We have never waivered from pushing the long travel cross country idea, even when others were looking at us funny (while they were riding 4 inches of travel front and rear when it was considered "too much"). We tried every travel combo up to seven inches and have settled on 6" of rear travel and a fork that allows us to change front travel on-the-fly from five to seven inches. It has always been about producing a bike that is, first-of-all, EFFICIENT! This means the Fully takes far less energy to ride over rough trail than any other bike we have EVER ridden (and we get to ride just about everything--our clients bring in the full range and they get to see an old man ride away from them on a Fully). Second, it must be reliable. This means that ALL components require absolute minimal maintenance and can take the abuse an avid rider can dole out. To this end every part, every innovation, every detail of the Fully has been tested in the real rough world of Moab, Utah, under professional riders. And third, it must be inspirational, elegant and stylish with the finest craftsmanship we can provide. This means that you look at our bike and simply want to get on it and RIDE! It has SOUL! We chose the absolute best fabrication facility in the world to build and help us design the frame, so the construction is not only top notch, it is as good as it gets.
Since the Fully is the very best XC/All Mountain bike we offer (and we only offer the best of the best, as you can see), we want to satisfy needs within a range of prices and specific uses, so we diversify parts selections into three categories in 2008. This is done to more perfectly suit riders' needs with balanced parts kits for riders from 5' to 6'8" and a range of rider weights up to 265. A Fully can now be very light for racing (always calculated for a specific rider weight and height) or built for the long haul over rough terrain. We reached into our tested SuperEgo and MRC kits to offer a someless expensive version with no compromises in performance.
For 2009 the Dreamride Fully comes in three models, the Fully, Fully Mutant HD, and the Fully69. The Fully and Fully Mutant HD use the same geometry in the front triangle and the same front fork, but the Mutant HD comes with larger frame tubing and more extensive gusseting for larger and/or more aggressiver riders. In mid 2008 we began offering the Fully69, a version with a 29 inch front wheel and a 6" travel rear end with a 26 inch wheel. The Fully69 is an effective compromise between the quick acceleration of the 26 inch wheel and smooth rolling momentum of the 29 inch wheel. It is not as snappy as the 26 wheeled Fully, but much snappier than a full 29 inch wheel bike. The Fully Mutant HD in medium weighs in at 33 pounds. The Fully, 30.25 pounds. The Fully69, 29 pounds. All these weight figures are based on complete bikes with 2.55 tires, waterbottle cages and Time ATAC pedals. Weight can be reduced through the use of smaller tires.
In short, the Fully design has been developed over 12 years. There are always examples of current Fully bikes of each model in the shop. I personally ride each one, choosing the model based on the trail I will be riding. The standard Fully dual 26 is the best all-around rig for Moab riding and my first choice, my favorite mountain bike, the best off-road bike I have ever owned. The Fully69 is better for long distance rides with more variety of terrain. It is an awesome rig for rides from town or any trail with more sand, rolling hills and loose rubble. The Fully Mutant HD is my choice for the big stuff, downhill shuttles and anything that creates high speed over rough terrain. It is my slickrock bike, though all three excel over the smooth rock. Each has its limits, but the limits of the Fully Mutant HD are far beyond my own personal limits. I can push the Fully69 hard on the slickrock, but the fork is really not up to extremes. It is a bike that likes to keep its feet on the ground. The Fully is right in the middle of this range from freeride to cross country. It does it all and is remarkably balanced for my skills and trails in Moab. It is light enough and the geometry steep enough for tight technical mountain singletrack, then it can morph into an all mountain bike that will jam the big slickrock.
If you are wondering why I prefer the standard Fully in most situations, and would prefer to own it if I had to have just one Fully, the reason is simple: the Marzocchi ATA55 fork. It ain't for everybody because most people will not be able to put it to good use in the places they live. The Fully69's Fox F29-120 is quite a bit lighter, much simpler and frankly the best 29er fork on the market, but its minimal tuning limits the bikes abilities to be tuned for specific trail situations and despite the fact that it is not nearly as sophisticated as the Marzocchi ATA55, it is just as expensive. The standard Fully's 55ATA (this fork is also on the Mutant HD) allows me to change geometry on-the-fly with the finest set of tuning controls I have ever worked with, including from-the-saddle travel adjustment. Its controls are infinitely adjustable with a micro-adjust in the damping circuit that is simply perfect. I cannot imagine a more tuneable fork. The ATA55 fork had to cut its teeth when the first batch came to us. Each and every fork had to be worked on due to a very simple mistake in production (a rubber O-ring had to be replaced), but the problem is easily fixed, and no one cared once they rode the bike. Even with the misfit O-ring, the fork performed just fine. It simply wept a couple of drops of oil from the top cap during a ride. The ATA55 is very expensive, and there is a reason. It costs a lot to produce such a sophisticated fork. It is very light, very stiff, very pretty and it tunes up like a dream. And you don't care about how much it costs or how pretty it is when it is performing duties on the front end on the trail. The Fully is a much better bike because of this fork! It blends in with the idea and function of the Fully philosophy perfectly! It is so stiff and responsive that you will not want to go back to a lesser fork. Due to the combination of this particular fork and the Fully frame's handling characteristics, I can tell you that this is the best bike we sell. Nothing comes close for a rider of my size and weight. If you are trying to decide on which version to get (dual26 or 69), go to FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS for more detail on differences. It is a simple decision in choosing the Mutant HD. If you are over 220 or ride really hard, if you like jumping and are over 175, the Mutant version is the one to get.
