[Closed] Downhill bikes. Tell me about them...

Coil shock and bigger forks on the five.

I sold my DH bike after getting my five.

If you buy a DH bike, sure you will love it in the Alps - for your one or two week holiday.

Then back in the UK you will stuck riding only at Aston / Cwn Carn, a pale immatation of the Alps.

I built up a bike that would do it all - Transition Covert, uppy downy, big forks, big brakes, big bars etc etc. Rides XC fine, rode the Alps fine. In fact I didnt need more in the Alps, more would have been beyond my skill level. Back home Im still competitive at the Bristol Bike Fest, fine doing SITS and fine riding it everywhere.

So just sort out your bike with better suspension and brakes. Unless you really want to give up XC and just race DH in the UK all the time. One of my mates does that, the rest who dabbled at DH ended up selling them because the couldnt justify a bike that got used so little.

undergunned on a 5? surely not 😉

What do you mean by shorter travel "fun" DH bike tho?
low/slack like a DH race bike but lighter and shorter travel? if so, how much travel? and if you do want a light bike it's either going to cost you a fortune and/or break quicker.

unfortunately there are still pretty much no short travel bikes that actually have proper DH geomtry off the shelf, angled headset cups or switching shock length/mounts may be an option to get some bikes closer though.

Actually the thing that limited my riding in the Alps was not my bike, it was experience and the sight of all those chaps in Morzine / Les Gets with their arms in a sling.

If I lived in the Alps, sure Id have a DH rig. But you live here, where even our DH tracks are fine on agressive trail bikes.

Trimix- who did you feel you needed to justify having a DH bike to? 😕
once you've got one, even if you only ride it once or twice a year but do actually ride dH on it it's justified having it isn't it?

Coil shock and bigger forks on the five.

Currently running 160mm Lyriks up front, but a coil rear would be good.

It was more wheelbase/steeper head angle issues that were causing problems.

What do you mean by shorter travel "fun" DH bike tho?

Something like a Transition 250 springs to mind (no pun intended). Single crown, quite low and reasonably slack.

Funnily enough, the reason I currently own an Intense Uzzi is because its previous owner thought along exactly the same lines as you, and used it once in the following year before selling it to me. For me it's versatile enough to be used for big days out in the Peaks/Lakes/Wales as well as the gravity inspired stuff.

Real world, your 5 will be fine with some bigger wheels, tyres and a coil shock for most things - have you seen how hard Rowan Sorrell and Danny Macaskill ride theirs?

If you still want a bigger "play" bike, then look at things like the Uzzi (adjustable geo means it's still pretty useable as a trail bike, but doesn't give a lot away to a full on DH rig until it gets really steep), Bullitt, Patriot, Reign X, SX Trail or if feel hard enough/DH biased enough to warrant a single front ring, then an Intense SS2 or a Transition TR250.

You don't need a DH bike from what you've said.

Woburn? Aston Hill? Even Cwm Carn... get a Covert.

Whats the point in getting a Covert, it's virtually identical in geometry to a 5, with slightly more travel.

It won't be the bike thats holding you back riding DH on a 5, it will be you.

Unless you have a spare grand or so, then just buy a second hand Iron Horse Sunday.

What wheelbase, H/A and BB height does your 5 have?
and what do you think would be your ideal geometry for DH?

Fair point hob nob.. if the head angles are the same on the two then just learn to ride. 😀

Or Alpine 160 ot Patriot... really no point in a full on DH bike though.

My mate has an Alpine, the geometry is pretty much the same as my Covert. Of course the Covert has a Hammershcmitd, but his Alpine seemed as capable as mine for normal people.

When I said justify, I mean justify spending loads on a bike I only use for a few weeks. Id rather have thousands tied up in my Covert which I ride 3/4 times a week every week.

