• This topic has 64 replies, 46 voices, and was last updated 9 years ago by poah.
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  • Selling my Five, but what to buy?
  • NormalMan
    Full Member

    A bit of Jones inspiration for you:
    http://youtu.be/6DJXOsP1E2Y

    Or if nothing else a good vid to enjoy while healing.

    deejayen
    Free Member

    As you may remember, I ride recumbents! That’s probably the reason why the Jones seems so great!

    I’d certainly recommend a test ride.

    I can’t compare it with a load of other mountain bikes, but it must rate as the most neutral 2-wheeler I’ve ridden.

    euain
    Full Member

    A fat bike might be a good change of pace and by all accounts are great fun to ride.

    (And if you get one, can I have a go..?) 🙂

    haggis1978
    Full Member

    Cheers bud and you too.

    If a different bike is what you think you need the go for it. As someone mentioned earlier that Kona Process is supposed to be good. Certainly a bike I’d look at if in the market for a new full sus. Bigger wheels and slacker angles for better stability descending.

    twonks
    Full Member

    After having 8 month off a few years ago from a crash I was in a similar boat and thought about selling my bike.

    However it was just a diversion from boredom and after reading all the tinterweb reviews and forums I’d talked myself into selling it and going for something new.

    However when I was fit enough to ride again I made sure the bike was in tip top condition and set off. Within 5 minutes I loved it again and it was not going to be sold.

    I suspect you are doing something similar. Changing your bike won’t make you crash less if you are running out of skill / ability doing so. Sure it may make it slightly less / more painful depending on how capable the bike is downhill, but as a device to prevent injury changing a bike is a wrong decision imho.

    I’d focus on getting better, analyse why you crashed and what actually caused it – then make changes to you if you need to. Short of mechanical failures, it is very rarely the bikes fault !

    I’m 43 (tomorrow) by the way, so share a similar desire to change things every so often. The difference here is to make sure your doing it for the right reason.

    NormalMan
    Full Member

    ^twonks is making a lot of sense.

    Plus (my biased aside) much of what you are looking for in a new bike you already have in the Solaris it would seem.

    Mal-ec
    Free Member

    Stooge is a good suggestion. You can have a whole lot of fun ride tech up + down but not necessarily at speeds beyond reaction times.
    I still like to push my technical capability, but in a more controlled way these days.

    roverpig
    Full Member

    With hindsight it was probably a mistake to mention the crash at the top of this thread. No matter what I say now it’s natural for people to assume that I blame the bike in some way or that I’m looking for a bike to make me crash less often. Neither are true.

    The crashes were just the catalyst to make me think more about why I ride. Those thoughts have led me to focus more on a different type or riding. One less focused on downhill speed and more focused on climbing and skills. Sort of anti-enduro, if you like. The Five isn’t really designed for that type of riding, which is why it probably has to go.

    Not sure a Jones or a Fatbike really fit the bill either (sorry Euain).

    Maybe the Solaris will end up being the best option (which would be great), but I might as well think about some other options.

    Now that I’ve got the question sorted out maybe I’d be better starting a new thread. Thanks for all your help.

    iainc
    Full Member

    You dont get much benefit from FS for climbing and skills, so it does sound like HT is your answer…

    roverpig
    Full Member

    You dont get much benefit from FS for climbing and skills, so it does sound like HT is your answer

    What about if the climb gets technical (rocks, roots etc)? Doesn’t the extra traction help? Or would you still go for an HT?

    iainc
    Full Member

    My own view is HT. Yes FS will aid traction and tracking rear wheel but I think the HT would still have it.

    roverpig
    Full Member

    You may well be right. Thanks.

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    Commencal Hip Hop? Playful but slack enough, 26 inch wheels, 100mm of rear travel?

    DMR Bolt? 125mm of travel. Heavyish, but has a nice feel from the steel frame and snappy suspension that’s good for jumping?

    On One Codeine? Stumpy 29er?

    I’d agree with some of the advice you’ve been give though, a bike won’t slow you down unless it’s a total pile of crap that scares the living daylights out of you.

    brooess
    Free Member

    My Soul makes me ride more carefully than I did on my Five. The Five will take everything in its stride. The Soul makes me pick my lines and slows me up, which is a good thing even if it’s harder to ride.

    FWIW, I broke a collarbone in 2007, was off the bike for 18 months cos it wouldn’t mend. Started riding again, fell off and broke the scapula on the other side! Loved the Soul but seriously felt like selling it after falling off it twice. I lost faith I could go for a ride without breaking myself – the second crash was harder to deal with in that respect. Mentally that was a difficult rut to get out of.

    Luckily I have a friend who’s a guide and a coach and I mentioned this to him. We did 3 separate sessions – my brief to him was to help me give me basic confidence back and sort my head out, with a focus on dealing with jumps and drops (lack of confidence in this had led to the first crash).

    I’ve not looked back and not had a big crash since.

    So not ignoring your points OP, but repeated crashing made me seriously consider changing the bike but it was sorting my head out with training that helped me the most.

    Tom_W1987
    Free Member

    Meh, I take the same lines on a hardtail as I would on my mega. Maybe I’m a tit or it’s because I grew up riding hardtails to begin with. I only put serious time on a full susser over a hardtail when riding long rocky descents like the WC track at Fort William. That might be because I might not be pushing it that much anymore…

    I guess he might go slower on a hardtail, whether he’d actually be safer due to the loss of grip at the back is another story.

    If he’s just riding trail centres with technical descents on par or easier than CyB then I would say he won’t end up going that much slower.

