Still undecieded as to which full sus frame to get, I’m testing the Orange Blood on Saturday and will be trying to get a test ride on the other ones before I make my mind up. To be honest I’m getting sick of swapping and changing bikes all the time so want to get it right this time, then hopefully it wont end up on Ebay in the not too distant future.

I like the idea of a bike that will handle the drops and jumps without having to worry too much if I make a botched landing. Its got to be able to pedal quite well for those all day rides at Glentress and not soak up every little jump in sight like the Commencal MiniD did. So ive got it in my head that I want something with a bit of travel at the back and the ability to take a 140/160mmm bolt thru fork up the front. I could build it up with either Pike Dual Airs 140mm or Fox 36 Van’s 160mm.

So far I’ve narrowed it down to…

Orange Blood
http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/2009bikes/bike.php?model_id=116

Corsair Marque
http://www.corsairbikes.com/fly.aspx?layout=bike&taxid=61

Cotic Hemlock with 120mm rocker plates
http://www.cotic.co.uk/product/hemlock

Santa Cruz Blur 4x
http://www.santacruzbikes.co.uk/bicycles/blur4x.html

The Corsair looks good on paper but it isnt a UK design so I’m not sure how well it will stand up to our weather and I dont know how much tyre clearence there will be for 2.35’s

The hemlock looks good but I’d want to be sure that the rear flexiness of the old model had been cured. Also not sure how I’d mount a chain device on a 73mmm bb shell.

The santa cruz isn’t available anymore so I’d have to find a NOS or second hand one, also not sure how often I’d be replacing bearings. That said I’ve ridden one a while back and quite enjoyed it.

The Orange looks good and I’ll find out on saturday how heavy it is and if it pedals ok, dont think I’d have any worries about it handling the drops.

Any thoughts?

Ive ruled out the 4x on looks. In large sizes it looks like a gate.

Sounds like you want a short travel downhill bike AND a ride all day feel the trail bike?

Orange would be more the former, and the Hemlock and 4X more the later, yes? Not ridden the Orange, but it looks to be far slacker and downhill/drops oriented than the others. Not light, but plenty of grr.

Both the Orange and Hemlock would be more fun with something ‘more’ than the air pikes I reckon. Wotan or 36Vans?

Sounds like you want a short travel downhill bike AND a ride all day feel the trail bike?

That just about sums it up, also something that can handle a session on the BMX track and doesn’t soak up all the jumps, light enough to pedal all day and strong enough for 6ft drops….

Can I also have the moon on a stick please?

Orange Alpine 160? MBR 9/10 this month 31.5lb

Wont the 160 soak up all the small jumps that he wants to er jump?

Imagine if it was an Alpine 140…. = ;7)

The Alpine 160 will more than likely soak up jumps and has been ruled out along with most other bikes with more than 130mmm travel

Why not just get a trail bike and get a DJ hardtail then?

I only mentioned it because I reckon the blood is going to feel like it has more travel than 130mm and as much as I’d love to give one a go, it just doesn’t look like something I’d want to ride all day.

I was wondering the other day how a Stumpy FSR or a Fuel EX? would run with some Pikes (or wound down Lyriks) and some big tires.

What about one of those Morewood 4″ travel thingies?

Or dare I say it a Pitch?

Stumpy is more of a long travel XC / light trail bike me thinks, wouldn’t say it’d like big drops too much

Why not just get a trail bike and get a DJ hardtail then?

I’ve already got a hardtail DJ bike, it’s going up for sale when I get a new full susser, my other bikes a carbon XC bike and probably gets more abuse than it really should. The DJ is only good for doing just that as the frame is too small for general riding, I was wanting something a bit more versatile.

Thats true about it not liking big drops I suppose. But it would make a nice light Drum’n’Bass trail hooning bike if you were a smooth rider.

I saw a bloke before Christmas at a DH track on a Trance with 100mm rebas and he was doing pretty well looked really smooth. So I guess if you build the stout and ride relatively smooth then you could get away with it.

New rear ends are stiff as a stiff thing, and try one out at 18 Bikes, or Cyclescene in York, or we’re got some demo days coming up. You’d mount a chainguide on the BB shell by replacing the spacer on the external BB for the chainguide back plate. Most guides are mountable this way.

Cheers cy, I’m booked up for Glentress in April, posted in the other hemlock thread, if I cant wait that long I might try York, do they have a large?

Surely there’s a market in the UK for a tough (DH tough too much?) 4 inch travel frame which can take a fork from 4 to 6 inches? We don’t need 6 inch-plus travel bikes for mucking about in the woods, local jump spots and at trail centres. The Specialized SX (not trail) would be good, but it’s not on sale here, a bigger Meta 4X with the ability to run a front mech would be good too.

I’ve just built up a Prophet frame using a 190mm i2i shock with a 44mm stroke to get 120mm rear travel, paired with Fox 36 Floats spaced down to 130mm up front, which pretty much fits the bill. A friend runs a Blur 4X with 150mm 36 TALAS forks which is also perfect. Shame you can’t get a Blur 4X anymore and the Prophet’s days look numbered looking at how the range has shrunk over the last couple of years.

