Review: Privateer 141 - The Adjustable Wrench of Trail Bikes - Pinkbike (2024)

Prices have crept up across the market, including the price of Privateer bikes, however the 141's single built kit is sensibly utilitarian. At $4,949 USD, you won’t find batteries or carbon bits anywhere - just quality components where they’re needed most, such as Hunt’s own alloy wheels, Hayes Dominion A4 brakes, a OneUp Dropper post, and trail-ready Maxxis tires. Standing behind their products, Privateer backs their frames with a 60-day Ride Guarantee and a 5-year warranty.

Contents

Think of the 141 as the adjustable wrench of trail bikes - it will get all of the jobs done but isn’t the most luxurious tool in theshed.— MattBeer

Frame Details

An aluminum prototype of the Privateer was spotted last summer and looked promising with clean lines and oversize pivots, however, when the production model was released, some design choices sparked debate.

First and foremost was the alteration to reshape the top tube / head tube junction from the straight tubes used on the prototype. Privateer prioritized the fitment of 770mL water bottles on all sizes over the final aesthetics.

Secondly, UDH compatibility was omitted in favor of a flip-chip to adjustment the length of chainstays at the dropout. It’s worth noting that Rocky Mountain found a way to meet half way on that conundrum; their frames with this adjustment only work with UDH in the longer chainstay setting.

The process is fairly straightforward though; remove the wheel, push the flip-chips out of their seat (which are held in place by O-rings) and turn them 180 degrees. You’ll also have to remove the brake caliper and flip the brake adaptor, plus readjust the derailleur’s B–tension.

At the heart of the bike is the compact, one-piece forged rocker link and oversize, full complement Enduro Max bearings on all of the pivots. Inside those bearings a special grease is used alongside seals that are said to be extra resistant to high pressure water jets.

All of those adjustments and large bearings do come at a cost, and not necessarily in terms of dollars. Weight may not have been a primary concern when designing the 141. At 16.95 kg / 37.36 lb, it’s not light for a bike in the "all-mountain" category since it's based on the shared design of the longer travel 161 enduro model.

Lastly, there are the basic, but sometimes absent, features to cap off a solid bike. Privateer includes their own chain guide with replaceable ISCG tabs, an adequate downtube guard and a chain slap protection that rides as close to the top of the chain routing as possible (the color of these has been updated to matte black). The reason behind that high ribbed chainstay protector is to reduce how far the chain can travel, lowering the forces and feedback you’ll experience.

Suspension Design

It's widely accepted that a Horst-link suspension performs wholesomely in all kinematics aspects. The configuration also lends to less complex frame shapes that can be stiff enough without adding too much weight. The 141 uses a rocker link on the main triangle and a pivot on the chainstay to form the tried and true suspension design, but puts a spin on the classic design.

The 141’s rocker link is much shorter than most other bikes that use this design, such as Raaw and Transition bikes to name a few. That draws out a high leverage rate from the 185x55mm trunnion mount shock. The main intention is to overcome any stiction from the air shock seals.

Privateer calls this Aligned Linear Progressive, or “A.L.P.” suspension. That creates a large amount of progression that is supple at the beginning of the travel and requires stupidly-large hucks to reach a mechanical bottom out with an air shock.

The 141 also resists pedal bob due to the high anti-squat value. In the largest rear cog at full travel, that number starts around 115% and never dips below 90%.

One thing that you don’t typically find on Horst-link bikes is a high anti-rise value. Remaining at an even 90% throughout the travel, the 141’s chassis stays neutral and retains its geometry well under braking. Typically, Horst-link designs produces numbers closer to 60%, or even lower. The tradeoff with a lower number this greater chassis movement due to the rear brake force, however, rear wheel tracking is said to be improved.

Geometry

Privateer’s sizes are defined by a letter and number, labeled P1, P2, P3, and P4. We’ve seen more brands choose this scheme to let riders sway up or down the size chart depending on how agile or planted they want the bike to perform. Those four sizes fit riders from 160cm (5’3”) to 195cm (6’5”) with reach numbers of 445, 465, 485, and an extra step up to 510mm on the P4.

The two smaller sizes received chainstay lengths of 437/447mm, while the P3 and P4 have their own figures of 442/452 and 447/457.

Angle-wise, the 141 is situated with a moderately slack head angle of 64.5-degrees and a decently steep seat tube angle of 76.5 degrees. Those remain the same for all sizes and there are no adjustments in this department.

