sloar 

Black Friday sale, picked the Ambition X dropbar up for $649, total of $695. I got it tonite and just finished building it. I want to go back tomorrow and trim the cables and check all the bearings, but so far everything seems ok.

mstateglfr 

No idea of the sale, but its apparently still going until December 10th. Not surprising since 'holiday sales' have been going on across all segments of cycling for months now and are expected to continue since there is such a large overall amount of excess stock that companies need to get rid of.

- The bike seems great at that price. I doubt much can be found new with higher spec.
- Advent X is solid- my wife's old MTB has that on it and its both simple and good.
- QR is lame, even at an entry pricepoint, but not surprising.
- Really wide range drivetrain spec.
- The stock brakes are pretty unimpressive, at least in my limited experience with that level of Tektro mechanical caliper.
- Surprised Poseidon hasnt gone with shifters from any of the smaller brands that route the cable under bar tape. I got using Microshift external a few years ago when components were scarce, but now? If they want to stick with Microshift, then Sword now exists...
- Geometry in XXL looks pretty good- very much middle of the road overall, except for a BB height that makes it seem like we are in 2010.

The biggest thing I saw was they want $280 to upgrade to TRP hy/rd brakes. What?!?! $280 for them?
JuinTech F1 brakes are $170 on Amazon and will deliver tomorrow.

jonathanf2

My guess is that they'll start equipping bikes with the Microshift Sword groupset next year. They probably just want to get rid of the Advent X inventory. I actually like the 2x gearing available for Sword. It has a better low gear range than GRX with the Sword 46:29t chainrings and 11-38t cassette. Plus the new shifters look pretty slick.

sloar 

It’s not the highest quality bike, but for $700 it’s perfect for a winter bike.

travbikeman

Curious how tall you are and what size bike you purchased? Trying to gauge the size specifications on this. Noticed the Ambition X flatbar is only $500. Am very curious on this. But looking over the specs, I'm unsure if a 6'1 person is a xlarge or xxlarge.

What is your take on their sizes?

(am considering something like this, to replace my hybrid Scott SubCross)

sloar 

I ordered a Medium, didn’t really check on sizes. I’m 5’9” and it’s ok but I wish I would’ve ordered a large. Check their size chart before ordering.

mr,grumpy 

You can get a Marlin 5 for less than $600 from Trek (my passing interests is in the flat bar models at almost the same price and weight with inferior components from an off-shore company). The Joutneyers are pretty cheep if you’re into drop bars. The only really cool thing about the Poseidon’s that I see is that they gave a bunch of the to YouTubers and influencers who don’t hate them. It’s hard to hate a free gift though…

sloar 

I actually had a Marlin 5, it was ok after I upgraded just about everything.

Symox

I can vouch that they honor their warranty, stand behind their products and value their customers. I love my Redwood.

Bikepacking with the Poseidon Redwood Gravel Bike for an Overnight Trip Featuring Ortlieb Panniers

jonathanf2

Poseidon stopped selling their X gravel framesets only. It used to be $299 and I built out my gravel bike that way. Eventually I swapped the parts to a carbon frame, but I'm planning on rebuilding the X for a family member.

mstateglfr 

I just saw the geometry for a Poseidon Redwood and it seems...curious.
The XL bike is for people 6'3 and taller, but the stack height is 584mm and the reach is 392.2mm. What now? That is goofy. That is so absurd it doesnt even deserve to be taken seriously.
What person at 6'3, much less taller, is properly fit on a gravel bike that has a stack height of 584mm and a reach of 392.2?

A Trek Checkpoint in the largest size has 639mm of stack and 417mm of reach.
That Poseidon's stack height and reach is right between a size 54 and 56 for the Checkpoint, and Trek suggests someone about 5'9 would be between those sizes

Joeyseven

That sucks, the stem is already 120. Plus as posted the stack got higher and the reach looks shorter compared to model X.
However, I believe the shorter reach is the result of the changes in the ST and HT degrees.
I was not a fan of the X geometry, and while Ambition had a big change in geo for the better, it still not that great.
I get the feeling their marketing department is way better than their product. People see the low price and get excited, I would spend a little more. As bike sales are happing and they should get better.
The Microshift Advent X seems like a good groupset for the price, I might even pick one up for one of my gravel builds.


mstateglfr also brings up a lot of great points. I'm not a fan of this Poseidon, but many riders seem to enjoy riding them, and that maters lot. So I will not talk them down. much.

sloar 

As a dedicated gravel and trail bike I wouldn’t recommend it. I bought it as a do all winter road bike. Rural Indiana roads in the winter can get nasty with salt. Something I don’t like getting my other bikes into. I’m actually enjoying my Poseidon and have no regrets purchasing it. A few adjustments and I’m pretty happy with the fit. The brakes needed a lot of adjusting to be adequate, but other than that it’s a “fine” bike.