    Personally, by the way he’s described his riding I think he will be far safer on a full susser. I’ve been riding MTB for 20 years now (since I was 6-7). ALL of the nastiest crashes I’ve had, have been on hardtails. Rag dolling down the Pleney run in Morzine after losing the back end on a straight (good ol’ braking bumps) when riding my Santa Cruz Chameleon was one of those.

    mboy
    Free Member

    I’ve got to be honest, having read a number of your threads over the last year or so questioning the handling characteristics of every bike you’ve owned and/or ridden (and I’ve ridden most of them too), you spend WAY too much time over analysing everything!

    You sold your FF29 because it was too twitchy? For what? For who? Fantastic frame IMO, it’s fast and responsive for a modern 29er granted, but compared to a 1990’s super steep XC race bike it’s positively relaxed! I ride a Sync, essentially the Ti version of the FF29 and can assure you it goes down hills as fast as just about anything else…

    The Five sounds maybe a bit overkill for some of the riding you are doing, but then if you’re still crashing you are finding the limits of it’s (or rather your) ability, which probably isn’t the bikes fault. Sounds like you just need to practice riding it more, spend time learning where your limits are. Don’t always ride at 10/10ths, the guys that do are the ones always in hospital. Trails can still be a lot of fun (and only fractionally slower) at 7/10ths pace, you’re not racing anyone (unless you actually have a number on the bike and have paid an entry fee), so just ease off fractionally and focus on being smooth. Once you learn how to be smooth, pace will naturally come…

    Sancho
    Free Member

    dont know why you are averse to a 650b, they are brilliant, the new Transition Scout will be awesome (apart from the name)
    maybe Scout Bandit would be better

    mikewsmith
    Free Member

    dont know why you are averse to a 650b, they are brilliantpractically the same,

    FIFY
    Wheels don’t make a bike brilliant, sticking 650b wheels into a dogshit frame won’t fix anything.

    As with the What can I do as they cancelled the rocket, you need to get over 650b, it’s the future/only option for non 29r bikes. (and before we get 20 pages just go outside scream at the sky falling in and move on it’s happened. Pop another betamax on and don’t forget to set the teasmaid for the morning)

    For the OP, perhaps changing how/where you ride might help? Moving to a shorter travel more XC style bike probably won’t.

    jontykint
    Free Member

    I think a hardtail is defo the answer here. It will make you ride smarter and really look toward getting more flow out of your ride.
    A stanton slackline with adjustable travel fork would be everything you need, 2 different bikes at the flick of a switch

    pitchpro2011
    Free Member

    I’ve got a five and totally see why if you can’t go hard on the downs you want a bike that’s more forgiving on the climbs. If I were to sell mine for something short travel it would be replaced with a yeti sb5, a Santa Cruz solo or a giant anthem x1.

    wrecker
    Free Member

    Transition Klunker?

    That way you’ll be too scared to go fast.
    This is not a good idea. I have one of these, and if your aim is to spend less time in hospital; don’t buy a doomklunker.
    Nothing wrong with toning down your riding, it’s better than sacking it off completely.

    An anthem 29 fits your requirements perfectly I’d say (and no, I don’t own one!)

    big_scot_nanny
    Full Member

    same situation, got a fatbike, love it.

    makecoldplayhistory
    Free Member

    I’ve just gone the other way but do understand you OP.

    Having owned and loved some great hardtails over the years, I got rid of a Rocky Mountain HT XC machine and in it’s place have a 6″ FS – A Norco Fluid. A similar bike to the Five.

    I have a bad feeling that my next crash will be worse on the FS than it was on a hard tail. I don’t think it’s the speed that makes things exciting, it’s the nearing the edge of control that does. This is faster on a DH orientated bike than a hardtail. It’s faster on say a Chameleon than a 90mm forked, lightweight hardtail. Therefore, I understand your thinking; it makes sense to me. I’m only 30 but see myself swapping the Norco for a shorter travel FS in 5+ years after enjoying the extra speed I have at the moment.

    I don’t know if a hardtail would slow you down and keep you safer. Something like an SC Tallboy seems to fit the bill for what you described.

    deviant
    Free Member

    Another suggestion for a hardtail here.

    It will slow you down and make you think about your riding and line choice a little more, i definitely concentrate more when riding a hardtail as opposed to riding a FS which can seem like a big comfy mountain bike shaped armchair at times.

    My FS lured me into riding things i wouldnt usually try….and most of the time it looked after me and i got away with it….but i didnt develop as a rider, i just pointed it downhill and let it plough its way through anything, it was a bit of a blunt implement.

    Been on my current hardtail for most of this year now and can ride everything i used to on the FS but a little slower and with a little more thought, i feel more confident and seem to have a better feel and understanding for what the bike is doing underneath me….and most importantly i’m enjoying riding and having fun again.

    The FS had the ability to turn somewhere like Swinley into a snore-fest because the bike was so capable and just flattened the trail, i’ve ridden there recently on my hardtail and its like a different set of trails…really enjoyable again…so much so that i have the funds to buy a FS again but i’m quite happily building up two hardtails at the moment (140mm 26er and 150mm 27.5er) and will probably race them next year.

    Do the hardtail thing, get something in steel that’s nice and forgiving, enjoy the lack of maintenance, fall back in love with the classic looks and directness of the handling!

    poah
    Free Member

    1 keep the bike
    2 go on a skills course
    3 ride less challenging trails.

    or you could just face the fact that you are never likely to improved so buy a road bike, Lycra and meet some nice men to cycle with lol

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