So here’s the question. I have a nice 2004 Patriot, which is very good at
what comes naturally to it, bulldozing down hills. Thing is, now I think that I’d like something a bit more nimble. Do I break the old girl up, flog her and use the proceeds towards a new multi-link VPP all-mountain machine, or put her on a diet i.e. swap coil shock for air, get lighter forks and wheels, etc.? Is this the end of a beautiful relationship?

what ever you want, it may be “polishing a turd” in some ppl’s eyes, but in other chasing the lastest kit is for “all the gear & no idea” crowd.

If you like it keep it…

Some bikes you’ll keep forever, others you’ll use for s few years, have a blast on, before something newer and shinier, and maybe better comes along to replace it.

I suspect a modern all mountain machine would probably do everything the Patriot does, and maybe more. It will almost certianly ride differently if it has air suspension etc, so try something similar before you buy? Especially if you still want to go bulldozing occassionally.

It is going to be harder work up-hill obviously but think of how your wife / GF will swoon over your calf muscles.
Keep it, it’s a good bike and perfectly ok for riding around most hills we’ve got in this country.

Rode the Tour Mont Blanc off road and one of the team was using a Patriot…. didnt slow him down on the up hill sections at all….

Keep it…

Mildly offended that you call a Patriot a ‘turd’

Well, only mildly. Its a top bike and although a more modern VPP/DW-linked bike will chew up the climbs and generally pedal better, I’m guessing you like this bike due to its bulldozing character (which is what I loved so much with mine).

Keep it!

I second that, in no way is a Patriot a turd!

orange alpine 5 or their new 160 singlepivot (really well rated in the latest dirt)

that way you get shiny but keep similar ride?

It’ll never be a svelte climber so just embrace the bulldozery-ness of it, maybe beef it up a tad and use it as a DHlite type thing…

As well as buying something lighter and better climbing obviously – best of both worlds surely?!

I’m tempted to say that when you get to the piont that you’re thinking about a new bike, it’s basically going to end up happening. You have my permission to buy a new bike. (I’m guessing that’s what you really want, well, not my permission specifically but permission from someone/where).

Too true ^^^^^

A friend once said “Once you’ve started looking, you’ve already bought it”

OK. The Patriot is now lying in bits in the garage. The frame is really light, once you strip it down. I think I’m going to keep it, but experiment with lighter parts to see if I can put a bit of zip into it. I now know that my fork weighs 2.67 kilos and the rear shock weighs 1 kilo. That’s a lot of bags of sugar.

I’m in a similar situation to you!

I’ve had my Patriot a year and a half, I bought it off of someone here, who had bought it off of someone else here, who’d had it from new, and I completely love it. However, since getting it I’m doing a lot more (and more varied) riding than I ever thought I would (for example over the past 3 days I’ve spent 6 hours in the saddle, and the most I’ve had to contend with was a couple of roots- 80% of the riding was on tarmac or graveled paths). I really need something a bit lighter, that’s going to be better on the road and up the hills.

I’ve decided that a second bike would better suit me- I could spend money on the patriot, shaving a few grammes here and there, or I could spend similar money on a second hand bike (I’ve decided on geared and fully rigid). That way I can have something much better suited to the more “xc” riding, and keep the Patriot as it is, for riding into things I shouldn’t, much faster than I should!

My needs are perhaps slightly different to yours, but a hardtail for the “nimble” bits you want to ride could be an option all the same 🙂