what would you get. ❓
A nicolai, 5 year warranty and they build them strong. And they'll build most of them stronger if you ask (e.g. put the stays off the beefier FR models on the XC ones instead etc. or even full custom with different tubeset).
What style of riding Ton?
one of these maybe 😉
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depends a lot on how much travel you are looking at i guess but im pretty chuffed with the maxle rear end on my five which stiffens stuff up pretty good. not sure how much pressure a rp23 can take, i run mine at 180psi and im about 13 stone. i reckon that might be a good excuse to go for a cane creek shock on a five or possibly an alpine 160.
i had a blur 4x which was tough and stiff but i found it a little too short and the seat angle was pretty slack. im 6ft so if you are as tall or taller than me i wouldnt go for one of them.
maybe a nicolai? they are pretty over-engineered arent they?
si_brodiebikes
something to learn to be a bit braver on.
Santa Cruz Bullit Tony...
Go on, you know you want to... 
titus el gaupo or old supermoto
One of these bad boys!
http://www.canfieldbrothers.com/products/can-can
Got a 2007 lucky and its ****ing ace!
Do you mean trail bike or DH bike?
If a trail bike, of course i am biased, but i think the Chumba XCL, 140 rear travel will take upto 160mm up front, VERY tough, even for a big bloke and laterally very stiff, choose a coil DHX and bingo, perfect!
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Or the EVO, not everyones cup of tea and a bit of an ugly duckling, but again really stiff and super tough 6" travel, some of the Chumba race team have even raced DH on them.
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Both frames use large oversized conventional tubing with over sized inverted bottom brackets for a really stiff frame. Plus i can do both frames for just under 1K at the moment.
I'm not quite as big as you (16st) but just got an Ibis Mojo, and it's ****in wicked! Just need the lyriks to go with it too.
i had a heckler in size xl last year, fitted with 140 mm forks.
i felt like i was being pitched over the front on steep downs.
i figure if i get a set of 160mm fox talas 36 fitted to a similar type of bike i should be ok.
is my thinking correct??????????
Putting longer forks on will help, as will having a slacker HA, which a longer fork will help with, just make sure the frame you choose is corrected for a longer fork.
I've just come from an XL heckler too! I fancied some more sophisticated suspension and found it with the DW link.
I had a large 05 enduro with 36r's, felt great on the down's, and fine for general "trail riding" (im 6'2 'n' a bit, but a mere 15 stone)
The review in the mag of the Heckler mk2 (that's the "not the new one" I think) suggested that a soft fork would exacerbate diving issues etc or something...I would agree with that totally. Mine felt like shit until I put a firm spring in the fork. An old 36r, or I guess a Talas, would be perfect for it.
Ton. I'm riding an XL meta 5.5, and don't ever feel like I'm getting pitched over the bars, however, I'm getting fat bastid blowing through the travel problems.
I think you should buy one, stick a coil shock on it, and tell me if it works 🙂
i'd just buy the one with the best warranty and beast it.
exactly, 3 yrs on the Ibis!
supermoto from titus then Ton great handling bike, very very confidence inspiring quick review here
http://www.spokewrench.com/spokewrench/2007/10/titus-super-mot.html
or see the el guapo review in singletrack.
Had the bullit in the past and never really got on with it, tbh it is a bit limited
Tony, you've seen my Heckler with 36's..
And yes, you are right..- it's awesome..
nick, you are phsycic........
but anyone tried a patriot........
Heh heh.
What about a Morewod?
He had his chance with a supermoto and didn't take it!
Anyway, enough of my whingeing, most single pivots are good for "sitting back" into their travel when it gets steep. I sold my patriot to a mate last year and realy missed it, so ended up with another. That one had dhx air shock and 36's and was only 30lb including pedals but could take a right beasting, so good for all day, and for going daft - I did the mega on it last year and it carried so much speed through the switchbacks and woods compared to a mate's 224.
The great thing about the Patriot is that you can alter the head angle; slack for Alps style riding,then steeper for normal stuff.
I would go for something with a coil spring rather than air if your a big dude and your gonna be throwing it about a bit, same for forks, get pikes or something more robust.
Ton - I'm the same weight and height as you and ride a Blur LT (older model), ****ing awesome. Had the shock tuned by Mojo to stop it pushing through the travel and the RP23 will take 300psi without any probs. Had a slight feeling of twisting at the rear end initially but had a beefier piviot linkage made up and now its as stiff as ****.
Great bike IMO
i run a rp23 on the ventana, initially at 300psi, i have dropped it to 270psi and it feels a lot nicer.
i will be building my new project up with a coil shock.
ildred has a good point on the patroit but I am not a single pivot fan
i know what a single pivot is, but what type of suspension is my ventana??
another vote for a ventana
phwoar.
morewoods are pretty nifty, i like commencals too 🙂
[b]IF ???[/b]
isn't a ventana a faux bar or single pivot with a rocker.
ton go with a nicolai, i'm 6ft 4 and well over 20stone, but my nicolai helius fr last year was really good, untill it got nicked. however just oredered a nicolai helius st, the main reason was that i could run a 2.5inch stroke shock and only have 160mm rear travel so you could have a low leverage ratio and run a light spring reducing pressure on the shock. nicolai have a few frames which you could do this. a helius st with a totem would be good, or mybe the am with a fox 36 would also be nice
ianpinder
what poundage shock will you run on it.
Nomad
Norco.
