Pace RC627 hardtail review
After 600 miles through a golden summer and a cold, wet winter it’s time for a review of my Pace RC627 hardtail.
It’s taken a while to get to this point after a difficult birth to my Pace experience and I wanted to give things time to form a clear perspective.
The Pace RC627 frame
I actually bought a Pace RC627 frame in Midnight Smurf Blue back in October 2021.
After some delay, then confusion, I didn’t have the bike up and running until May 2022, just in time to hit the start of one of our hottest ever summers. This point is key, because my objective with the Pace RC627 frame was for a winter season workhorse, with a supple ‘steel is real’ feel to the frame versus the alloy Bird AM Zero I had been running.
Once built and out on the trails you can imagine my initial disappointment to find the ride feel of the Pace was uncompromisingly hard. If I had subjected this bike to the Marie Kondo test I would quickly have said it was not bringing me joy. But why?
Well, that was hard to say. I mean, most of the parts from the Bird were swapped over directly to the new frame, so I spent most of the summer scratching my head.
Update: It wasn’t the Pace, it was me. My Pace RC627 update explains how I worked out where I’d gone wrong. See also my convoluted Pace RC627 birther story and my original Pace RC627 spec and geometry.
The Bird AM Zero rode as you’d expect an alloy hardtail to ride but I could still put in long miles without issue. Was my first Pace RC627 experience simply that the trails of 2022 were like concrete? Quite possibly; much of the North Downs is clay and that had baked as hard as iron in the unprecedently hot summer.
My disappointment was all the greater when I think about what the frame has going for it. First, it’s immaculately finished with a thick, durable looking paintwork that’s as good as I’ve seen for a frame at this price. It’s got a nice metal headbadge and sports 853 stickers under a clear lacquer to tell you its pipes are using high quality Reynolds steel.
Coupled to that, there’s tons of clearance for chunky tyres and the frame has a long, purposeful look to it. It looks the business for sure and fits me really well in size Medium.
With the right kind of energy the RC627 can leap around with the best of them.
But that ride. I fiddled and fettled and tweaked and adjusted but I just could not get the bike to a sweet spot that I liked.
This was such a disappointment to me because I was hoping for a playful whip of a bike when instead I had a bully boy bruiser that needed assertive handling. Not what I was looking for at all, especially when running smaller 650b wheels.
An evolving picture
I wasn’t about to give up on the Pace so soon.
I knew that come autumn the trails would soften and surely the bike would then come into its own. Well that’s sort of true; the trails definitely softened for sure.
But the Pace continued to bring more pain than pleasure. It may even have contributed to my 2022 fade out because it was a bike that was proving deeply unpleasant to ride as autumn drew on and winter set in.
I continued to rack up the miles on the Pace though – 600 miles for only part of the year versus just under 1000 for my beloved full sus Bird Aether 9.
After an awful lot of consideration I’ve come to the conclusion that three things are affecting the Pace performance, none of which are due to the frame itself. These are:
- The setup is massively over-tyred
- The Silt MTB wheels are very stiff
- My fork really needs a service at minimum and ideally, a comprehensive upgrade
Problems, problems
Let’s take those one by one shall we?
First of all, my tyres. My Bird AM Zero used to run WTB Vigilante tyres in size 2.3. I quite like them to be honest as they offered up stacks of grip and a nice alternative to the standard Maxxis-everything which so many riders opt for.
With this in mind, on swapping the frame to the Pace I decided I would have the same again but more so, and chose the WTB Vigilante Light/High Grip variant in size 2.5 for both ends of the bike.
In hindsight, this was a mistake. Not only are the Vigilantes heavy – about 1100g apiece for a 27.5 tyre, helping the Pace weigh 33lbs – but the High Grip part really means high grip. Limpit-like on the trail, these things shed speed faster than the Millenium Falcon in a Death Star tractor beam which makes the whole bike exhausting to pedal and prevents a nice flow.
I don’t think there’s a great deal of suppleness to the tyres either. Front and rear feel similarly wooden, but I have belatedly realised I’ve hamstrung myself even further by adding a Vittoria air liner to the rear.
