Ok, so i am definitely no racing snake but nor am i a DH / FR ripper (at least not any more). I've prevoiusly ridden 6-8" travel bikes (VP Free, Bullit 2, Yeti ASX and Currently Felt Redemption). However more and more im riding with mates on 4-5" travel sub 30lbs bikes and less and less on trail centres and DH tracks (getting far too old). I'm thinking of biting the bullet and going for a full on 4" xc / trail bike. I have seen a huge bargain on a 2008 Intense Spider. Will i be really dissapointed with the descending capabilities of something like this bearing in mind i want to maximise my all day riding capabilites and want something significantly lighter and better climbing than my current bike? Should i go for something like a Whyte E120 instead with that bit more travel and slacker angle? (has to be used as im on a budget). Is an "XC race bike" going to be too stretched out and uncomfortable or would the Spider be ok as an all day trail bike?
Buy an "XC race bike" if you want to go XC racing... Otherwise, use a more (for the lack of a better term) "trail" orientated bike. ie. slightly slacker angles than a full on race bike, but not so slack as it's a freeride bike...
The spider isn't really an xc race bike, just a trail/xc one
If you are used to big hit bikes aren't you gonna find xc geometry a bit twitchy (and downs, well, sketchy).
Why not go for something trail at ~5". For example the Lapierre Zesty has been getting some nice reviews lately...
Orange ST4?
Orange 5 - nuff said.
Plus I was looking very closely at an ST4 yesterday - the brake/gear cables are routed underneath the BB. Surely this is just an accident waiting to happen.....
Thanks fellas, i have read a bit on MTBR about the Spider and it seems plenty tough enough to cope with some heavy duty Lakes XC. Teh head angle does concern me for the descents but maybe the weight loss and climbing outweighs this, i am looking for a 50/50 balance between climbing ease and DH ability. I looked at the 5 very closely but for a decent one thay are £1800 plus. The Spider is significantly less than that for a 2007 (unridden frame) with brand new 2009 XT group on it. Suppose i could buy it and sell the frame for a 5 / Whyte 120 etc if its too full on XC?
the brake/gear cables are routed underneath the BB. Surely this is just an accident waiting to happen.....
To be fair if a rock flicks up with enough size/speed that its gonna split a brake/gear cable, then i would rarther that than it dent my downtube...
Bike wise try a 575 or a zesty. Both climb and descend well. Or the new ASR-5 looks pretty ideal.
allmountain76, drop me a mail i may have something right up your street!
Si - YGM. Im assuming its a Chumba or a Brodie.
Why not go for something trail at ~5". For example the Lapierre Zesty has been getting some nice reviews lately...
One of my riding gang has recently got a Zesty, its very impressive on every count and all types of riding, IMHO the best trail bike out there at the moment ..
I went the same way from long travel bikes buillts/turners/intense/ to very xc yeti asr sl, hated it with a passion as stated above too twitchy skittish, got used to it but never happy. I would strongly recommend you look at the current crop of 125 to 140 mm bikes, i went for a blur lt but was tempted by chumbas, knolly endo, santa cruz,ventana, turner and the killer deals on Mavericks having ridden aML7.5 for a week in scotland at the trail centres a stunning uk bike but i fell between sizes. Most of these bikes can be built 27 to 30 lbs and will do the all dayers in the lakes to enduro racing and xc if you do not want to win.
Plus I was looking very closely at an ST4 yesterday - the brake/gear cables are routed underneath the BB. Surely this is just an accident waiting to happen..... [i]
The second generation of Eunduro's were like this, and TBH I never had a problem and as a previous poster said, does protect the down-tube.
I went from 6" to 4" XC and found it too difficult, now at 5" and slacker - a lot happier.
While the head angle does have some bearing on things, especially when the going gets seriously steep, the bike only has so much to do with what you can ride.
A 4" bike will beat you up more and will be harder work over big, rocky terrain compared to something with more travel. But if you can get used to that I reckon they're a riot, especially through fast winding singletrack.
But as ever, there's never going to be one perfect bike for all occasions!
sorry jimmer co not agree some 4 inch bikes are far better as do it all than some 6 inch travel freeride bikes, quality of travel is more important than anything else. IMHO the change in more relaxed angles are one of the biggest improvements in the mountain bike world.
sorry jimmer co not agree some 4 inch bikes are far better as do it all than some 6 inch travel freeride bikes, quality of travel is more important than anything else. IMHO the change in more relaxed angles are one of the biggest improvements in the mountain bike world.
