On my Chameleon and had a great time. But I was thinking if I had a 100mm FS I could really nail it. It seams that all you can get these days is either silly money or silly travel. Who of you knows what 100mm frame would suit a short aspirational downhiller?
100mm? Downhiller? Doesn't compute.
Lots of short travel bikes around. Pick one and try it.
Sounds like you're after a 4x FS bike from what you're saying, not xc light but tough with xc travel?
Commencal will probably have something to suit.
I was last there on a 100mm XC hardtail and I reckon I could have gone slightly faster on a 100mm FS bike, through virtue of feeling less beatn up after 2 hours.
seams
Really?
Marmoset - Yes that's the sort of thing. I have a desire to get a Yeti but cannot stretch to that much. What trails did you do?
There's a market in snappy, short travel bikes with relaxed geometry. The problem is that they start out relatively heavy and quickly evolve into 160mm travel AM bikes.
Did the dragon's back last time, carbon frame just about took enough buzz out
Because they have that durable trail bed which is quite bumpy a fs would prob be more enjoyable around there. No need for anything beyond a regular trail bike I'd have thought, since that's pretty much a definition of the terrain a regular trail bike is designed for. Any of the mainstream Stumpjumper class bikes would be ideal, or even their shorter travel counterparts.
I think there is a market for 100mm ish travel frames that work with 140mm ish forks. Aimed at the market that buy 140mm steel hardtails now. Slack head angle, steep seat angle, not heavy but build enough to take a reasonable hammering.
hI agree tat there might be a market for such. Not sure there is actually a [i]need[/i] though. What has become the mainstream trail bike is a very very capable all-rounder just as they are. Not as if they can't be ridden fast. If I wanted to change anything on my aged Stumpjumper, for example (which I use with the forks set @ 120mm, 10mm shorter than max) it would only be to make the bearings more durable. No way does it lack stability - it doesn't start darting around all over the place at speed!
Did CyB on an Anthem X with 120mm forks (100mm rear) recently and that was fine.. similarly I imagine a Trance (120mm F&R) would also suit.
My mate has a Santa Cruz Superlight (100m travel) and it's fast. Good bike but steep angles. I ride a Specialized Camber (120mm),just as fast but it's a bit more relaxed.
Old Trance with Pikes. Prophet run in the slack setting but at 20% sag for a stiffer rear end.
This lady "really nailed it" on her cross bike when i rode round with her.
[url= http://farm1.static.flickr.com/174/477114546_9124174871_z.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/stu-b/477114546/ ]2007_0429CYB-scc0016[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/stu-b/ ]singlespeedstu[/url], on Flickr
You'd be amazed how many people get offended when they're overtaken by a girl on a racer. 😉
That's a blokes worst insult! OOO off to CyB this weekend .. was it good? Been meaning to go there for years, never been but this weekend we are finally going, shame weather is forecast to be a tad pants.
I really like the look of the yeti 4x and the intense tazer
ST4?
I had a look at the ST4 but am not too sure about the styling. Of the current ones I've looked at the Tazer seems to fit the bill, albeit quite an expensive one. Anyone have one of these, what is the climbing like? S
As above,old Trance but with 130mm Revs on it.Climbs like a goat with a spring up it's arse too !
Got to be a Yeti 4X, I have seen some (Very tallented) people do astounding things on 4Xs... I would dearly love to own one but finances and the missus simply won't allow it... :Sigh:
Have you looked at the specialized camber ? I know its not 100 mm but have seen a few people flying around on them and wouldn't mind one myself . Great value too .
I've ridden there on my old Stumpy (100mm) and thought it could have done with a touch more travel on the rockier sections. IMO 120mm would be ideal there (and most places).
Much better fun on a FS, I rode a few years ago on my meta 5, which has since been sold as I ride so little. Rode a few weeks ago on my Whyte 905 and most of the time I was just wishing I'd kept the meta (or gone for a run instead!)
I've not been to coed-y-brennin for a few years now. Has it changed lots then? I'd have thought a Chameleon would have been great around there? Lots of short travel fs bikes available for reasonable price nowadays. Not sure about the aspiring downhiller comment though, like I asked earlier, has coed-y-brennin changed lots over the last 3 years?