Till I win the lottery, then I will have 52 of bikes I ride once or twice a week.

i have an alpine its got the 160 forks and the cane creek barrel shock on the rear, as said above save your self tons of cash and just buy maby bigger forks for the front 160s or 180s? and get a cane creek on the rear then it will feel like an alpine 😛

If you want to ride DH 'properly' and do sizeable jumps and drops then a trail bike will not be as suitable geometry wize & something may break. Fair enough Rowan Sorrel and D-Mac can rag a 5 but they are experts who dont pay for their frames.

I made my Heckler into 'DH lite' and it was OK on the local DH trails, but it was to heavy and lumpen on a normal ride compared to its previous lighter spec. As my riding progressed and I got more into DH I sold the Heckler and bought a Spesh Big Hit and just had a HT for normal riding. The difference is night and day and my riding has progressed further by the confidence afforded by a bike solely designed for being thumped down a hill (and also buying a full face & armour). Several friends have also done the'DH-Lite-XC bike' and then just bit the bullet and bought a proper big bike, but we are fortunate enough to have local DH trails.

Pimpmaster Jazz - Member
I've having rather filthy thoughts about buying a big bike after a week of being totally undergunned on my Five in Morzine last week.

Guilty! 😳

I'm looking at a Canyon Torque. Seems awfully good value. I live out here though so should use it a bit.

If you only do the occasional run then the Orange 5 or similar would be fine, but surely if your doing it over many days, many hours a day it would get awfully tiring. Like doing the alps on a hardtail, definitely possible, but after a couple of runs when your teeth are shattered, arms screaming for mercy and knees bleeding from the joint, a bit more bike is worthwhile?

Kev

The Southern Yeti - Member
Fair point hob nob.. if the head angles are the same on the two then just learn to ride.

Or Alpine 160 ot Patriot... really no point in a full on DH bike though.

the second you ride your new DH bike (properly) it loses a couple of grand in value, over the following years it loses value way more slowly.

Hey,

I'm having similar thoughts currently and ride in similar locations. I started out really wanting a S/C Bullit but have recently heard that they're being discontinued (not that that's a problem per se, I was just hoping to buy a new one - you can always go the 2nd hand route.)

At the moment, the bikes that I am considering are as follow:

Transition Bottlerocket
Santa Cruz Butcher / Heckler
Orange Patriot
Knolly Chilcotin (not too sure about UK availability at the moment though...)

Patriot. That way you can still ride it up to the top of big descents where there's no uplift. Ok so it's not a DH bike, so that itch may remain un-scratched, but you'd ride it more.

And there's a world of difference between something like that and a 5.

What wheelbase, H/A and BB height does your 5 have?

68.5 I believe, with a 140mm fork.

Unknown BB height.

and what do you think would be your ideal geometry for DH?

I'm thinking about a 63 degree head angle.

My main issue with the Five is getting twitchy at speed or on prolonged steep sections. In the slower stuff and on anything other than full DH territory it's great.

You don't need a DH bike from what you've said.

Woburn? Aston Hill? Even Cwm Carn...

I agree. But it's not about *needing*, it's more about wanting to have more fun on something that's a little quicker and designed more specifically for the job (as well as keep up from others on similar bikes), potentially with a little racing down the line too. It also wouldn't be replacing the Five.

Unless you have a spare grand or so, then just buy a second hand Iron Horse Sunday.

That's the line I'm looking down. I'm not buying anything new for the amount it will be used.

GW - that may be so. but personally if the head angles about right... I'll rip 🙂

I reckon you'll have more fun at all those places on a shorter travel bike. I'd go as far as saying that Woburn is probably most fun on a HT.

I'd love to hear you explain the "world of difference" between a Patriot and a 5 molgrips 😆

I'd suggest keeping an eye on Ebay and picking up something second hand. One of the lads I ride with picked up a Norco with single crown Marz 66s for £650 as his Alps bike. Heavy, but built with two chainrings so he rode it at Coed-y-Brenin the other week and loved it out in the Alps last week.

you don't need a d/h but it's great to ride one.
I broke the rear mech hanger on my heckler while in cham last week and hired a commencal d/h bike. For me it gave me much more confidence and enabled me to ride faster and harder and not worry so much about which line to take. In my case i suppose it was a skill compensator.
the cost of hiring was €75 per day which is too much for a 6 or 7 day biking trip.

i am going to build a d/h bike just for the alps and uplift days in the uk as i enjoyed my time riding one in cham

There's a 2008 Stinky frame with 66s on Southern Downhill at the mo for £250...