Specifications

Test Bike Setup

Up front, the Fox 36 with 150mm of travel was pumped to 104 psi and three volume spacers were installed.

Of the four frame sizes, I picked the P2 frame with a 465mm reach. Privateer recognizes that frame size is the dealer’s choice and I certainly could have ridden a P3. On that P2 frame, the 180mm dropper post was clamped 90mm above the seat collar and never needed to be altered.

I primarily rode the bike with dual 29” wheels in the short chainstay setting. The P2 frame allowed me to move around the bike without buzzing the big rear wheel, although the MX setup adds a degree of maneuverability to the bike. When making that change, I preferred the longer chainstay setting to reclaim some balance out back.

Another possibility with the 141's leverage ratio allows the choice between an air or coil shock. For this, I turned to a RockShox Super Deluxe Ultimate coil on hand and stuck with a 500 pound spring.

Testing Info

Aggressive trail bikes can handle a diverse flavor of trails and that's exactly what was served up. The 141 took on rock slabs and old stunts around Squamish and sped through the craggy singletracks around Cumberland.

Climbing

Based on technical numbers, the high anti-squat and balanced geometry of the 141 embodies everything about a strong uphill performer, except for the weight. While the 141 isn’t a featherweight (okay, it's basically the opposite of a featherweight), it does get the job done when it matters most - putting power to the wheels and tracking the ground.

Balance is a key part of climbing and the 141 keeps the rider centered between the wheels and in an upright position without falling off the back. The less you have to adjust your position on the bike, the more likely you are to make it up and over stubborn pitches. Having a rear wheel that hugs roots and rocks helps heaps too. With the climb switch open, there’s a desirable amount of forgiveness that doesn’t wallow through the suspension. Bursting or sprinting doesn’t feel like you’re giving away energy either.

During prolonged climbs, flicking the lever closed adds support without turning it into a complete hardtail and that can be more comfortable on rough roads, plus the location is reachable at a moment’s notice.

For riders with long legs, swapping to a post greater amount of drop would be a wise choice (the P3 and P4 arrive with a 180mm). The seat post insertion isn’t the problem - it’s the number of cable clamps and low exit point which constrict the dropper housing. That would be a nuisance if raising or lowering the post in the frame.

Another frequent frustration I often hear but rarely encounter are riders clipping their feet on the rear end of the frame. The 141’s seat/chainstays are wide, and judging by the scuff marks you can see that this happened regularly, whether I was riding clipless or flat pedals.

Descending

I can see how Privateer’s high leverage rate theory is appealing, especially for a burly bike with 140mm of travel - it can be pushed hard to handle heavy hits with ease, but I’ll be honest, feeling comfortable on the 141 took some time. Part of that came down to the shock’s sag percentage, which seemed too easy to under or overshoot without the sag card. Once that was honed in, the bike supplied a balanced, brutish sense that squashes most bumps, almost too much so.

The high leverage rate works as prescribed by breaking into the air shock’s travel with a sensitivity that can be felt when floating over tiny roots and small square edges. This is most apparent when the bike is on the ground but unweighted.

On the far end, the air shock and leverage combo ramps up considerably to avoid bottom outs. That does store a serious amount of energy deep down in the stroke, which can kick back when tackling consecutive drop offs if you’re not positioned to counteract that force. On flowier trails, that’s not such a bad thing, though. The rider can push further into the travel and tap into the stored energy towards the end of the air spring curve to boost extra high off of small jumps and pump along more rolly obstacles.

Carrying speed across repetitive impacts on flatter trails isn’t the 141’s greatest strength. Wait, …I thought you said the rear wheel tracked well? While that’s true, the rear shock’s mid-stroke (where air springs have a bit of a flat spot, or falling rate) can feel vague. The 141 seems to spend a lot of time here and this is where the coil spring shock came into play nicely by holding up more consistently across those medium-size impacts.

A big win for the 141 is how it conserves its geometry well under braking. Unlike most other Horst-link bikes, it doesn’t suffer from the rear suspension rising when on the binders, which makes the 141 more predictable on steep trails.

Where does that leave us feeling about the 141’s descending capabilities then? Well, it gravitates towards flow trails where you can push into the bike to gain momentum. Steep, slower trails with sizable features are well within the 141's limit too. The sturdy frame and bottom out resistance does encourage jumping off features that other 140mm travel bikes would shy away from. Flatter trails littered with roots and rocks which want to hold you back do take a bit more effort to get through though.

