Following years of success making carbon fiber rims in their Kamloops, BC facility, the We Are One Arrival has been a long-awaited dream for many of their die-hard fans. We Are One composites wanted to apply their material and manufacturing expertise combined with their local-resourcing network and environmentally conscious mission to produce their own enduro frame. What they came up with was a 150mm travel, 29”-wheeled carbon fiber machine sporting a co-rotating dual link suspension design and an aesthetic that conjures up notions of a stealth fighter. We Are One named their new enduro machine the Arrival, signifying the arrival of We Are One Composites to the mountain bike frame market. With looks this crazy, we were beyond excited to get one out onto the trail.
THE DIRT
My first ride aboard the We Are One Arrival was on some particularly fast, sandstone-slabs and chunk in the Los Angeles, CA area. The trails I grew up riding and have put more bikes down than I can remember are infamous for breaking components, suspension products and riders who aren’t up to the task. From there I flew the bike to Sedona, Arizona for the MTB Festival and rode even more chunky, rocky trails and got in a ton of pedaling. Since then, I’ve returned to Bend, Oregon and have been riding flatter pedal trails, some jump lines and plenty of fast, flowy trails too.
While I’d say the We Are One Arrival has a distinct ride feel that makes it an absolute blast to ride, there are a couple talking points that may affect some rider’s decisions first. I felt the Arrival has a somewhat stiffer, or firm-feeling suspension platform. It’s definitely not abusive or harsh, like say an older Intense VPP design, but it has a firmness that lets you know what’s underneath you. In other words, pillowy-plush is not the adjective I’d use to describe this bike.
Similarly, when climbing in those rocky, sharp trails, I found myself occasionally striking pedals as the Arrival sits fairly low, which is of course one of the reasons I loved cornering this bike so much. It’s worth noting suspension setup is a bit unique on this bike and the high leverage ratio mean having 13-14mm of sag, or roughly 25% is critical to keeping this bike off out of the weeds and performing as intended. The lack of geo adjust could be an issue for some, but aside from the BB height, I wouldn’t change a single thing about the Arrival’s geometry as I think We Are One nailed it.
Now, moving beyond those two areas let’s talk about how much fun this bike is to ride. It’s hard to pick where to start, but the overall feel of being on this bike is just so natural. It’s like an extension of my body beneath me. The reach, length, weight all works together to create a bike that blends stability with uncanny snappiness and a lively nature that gets the bike airborne with little effort. I know We Are One have EWS top-15 finishes under a phenomenal pro athlete, but I’m not nearly as skilled or fast. For a mortal in what I call the “Pack Filler Pro” category, I would say this bike feels more like a trail/all mountain bike on steroids compared to a long-legged enduro machine.
While 150mm may be enough for some in an enduro setting, I’d personally like a more cushioned ride, of course I don’t race enduro and that’s probably why I love riding this bike on my regular trails so much more than bikes like the Norco Range, GT Force Carbon or other beastly enduro rigs.
We Are One says they focused on the 90% rule, which is the understanding that nothing can be perfect 100% of the time, on all terrain. We addressed the 10% in our first notes above, but when it comes to the 90% that the Arrival does well, we’ll modify a line from Will Ferrell’s Anchorman to sum it up. 90% of the time, it is 100% bad ass. So, although it may have a couple quirks worth noting, when you get the Arrival doing what it’s meant to do, there aren’t many bikes I’d rather be on. Mid-corner line changes, popping off small trail features, slashing corners, sending gaps into natural landings, or generally having a blast on the trails are all areas that the We Are One Arrival thrives in.
This is just a snippet of our written review, for the entire write up, visit the site:
theloamwolf.com/2022/04/10/re...
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