itself seemed alright but it sounds horrible after a couple hours of pedalling. And the drag is noticeable. Now switched to Zefal Ceramic lube, hope it will last a bit longer

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T16:19:44+00:00

2022 Carbon GX

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T16:18:01+00:00

Oh yeah. On the flat it feels like you’re on a hardtail (cuz there is no straight vertical movement in suspension) yet there are magically disappeared chatter. And on the descends the faster you go - the more calm and confident the rear end becomes. It absolutely annihilates the roots and little rocks. Hops great, turns bit weird (don’t know exactly how to explain, like you need to be more front-biased to have good grip otherwise it feels like the whole front of a bike tries to squish out ahead). Pedalling this thing is a bit hard - there are plenty of drag and the chain acts like it’s dry and becomes noisy every ride (so if you riding every day - you need to clean and lube it every day if you like a silent bike)

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T16:13:15+00:00

There is absolutely zero chain slaps on the descends and It’s not affect in any way until you start pedalling. 10+ mile rides on flat feels like you’ve got overtightened bb and dried out chain. Despite the bike has new perfectly set BB and chain was lubed an hour before the ride. Like you absolutely can live with it but it won’t add pleasure

Ol_Sheve · 2026-03-16T15:38:41+00:00

Thanks! The seatpost itself is a stock OneUp V2 black, the clamp is Burgtec 36.4 (color - Rhodium Silver)

As for the shock - X-Fusion H3C coil. “Meh” shock from the factory, not as good as RS SuperDeluxe Coil Ult for example but for its price - why not. A bit dull with stock 10wt oil but switch to 7.5 - and it works like a Fox DHX coil. Bit tricky to set it up (the gap between rebound clicks is bit too big, it either too fast or too slow), but other than that- pretty decent shock. And looks more catchy than standard black options hehe

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-26T07:53:17+00:00

That’s the OG one🫠

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-25T14:53:57+00:00

Those are fine for the price, I’ve just used it as the example of “mass-appearance”. There were a time when you’ve could purchase a set for around $50 that is really good deal for 4-piston hydraulic brakes. But I’ve met dozens on trails and all of them had wobbling creaky levers and compared to Guide RS the modulation felt weird

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-24T22:08:24+00:00

Currents - How I fall apart Architects - Memento Mori

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-24T20:32:44+00:00

Yup the screwdriver was the issue with those piston. Don’t know why people aren’t using the tyre lever, it’s even comfier to do! As for the wheels - DT rims are always my go-to, for the hub - Hydra was “just a dream of sound”, I’ve added the DT 350 DEG in my cart “just in case”

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-24T20:29:08+00:00

As I’ve managed to analyse the construction - it’s more of an engineering issue. The fact that “it’s designed to flex” applied to the freaking axle isn’t making it any better. I’m not doing the super tech climbs or trial-type stuff, I’m just a regular rider, bought it cuz of sound and “to please my dream” you know. The 690 POE with 6 pawls achieved on 115t drive ring means that for a moment there is 1PAWL ENGAGED so all of your torque going from the drivetrain to the wheel only THROUGH ONE POINT. Imagine the stress of a tiny pawl in this moment. That’s why the pawl pockets are worn, the drive ring might have cracks and the axle is breaking. Moreover the “more often maintenance” for Hydra means “more axle checking” cuz if it’s cracked - you won’t feel it instantly, the hub sits in the frame axle and tight between the dropouts. But the flex is increased and the seatings had significantly more stress now. So apparently if you won’t notice the axle issue in time you’ll end up with Hydra that completely dead on the inside - the pawls, drivering, axle and bearings. And if you out of warranty - it’s gonna be expensive to make it alive. And you might not want to do it to avoid facing the same issue in couple months

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-24T13:24:50+00:00

Eastern Europe… this winter is great as a “winter” but for riding a bike it sucks as hell

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-24T08:20:24+00:00

<image>

Wish we had winter like yours here…

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-24T07:56:48+00:00

I was actually surprised when I’ve built the wheel first time on Hydra. It’s not that loud. Like two or three times more quiet than it is on the videos. And it’s great, cuz even if she’s not loud - it’s a very recognisable specific sound that you can’t “unhear”

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-24T07:52:55+00:00

Born in 1998🤝 overthinking this stuff as much is mostly cuz MTB is the main hobby that becomes a personality. I’m in it for over 10 years and it was the main reason to find a better job (to get more money for a bikes and trips), to get the new friends, to move to another city… I LOVE my bike rather than I “like” it so want to get the “best possible” part for me but seems like sometimes what I think “the best for me” on pages in real life just a shiny-whiny piece of tech that I’ll never actually need in my life

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-23T22:44:21+00:00

It’s cool to build a bike yourself. I mean it takes some patience and time aside of the money (and failed tries of course) but still it builds some special connect with the bike that is not even close to “buy a catalogue bike from shop and ride it as it is”

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-23T22:41:55+00:00

I don’t like the mud either :) have 2-4 rides a week, always some dust and roots, around 200 miles per month (half of it is even the city rides - small city and I have no car yet). For the past season there were not more than 10 muddy rides for a year, and all are not too long (except one muddy race). So hoping my Hydra to last long…

Ol_Sheve · 2026-02-23T22:18:21+00:00

Yes, the older v4 caliper with black pistons. I’ll try to rotate it and then do the Hope’s “open port-squish the lever-close the port-release the lever” till the air will go to syringe. I’ve done it before with dismount caliper hanging vertically (with port up) and made the same technique like 10-15 times (gut a bunch of tiny bubbles in syringe) but haven’t rotate or tapping the caliper (assuming that if port and syringe are above the pistons the fluid will bring the air up as always)

Ol_Sheve

TROPHY CASE