Technical Report

Hunt Enduro Wide wheels: Hunt wheels is an adjacent brand to Privateer. The Enduro Wide rims weigh a hefty 2105g (250g more than the Trail version) but that extra material might be worth it since they haven't skipped a beat. 6 wide pawls engage every 5-degrees for a legitimately fast pic-up while emitting a light ticking noise. Triple butted spokes add compliance without feeling too squirmy and they’ve barely needed a spoke wrench. Those connect to specific alloy rims which are still perfectly round and true. The front rim is slightly wider internally than the rear (33 and 31mm) to produce optimal tire profiles according to Hunt.

GX drivetrain: After spending the majority of my time on SRAM Transmission drivetrain lately, jumping back to the GX Eagle made me realize how impressive that new T-type shifting really is. The clutch on the GX Eagle derailleur has a lot less tension than the T-types and that leads to a lot of chain feedback through the rider’s feet. It’s not chain noise, but the bouncing derailleur that distracted me.

Cable Routing: From afar, the external cable routing and clamping method seems sensible - lock it down in the ideal location - but that caused some mild frustration. Balancing the torque on each bolt in a way that doesn’t pinch the shifting housing or back off while riding is a fine line. This is one bonus to running SRAM derailleurs over Shimano since they use a lower cable pull ratio, meaning there’s less chance of the cable sticking.

You’ll also have to loosen each one to provide enough slack on the housings when choosing the longer chainstay setting.

Adding to the mixed feelings on the cable routing, I almost made a fatal error when swapping shocks too. The lower shock bolt unthreads into the path of the rear brake line. That’s on me, but I suspect I won’t be the last person to encounter that scenario.

Which Model is the Best Value?

If you’re looking for a complete bike, Privateer only offers one build kit. That includes a wise list of components that puts performance first and flashiness second. Otherwise, you’ll have to custom build a frame which is typically more costly for the customer.

At £3,949 GBR / $4,949 USD the 141 complete bike comes with strong Hunt Enduro Wide wheels, Fox Performance Elite suspension, choice Maxxis tires, and Hayes Dominion brakes which are crowd favorites and leave little to be desired in terms of adjustments and durability.

Not blingy enough? A 141 frame kit costs £1,889, including the Fox Float X air shock, headset, seat clamp and chainguide.

The complete bike offers the most value, granted, those who are choosing to custom build a frame are likely less concerned with penny pinching.

A third and not totally unrealistic option for riders who don’t love all of the parts would be to buy the complete bike and swap out for their preferred components, rather than starting from the ground up.

How Does It Compare?

Two brands that I often hear of being compared are Privateer and Raaw. The Jibb is Raaw’s rugged, aluminum short-travel bike that follows a similar theme to the 141. Neither are lightweights and each frame comes close to hitting the 4kg mark.

In terms of technical numbers, the Jibb isn’t far off from 141 (the Jibb V2 travel has been reduced to 130mm). There’s 6mm less travel and the head angle is a degree steeper. Adjustments to the leverage ratio and chainstay are possible too, however, they call on auxiliary pieces of hardware.

Each frame receives a nod of appreciation where the other falls short. For the 141, it’s the ability to switch rear wheel sizes. The Jibb technically is a 29er only. On the other hand, the Jibb can accept a UDH and T-type derailleur.

When talking about trail habits, the Jibb is pointer at speed and has a lower anti–rise value. That’s noticeable when pushing the Jibb down the guts of old trails and cracking on through bumpy bike park berms, whereas the 141 holds its stance well, no matter what's in front of it. One thing’s for sure, neither bike flinches away under heavy landings or flexes like some spindley aluminum bikes we’ve tried in the past.

Raaw doesn’t offer a complete build kit for their bikes at this time and so tallying up the price of each frame with a Fox Float X is the fairest comparison. That puts the Jibb at £2,295 and the 141 at £1,889.00 - a close battle indeed.

Pinkbike's Take

Privateer have delivered what the people want: a no-nonsense mountain bike with contemporary geometry that will work in any trail setting. The utilitarian design ethos will please the mechanics in the room, plus there are enough adjustments to keep the puzzlers busy. It’s not the lightest, sleekest, or most exciting to ride, but rarely will it let you down. Whether or not the chainstay length adjustment is worth giving up UDH compatibility will surely be a point of contention for some potential customers. — MattBeer

Posted In:
Reviews and Tech Reviews Trail Bikes Privateer Bikes Privateer 141

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