I think the Hemlock sounds pretty good – the new version looks 100 times better too. Nice price as well.

The specialized looks great. well, ‘looks’ as in meets requirements, i’m not too keen on those stickers. No chance of a test ride, but i reckon you *could* import one, then give the rest of us feedback 😉

http://www.biker-boarder.de/shopware/_detail_2979.html

How about a Chumba Racing XCL? Sounds ideal for the riding you describe 140mm rear and will take a 160mm fork without being too slack.

Check out this link http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=491369

I’d personally go the Specialized route. Too many of the above are boutique

I’ve been down the specialized route twice and got sick of replacing shock bushes and bearings

Just for info the XCL will be £1299 for the frame only with seat clamp.

How about a Transition Bottlerocket? 5.5″ and beefy

Linky: http://www.transitionbikes.com/BottleRocket.cfm

The bottlerocket weighs a metric tonne

The bottlerocket weighs a metric tonne

True – double is a bit lighter 🙂 :

Ive ruled out the 4x on looks. In large sizes it looks like a gate.

[Defensive mode on]

A gate?!

First of all “how dare you” 😉

Secondly, the large only has a 17″ seat tube? How on earth can it look like a gate?

[Defensive mode off]

Crap photo, nasty bent seatpost (now done), silly long stem (now gone), and nasty beige colour (unfortunately still present)

Not a gate though…sniff..sniff…

some farmer is going to pissed with you jfeb, all his sheep have got out.

I’d already ruled out the bottle rocket on weight alone, a mate has the covert and the frame alignment was rubbish, requiring a rebuild of his back wheel. I used to have a preston, one of the old ones where the shock ramped up because it was too short, the new ones look interesting but again probably weigh more than a small battleship.

Nice 4x jfeb, not sure about the colour though.

not sure about the colour though.

It was the last Large Jungle could get hold of (they brought it over from the US). I have to admit that Hearing Aid Beige wouldn’t have been my first choice. Fortunately I can’t really see it when I am riding it and I love it!

Sinister Gruitr

More photos here. I’m picking up mine next month… my Ridge needed another Sinister to keep it company!

That sinister would appear to tick most of the boxes, how much do they work out at with the current exchange rate? Just out of interest of course I’m swaying towards the Cotic, no the Orange, I mean the Cotic… arrghhh maybe it will be easier after a test ride.

$1385 with a Float R, so £974 at the moment. Shipping from the US to Europe was $75 when I bought my Ridge 18 months ago. not sure how much import duty you’d have to pay in the UK, though. I’m not sure if there are any Gruitrs in the UK yet (they’ve only made one batch so far), so getting a test-ride might be difficult… but I’ve never met an unsatisfied Sinister owner.

I believe Fox have a shock with a longer stroke-length but same eye-to-eye distance, which gives you travel settings of 5.5″ or 6.5″ – good for DH days if you don’t mind buying a spare shock.

Heckler

Here’s my 4X in front of a gate for comparison.

Not similar at all i think you’ll agree 🙂

Blur could happily be built to sub 30lbs, works best with max 130mm fork I.M.O
and pedals like poo in the granny ring, but will handle anything you can throw at it.

i was tied between an st4 or a blood and had a dally arounf Llandegla on them both. i found that the st4 was amazing up hill, fast flowing single track and just right for the anything that the trail centre could throw at it. the blood was a dog on the climbs as really is quite slack. if all you wanted was to stick it in the granny and twiddle it could do that happily all day but it does need a kick up the arse to come alive. descending though was fantastic, any encouragement to get airbaorne was eagerly met.

after it all the best bike to do it all………………..orange 5.

i settled for a trek fuel ex8 in the end.

I am fully prepared to be laughed at by those who’ve not tried one, and similarly expect most people to ignore this suggestion due to preconceptions. But… Have you tried a Marin Wolf Ridge?

I would never have contemplated one till riding. An outstanding frame, built on quality of travel not quantity. No, I don’t work for Marin, I just genuinely was impressed. Proper grin inducer.

Trek Remedy? I’ve seen one raced at Inners and they are about the 30lb mark so nice weight for all day riding.

I’ve got a Blur 4X with Marzocchi 55s and love it. It’s a large – I personally don’t think it’s a gate but I’m not that @rsed what bikes look like compared to how they ride.

I’ve tested a Hemlock (Cy’s with short travel and Wotans) – if I hadn’t got the 4X I’d probably get the Hemlock.

No experience of the Corsair or the Orange Blood. A mate’s got the Orange Alpine and when I stand my 4X up against it, the angles look similar (slack) but I’ve never ridden his and obviously one’s VPP and t’other isnt.

Whats the tyre clearence like on the Blur Higgo, plenty of room for some 2.35’s ?

How do you find the pedaling in the granny ring if its got one?

i’ll have a small 08 rock springs frame for sale soon if thats of any interest?