You know when you think a long-forked hardtail is going to have a hard time over roots and you want to protect your rims? Yeah, that. 165g extra that.
As for those Silt MTB wheels… in a similar way to the tyres, the Silt wheels are another key divergence from the knackered WTB i23 rims I had before. This time I went with a 30mm internal rim, planning big things from big volume for my Pace.
I’m not going to criticise the Silt wheels because they have been excellent (another review soon). On all counts they’ve been stiff, reliable, strong, with a quick pick up to the freehub and much lighter than the WTB wheels they replaced. But I think they are completely wrong for the Pace; or at least my riding style on the Pace.
I say this because one thing is clear with the Pace and that is that it is a stiff frame; certainly stiffer than I expected it to be. But a bike is a system, not a single part and I think the optimal wheelset for the RC627 is what Pace offer with their rolling chassis – the Hunt Trail wide. That wheel from my own experience has a softer feel overall yet remains laterally stiff.
The Silt in comparison feels like it is bullet proof and will take an absolute beating. You could hammer it in the bike park all day, but it doesn’t feel right for the Pace.
Finally, we come to my fork.
What can I say? It’s an old 150mm Revelation RC which is badly in need of a service. It’s taken me a while to realise this but I really don’t think it is helping the ride experience at all. I am convinced that it is a big factor in the wooden feel of the Pace I’ve experienced so far.
Hammering down trails like Sauvage – a trail we’ve ridden time and time again over the past year – has brought all the above issues to a head. The top of the trail is flowy and a bit of a work out as you need to pedal to make progress.
On the Bird Aether 9 it’s a pleasure as you hook short straights to lightly bermed corners. On the Pace it’s hard. You feel like you are pedalling the whole time against a heavy bike that just does not want to roll with those draggy tyres sucking up all your speed.
Later in the trail sharp direction changes set you up for a trio of log rolls. Here, the fork is quickly overwhelmed as you demand both grip and steering together. I’ve understeered. I’ve oversteered. I’ve caught hidden stumps with my pedals on apexes hit far too early and drifted wide into the undergrowth on exit.
Finally you hit the rough rooty end of the trail which nearly rattles you to oblivion with the fork overwhelmed, the tyres overwhelmed while the stiff wheels let you know every bit of the trail underneath you. I’ve reached the end several times with my wrists buzzing.
Change is coming
You can tell can’t you? My experience of the Pace RC627 so far has been a disappointment. Even so, I honestly don’t think I can blame the Pace frame. What it has done is tell me more than ever how important it is to get a bike working together as a system.
Steel on its own doesn’t guarantee a supple bike. Not every wheelset is the same as another. Tyre choice turns out to be about more than outright grip. And the fork is a critical component in the mix.
My next steps are to put a lighter rear tyre on the Pace. There’s performance there to unlock and I reckon a cheap supple Specialized Ground Control 2.35 will pedal better, allow for controllable rear movement and save close to 470g by losing the Vittoria liner at the same time. That’s significant and well worth trying.
I am also going to service the fork which is another sensible move. Ultimately a better fork would help, but at this stage I’m looking for cost effective solutions. Finally, the jury is out on the Silt wheelset in this set up. I am not going to fault the wheelset itself because it has a lot going for it but I don’t think it is right for this application. A Hunt replacement whispers to me!
You’ll notice from all this I’m not actively criticising the Pace RC627.
I don’t really think that’s the problem and I think there’s a lot of fun to be had if you are careful about your component choice. I do think it’s fair to say the RC627 is not the kind of supple ride you might expect it to be – but is a 150mm hardtail ever going to be about a supple ride, particularly with 650b wheels?
Pace’s own complete bike specs offer a good window into what’s required here – 140mm Rock Shox Pike Ultimates and Hunt Trail Wide wheels, which I am sure would give the comfort and control that I’ve so far managed to miss.
The Pace RC627 frame is a lovely piece of work. It won’t break and will give years of service. Given the above, if you can I’d suggest you size up, as a longer wheelbase should help both the ride and provide additional stability as you take full advantage of your fork travel.
I hope to unlock a better experience for myself; but it’s possible I’m just not the rider for this bike.
