My partner Laura had a great experience with the 600X! She really liked the upright frame geometry and super stable ride – she always remarked how ‘planted’ it felt.
The highlights were the Pinion 12-speed gearbox, which had super low climbing gears and required zero maintenance other than a yearly oil change (although the shifter was a bit hard to turn when wet/slippery). The Gates belt drivetrain was amazing too – it was still looking almost new after 15,000km+.
Laura loved the Hayes Dominion brakes as they happen to be some of the most powerful on the market, and the WTB wheels never required any spoke adjustment.
The luggage limit seems to be between 15 and 20kg. When you get closer to 20kg the frame starts to wobble as it’s not built super stiff. We recommend the bike more for a lighter bikepacking setup rather than a heavy touring one.
In terms of frame design and finishing, we found the kickstand mount wasn’t a great design, there was no neat rubber plugs for the unused internal cable routing holes, and the fork crown hit the head tube when the handlebar was turned (this was fixed after we got ours). The upside-down Wren fork also prevents you from being able to mount cargo cage bags as they foul the carbon stanchion protectors.
Small components like the headset, stem, seatpost, and seatpost clamp were all a bit ‘cheap’ so we swapped them all out for higher-quality products. We found the standard quick-release axles kept coming loose – you can get a rear bolt-up axle from Salsa and a front bolt-up axle from Wren. The wheel bearings needed replacement after about 12 months.
All-in-all, it was a great bike with the upgrades we made. The price is exceptional too, especially when compared to other Pinion gearbox bikes.