BEN’S PRIVATEER 141 ÖHLINS

MONTH 5: Ben takes a tumble, but the 141’s geometry is the fall guy

£4,499 • 29in • privateerbikes.com

I’ve missed half of the last month’s riding after bruising my ribs in another silly off, on another flat turn, on a cruisy run where maybe I wasn’t as ‘on it’ as I should’ve been. I’m generally not much of a crasher and I don’t want to blame the bike for my own failings, but could this long-low-slack geometry thing be more prone to highlighting errors like these? The long reach and rakedout fork mean the front tyre’s contact patch is that bit further away than I’ve been used to and I’ve found I need to make sure I’m in full-attack position when going for it to maximise front-end traction. This isn’t an issue generally, as I normally try that bit harder, but clearly this is a bike that requires my full attention.

Now that I’ve healed, I’m back out making the most of the dry-ish trails and I’ve noticed a little harshness coming through the fork, a sensation highlighted by the softer, plusher rear suspension that is the result of the softer spring fitted to the Öhlins shock last month. In our test of the Öhlins RXF 36 M.2 fork in the May 2021 issue, tester Mick Kirkman highlighted the fork’s short service intervals. With that in mind I’ll be booking this in with local specialist Sprung Suspension in the next few weeks. Also, could the fork be the reason for the front end stepping out when I’ve not got all of my weight on it? It’s complicated, but hopefully a service will help answer that question.

In the meantime, I have a road trip around some of South Wales’ riding hotspots coming up in terrain that should really suit the 141. So I’m looking forward to seeing how the bike revels in the rocks – if I can stay on the thing of course!

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