evening,

been offered an 07 g-spot frame and wondered what peoples opinions are. Im kind out of the loop a bit on full susses, having ridden hard tails for the last few years.
Also would pikes be a ok on one or too short? don’t really want to have to buy new forks at the mo, maybe later if it rides ok with them for now
cheers all

I had one from 2005-2008 and had to sadly sell it. I have just bought another 2007 minter off the classifieds here.
Great bike, had Pikes on my first one and they were ok but it was better with a little longer fork. I rode all over BC on it and just threw a set of JrTs on it for the last 2 weeks in Whistler but they came off when i got back and the Pikes went back on.
Also ran it with 66s… the original black ones. Too long, even set to 150mm cos of the drop on the crown, massive axle to crown length.
Vanilla RCs were a good length, but just didnt get on with them, probably more a Fox thing though.
My new one has Lyriks on it, just still waiting for chainrings to arrive to give it a blast.
They are pretty cheap used for a tough bike, and the only bike i’ve had 100% confidence in, no matter what it was chucked off. Not light, hurts after 5-6 hours of XC riding in big hills but worth it if you like the DH bits.

That sounds like the “old” G spot with pivot around the BB. They were being sold v. cheap on internet a while back. A friend bought an new frame for between £500-600 from CRC. Very good bike but Pikes too short for that. You are talking 150-160mm forks to do it justice. e.g Lyrics or Fox 36. My Mate likes his and he rode it well at Inners & GT etc on our trip last year and uses it on DH courses too. It climbs fine too, but certainly not a super light full susser, more of a all round/light freeride model that can take a beating. Its nice and slack and definitely has a “fun on the way down” bias rather than being a fast climber. He uses FOX 36s on his.

hooja, I tested one a few years ago. I liked it a lot but felt it was a little compromised as a 1 bike for all. As a fun bike though it was good. I was sorely tempted by it but ended up getting a Hustler (and a little later a STD). I guess it would be OK with pikes, they are very capable forks. It would be worth checking out the axel-crown measurement on them, I measured mine a while ago vs my Fox 36’s and was surprised how little difference there was. Can’t remember the numbers now.

Edit: Just to say that is the old style G-Spot I’m talking about. The one with the single pivot around the BB. The new style G-Spot is a totally different beast!

Hi Doug hope u r enjoying the STD I remember hearing from previous posts you ride it a lot. I bought my STD in 2007 too and am still loving riding it…awesome bike! The one bike I want to keep. There are not many Cove STDs around now it seems. My all mountain machine is now a Carbon Nomad..

Radioman, the STD isn’t feeling the love at the moment unfortunately. I still dig it out now and then but the truth is that the G-Spot goes down just as well as the STD. I use the STD for jumps, because I’m rubbish at them and scared, but if I was better then the G-Spot would cover that for me. It’s funny, I tested the 1st GSpot and thought it too compromised so got the bike either side of it, i.e. Hustler and STD. Not I have the new G-Spot and it’s sort of made the Hustler and STD a bit redundant for the main type of riding I do.

Interesting to hear Doug. I thought long about getting the G.Spot (best looking machine to me)but i went for the Nomad in the end really for its low weight and good pedalling. I use the STD for downhill and love the lazy low slack handling, but like you am also careful now, (i’m approaching my 1/2 century and want to keep riding). My Nomad came with coil shock option and thats great , but I think I would have had to order the G Spot with an air shock and that was my deciding factor(I’m old fashioned and like coil shocks). I agree on the old G. Spot it is a heavier bike and does suffer a bit from “bob” and also requires a fairly big spring weight due to its short shock length(my mate uses 600lb and he’s about 13st). The new G spot looks like a different animal. More exciting but obviously lots more cash than the special offers on the old model. And like you if I have to choose 1 bike for the alps its my AM bike the Nomad. Im not strong enough to pedal the STD uphill!

I got one for £300 off a friend who bought it when CRC sold them off.
He built it up, but thought it bobbed around too much. Which it did with the 350lb spring it came with. As Radioman says you need a big spring for it to work.
So I put a Fox Float on it and pumped it up to about 300lb and it works a treat.
I currently have a Fox Float 140 fork on it and it fine.
I use it as my main bike, your not going to win any XC races on it, but it climbs ok, with the seat up.
I really like it the only downside is mine has a 30.0 seatpost, which is a bit hard to come by. I would really like a dropper post for it as I feel it rides singletrack much better with the seat down, compared to other bikes.

Pleased u r enjoying it Gus. My friend certainly likes his! He did beat me uphill too, buts that’s cos he’s much fitter than me. He certainly enjoyed it at Glentress & Inners! A bargain for 300!

Cheers all, this is the info i needed…
I am very tempted and been meaning to get rid of my pikes anyway, just can’t afford to straight away. It sounds like it wouldn’t be too compromised for now, until i can justify buying some more suitable forks.
What sort of built weight have yours been 32lbish?

I’ve had one for a good few years and run it with several sets of forks, I would say the pikes will be too short axle-crown, and will cause the front end to tuck under. They may do for a temporary fix, but it is much better suited to 150-160mm forks or bigger.

I would also say 32lb is an optimistic weight, running standard parts you’ll be 36lb and up.