About the author
Matt is one of the founding Molefathers of the Muddymoles, and is the designer and main administrator of the website.
Having ridden a 2007 Orange Five for many years then a 2016 YT Industries Jeffsy 29er, he now rocks a Bird Aether 9 and a Pace RC-627.
An early On-One Inbred still lurks in the back of the stable as a reminder of how things have moved on. You can even find him on road bikes - currently a 2019 Cannondale Topstone 105 SE, a much-used 2011 Specialized Secteur and very niche belt drive Trek District 1.
If you've ever wondered how we got into mountain biking and how the MuddyMoles started, well wonder no more.
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Related: Pace RC627 geometry and specification - Bikes - Muddymoles - mountain biking in the Surrey Hills and Mole Valley
Elliot says:
I’m in shock over the weight. Definitely in need of a diet. There wasn’t anything particularly light on my 529 but it sat around 29lbs, maybe slightly less in it’s final setup with a Fast Trak on the rear. Speaking of which, sometimes it’s nice to have big grippy tyres, but often I feel they just suck the life out of a bike. Bigger tyre at the front, zippy at the back works out nicely.
Getting a comfortable ride from a bike is a bit like rowing. The whole crew (bike parts) need to be in alignment. In this case it’s made more complicated by how hard it can be ridden due to the geometry and fork travel.
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Posted on February 1, 2023 at 9:58 pm
Tony says:
I’ve got to say I find my Pace RC529 (Hunt trail wide wheels, Maxxis Aggressor tyres, Pike Ultimate 150) pretty comfy. That could be a 29er vs a 650B rolling resistance thing?
Mine’s pretty much exclusively a winter bike with great clearances and a full mudguard set up. During our amazingly long / hot summer I was almost always on FS.
Lighter wheels/tyres and a supple fork are good shout to give the bike another chance.
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Posted on February 1, 2023 at 11:12 pm
Matt says:
Tyre first I think – I can save a 1lb by swapping the rear tyre as outlined, and a bit more swapping out the front (even a Spesh Hillbilly is 100g lighter than the Vigilante!).
Then get the fork fettled.
The Silt wheels are basically the same weight as the Hunts, so no obvious benefit there except the Hunts are 28 spoke and the Silt are 32. The Silt wheels are a pretty stiff wheelset as a result but are very well made. In hindsight the Hunt would be a softer feel in this situation, so a useful swap out in the future. Not knocking the Silt though, depends what you are looking for.
Any further weight savings are not obvious – I would say the 12 speed Deore cassette and the Deore crankset would benefit from swapping to SLX at minimum but I’m not going to do that until they wear out.
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Posted on February 1, 2023 at 11:48 pm
Elliot says:
Hmm, only one good option to save weight after the tyres…go singlespeed 😱
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Posted on February 2, 2023 at 12:46 am
Matt says:
Tempting… but if I could get the Reba on my original On-one fixed that is probably the frame I would singlespeed. I’ve always enjoyed singlespeeding…
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Posted on February 2, 2023 at 10:00 pm
martin shortt says:
Matt, interesting review. I’ve heard about your woes second hand from a mutual riding mate.
On tyres if you want energy killing tyres try Tough High Grip Judges front and rear. My go to all year Surrey Hills tyres are Tough Vigis (HG front, Fast rear). But at the moment I wouldn’t trade the Judges for anything.
I have run light WTBs but find them too soft. With the Tough I can air them down and they don’t squirm. I’m currently running them on my Solaris Max but will try on the Murmur as well. I’ve run Exo Maxxis but you need them so firm to stop them squirming that they’re harsh (at least on the HT).
Another thing to consider is 275 HTs have smaller rear ends and shorter spokes than the equivalent 29 therefore are going to be less compliant.
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Posted on February 2, 2023 at 11:38 am
Matt says:
Good point about 27.5 wheels being inherrently stiffer Martin – it’s not just that 29ers roll over stuff better, the wheels have just a bit more give too.
You are made of sterner stuff than me if you manage Judges front and rear but it depends on your taste in riding. I wanted a trail hardtail that can handle a few steeps, so I feel I have miscaculated a little. But all is not lost – there’s a decent bike in there somewhere, I just need to unlock it because the fit is good.
