Hi all, the place I’m soon moving to has a pump track and I’ve decided its finally time to work on my pretty rubbish pump track/manual/jump/bunny hop skills a bit. Right now I have a 150mm FS which doesn’t seem to work too well for this stuff (could just be me).

I don’t know much about these kinds of bikes but was wondering if any of them would also be suitable for ragging around local flattish woodlands etc where my FS seems a bit overkill? I guess there may be issues with limited seat post extension and lack of gears?

What kinds of bikes/frames should I be looking at?
Cheers!

p.s I’m never going to be doing proper dirt jumping – too old! I basically need a training bike for skills I can then use on the trail

Budget?

Seatpost extension is always going to be difficult on a dedicate 4x bike. Would recommend something along the lines of a Cotic Bfe (26inch)

The best bike I had for jumps and pump tracks that could also do a passable impression of an actual mountain bike was a Charge Blender. It was more like a jump bike with gears hanging off it but I rode it for years. They’re really cheap second hand.

My large Bfe is a bit tall and gangly for jumps and bunnyhops. But it may be that I just don’t have anywhere to practice stuff like that anymore.

Pump tracks and dirt jumps tend to favor similar bikes (small hard tails), shorter wheelbases tend to be better than longer ones, and smaller wheels accelerate better and are tougher. Whereas a trail bike is going to be longer and slacker with 26″ wheels or bigger.

If I was compromising I’d say get an older 456 with u-turn pikes. Run it at 140mm in the woods and 100mm on the pump track and that should give the best of both.

Or an Atomlab frame (GI and trailpimp were basically the same geometry but with different tube-sets), as dirt jumpbikes they were quite long (23″ top tube), but you won’t get more than a 26×2″ tyre in the back.

Specialized P1 or Giant STP? I think you can get them with gear hangers. I ride with someone that has an STP as their main bike. Alternates between a dropper and regular seat post depending where he’s riding.

i use a stanton Slackline 26inch wheel’d – awesome down the pump track, and can handle trail rides too.

In typical STW fashion, recommend what you have! Just rebuilt my 2006 one. If you can find it in a larger size it is not too bad for getting to and from trails.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/category/bikes/mountain-bikes/product/review-kona-shred-08-28424/

https://goo.gl/photos/uV7cTakto6sAUK4u8

This is my actual bike which I did 42km on on Sunday. I have lighter forks, wheels, bars and stem, but it was built up on limited time and what was knocking about, so I think I will keep it but get a lighter post and saddle, a back tyre with grip, some longer cranks and go 1×9. There is a size larger than that, but I am 5’9″ and had the saddle at that height (well I set it there and it gradually slipped till I was hitting my knees on my chin!!).

You can pick them up for pittance as there are hundreds knocking about, and they are very solid.

Thanks for all the suggestions, I’ve been scanning the buy/sell on pinkbike for something suitable. I’m wondering if a 4x frame might be the best bet e.g Dartmoor Hornet 4x or similar. I only have 30 inch in-seam so a long seatpost might do it.

THe Kona shred looks good but longish chainstays at 16.7 inches I’m thinking short is good for me learning manuals? Giant STP looks interesting too.

Budget-wise – 200 or 300 second hand ideally.

Great hijack alert, I have advertised just now a wicked toy which you may really like to do what you want!

Re: Charge Blender. I had one for a while as a fun bike / spare MTB.

It was not an MTB and it was not fun. It weighed the same as all my other bikes put together, climbed like a dead elephant, and made false flats feel like Everest. I really didn’t get on with it.

I had a Flow Myth 4X bike for a while as well, and whilst I never really loved it, I’d take it up and down hills in preference to the blender any day of the week.

I find the front end of my Kona easier to get up than any of my other bikes. But then again I have very limited bike skills so am probably doing it all wrong.

You can get a bike suitable for both e.g. slackline, chameleon etc but they are never going to be as much fun as a dedicated pump track bike / BMX track / Dirt jump bike. Think super short stays, shortish TT, really low toptube, steep head angle. Only you know if you can justify such a bike, or if a compromise is all you need. Either will be miles better than a 150mm travel full sus however.