A few weeks ago, Guy Kesteven approached us for a FlareMAX frame to base a really interesting light trail/XC/downcountry/whatever-riding-bikes-is-called-this-week bike. We were really chuffed, because Guy could pretty much have any bike he wanted, but he chose ours off the back of a mornings' riding in the teeming rain at Stainburn last November, and having the demo bike a few days after that.

Over to Guy....

"I’ve got an itch that won’t go away! You and your team should definitely be damn proud of the fact I’ve been scheming to get back on the FlareMAX since my last ride on it. Plus if anything the current situation has made me realise that having a bike you absolutely love riding and that brings proper charisma and character to every pump, pedal stroke and corner exit mini manual you get the chance to squeeze in on the local trails you’ve ridden for years is what mountain biking is really all about. The fact that it’s as unshakeably, insolently fast as fk and loves nothing more than trotting back from a good chase with a freshly hunted carbon frame clamped in it’s grin isn’t a bad thing either though 😜"

Guy got his frame this week, and has done a great unboxing video with a bunch of really interesting points and facts, plus some more chat about how strong the product coming out British bike brands is right now. We would have to agree!

The frame Guy has is a size large in our Red Dwarf paint finish, with the Cane Creek DB Air IL shock. The only slight error in Guy's video is on pricing. With the X Fusion base model shock the frame is £1499. With the Cane Creek shock it is £1749.

We have a pretty good idea of the parts Guy is going to be putting on this frame, and whilst we're not going to spoil the surprise, it's going to be a really interesting build with a slightly different slant to what we would usually consider. Happy hunting Guy!