I’ve decided to treat myself to a new (to me) bike, but having only ridden the old one for a few years I’m not sure what to expect to be different (if anything). I’ve not tried anything actually *new*, and given my pile of decent old 26″ wheels and other 26″ bikes, I’ll not be going 650b any time soon.

Old: 2009 Hemlock, 2012 coil Lyirks up front and Fox rear shock with pro pedal (?? stiffens it up for climbing).

New: 2013/14 26″ Rocket, 2015 dual rct3 Pikes up front and an x-fusion 02 rcx rear shock.

The wheels, brakes, drive etc aren’t going to be much different. I hope the forks will be a bit lighter, but the weight of the frame and wheels isn’t going to change much. Will the frame geometry change how it rides much? Rear wheel will be thru-axle rather than QR which in theory might be laterally stiffer, but I doubt I’ll notice it that much.

I’m giving the Hemlock to my girlfriend, once I’ve swapped the Lyrics the something a bit lighter, but I’m slightly worried once the new shiny bike excitement wears off, there’ll be no noticeable difference other than a hole in the bank account and my gf getting a free upgrade. Actually that latter point might make the most difference to general ride enjoyment, through her not getting shaken to bits on the old hardtail.

2012 coil Lyirks up front and Fox rear shock…….2015 Pikes up front and an x-fusion rear shock.

Expect to be underwhelmed imho

Hmm, I thought as much. Both frames use 200 x 57 rear shocks, so I could in theory swap them and the forks over and essentially just upgrade my frame. Makes me wonder if it’s worth bothering at all though, but I have an itch which ought to be scratched…

It’ll be different but learn to embrace the difference instead of hankering after your old bike.

I would have probably tried a few different ones before buying though.

I’ve not bought it yet, but realistically I’m not going to be able to demo a secondhand bike for a whole day before buying it, and riding around a car park isn’t going to tell me much. The market isn’t huge for 26″ bikes now, and I’m a bit of a Cotic fanboy (can you tell?). Considered a Yeti ASR-5, which I have tried out, but warranty and carbon worries put me off.

Pikes are great and there’s nowt wrong with x-fusion shocks.
I have one on my 27.5 Rocket and it works well enough. Pikes on the front too.
Why not look at a bike which takes both sizes of wheel such as a Banshee?

I ran 650b Pikes on my bike long before I had 650b wheels. Didn’t notice any ill effects.

this might help, Cy Turner talking about the 2011 Rocket.

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_mmqajR0Ko[/video]

Do your mates not have different / newer bikes to you that you could try?

Do your mates not have different / newer bikes to you that you could try?

Other than the Yeti ASR 5, which I have tried briefly , no – I don’t have a huge bunch of riding mates*, and the few I do ride with are two frames sizes different to me. Short arsed loner… 🙄

*it’s 4, including the girlfriend! Tend to ride on my tod quite often.

Video is useful, ta.

The missus has a Hemlock I have a 26″ Rocket…

I’ve had coil Lyrics and now run Pikes. I’ve had mine custom tuned and there’s now not much in it performance wise, but they are a fair chunk lighter than the Lyrics.

Is your Hemlock a 1 1/8″ headtube or a 1.5″ one? You can Rocketerise your Hemlock by sticking a Slackset in if it’s the latter – where the whole Rocket geo came from.

Yes they do feel different – the Rocket is a bit lower and a lot longer and slacker. It’s properly confidence inspiring on the steep & twisty stuff. It’s handy uphill too – I’m just sat in exactly the right place on the bike, no fannying with travel adjust forks etc, you can just winch up stuff (although I have to say I think traction on loose ground was slightly better when I used a granny ring). The suspension feel is generally “involving” rather than sofa-like, but then you hit something big and the bike just makes it go away… The Rocket pumps and pops better too, IMO. (more progressive suspension rate)

I can’t comment too much on stiffness as I’m a weedy 140lb-er, but to me the Rocket feels noticeably stiffer than my old Intense Uzzi VP and a whole bucketload better than herself’s Hemlock – although that’s been built for a non-aggressive mile-muncher rider with really light wheels and it’s still got the old flexy chainstays on.