**edit** More of a freeridey thing I know, but a bit meatier than a 5

but a coil rear would be good

I digress.

How much does it cost to hire a big bad DH bike in the Alps?
Or just have some 140mm forks for the UK and some 180mm for trips abroad, cheaper than a whole new bike...
Or [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=49117 ]something that does both[/url]

Hmmm,

I've ridden a 5, a Patriot, an Alpine, a Sub Zero (that hurt!), and a Demo 8 in the Alps. They're all great and I had as much fun on each as I did on the next.

It's all about how fast / big you want to go really. Riding at the limit of the bike is great fun - just enjoy.

Having said that my Demo was super confidence inspiring and probably did make me push myself harder.

But, given the choice, I'd choose my Patriot as I can at least pedal that up the hills should I decide to get away from the DH runs for a day.

Horses for courses - but if it's just for the Alps I'd go shopping on SDH for a cheap 2nd hand bike. There are some good deals on 222s or Norcos on there - both of which would put a smile on your face relatively cheaply, and then not annoy you by sitting doing nothing in the UK.

no need for a downhill bike in the uk unless you are racing or regularly riding fort bill. that being said if i lived next to a decent uplift i'd get one.

agree with jam bo, coil shock and some lyriks would do the job nicely. either that or flog the 5 and get something with 160 to 180mm travel as that will be more fun than a dh bike in this country

If it is just for the alps, but a second hand DH bike and sell it when you get home! Until recently I have always had a DH bike, but I don't really get that much time to ride these days and was finding my custom pitch much more fun anyway.

It is set up with a van rc at the back, van r at the front, wide bars, 1x9 with chain guide, saint brakes and I love it. Most of my riding is around Aston, Woburn etc and it is much more fun than a full on DH bike.Then I stick on my gravity dropper and light wheels and I'm ready for some trail riding.

The good thing about using one bike for everything is you have no excuses. ie I would do that jump on my big bike! The first real test for me will be my next Inners trip, but I'm sure I will be hitting all the jumps and drops I usually do.

All that said, if you have the cash and the space a TR250 would be awesome!

As a few have mentioned above and previously, there are some cheap second hand DH bikes about on SDH and Pinkbike. You will get a pretty decent set-up for £1500, and you could easily spend that turning a smaller bike in to an "All Mountain" Jack of all trades, master of none.

If you are in the Alps every year, and do a handful of uplifts/push-ups in the UK (and have the space to store it) this makes the most sense to me, especially as you will still get some dough for it in a year or two.

I bought a 4 year old Kona Stab for £750 a year or so back, with 888s up front. It's hugely heavy, and you can't pedal it on even the slightest of gradients, but for steep Alpine trails it's perfect. I've tried my hardest to kill it but not managed so far.

That said, I bought a Patriot 66 with coil Fox 36 recently which is very nearly as good, though clearly it's nowhere near as fast over any given section.

not sure bout the 'wisdom' being spouted on here

a dedicated dh bike is an excllent thing- more travel, lower cog, better angles mean you can ride faster and harder for longer without worrying about destroying the bike and your confidence to tackle big stuff gets a massive boost
for the money i dont think you can beat the kona operator at the moment if you want to buy new
http://www.cyclelane.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b3s1p3738&rs=gb

and believe it or not theres more than just 2 dh courses in the country
some amazing uplifts available at moelfre, caersws, pearce cycles, - run very regular uplifts and new dh traisl are opening in festiniog and near afan,and my fave, nant gwetheryin is an awesome place.....
[img] [/img],
plus loads more if you head up to scotland, they even have chairlifts in some places!

