I guess it’s fair to say that I bought a 2010 Crush on a whim last June. I haven’t used it for ages. Yesterday I got it out and give it a clean and a re-lube. I then put it back in the shed thinking “what are you for?”

Can anybody define the purpose / application of my Crush cos I’m at a loss.

Ride it and find out for yourself 🙄

Forget links, pivots and platform damping, the Crush takes things back to basics, raises the stakes and really puts the buzz back into riding. It’s a bike that reflects our long-standing belief in pushing the limits for the sake of big thrills.

There you go

Bloody ‘ell FD – it sounds bloody brilliant! Why didn’t I work that out….

depends what your other bikes are i suppose. i had one in ’08 and it was great, it was my only bike, so i rode everything.

Good point MCR – my only other bike is a 2011 Marin Rift Zone which is perfect for the trails I ride.

But sod it – I’m gonna get the gearing sorted on the Crush and take it out. If it was my only bike I’d know what it was for 😉

Find a decent bit trailand ride it hard and fast.You will soon find out what its for. Bad ass bike.

Make sure you report back too

That’s what I don’t understand. All this badass, hardcore hardtail stuff. Please explain.

Means its got a well made,strong frame. Combined with 140mm travel forks this should be able to ride pretty much everything a full sus can. If you have the skill for big stuff ride it. If your riding skills aint up there yet this bike will just grow with you and your abilities. Very good to learn on a hardtail as you learn a lot about correct techniques.

…and not at all patronising.

a hardtail’s only as hardcore as its rider, much like a full sus rider i suppose! its just easier to ride more aggressive trails on a long travel hardtail than a more tradiotional hardtail design.

Im currently riding a dialled prince albert with 140mm forks, and it’s just a great all rounder. i always thought that’s the idea of this type of bike, you can just ride it for everything – or maybe im just being too simplistic 😀

its just easier to ride more aggressive trails on a long travel hardtail than a more traditional hardtail design

this is complete shite ^^

ha ha how so? 100mm forks, steep head angle makes it easier to ride the rough stuff than a slacker 140mm hardtail does it??

where do you ride GW?

many places, how about you?

didnt mean that to sound like i was having a go GW, its just that where people ride effects how they see things….

I see things clearly thanks. 8)

I’d like to hear you explain exactly how a 67 degHA hardtail with 140mm of travel is going to be more responsive than a 100mm one with a more traditional 69-70 deg HA!

Sorry – didnt mean to sound patronising. Just getting it clear.

never said they were more responsive 😉 they are just more stable IMO. partly because of the set up that typically goes with a long travel hardtail, i.e shorter stem and wider. no doubt that a shorter travel frame/geometry are quicker handling

if i was flying down something steep and rocky i know which one id be riding! big forks and nice and slack thankyou!

Mr crush.
What % of Sag do you run on your 140mm fork?
and who mentioned the 140mm forked bike having a shorter stem? (I run a 40mm stem on my 100mm forked HT and haven’t run longer than 50mm in over 15 years)

Davo – are these imaginary steep/rocky trails you fly down all straight lines too? 😛

just saying in general, not everyone’s the same obviously, i run a 90mm 5 degree stem on mine! just whatever suits you really.

not sure about sag tbh, not touched the forks for a while, around 20% i would guess..

ha ha… 😆

why spout shite then?

I’d like to hear you explain exactly how a 67 degHA hardtail with 140mm of travel is going to be more responsive than a 100mm one with a more traditional 69-70 deg HA!

*Yawn* – here we go again.

Cue GW’s rant about hardtailers sitting down, only needing to run 80mm forks, your frame should be alu instead of steel, and how ‘back in the day’ he’s ridden everything from a unicorn to a 60 year old porn star.

and how ‘back in the day’ he’s ridden everything from a unicorn to a 60 year old porn star.

lol, what winter tyres for a unicorn though?

How is it shite? i run 90mm cos im tall, thats all. but anyway my set up aint the issue here.

go on then, how does a steeper head angle with shorter forks make rough stuff easier?

Christ – you’d have a row in an empty forum you lot.

I asked what the Crush is best at (albeit 18 months too late) and it’s slaggy off time.

lol, what winter tyres for a unicorn though?