Mine scares me.
ton
i will run 800lb but i am well into the 20s
ian i ran 800lbs on the heckler.
it felt great on the rear on descents....
gonna have a little peek at the nicolai site..........just a peek tho... 😉
i had a cove gspot which has the same leverage ratio as the heckler and i needed 1200lb which i couldnt get so i had to sell it
so, in theory on you bike i could use a 500lb spring???
yup
Ton - Nicolai will do you a complete custom frame based on your dimensions and weights which would be built to suite you and your stlye of riding.
the 7'4 chap we ride with had them build a 24.7" hardtail. I think Moonglu in Rippon sorted it all out for him.
yup, but they dont change the suspension ratio for you, by shoosing something like a am or an st you can alter the ratio and run a lighter spring, according to the tftuned spring calculator you can run a 500lb spring if you weigh 100kg 550lb for 110kg 600 for 120kg 650lb for 130kg etc....
Just get a Bullit (pre 08)
why?
ian, what size did you get.
spesh SX, spesh top tubes are long by most standards so should eb good, and not incredibly heavy (i.e. you could put some light wheels and tires on it)?
i am 6ft 4 and bought an xl, however all my height is in my upper body, my inside leg is only 32 inches so i had the seatube shortened so i could get the clearence. the tt is quite long so if your averagely made, i.e. normal proportions then the lg will probably do if its for going downwards. if nothing suits you, you can get the geometry custom to suit you but it does cost you £275 however to get the seatube lowered only cost £75
rearrange these letters to get the bike you require M A D O N.
With coild DHX and Lyrics or TALAS. Sorted.
Err, why a Bullit?
Didn't think that one needed explaining tbh;-) Simple, proven, bombpoof, versatile, cheap to buy, cheap to service, pedals well both up and down, can be built up lightish as an all day weapon, can still kick the arse out of fancy Nicolais blah de blah....
Still, it's all about how it rides to the OP - best get testing 😉
I'd probably see if someone was selling a large Nicolai Helius FR in the classifieds (ahem) - got an air shock on it but would be better with a coil.
but anyone tried a patriot........
You've seen mine at Stainburn a few months ago - i'm 16stone in full riding gear i reckon. Great bike.
I thought you'd just bought a singlespeed, ton ?
My Kona Coiler is pretty solid, I am no light wieght and have no problem with hammering it. Much Much cheaper then a Nicolai. My old 2007 was less than £400 and I have some serious fun on it 😀
Keva, i did for when i feel mellow
but i want a bike for when i feel aaaarrrrgggghhhhh........ 8)
yet another vote for Nicolai. I've got a Helius FR from Dec05 which is still going very strong. I'm 6'2" and peaked about 15st last year. I had to have the BB reemed and sleeved coz HTII is shit and the sloppy arsed shimano cups killed my threads.
any excuse for a pic, watch your eyes I've had it resprayed 🙂
[img] http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y0xd9o&outx=800&quality=70 [/img]
keep checking here
[url] http://www.nicolai-uk.com/index.php/category/special-offers/ [/url]
and contact Mike/Simon direct for more info
Patriot FR
6'3" & 15 1/2 stone - Coil DHX 3 and 36 Vans and it goes up-hill just fine - thanks very much 😀
Although You'd have to get a 2008 model as they stopped making them last year.
Ton I am sure you know this, you need to find a bike with a leverage ratio of 2.5:1 or less.
If its greater than that you will need to try and track down silly heavy springs, or pump the shock upto 300psi+ which is a pain in the arse, and the shocks just don't work that well with that much pressure in them.
Personally I went for an Iron Horse 6 point, as it has a leverage ratio of 2.5:1, and used a 150mm spacing rear wheel as they are supposed to be stronger. Plus the DW link isn't as bobby as 4 bars (or faux bars) which I have owned in the past, and they alway felt like they were stealing my will to live on any climbs due to the bobbing/active suspension.
However as IH have gone bust, I am not sure I would recommend them now, as spares are going to be a bitch.
Other bikes I was thinking of were Knolly Deliriums (its around 10lb frame though), Knolly Endorphin, Transition Covert or Preston as they all are built for the heavier, stronger gentleman 😉
Ones to avoid are Cannondale Prophets, Commencals, Giants and Konas as they are nearly all 3:1 or worse 3:1 which rising rate linkages so they blast through the travel.
where do you find out the leverage ratio of the bike's suspension?
[url=Helius FR 2008, Extra Large, Fire Department Red Gloss/Black ano rear triangle. Unridden but with simpler head tube gusset than the current FR. Offer - £1400 ]Oh dear Tony... its your size......[/url]
nick, what is.......
Sorry Tony, dunno what happend there...
???
Helius FR 2008, Extra Large, Fire Department Red Gloss/Black ano rear triangle. Unridden but with simpler head tube gusset than the current FR. Offer - £1400
[url= http://www.nicolai-uk.com/index.php/category/special-offers/ ]Clicky for Linky...[/url]
SC superlight
hugo rune - Member
where do you find out the leverage ratio of the bike's suspension?
You can work it out roughly by dividing the travel by the shock stroke length, however you also need to find out if they have done anything funny with the linkages to change the stroke rate.
Basically email the manufacturers and they will tell you, and avoid anything with a 2" stroke or less shock if you are looking at 5"+ travel 😉
Ton a Transition Preston looks like it might be well worth a look for you, as I doubt you would break it.
Tony, you should go for the Ventana La Bruja.