There's a really good Session 88 on pinkbike at the moment...

[img] [/img]

Brycey, the point I'm making is that a full on DH bike is not always the most fun. The tracks mentioned by the OP, Aston, Cwmcarn are a heap of fun on a six inch bike, Aston is probably faster on one given it's pedally nature. I actually chose to ride my pitch as my DH bike gathered dust.

Up until very recently I'd only ridden long travel hardtails (well, 130mm forks on my Trailstar) and just bought a Bullit as I will be off to Canada for a while soon. I'm riding the Bullit on the same trails I usually ride (Woburn, Aston Hill, FoD etc). It's good for the FoD as it's quite rooty there in places, but at Woburn I feel way too over biked. It's really heavy, pedals a bit crap and doesn't jump as well. I think a 160mm each end AM/FR bike would be ideal.

Brycey, the point I'm making is that a full on DH bike is not always the most fun. The tracks mentioned by the OP, Aston, Cwmcarn are a heap of fun on a six inch bike, Aston is probably faster on one given it's pedally nature. I actually chose to ride my pitch as my DH bike gathered dust.

Fair comment, I've got my Northern/Scottish DH tracks head on, I've never ridden down there.

If your only planning to do the DH tracks in Morzine etc then a Doonhall bike is what you need.
If you still want to be able to access the other stuff and yet rag the DH tracks hard(er than now) then something more than the Orange Five would have benefits.
A lot will depend on what your friends do... if you've decided to do lots of uplift days or race DH then you will want/need a dedicated DH bike.

But what of the rest of the year? Would you "really" use a DH bike at home? I thought I would so I bought one; it sat for a year and I sold it... I just couldn't bring myself to spend hours walking up a track when I could be out riding. Next I bought myself a DH/freeride type bike that I could in theory pedal everywhere... it weighed a ton but it worked... but now I've bought a modern AM machine and get what I believe are the best of all possible worlds. Yes; I'm overbiked much of the time but I can live with that, and for the big days in the mountains I have what I think is the right tool for the job.
Not sure we would survive a week thrashing the Pleney DH track but thats not my style of riding 😉

Brycey, if I lived where you do my DH bike would not have been gathering dust, big tracks are best ridden on big bikes, no question.

Fore those of us who rarely get that opportunity it just seems a waste. I loved my last DH bike, but I'm happy with the cash in my pocket knowing some young ripper is giving it some stick racing most weeks.

As jedi says, an unused bike is a sad thing! ...or something. 🙂

But what of the rest of the year? Would you "really" use a DH bike at home? I thought I would so I bought one; it sat for a year and I sold it... I just couldn't bring myself to spend hours walking up a track when I could be out riding.

This is the crux of the matter when riding DH in the majority of areas in the UK.

Don't get me wrong, I consider myself a downhiller first and foremost, I race when I can, mostly in South Wales, but occasionally elsewhere with the Nationals. But sheer lack of time on the bike makes me regulary question why I bother even having a DH bike.

The last time I rode it was the National at Llangollen. Not the best of examples, but that weekend I got 12 runs in total, at circa ~2mins a pop. A total of 24 minutes on the bike. It cost me £70 to enter, probably £100's worth of fuel to get there & associated other costs on top.

If you got Aston Hill, its 20 minutes up, and 2 minutes down. Do that for 3 hours, it's a grand total of 20 minutes on the bike if you're lucky for 3 hours of pushing.

Cwmcarn - 30 minutes up, 3 minutes down, 10 runs in a day is reasonable, cost £30, plus £60's worth of fuel there & back.

Not entirely sure where i'm going with this, apart from it's depressing me enough to want to sell my bike again. I get more time on the little bike on an average Saturday in the local woods than i've had all year on my DH bike. Question is, with the right sort of build (and maybe a couple of sets of wheels) could one bike do it all? I'd happily sack off the Nationals & stick to racing Regionals. I don't think i'd really be any slower. Plenty of nutters on HT's race & beat 2/3 of the field, and Steve Jones regulary podiumed at the Dragons on an SX trail...