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Posted on February 2, 2023 at 9:58 pm
Martin Shortt says:
Matt – it will be interesting to see where you get with it. Are you looking to do a follow up once you’ve played around a bit more with the setup?
I think you’re right there a good bike in there. Maybe a lighter set up will make it a bit more poppy – probably something to try once things dry up a bit more.
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Posted on February 3, 2023 at 8:08 am
Related: Ride report: Monday 6 February - Moles with no mud - Rides - Muddymoles - mountain biking in the Surrey Hills and Mole Valley
Related: Pace RC627 hardtail update - transformed by tyres - Mutterings - Muddymoles - mountain biking in the Surrey Hills and Mole Valley
Gavin says:
I run a similar setup – a RC627 but with a Large rather than your Medium. I carried over the drivetrain (SLX 10x), wheels (Raceface Arc27 rims, Hope Pro4 hubs) and tyres (Schwalbe Hans Dampf 2.35 rear and Magic Mary 2.4 front, both trail carcass and soft compound) from my last frame which was an alloy Vitus Sentier 2016. First ride out I took it on my usual route and could notice a good difference between the two – damping over small chatter through the pedals was much improved. I’d put a 2021 Revelation 140mm on the front replacing a Manitou Minute so I’m sure that helped too, as would the longer wheelbase, but generally the feel of the frame was a decent upgrade, which makes me wonder if the longer tubes of the large reduces the stiffness versus the medium. I’m not sure I’d want a 35mm carbon bar on mine – seems like quite an uncompromising set up although I’ve not tried one so might have that wrong!
I’ve had it for over a year riding local woods (short steep-ish rooty singletrack) mainly but also out to Morzine (with a 2.6 on the rear, but no insert) and it’s dealt with everything brilliantly. Not even a flat. It’s not a light bike and takes a bit to get it going but it’s certainly more comfortable and capable than my last one and in a different league on the downs.
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Posted on May 3, 2023 at 3:16 pm
Chris Gribbin says:
Gavin, interested to read your experiences. I have just done my third ride on a 627; built it up with no particular light weight parts, but considering taking it to Morzine (my first trip there this summer) and perhaps on other man adventures. I have a 29er full suss, but like the simplicity of a hardtail.
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Posted on June 22, 2023 at 11:07 pm
Gavin says:
Hi Chris, I was there for the last weekend of the season so only a few lifts were open. In terms of the Pace versus a decent trail full sus, I’d say it depends on what you’re wanting to ride. Morzine/Les Gets gets a lot of use/abuse and a good number of the popular trails have a load of braking bumps before every switchback. My mate on a 130/140mm full-sus was certainly a lot more comfortable after 2 or 3 runs! However, there’s a load of stuff there that isn’t as worn and overall, I loved it anyway. The bike is a lot of fun on steep stuff and stable at speed. If I was going again for 2-3 days I’d stick with it. If I was going for a week of hitting the mean lines, I’d go for a long travel FS (if I had one). Either way, make sure your brakes are on point!
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Posted on July 17, 2023 at 3:57 pm
Dan Fenner says:
You do know that there’s so little difference between steel, titanium and aluminium, that you’d never be able to actually feel it .
The notion that “ Steel Is Real “ is pure marketing BS .
Stiffness or lack of will usually be due to seat post flex and frame design.. not the metal itself.
If in doubt check out Peak Torque on YouTube; it’s explained in full by an engineer.
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Posted on July 7, 2023 at 9:06 am
Matt says:
You are pretty accurate Dan. My old 26″ Inbred always had a nice amount of flex which you could feel, but by modern standards its tubes were pretty skinny and it had a long Thomson post on it too.
Actually, it felt really great!
But heavier riders sometimes complained, especially around the steering as the headtube was not exactly beefy.
This Pace feels good now that I have put lighter tyres on and serviced the fork, which I spoke about in this update. It goes to show its about getting the whole bike working as a system, but this episode also shows the frame itself is not the flexy steel story we might expect. It does have 150mm of travel though!
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Posted on July 7, 2023 at 10:54 am