Forbidden Dreadnought // The Bikes We Ride

Our videographer, photographer, and editor extraordinaire, Dylan, is the man behind the lens for all the Fanatik digital content you know and love. When he’s not curating movie magic for us bike nerds, he’s probably out ripping his custom Forbidden Dreadnought. Check out his build!

Is The 2027 RockShox Zeb Actually Faster? // We Put It To The Clock Reading Forbidden Dreadnought // The Bikes We Ride 8 minutes

By Jan PellMay 5, 2026

LET'S CHECK OUT DYLANS BUILD!

The DREADNOUGHT! A chunk-devouring, high-pivot speed demon. What is it about this sled of a bike that led you to choose it for a custom build?

Forbidden Bikes as a brand always intrigued me, but it wasn't until the big bossman Rich let me take his dreadnought out for a rip I was sold. These bikes find the sweet spot of generating a ton of grip, but also remaining poppy. One of my first rides I prehopped a normal gap in a rock roll and found myself landing well past the rock, and my ankles didn't feel it, instantly sold.

I wouldn’t have noticed without you telling me earlier, but you’ve made a few changes to set it apart from the standard Dreadnought—what did you do?

Nothing too crazy going on—at the rear of the bike I am running the dropouts for a 27.5 rear wheel, but I have a 29er on there. At the front, I have dropped the travel on the Zeb from 170mm to 160mm. Basically just trying to steepen the bike and try to make it a touch more agile since this is my only bike.

Did shortening the fork travel and installing those mullet dropouts make a noticeable difference in how the bike rides?

For sure! It’s made some noticeable differences in steering input, feels a bit more snappy in corners and just makes it a bit more fun to ride on mellower trails. I've had some other Dreadnought owners hop on it just in the parking lot and they have been able to notice it right away. Shoutout to Ollie at Forbidden for sharing this secret menu configuration, I hope others give it a shot.

Okay, I have to ask: Druid vs. Dreadnought—a timeless dilemma. What made you go with the Dreadnought, especially with those changes you made?

I took out Rich’s Druid and definitely pushed the bike hard on some steeper trails and I was having a hard time finding its limits. However, once I got on some more blown out chunky trails that I find myself on more frequently, I could definitely tell I was on a 135mm frame. So I talked to Ollie (One of Forbidden's Bike Engineers) about how I could beef up the Druid, and that's when both him and the owner Owen suggested I go the other way and try to make the Dreadnought feel closer to a Druid, rather than vice versa. In a perfect world with unlimited income I would for sure have both!

Let’s talk about some parts—starting with the tires. What do you think of the Romy, Schwalbe’s newest addition? And what about the radial version of the Tacky Chan?

Seasons are changing here in Bellingham and the trails have dried out FAST. Perfect time to toss on the Romy/Tacky. The Romy gave me a noticeable decrease in rolling resistance coming from the Magic Mary, so that's been nice. The tread pattern with those taller side knobs and slightly lower middle knobs make for a fun ride. It likes to break free and kick out the back end and slash around, but those side knobs hook up at the last minute. I tried out the Tacky in the front in a trail casing and that's been sweet too. Nothing new on that thread pattern, but I’ve been impressed with the trail casing, still feels stout but somehow a little more compliant.

It’s also hard to miss those massive Burgtec B-RAGE pedals. I know you used to be a clipless rider—how do Brage’s pro model pedals compare when it comes to staying locked in?

I was a clipless rider, only switching to riding flats in the winter, but once I got on the B-Rage pedals I fell in love with the group of pins in the middle of the pedal. These almost replicate what it feels like to be clipped in, still allowing you to rotate your feet in corners or whatnot. Since switching I really haven't found any reason to switch back, so if it ain't broke don't fix it!

You’re running the Shimano Wireless XT drivetrain—have you always been a shimano guy? How do you like it compared to the other popular wireless drivetrains from SRAM that seem to be dominating the market?

I have been a Shimano guy since day 1, I always loved the idea of being able to adjust or cheaply replace the clutch on the derailleurs. They also seemed to offer a lot more spare parts to fix their products rather than just replace. The new wireless Di2 has been sweet, stoked to not have to worry about cables and housing, living in the PNW that stuff gets crusty quick. Personally, I’m really not a fan of SRAM’s shifter pod (although it’s fine for a dropper) so the AXS drivetrain was never really appealing to me.

Shimano Drivetrain

Are there any “must-have” components or setup specifics that you can’t ride your bike without?

I would say the two must haves on my bikes would be my Hayes dominions and my Ride or Die top cap. Everyone has strong opinions on brakes and I am no different. I fell in love with the lever feel and haven’t gone back, the bleed can be finicky but once you figure it out no worries there. No brake fade, no wondering bite point and plenty of power to make up for my stupid decisions.

The Ride or Die top cap has been on all my previous bikes so at this point anything else just doesn’t look right. I’m not superstitious or anything, but the bike isn’t complete without it.

When it comes to your approach to videography and capturing mountain biking, are there any filmmakers you take inspiration from? Are there any particular edits or movie segments from them that you’d consider “must-watches” for those of us reading this?

So many inspirations out there haha! But if I had to pick a few I'd say Issac Wallen and Nic Genovese create the best bike videos out, they always find new ways to keep your eyes glued to the screen and consistently rewatch their videos. The homie Josh Lawless who got me into filming, he always amazes me too. Of course you have the big dogs at Anthill that I got to see first hand on a project I got to help trailbuild on, those guys operate on a different level of cinema. As far as videos go, Roadkills is probably the most played video on our TV. I’ve always loved R-Dog’s Lyrics video, and La La Land with Semenuk has some beautiful scenes. Of course, you can’t go wrong with Brage’s Real MTB segment or Sound of Speed. Sorry—I’ll stop haha but Kade Edwards’ Real MTB segment is also so good.

If Isaac and Nic called you up to star in a shreddit aboard your Dreadnought anywhere in the world, where would you go to ride?

I mean since we live in one of the best MTB towns in the world I’d probably say just here in Bellingham on some trails I've built with the homies. Nobody rides a trail better than the builders!