Still an awesome frame though, I’ve found it to be a pretty decent pedaller with a 5th element or Vivid shock. They build into a very fun bike.

I currently have an 07 one in little bits waiting for me to put new bearings in it. My thoughts would be:

Pikes will be too short, but you probably won’t die. I ran mine with Lyriks which were ok, but to be honest if anything I’d have gone longer – but this was riding in the Alps.

It’s quite a tall bike, with a highish bottom bracket and shortish wheelbase. Depending on your riding this may be an issue. Never bothered me, but most of my sussers have been a similar shape.

Bob isn’t too bad as long as you have a decent weight spring in there. It’s NOT a fun bike to climb though. I’ve done 35 mile Peak epics on mine, it can be done, but you will feel the weight and geometry compromises.

I’m not sure exactly what mine weighed, but it was definitely considerably more than 32lb, though in Alp mode it did have heavyish wheels. A lightweight build is kinda missing the point a bit I think. It was known as Tank Bike for a reason.

I’m probably gonna sell mine when I rebuild it just because for 95% of the riding I do it’s too much. It’s only really any fun on challenging downhill trails, I’d mostly rather be on my hardtail for normal UK stuff from singletrack to Peaks and Lakes rocky stuff.

doug_basque – what’s the deal with the Cove and ISCG? Friend has a shocker, and it has no ISCG mounts, G-Spot doesn’t seem to have them either – is that right?

I just couldn’t get on with it at all, even pointing down it felt heavy and not that stable. Only had it a couple of months before taking a loss on it. I’d say 32lbs would be impossible, I just found it bobbed too much and it didn’t really repay enough on the downs

george, there is an adaptor that you bolt on to the BB. It has sort of slots on the BB that this adaptor bolts onto. The idea is that the frame isn’t damaged in the event of v. heavy impacts, the adaptor bends instead. I guess it’s sort of like a mech hanger. I don’t use one so I can’t comment on how well it works. I’m just a punter too by the way, I’ve got no connection with Cove so don’t take that as gospel.

32lbs must be inpossible with the older G-Spot. It would be possible with the newer one but I think around 34lbs is more fitting for the sort of riding I’d want to be doing with it.

The old one definitely bobbed a bit but I found it fun on the downs. The new one uses the same linkage as the shocker / std and there’s just no bob there. It’s something everyone comments on both with the GSpot and the STD I have.

@Gus just to let you know I run a dropper post on my Cove (hustler) with 30.0 seat tube. I use a 27.2 hilo plus a shim and it has been faultless so far. Might be worth considering.

Agree with Doug. The Std also comes without ISCG mounts but the e -13 and other chain devices have adaptors that are an easy fit. I think Cove are very wise not to do ISCG. If you hit the guide hard it just moves round a bitand helps absorb some impact. I have damaged other bikes with ISCG when hitting things much more as there is nothing to absorb impact. Re weight on g- spot, it’s a little bit burly but not silly, as with all bikes I think it depends what your mates ride. If they ride SC Bullits, Enduros,nomads and Hecklers ,5spots , Orange 5s etc you are fine but, it will be nasty if they are on XC race bikes!

I had a 2007 G-spot.

As a free ride bike, awesome.
Pedalling = bobby.

I’m 12stone and had a 550lb spring to calm it & it still bobbed, but It was very very inspiring descending.
Frame with a DHX5 was 8.5lbs

he only downside is mine has a 30.0 seatpost, which is a bit hard to come by

I’ve got a Diabolus 30.0 post which I’m going to sell soon if you’re interested. (email in profile.)

i’ve got a 30.0 Thompson seatpost for sale if you need it – mikek@skylinecad.plus.com

I’ve got a piece of old scaffold pole buried in the garden, perfect for a cove.

crotchrocket, they’ve already nicked the bolts of the end of that for the suspension mounts! 🙂

One of my mates on a G-Spot is using the shimmed gravity dropper, it works very well. Also, just to say that the new G-Spot will come with a bigger seatpost to suit droppy posts. 31.9 or whatever the ‘new standard’ is.

Doug, your review and video of the G-Spot on your site was just the ticket I needed to get the new 2012 G-Spot with the 31.9 seatpost. I just built it up with full XTR race and Stu (@cove world headquarters) figures I have a sub 30lb bike on my hands – I didn’t buy it for lightness anyway. Rides like a dream and climbs better than a lot of XC bikes that I’ve tried. The RS Reverb dropper post is a worthy upgrade. Here’s a link to some photos G-Spot Album

Wow, that looks beautiful. Is that the new green, with little sparkles through it? My mate just bought one and it is a stunning colour.
I can’t believe that you could get a sub-30lb G-Spot (I might be wrong), I’d say that 30-32 is a great weight for the bike but it pedals so well that it feels lighter. The only time I struggle with my bike is when I have to carry it for prolonged periods, and fortunately I only do that for something very special so I’m happy to struggle 🙂

Glad you’re enjoying it. Glad Cove had gone 31.9 too! Stu’s a good guy to deal with too isn’t he?

One little hint… it’s worth dropping the air from your shock and checking that the mech doesn’t touch the chainstay at full compression. I had mine adjusted badly and it did that, removed a little bit of paint! (Stupid me!)

Happy riding!