I seem to be getting sucked in to the world of downhill.
Ridden at stile cop, aston hill,fod,chicky,woburn,n wales new centre.
Nothing massive but all fun. Some times I use my 456, this is a good excuse to myself if a get a ass kicking by all. On the other hand if I am having a rare good day it like getting a pat on the back.
I also have a Five which I guess is more than enough bike.
But I am off the bike and broken so I am doing a bit of window shopping.
What do you guys rate for playing about on?
Summum? good deals about
Scalp?
patriot? Way expensive but could look out a s/h deal
Wilson? Again real good deal at Freeborn.
Other?
Cheers

kona entourage just got a good write up as a playbike in the new dirt 100

good price too

In the STW tradition of recommending your own bike, a second hand Pitch with coil shock and 36 vans is pretty much a DH/freeride bike, and could be had for relatively cheap.

IMO a full-on DH bike overkill for the riding you describe. I find my Spesh SX Trail perfect for the majority of UK tracks.

The Kona the above guy mentions would be a good option.

If you have your heart set on a DH bike then you could do worse than a SH Giant Glory.

As always, YT Industries, Canyon Bikes and Rose Bikes are all worth a look, the YT Tues is meant to be a good bike.

I suspected a full DH bike would be over kill. The other downside is I can not make out that I am lost and had no intention of any DHing.
The german brands look amazing value.

Will google the Kona.
Cheers all

get a second hand sunday the one and only d/h bike i had two whilst racing and numerous other offerings from giant,santacruz,only other one that came close was my ancillotti magical d/h bike

Coil shock and 160 fork on the five. Mine rocks…

I got a 2nd hand intense slope style for the Canadian bike parks, it was such an agile and fun bike, I traded up for a 951 as all the guys I ride with have v10’s and such, I really miss it a would get another in a heartbeat

That being said the 951 is better

If you want a dh bike get one. Ignore what the know it all numpties on here say. Ride what you like and two fingers to the rest of them. Dh bikes are bloody brilliant! Enjoy whatever it is you get!

Transition TR250

BTR Belter … if you’ve got the balls and the skills do it on a hardtail.

For me personally the older Giant Glory had too steep a head angle.

The Summon on the other hand is very slack and a real race orientated DH bike.

That said the majority of DH bikes are built around a WC DH race geo.

Intense: out of all 3 mates that had 951’s every single one of them snapped the chain stays within months. All had to wait 3months + for replacement. The guy I know who had a slopestyle while an awesome bike, the first frame was miss aligned, the second the ISCG taps snapped and the third he snapped the stays on. With the time all these guys were forced off the bike nothing would inspire me to buy and intense now – no matter how well they ride.

Used to be a avid Foes fan, however that changed once I rode a V10. Yes 10″ sounds a lot but they don’t feel like it and certainly don’t wallow like you might expect. I bought a V10c last december and love it – the VVP link makes the suspension. Pedals well (for a DH bike) jumps well (once you get used to it) and corners and handles the steeper stuff just great. (also they look pimp)

There are a lot of good second hand deals at the moment as all the racers I know are selling their bikes ready for the new season stuff in Jan/Feb.

For instance I know of a V10c with Boxxer R2C2/Worldcups Easton carbon havoc bars / Hope wheels etc, full race kit, immaculate and incredibly well maintained for 3500. Bargin V10c

Its only for sale as the gentleman in question is going to ride for Haven Distro on a Wilson next season, another mate has been racing for Haven on a Wilson for two years and highy rates it. He’s doing ok:- Masters midland champ, Masters English champ etc so it can be too bad of a bike!

Ok mauling your existing bike into dh capable is ok but will lead to breaking stuff and hours on the workstand along with it always being too heavy or not right. I used my heckler for a few years till I killed the frame.

Have a look at pink bike and some of the more gravity places. A full on Dh bike may be overkill for some areas but will still be fun. Spec demos rate well and are fairly common. If not then the 180mm bikes are worth a look.

I’m heading back to dh post Christmas and will be looking for something similar if only to avoid trashing my trail bike.

Have a crack with the guys on the uplift there will be people who know of some used bikes going round.

Transition TR250?

Having mothballed my Kona Stinky in favour of a do it all Heckler I’ve just decided to re-build the Stinky for exactly the kind of riding you describe. I’m not the ‘radest’ riders (although I do run the Stile Cop trail work) but have decided that a more specific bike will always be better than a beefed up all round, if you have the opportunity to get one that is.

The Kona Entourage does look very good for the money and the spesh Status also gets good reviews if you’re not looking for a full on race bike.

Playful? No need for a full on DH bike if that’s your main reason for buying imo. 6″ mini dh style bikes are perfect for playing about on and can get you down the trail fast enough (it’s not really the bike remember). Not as easy to ride on ‘proper’ dh trails, but doesn’t take the fun out of the ‘pseudo’ DH stuff like a big bike would.

I’ve a Commie Supreme MiniDH (07) and it’s stood me well. I’d recommend it if it wasn’t for the weight. The TR250 looks like an evolution of the commie design and i’d get one of them if I was in your shoes.

I’d had a go on a Wilson and despite it being far too small for me, it rode lovely. Saying that, the parts list on the build would make a shopping trolley ride great.

Cheap and cheerful is the way to go IMO keep it under £1k and raid the classifieds on rideIO or here.

Batter it and save you`re posh five…

I would definitely go second hand. Loads of cheapish good bikes on ride io and pink bike. I was looking for one recently and there was some pretty good bikes offered at less than £1K. A solid mission @ £900 and a demo 7 around the same price. I picked up a mint operator with 888 rc3ti/Rocco for £1500 (it is almost brand new!).

That said, you could also pick up a late model stinky really cheap (£700 ish) and they are good fun.

For Woburn and Chicksands at least I think a fs is a bit much, takes a lot of fun out of it and makes more effort for you on a lot of the jumps! I’ve just gone from a 180mm each end Bullit to a Charge Blender with 120mm forks and I’m loving it.

Tr250 looks the ticket, but way too much new.
Keeping a eye on pinkpink ads, a fair few deals about.
Thanks for all the input, may try to get a go on a wilson only just over £2k atm.
I am off to work, will check in later.
DM

Example: ride.io/forum/index.php/topic,267718.0.html

£600 for an 8″ DH bike if you get a years use out of it then its paid for itself anything more is a bonus and it saves the posh bouncer from excessive torment…

In intenses defence the m9 is very, very good and also very strong.

Even better: ride.io/forum/index.php/topic,267778.0.html that is a good bike at a good price…

got a 224 frame and parts i’m looking to sell soon if of interest. i like it but its a tad small (i’m 6ft its a small/medium) and am selling as just got a scalp frame to build up

single pivot so lively back end, jumps and pedals really well. email in profile if u want pics/info

If it’s of any interest, I have just yesterday decided to sell my Devinci dh bike. I bought it in 2006 from freeborn,and it has only done about 8 easy rides. It was the Johnson model, but I upgraded the forks to Mz 888rcv in 2008, and the shock to a Fox dhx 5. Also swapped brakes to avid codes. Pics at http://s669.photobucket.com/albums/vv55/kevin191176/november/

Will be looking for £ 795, post

Edit. It’s a medium.