PMJ, i thought about that briefly after that Morzine week a few yrs ago. And again, after 2 weeks there last summer. But aside from the braking-bumped runs that i try to avoid I reckon a 5 with 160's would be my ideal bike there for the stuff i like to ride, we rode with Dave from orange a couple of times, he had his 5 / 160's there and showed a lot of DHers up on the big stuff, made me realise what the bike's capable of. He does have a lot more skill than most of us though and said an Alpine would be better for a lot of what he was doing. Andy's Alpine only felt better than the Ginsters on the big open runs though last year.

Anyway, i thought a good alpine bike would be a beater-DH 6" bike, you're right, go SH. Bikes get fked out there so anything reliable with good geo, coils, preferably not a single pivot (personally speaking, for braking performance), basic 1x9 and tough but replacable wheels.

Punk DH bikes, it's the future. You can keep your shiny new bought-for-my-holiday bikes, i'll dump mine on top of it on the lifts )

Question is, with the right sort of build (and maybe a couple of sets of wheels) could one bike do it all?

Saw someone at the FoD uplift this weekend on a Nukeproof Mega, seems like possibly the ideal do it all bike with the slack HA but steep SA. The guy riding it seemed pretty fast!

But what of the rest of the year? Would you "really" use a DH bike at home? I thought I would so I bought one; it sat for a year and I sold it... I just couldn't bring myself to spend hours walking up a track when I could be out riding. Next I bought myself a DH/freeride type bike that I could in theory pedal everywhere... it weighed a ton but it worked... but now I've bought a modern AM machine and get what I believe are the best of all possible worlds. Yes; I'm overbiked much of the time but I can live with that, and for the big days in the mountains I have what I think is the right tool for the job.
Not sure we would survive a week thrashing the Pleney DH track but thats not my style of riding

This is the crunch. The Five in its 'all mountain' guise covers most bases very well and realistically I wouldn't use a DH rig *that* much. Similarly ripping the Pleney isn't really my 'style', but I was appreciating the benefits of a DH rig after doing the Swiss National DH in the wet on my Five, which is really what got me thinking.

Horses for courses - but if it's just for the Alps I'd go shopping on SDH for a cheap 2nd hand bike. There are some good deals on 222s or Norcos on there - both of which would put a smile on your face relatively cheaply, and then not annoy you by sitting doing nothing in the UK.

I think that's probably the line I'm looking at... A lot of riding mates do have dedicated DH bikes so it would probably get used, just not *that* much.

Punk DH bikes, it's the future. You can keep your shiny new bought-for-my-holiday bikes, i'll dump mine on top of it on the lifts )

Keep it ghetto Jimbo. 😉

Was the Alpine that much better on the open stuff? I thought it wouldn't be massively better than the Five...

I've hard that about you. Usually involoving glass-topped coffee tables...

😳

Punk DH bikes, it's the future.

vs. Box-Fresh (more suited for Pyjama suited stormtroopers )

Hob Nob - [b][u]it's not about how much time you spend on the bike, it's how you enjoy the time on the bike.[/u][/b]

A 4 minute run down a DH track is more fun than 30mins uphill on a road bike.... to me anyway.

So I don't mind sitting in an uplift vehicle for 30mins to get to the top of the hill - I accept that's part of the sport I love.

My 222 probably gets used only 1/8th of the time - the remaining 7/8th is on my Patriot. Still, through it's infrequent use, it will last for years to come.

A cheap proper DH bike is a joyous thing to own, was riding mine (an aged Patriot 7+ with Boxxers) this weekend and had forgotten just how brilliant it is. Was riding the same trails a couple of weeks ago on my Heckler with 140mm forks and it is a _whole_ different world. Your riding skills and confidence will grow on the new bike and will make you faster on the 5.

Get an old bike that hasn't been too thrashed, use it a few times a year and love every second. If you don't race it'll last forever with a bit of occasional maintenance, if it's not for you sell it at no loss.