The frame is the heart of the bike, so it must be designed with a strong knowledge of the parts at hand. Every Fully is designed and built as a total package with frame sizing increments down to one quarter inch and all components proportionate and equal in strength. We manipulate the parts to get the right bike for each client and alter fabrication of each frame to include details that best suit your needs. No one but Dreamride possess such a thorough knowledge of parts, parts combos and frame geometry. Why? Moab! We run a tour company. We ride. . . . And the designer's 50 years of off-road bicycling experience. Moab puts bikes through the wringer. The Fully has been through many wash cycles, taken a beating and has proven itself. The frame and parts hold up to trail and weather conditions that are unusually cruel. Sand and freezing rain are horrible elements for moving parts to survive. The entire rear section of the bike below was completely submerged in quicksand shortly after the picture was taken. Then it was dipped into a desert pot hole of muddy water to rinse it off. Then it was ridden all day. Back in the shop it was cleaned and put back on the trail for even more abuse during a driving freezing rain. Scroll down the page to see the bike along with another client's Fully on the car rack after the ride on Poison Spider Mesa. This is the abuse that the Fully can take and bounce back from. The Fully's parts were chosen because they are sealed and amazingly reliable, even in the face of nature's fury. Our cables are high to keep them out of the sand and mud. Our bottom brackets are high to keep you pedaling.
A word about finish: All Fully frames are powdercoated for a number of very important reasons. The first is environmental: Powdercoating eliminates toxic solvents and is safer for the worker. The second is integrity of the frame: If you think anodizing is the hip thing, you have fallen for marketing hype that basically makes your frame weaker, cheaper and disposable. Anodizing weakens welds, ruins tolerances and is basically impossible to redo without even further weakening and loss of tolerances. The reason manufacturers use the very environmentally destructive and worker-toxic anodizing process is simply because it is CHEAPER. An anodized finish costs less than half that of the powdercoat finish. The third reason is cosmetic. Paint looks better, can be touched up or redone, and it protects the frame better.
Parts like the new 2.25" stroke Fox air shocks, the Fox F29 and Marzocchi 55 ATA forks have made it possible to run six inches of rear end travel with a balanced 5" or 6" front end for riders as small as 5'5". Riders under 5'5" get 5" of travel with the same component options, though we can go lighter on bars and wheelsets for lighter riders. We build up Fullies to between between 26 and 32.5 pounds depending on use and the client's physique, and can build them to as low as 24.5 pounds for a lightweight racer looking for a further advantage. The overall geometry of each Fully puts the rider between the wheels and offers up a mixture of stable and quick handling qualities as the rider shifts weight fore and aft. The design of each personal bike takes into consideration dimensions and performance qualities of specific components, along with the body and performance demands of the client. We ALWAYS end up with a perfectly balanced mountain bike. Just ask Fully owners!
The Fully is not particularly radical in overall design. We don't want too much carbon fiber and think custom extruded liquid-shaped tubing that some manufacturers use is just a stupid fashion statement. Neither of these two fabrication methods make their bikes more rigid or better handling than our more traditional Fully. It is simply the best PROVEN example of a full suspension off-road bicycle at this point in time. Watching a rider on a Fully will tell you just how efficient it is. It sticks to the trail and flies over loose rocks on a whim. IT ACCELERATES OVER ROCKS, SAND OR BIG ROOTS WITH UNCANNY EFFICIENCY. It gets you out of situations that shock your brain and can get you INTO and OUT OF situations that are far beyond your personal skills, if you are not careful. If you are looking for a no-compromise high performance rig with refined handling qualities, and/or if you have unusual fit needs, the Fully is the only choice for those who do not compromise on quality or service. Go to DREAMRIDE FULLY for costs, modifications and cosmetics. 
Fully Parts Kits for 2008
The MAX kit, originally designed for the Moots Smoothie, soon found its way onto the El Saltamontes and Cinco, as well as every other Moots mountain bike we sell. Now, MAX parts are the foundation for the ClimbMAX kit. The MAX kit, in its pure form with lightweight wheelset and complete compliment of titanium goodies, is now used for smaller riders or anyone who wants to use the bike almost exclusively in mountains at elevation. In 2005 we started mating the MAX with the XDT kit for All Mountain use, and that is what the ClimbMAX is. The titanium parts cancel out weight of the more stout wheelset of an All Mountain wheelset with 20mm front axle.