Man up and get a hardtail , you know you want to 😀 .
My 6" fr bike hardly gets a look in anymore(used to use it for everything)since I built an old Orange P7 up , I might not be as quick on the downs anymore but everywhere else is faster.
calrlosg - thought about an orange crush as well but dont think my knees, back, neck or nerve would take it, especially at the odd excursion to Glentress or the descent off Garburn thats my regular weekly night ride!
Me and my mates have all gone the same way...
Over the past 3 years we all got into bigger hitting bikes (Kona Coilair's, Turner 5.5 Spots, even Spesh SX Trails) and used them for general trail duties, night rides etc.
Riding a 30lb+ bike with 5.5 - 6.75 inches of travel on general trails is nonsense. Most of us mtb'ers are far too influenced by marketing hype and what mags say is required. Bolx!
I've just bought a 4 " Turner Flux and couldn't be happier. My group are mostly all going back to 4 inch bikes for that zippier feeling and lighter weight.
One of them has even gone back to a hardtail God forbid! (On One 456) 🙂
Why drag 3-5lbs of unnecessary weight around with you on every ride? It just gets old after a while.
Mind you, every single one of us now has full-on DH rigs for our 'big days out' and annual Morzine pilgrimage!
I do a mix of riding DH and singletrack... I've got a 7" Dh bike for proper DH but for everything else from mini dh stuff to single track I ride a 4" travel giant trance with a pike 5.5" fork... I can hack it down some pretty steep technical stuff no problem. With the fork up it is pretty slack head angle. For the climbs I just wind her down at the front and she climbs really well. So basically I'd recommend something that will be quite slack with a wind down fork at its max and that will steepen up with the fork down. The suggestion of an orange five sounds spot on... they definitely climb like wild goats and i've seen plenty of film with rowan sorrel hacking them down full on down hill tracks such as Gawton. Can't see any need to go above 5" unless you are downhilling.
i have noticed on this forum that sub 30 is light.
26 pounds is the heaviest i would want to go. beyond that and things just seem to get very dull.
Depends what you are coming from. IMO 35lb->28lb will feel like a lot of extra zip. And you can easily get a 5" bike that weighs 27-28lb e.g. zesty, tranceX, 5, 5-spot etc.
Bikes with DW or Maestro also pedal very efficiently and, except on smooth trails, I have found them to pedal faster than my mates 21ish-lb ti rigid, simply because you sit and put all your energy into big-ring pedalling and let the bike soak up the rocks. Slower than a light HT on steeper climbs for sure.
seriously, have a spin on a Ti hardtail. I have a Blur 5" which I like a lot but it only really gets used in the summer on bone dry fast xc trails. Everything else (Lakes, Spain, any big days out, winter gloop) I nearly always take the Ti. Have a 456 with a 140mm Talas fork, 24lbs.....picks its way down anything and lovely to climb on.
Spesh fsr maybe. May be too much of a step down in kudos for most though
GF roscoe meant to be good or for really light with 4" cannondale rush dirt loved it...
http://dirtmountainbike.com/features/tests/bike-test-cannondale-rush.html
of course the treks are steamin' this year...
if you want something lightish but tough that will fly down with small travel look at short travel full suss 4x bikes... not sure on the cockpit length for ride up though...
morewood ndiza, the yeti 4x, the old blur 4x... my mate hacks around on a blur 4x and loves it... all made to take a bit of punishment...
4" at the back is more than enough for me, 130mm rev on the front 🙂
a friend of mine has a lapierre and also loves it.
tis the 5" one, but the angles are pretty slack, so it handles like a "mini DH bike" (he also got one a bit small, to make it chuckier)
ive never felt the need for a 6" bike at a trail centre, let alone an 8" bike.
i cant image they would be any fun at all.
seing as you were so insistant, i guess i can stretch to a piccy of mine 😀
wouldnt change a single thing on it, its AWESOME.
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The giant trance above is a super bike, very good down, very good up, and can be had dirt cheap, just stick a pike in front and you will, carpet bomb anything in front ! -if you go for the spider, put a 130mm, 140mm fork in front too.
jesper
I'd maybe look at a 4X bike if you want to cut the travel but still have a laugh. Low BB and slack (compared to a strict XC bike) head angle, plus a stiff frame means that these bikes still fly downhill and rail corners.