Easy decision.

Incidentally - I Know I shouldnt - but my Foes RS7 is prob going to be up for sale this week as Im off to Oz, Perfect UK DH bike without being a 10" monster.

Your riding skills and confidence will grow on the new bike and will make you faster on the 5.

Looking into basically what I'm hoping to achieve by getting a bigger bike, that's essentially it. I was quite properly worried on the Five for the first time in ages in Morzine (even after riding it in Spain, Italian Alps, Austrian Alps and on shorter DH trails in the UK) but I was also enjoying the riding and want to be better at it, which can only benefit my regular riding.

Sounds like it might be time to peruse ebay...

I spent loads on my tr450. I'll ride it at triscombe, cwmdown, fod, gawton, spain, alps and anywhere else. As others said my other bikes will get used more, but who cares. I've said repeatedly that justifying mtb is pointless, its for fun. If you want a dh bike, buy one.

dammit,
you're getting to me. might have to look into it...

Incidentally - I Know I shouldnt - but my Foes RS7 is prob going to be up for sale this week as Im off to Oz, Perfect UK DH bike without being a 10" monster.

Do go on. 🙂

New Patriot is perfect.

Your riding skills and confidence will grow on the new bike and will make you faster on the 5.

They won't. Most people who ride/race DH will tell you the opposite actually.

Ride the little bike, get quick, get to the limits (and beyond) far more easily, jump on the DH bike, realise riding at the same pace is nowhere near the limit on the bigger bike, go even faster.

If I want to improve on the little bike, I take that out & ride DH on it for the day. Sadly, once you realise what you can actually do & what they can put up with, you do start to question the need for a full on DH bike.

Or maybe i'm just getting old.

They won't. Most people who ride/race DH will tell you the opposite actually.

Hmm.

I know when I moved from a HT to a susser (and similarly from a XC susser to a Patriot when working in the Alps in 2003) it increased my confidence massively, and consequently my riding.

Not using it everyday I'd expect (hope?) to have a similar process again.

I suppose the next step after that will be an MX bike... 😕

pick up a good second hand bike on ebay...

id sell my commy supreme for the right price.

1.5 years old just had a major service

Was the Alpine that much better on the open stuff?

Than the 'Ginsters' (the intense-branded genesis proto, you know Andy and his labels..), yes - not a 5. Loulou left the 5 behind and ab/used orange's test bike. But I'd expect the Alpine was also a fair bit better than a 5. Anyway.. look fwd to seeing the pimp-beater..

I was thinking much the same, decided not to get one (so far) for a few reasons.
1) If I don't use a bike often, I don't get used to how it handles, so the first bit of every ride gets wasted on refamiliarising. If you've got 8 goes on an uplift wagon or 4 goes pushing to the top of a hill it's a shame to waste any of them getting used to the bike
2) Similiarly it always takes me a few rides to get a bike set up how I like, fiddling with parts and spring rates and sometimes geometry and such.
3) I have a really, really good 6 inch trail bike. I can't afford a really, really good DH bike. And the compromise of parts and condition of going out and buying a smashed up old 222 or Bighit would be a shame.

So, I just use my normal bike. I'd sooner be at the top of the hill on a first class bike I know and trust and which I have working exactly how I want, rather than firing off down challenging trails on a bike I've not ridden since last year. But YMMV. Modern big trail bikes are stupidly good.

NW - I've got 8 bikes (road/race BMX/DJ BMX/rigid/XC HT/DJ HT/DH/mini DH) and the second I get on each I'm used to them but I do switch bike fairly often (I'll often ride 3 bikes in the one day) I can also set-up a bike to almost exactly how I want it very quickly without even riding it. sometimes I don't ride my race DH bike for 6 months (I've ridden it 3 times this year)
you've overthinked your decision

To be fair, I am somewhat interested in a DH bike just out of curiosity. Would love to know what it's like to be fully suited up with a full on bike 🙂

If I had the money I would buy one of these
http://www.last-bikes.com/products/complete-bikes/herb-am.html

To be fair, I am somewhat interested in a DH bike just out of curiosity. Would love to know what it's like to be fully suited up with a full on bike

Put simply, it's [b]brilliant[/b] fun. Obviously you can ride a DH course on anything (29" fixed/rigid/with a basket(, should you wish, but the proper tool of choice is a DH bike.