Mutant HD is basically an XDreamTrail parts kit with a beefed-up Fully frame to match. This can be an All Mountain version of the Fully or a solid XC platform for a very large rider.
SuperEgo parts use Thomsom seatpost and stem and some XT-level parts, sacrificing grams in weight for a substantially lower price.
SuperEgo MRC kit mods involve the posibility of custom downgrades in hubs (to Hugi or Shimano), cranks (to XT), drivetrain (to X.9 or XT), and dampers to lower cost. The Serfas composite shipping case can be downgraded to a reuseable cardboard shipping case. MRC is used to get the price down to a point stated by the client without sacrificing performance, though there may be as much as a two pound weight gain and some loss of suspension tuning. Do NOT ask for an estimate. Simply state your designated price within reason and if we cannot get there we will tell you.
Update on Fox DHX-Air Rear Shock
We are committed to making our own brand of Moab-tested full custom construction available to a wide range of riders, from those who want a true custom-fitted advantage for racing to those who want the ultimate all around mountain bike for every situation. Because the Fully is custom-fitted we attract larger and smaller riders outside of the range of stock frame sizing, looking for a long travel bike that fits them. But, that is only one reason to consider a Fully. Fit is much overlooked in your local bike shop, so even if you are in the midrange of fit, but have longer legs or shorter arms than usual, fit gets complicated. It is all about your body weight balanced between the wheels and the saddle and handlebar.
For 2008 we have three kits for the Fully: SuperEgo, our longtime standby; ClimbMAX, the absolute no-compromise cross country version; And the new Mutant HD for more agressive and/or larger riders. There is the opportunity to lower the price with subsitutions from another tested parts kits, the MRC, but cost of this bike mostly resides in the frame, fork and wheels.
ClimbMAX is a direct result of building bikes for taller fellows who race cross country or live high in the mountains where the trails are tight and twisting and steep. It combines longer travel with light weight titanium parts and cross country exotica. The ClimbMAX can also involve lightening the frame up to a half pound for lighter riders or anyone who is not aggressive or abusive on the bike. A complete ClimbMAX bike can be 26 pounds, even lower with narrow tires. I personally ride a version of the ClimbMAX with a full 6" of travel front and rear with fat tires, wide rims and 7" brake rotors. It weighs 29 pounds and is the bike I use for guiding most of the time. Pictured above are two ClimbMAX Fullies covered with trail grit.
After testing the Fox DHX-Air from its inception, this shock certainly makes the grade, but with one big reservation (keep reading). The good news is that you might expect the DHX-Air to feel like a air shock, but it doesn't. It takes big hits without blowing through midstroke and is plush, plush, plush. The ProPedal circuit really works and works extremely well, as on the DHX-5, only with a bit more pronounced effect. This was the first air shock to offer the stroke necessary for a full 6" of travel (the RP3, in late 2007, joined the 2" stroke party and now is on most Fullies that leave the shop). The DHX-Air is the first and only air shock to EVER get the juices flowing for more hardcore riders--it is a revelation---but it is not perfect! While it offers advantages in performance, it is not as reliable as it should be and should only be requested if you want and need those performance advantages. The bad-reliablity culprit is the seal between positive and negative spring chambers, which, when it fails, causes the shock to ride down into its stroke--you can get home, but only after stressing your frame and whacking pedals all the way. If the shock does not receive regular maintenance, it will fail on a ride, usually right at the onset of a day of use. I personally bought two DHX-Air shocks with one as a back-up (after the first one failed). The "Catch 22" of this situation has downgraded the DHX-Air to second choice for most riders--here it is: The DHX-Air fails in two situations: 1) If the shock is not regularly maintained, the seal fails. 2) If the shock is left to sit on a shelf, the seal dries out and fails in the first few minutes of use. This is a deal breaker for most people. If you love high performance, are into a tight maintenance schedule (it ain't easy to work on, by the way), you don't ride deep into wilderness where the failure of a rear shock could really ruin your day, and you regularly use the bike, the DHX is still the best. If, like me, you don't like to work on the shock every 50 hours of use, and you tend to keep a back-up on a shelf just-in-case (where it dries out and fails off-the-bat), the DHX is going to piss you off.
BUILT BY A MUSICAL ARTIST
Copyright Dreamride LLC. No material, written, graphics, or photographs on this website, may be reproduced, broadcast, published, re-written, re-edited, or re-used in any way outside of this site without written consent of Dreamride LLC and Lee Bridgers. Use of this site signifies agreement to terms of use.
There have been visitors to this
page since June 6, 2006.