Hi,
Im new to the down hill scene,
I have come from a trials background and really fancy a change.
True to form for me, I had a couple of beers sat in front of flea bay and purchased the worst bike known to man. A CBR super moto. I have ridden said turd and all is not good. Its a wobbly bouncy thing and i dont fancy riding that down hill let alone a curb.
So the question I have is this.
Can I bolt on some good stuff and make my purchase worth while or do I bin it and buy a real bike.
I am open to suggestions.
I would throw £500 at the bike I have now.
Or i will keep it and buy a proper bike from the people that know I.E you lot, and not tell the mrs.
My criteria is this.
I will be going down hill proper and also dicking around on the street please help me out. Im an old fart and one to get it right
Thanks in advance and I look forward to your response.
Al aka happydaze.

Cant polish a turd.

If its this thing –

Bin.

The £500 you have is enough to buy/build a perfectly usable little hardtail.

Yep
Thats my size 10 cock up.
So judging by the positive response Ill be looking for a new ride, I hanker after a FSR any suggestions.

Get that horrid thing back on ebay.

Get yourself on southerndownhill and trawl through the classifieds. You will need more than £500 though.

Spesh Bighit or demo, older Intense and a few others are fsr.

Why do you want a specific linkage if you haven’t ridden a lot of DH? I wouldn’t get too hung up on which suspension design. Whats out there in the right condition at the right price is more important.

Suggest looking at Giant Glory, IH Sunday, Orange 222/223/224, etc etc.

Man alive! Look at the size of that saddle.

😯 How many beers?!!? Ultimate beer goggles ahoy….you must have done some proper mingers in your time…

I almost dread to ask, but how much did you pay for that?

You could stick the wheels and drivetrain on a new frame. On one 456s are cheap at the minute, and you could upgrade the other bits as and when required.

Rose bikes in Germany are great for cheap bits.

On one have decent cheap frames and tyres, and often cracking deals on factory wheels, finishing kit etc.

Don’t believe the hype about XT. Non series and Alivio shimano gear is pretty good, and Deore is generally very solid.

Merlin is the place to go for custom wheels.

Yeah I was some what twatted at time of buying, Didnt pay to much for it but that aside, Reason I want FSR is because I was on a trials ride in London and met up with some ppl with fsr and it impressed the shit out of me so I dont do things by half and I throw myself into any extreme sports. so gents and ladies that participate what would £750 buy me. in you guys I trust.

He wants a dh bike, not a rubbish heavy xc bike. An on one isn’t the answer to everything.

The wheels and cranks on that CBR will last about two runs of dh, if you are lucky. The OP would be better selling it complete to try and get some of the wasted money back.

There is a glory on sdh for 850, and big hits (fsr) from 450 to 800. They are quite old though and i’d want to look at such an old bike before paying out. Theres an old intense m3 too, and a few sundays. And loads of oranges, and SX trails (admittedly this isn’t a dh bike).

A kona stinky is not a good dh bike btw.

Have a look round, see what you fancy then maybe post up again to get some more advice. No more drunken ebay sessions!

Just done a week in Whistler and a day on Fromme using a Kona Stinky. Excellent bike for the money.

Aye, its a budget freeride bike so is ideal for that, shorter and higher bb for all that North Shore. Whistler is ace, lucky you!

Dear me, put it in the bin mate. What a cock up! 😯

To help you, check the classified section on Southern Downhill/here.