For anyone who thinks that getting a secondhand bike means getting something trashed, just think how many 223s and 224s have been bought by people who found out they really didn't have the time to ride them, and who've consequently done the square root of no miles on them. Such bikes cost almost exactly the same as a trashed bike, i.e. almost nothing. Certainly £1k will get you an absolutely excellent condition DH bike, that's totally usable. Maybe it's not cutting edge, maybe it's not as light as you'd want, but for amateur use, it'll be exactly what you need. And it's really, really hard to damage these; the most I've done in 2 weeks of hammering trails in the Alps is a re-tension of the rear wheel and a fork service.

GW - Member

you've overthinked your decision

Maybe you're right there... but some people can jump from bike to bike better than others. I can switch easily between bikes I know well but it takes me time to gel with anything different.

Big element of skill/confidence in this too I think, at my level I can do without any niggling issues on difficult trails. But I've tried swapping around like you say and it doesn't work well for me, I'm still slower and less controlled at the end of an uplift day than I would have been on my own bike.

Talking of switching bikes - ride a road bike for 6 months like me then jump on a Patriot. It feels bloody weird. Like hugging a spacehopper.

how far round the world did you make it in those 6 months? and good for you posting so frequently from your bike and managing not to willy wave about it 😉

I didn't go anywhere, I spent 6 months on a turbo trainer.

All I can say is "do it"

Put simply, it's brilliant fun. Obviously you can ride a DH course on anything (29" fixed/rigid/with a basket(, should you wish, but the proper tool of choice is a DH bike.

Riding a DH couse severeley underbiked will do you, the trail and the bike no favours and the trail fairies will be angered. (Unless you have some very special skills)

I have 3 case studies of Downhill bike ownership.

1.) Bought a DHI cheap in May 2006, ran it specifically to train for and use on my first trip to the Alps. Excellent bike, let down only by my limited (at the time) mechanical understanding. Certainlly learned more about going fast than I would have had I taken my coiler. Sold the bike for a profit in August on my return

2.) Bought a well specced Big Hit with 888'sin Winter 2007, Ran it until spring this year. Simple bike easy to ride, taught me some lessons in bike setup and maintenance (changed all of the bearings etc. at home) did 3 alps trips and about 10 days at the DH track on it, didn't really improve my riding, but it was very reliable and pretty much bombproof.

3)Swapped the majority of the component's from the Big Hit to and SX trail with 55's. Even more fun to ride in the alps, think it'll be great on the local DH track too, can see me doing much"trail riding on it though. Ghetto fabulous low, slack and stable UK DH bike. Glad I had the big bikes first though.

Some points.
If in doubt go for the bigger travel bike.

DH bikes can go pretty much anywhere in the Portes Du Soliel, if you add a bit of propedal, tyre pressure and MTFU.

Make sure your downhill bike is robust, has good brakes, the size and shock spring are correct, the suspension has been dialled in and the brake levers and bars are very in the perfect position for your hands, everything else after that is jewlery.

Buying a downhill bike needn't cost you very much if you buy smart and don't go crazy tarting it up, used bikes don't devalue very much over a year or so, certainlly not as much as the cost of hiring some unknown, missprung shed of a bike on horrid tyres for a week...

oliverd1981 - Member

Riding a DH couse severeley underbiked will do you, the trail and the bike no favours and the trail fairies will be angered. (Unless you have some very special skills)

Don't agree with any of these. It can be great fun, it won't hurt the bike unless you really overdo it or are clumsy (I dinged up one of the wheels in my Soul at Fort William fairly badly frinstance, but that was clumsiness), it doesn't hurt the trail at all, and the trail fairies don't seem at all interested either way. Oh and clearly since I can do it, you don't need special skills.