Ask this kid…

GW,as friendly and helpfull as ever……..what a complete and utter tool. 😀

Agree with everything MrCrushrider says, GW is a little mixed up.

It’s a nice bike that Derek.
Would make a cracking winter singlespeed.

Or you could lend it to me – the colour matches my jacket.

Cupid – how you doing?
GW – talking sh*t I reckon.

Ha ha this is a funny thread.
In 1994 my first MTB was a fully rigid steel thing with narrow bars and 130mm stem. I rode lots of stuff on it in the dark peak and I had fun
Then I put some rockshox quadra21R’s on it with ?48mm travel. Rode the same stuff, was a bit more comfy, a bit faster. still had fun.
Next I put 85mm forks and a shorter stem and wider bars on it. Rode the same stuff. Was a bit comfier, a bit faster. had the same fun.
Currently riding a pretty slack steel hardtail (456ss) with 140mm forks 60mm stem 685mm bars. I ride exactly the same trails, a bit faster, a bit comfier. The same amount of fun.
Do you see a pattern emerging here?

If you’d posted this topic a few months ago i’d have gladly taken it off your hands!
Its a robustly built frame, nothing fancy, just a pure (some would say old fashioned) approach to mountain biking….i prefer hardtails so it appeals to me, i think they look better/have nicer lines….and there is huge satisfaction in taking on technical terrain without long travel and full bounce….that said i am entering more gravity enduros next year and realise the limitations of my bike so FS may be on the shopping list at some point next year.

To a certain extent i agree with GW, a longer fork (using all of its travel) usually makes for an unstable front end on a hardtail…..you’ll find most long travel hardtail riders use only the first 100mm or so of travel (just look at the grease/dust marks on the forks!)…100mm is fine as most hardtail riders (myself included) dont ride the front that hard, on steep stuff most hardtail riders (again me included) are to be seen hanging off the back so far that the fork actually ends up having an easy time of things and barely uses half its travel.

a hardcore hardtail (to me) is basically a do it all hardtail its what riding used to be like before all the bike companies started to categorise everything and bikes started becoming more specific a hardcore hardtail is the middle ground of bikes
hardcore hardtailing is no nonsense get yer bike out ride evrything in your path beit singletrack bmxtrack downhilltrack uphilltrack or ya mams dirtrack its about concentrating on riding and overcoming any shortfalls you may have by riding more instead of searching for a type of bike/product that improve your paticular weakness
why spend 1000s on different bikes when u can spend 1000s riding whistler the alps etc etc thats the way i see it now get the crush out ps(you may want to consider buying a 9″ travel susser before venturing to whistler and maybe a 6″ travel enduro bike for the alps thank you)

deviant gets it! 😉

wouldn’t ever expect ton to.

2006 model… but still a Crush….with 150mm forks.

Point it down a hill, and it’s great fun. Actually, it was a hoot to ride on anything but uphill climbs.

A friend of mine bought one last year and he loves the bloody pants off it. He originally bought as a relatively cheap way to get a full bike with 140mm forks, 10 speed kit etc ready for a Blur frame upgrade when funds allow. But he’s proper hooked after chopping in his 1998 Heckler his riding has really lit up. I had a little go and crashed within 10 minutes trying something bloody silly but I believe that is in the spirit of the bike. Get on it and the mischievous giggling starts almost instantly.

deviant – Member

…..you’ll find most long travel hardtail riders use only the first 100mm or so of travel

Been out on the new (150mm forked) hardtail twice now, and managed to use at least 140mm of travel. This is on fairly flat, albeit rough terrain. Front end stable 90% of the time too. Am I doing something wrong?

i use all my travel too and my bottom out bumper,surely extra travel adds front end height giving confidence of being to ride through anything rough easier a better attack angle and the slack head angle helps the steering feel safer at higher speed the idea of hardcore hardtails but like i said if all you got is a 100mm travel 72deg hardtail then make do cus itl be advantageous elsewhere like picking lines through sections of singletrack at lower speeds ie climbing
ps dont be jealous of a man with an extra inch of travel its the motion of the ocean