Seemed to be a lot more rock built trails
ive just come back from a week up there and did the mbr and then the dragons back, would of done more but for horrible weather and a moaning wife, in the past i usually rode a 5" full susser but its first time ive done it on a hardtail and my cove handjob with 130mm revs absolutly nailed it i really enjoyed it as its the forst time ive ridden a hardtail in anger in years
btw really enjoyed the false teeth bit
I've been 3x on my TranceX and think it's ideal - fast and comfy
Rode it recently on my On One 456 with Revs and fat ardent tyres. Was more than capable just had to pick a more subtle line sometimes.
Same at Penmachno, coule of short rocky areas that speed had to be carried into the rocks to make it through without any stalling dabs. I would admit that it may have been a more 'comfortable' ride on a full suss but the majority of the riding that I ever do is all achievable on my current bike (and I cannot afford an Orange Five yet).
How about something like a Heckler built up sturdy?
29er 🙄
Yeah - good call on the 29er. They're great on the rocks. It's funny overtaking people in full body armour on huge bikes while I'm wearing racy Lycra and with the saddle up round my armpits.
GB
I hate to say it but you guys are right re the rocky sections those wagon wheelers really do roll better over such obstacles, but there are limits for everyone and they make my eyes hurt. 😆
and they make my eyes hurt.
ride with your eyes closed then, it'll hone your jedi mind skills to a new level.
Gee, nowt wrong with an efficient saddle position for riding. Us "high posters" are becoming a rare breed in the world of mountain biking 😉
EDIT: 29ers are just a stupid idea though
Just got back from 2 days around CYB on my Giant xtc1 with 100mm Rebas up front. It was brilliant! My mate rode a fully rigid with v-brakes... The rain didn't help!
The UK needs to wake up about 29ers.
They have been in the US and Aus for many years and are the most popular bikes being sold at the moment. Get with the times guys.
If you can't afford one then its your problem but don't diss them because of that.
I've been riding them for more than 2 years and will never go back.
I have a new Pivot Firebird that does not get ridden because my 29er is so good.
The UK needs to wake up about 29ers.
Yes, its a serious problem.
more xc ones:
yeti asr 5 (carbon or alu)
blur TRc if like Scrooge McDuck, you have a swimming pool full of cash.
more burly 4x'y ones:
yeti 4x
intense tazer fs
The UK needs to wake up about 29ers.
we have, they're rubbish, don't go around corners and owned by folks who can just about manage "fire road extreme" very slowly whilst talking to every one they see about how niche they are and how steel is real man, but only if it's built in a shed by a beardie.
You yanks and convicts should get with times man, it's all about long travel hardcore hardtails and delving deep in quarries don't you know 😆
^^^^
Yeh got my 456 summer season with 6 inches up front.
Its nice but my 29er is much quicker despite not being able to steer.
By the sounds of things you haven't ridden one so I'll stop here.
You know what they say about argueing with an idiot.
Need an irony smiley tazzy!
He's sussed the fact you are an idiot though 😉 ....because only idiotic niche whore mongers ride big wheels 😀
Okay so I was super excited about this trip! We drive there leaving Oxfordshire yesterday at 0800 so we could do Penmachno first. .. 10 mins in Mr MC has innocous silly crash on wet rock and we are on route to Bangor A&E. Turns out he's broken his olecranon which is bone connecting elbow to tricep oh and had a few stitches. Had phoen call from Bangor Orthopaedic Surgeon late last night (after sent back to campsite) saying he needs MRI. Returned to Oxfordshire today and off to local A&E. It's not in a cast and we need to go back on Friday to determine if he needs surgery. So we left 3 guys there to ride today .. 10k in one of them crashes potentially breaking collarbone (he's in Wrexham and I'm awaiting the outcome). What a shizzle weekend, so I've still not ridden CyB and we won't be going to the Alps in 2 weeks! fingers crossed that Mr MC doesn't need surgery. Can anyone tell me something to make us laugh!!!!
Bad luck. I've been there.
I'd still go to the Alps if I were you.
There's good wine there which will dull the pain.
I went to CyB with my GF and she had about 5 crashes in the first 100m on those Dragon Teeth.
She didn't go further and drank tea while I did the loop.
One of the guys in our group rode like a demon all day.