ghetto dh bikes 😉

Oh. I said "it doesn't hurt the trail at all," should have said "doesn't hurt the trail more than usual". Too late for an edit

sspesh sx? commencal mini dh? Would maybe be awesome for uk dh fr stuff and good for bigger stuff abroad. Only a thought tho

A proper dh race bike is a wonderful thing and there are plenty bargains out there. I have an SX trail and a Glory dh, the SX never gets ridden. The dh bike gets used maybe 20 times a year and it is always a hoot. In theory the SX can be ridden up hill but it is so heavy i just push it.

Haven't fallen in love much with my SX either, seems to be neither one thing nor t'other.

oliverd1981 - Member

Riding a DH couse severeley underbiked will do you, the trail and the bike no favours and the trail fairies will be angered. (Unless you have some very special skills)

Don't agree with any of these.

I would say that your DH tracks are too easy, but then you mentioned the Fort... I'm not saying you can't do DH on a hardtail, but it is fairlly brutal and the extra braking will cut up the track more. It's not an approach that should be encouraged to the majority.

DH bikes are a great blast, and although you *can* ride DH trails on pretty much anything, to get the most out of them a proper DH bike is worth it. Saying that, I recently ditched my 224 (and my XC bike), bought a 5. With a decent shock and forks and proper wheels it's great for DH and I'm taking it to the alps - and it is also ok for mincing around the woods and trail centres. Not a great climber but that's the fault of the engine, not the bike.

Not as good as a proper DH bike in the big stuff but then I'm not as young as I used to be; as much as I like to think I'll be nailing the chatel gap and setting records on les crozets, I'm old and fat and have lost my balls and it hurts when I fall off, so a DH bike is wasted on me 🙂

It's not just the head angle of proper dh bikes that makes the difference, wheel base is important too, the travel etc all play a part. I use mine a lot all year round, racing, riding and just playing around and love every second of it. By the right bike for 1000-1500 quid if you can afford troo, it won't cost you that much and even with minimal use the benefits when you are riding it will more than make it worth it.

They won't. Most people who ride/race DH will tell you the opposite actually.

All the folks I know who ride/race dh a lot will tell you that time on the dh bike is critical to performance on it and that it does filter back to other types of riding too. Just practicsing on the xc/am bike isn't quick enough to make you really fast on a big bike.

A friend of mine only rode his DH at national races and did the rest of his training on the road / XC / gym. Saying that, he was a fit as a fit fiddle and I guess if you're racing nationals the incentive to improve quickly is there in spades...

I should also add that he's Welsh, so blessed at birth with godly riding skills. 😉

Last time I went I was on a 2004 Heckler and this time I've been told to take something with more travel. It goes against all that I like on a bike but then my mincing a 7inch travel bike along singletrack here really does feel stupid/dull.

So I'm taking a 7inch travel Specialized SX (a good compromise I think rather than a full DH bike for someone like my riding ability). A sort of 'UK DH' frame and I'm looking for 170 or 180 (max) single crown forks to go on. I couldn't do Boxxers etc as I'd just feel like a fake 😆

I'm standing by the fact that riding a big bike has improved my small bike riding, I'm not entirely sure why but I ride better lines, keep off the brakes more and have learnt to trust the front end more.

May be due to the way I ride the big bike, titting about more as I'm generally less worried about crashing when padded up and only five minutes from the car. Not that I'm a crasher. Certainly wouldn't push the bike as hard/take the same risks when out in a Welsh Valley miles from anywhere. You could do this on a smaller bike, but I don't.

Switching between bikes feels odd for a few minutes, but it's easy.

I won't tempt you further up the tree, but an enduro (motorised) bike does the same but more so!

I'm standing by the fact that riding a big bike has improved my small bike riding

Same here.

It allowed me to explore terrain that I was too scared to try before. Now I know the terrain, I can do it on small bikes.