He was doing 6 foot drops onto road flawlessly and carried amazing speed trough all the dodgy sections..
When we got back to the carpark he was so chuffed with his ride that he attempted a little fishtail skid.
He came off and we were all admiring his collarbone as it came through his shirt.
I did see a lot of females walking that first section of Dragon's back and Beast.
It appears their other halves (usually male) persuade them that it's an easy trail and it can put female riders off. There have been a few tears during the years I've been riding Coed y Brenin, not from me but from stranded females who were left walking bits while their bored, fed up boyfriends whizzed about the place (not just Coed y Brenin either, have witnessed this on many man-made trail centre red routes).
Hugor that's great really made Mr MC smile!!!
Munqe chick - that's terrible. Hope all is well and your other half doesn't have to have surgery.
I love Penmachno and imo its better than Coed y Brenin.
We too had a bit of a disaster yesterday going to the Lakes, our caravan came away from the tow bar and crashed into our local pub's wall. Very shaken up but no-body was hurt.
Come up to the Peaks some time, we'll show you around.
I gather CyB makes a point of putting this stuff at the beginning so you'll think twice about whether you're up to the trail.
A few of the trails there start that way.
(Mr MC posting)
hugor, as with most of my injury-causing crashes *ahem* 😳 it was a totally innocuous section of trail relative to my experience/ability. Being 10 minutes into a ride having just spent 4hrs driving, and the first non-climbing section I just didnt have my eye in so to speak, and just clipped the right side of a rock that spat me off.
I have a habit of having a summer-ruining hospitalisation crash every 2 years, this just happened to be prior to the alps (and bike fest 🙄 ) rather than during it... MC has already banned me from riding trips in 2013.
No don't get me wrong I wasn't implying that you got hurt because the trail was too hard for you. I was replying to BH post above about most girls walking that section under pressure from their BF's only to find that they're struggling later.
Hell I've had 3 major ops on the same arm all from mtb.
I'm just over 12 months from my last and hopefully it is my last cause it sucks.
I wish you well mate.
Freak accidents like yours are hard to avoid.
For what its worth all mine were caused by riding beyond my skills.
I think I've found my limit now.
I'm too old for this injury bollocks.
He was doing 6 foot drops onto road flawlessly
At coedy?! Not having a go or doubting or anything, but where? I've never seen anything over a couple of feet there and I'm rather interested 🙂
I used to love CyB. Back in the day Mr Kip and I rode it with rigids and V-brakes (he had canti's) then they changed it all. I've ridden there on a 80/100mm Anthem a few years ago then repeated on a Trek Ex8 last year. Most fun on the Anthem but I really loved that bike and rode everything from Haldon to the Alps via Scotland on it. I'm starting to get the same level of confidence on the Trek but it's taken time.
As for 29ers. My feet don't touch the floor on a 26" bike when the seats up, I'd be f***ed on a big wheel bike!!
[img] http://www.rotorburn.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=202067&d=1306620757 [/img]
Some of those trails onto roads have A lines that aren't well signposted.
Well I usually ride at Chicksands so I guess the rocks were slightly out of the norm. Rode MBR and agree that false teeth was cool, had it not been for the rain it would have been easier to carry speed into some of the drops. I figured that a short travel bike would allow for a margin of error into these. Having said that riding the hardball did give a focus to choosing the right line, and it flowed well most of the time.
palmer77 - MemberOn my Chameleon and had a great time. But I was thinking if I had a 100mm FS I could really nail it.
Hmmmmm, you need to find yourself an old Blur 4X. Just like a Chameleon but faster.
Meta 4x?
Cannondale RZ120 ?
You're describing a Commencal 4X. I've got a mate with one and he uses it for pretty much everything, he even raced Innerleithen DH on it (and placed fairly respectably). 100mm travel at the back, up to 140mm at the front and pretty slack.
What do you think to the GT Distortion?
http://www.gtbicycles.com/gbr/bikes/mountain/freeride/2011-distortion-1-0-satin-black
[url= http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/Bike+Shop/Frame++Forks/Frames+-+MTB/Commencal+Frames/Commencal+Absolut+SX+Frame+2010_CM480.htm ]Commencal Absolut SX - 2010 frames at Merlin for £750'ish?[/url]