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On a more helpful note, i think if I get back to a point where im riding more id really like to got to a trail bike 140/150mm travel thing for most things and a DH bike for uplift days rather than the Nukeproof Mega ive got at the moment which does everything from trail centres to uplift days. I reckon that kinda mid travel bike is pretty great for everything I do apart from when im being driven to the top.
That extra confidence is only useful if you're actively trying to push your envelope, otherwise it's easy to just refuse the same features you'd refuse on a trail bike.
Very much this.
I've ridden with a couple of folks that were convinced they'd ride stuff that they normally didn't if they fitted a slackset to their bikes.
As predicted it made no difference what so ever. 🤣
Same old same old. Ride up to feature and stop.
That's only ever going to end up one way unfortunately.
Riding a DH bike on a normal relatively flat trail so you don't have to choose a line is somewhat missing the point of a DH bike and you'd still be faster if you did actually choose a line.
so have you bought it yet?
That's only ever going to end up one way unfortunately.
Not really.. Clearly not on any of the times i've ridden the DH bike before.
Clearly not on any of the times i've ridden the DH bike before.
It's a numbers game. Do it enough and your number will come up.😉
Ride a bigger bike and don't pick a line is never the answer though.
Weeksy, I reckon out of most people here, you’re going to be one of the few that has the opportunity to use a DH bike regularly. You spend so much time heading to DH venues with your son. You might not buy that one, but I reckon you’d either benefit from getting one or building up the Session and using that when the Atherton arrives.
Enjoy yourself, you’ve worked so hard to get Jnr to all these places you might as well have another toy and join in.
Surely someone else here can buy it then?
Not me though, currently working on going N-1 if I can
Not me though, currently working on going N-1 if I can
That's what I am doing, admittedly I have gone N+1 but am looking at selling 2 x bikes to give an overall N-1.
That's what I am doing, admittedly I have gone N+1 but am looking at selling 2 x bikes to give an overall N-1.
Surely someone else here can buy it then?
Not me though, currently working on going N-1 if I can
I only have N. My Fuel Gen6 and in truth, it's absolutely perfect.
To comment on some of the above, the reality is, a lot of the time i'm at DH places i'm not in a position to play. There's many reasons behind that from being up at 4.30am to drive him up while he sleeps and then home at 10pm while he sleeps most of the way home being 1 for example with Dyfi, to the fact i'm not the greatest rider so Dyfi isn't really my thing, especially as i'm mostly alone, so it's a lonely day. But there's also mechanical duties, setup stuff and testing on these days, from wheels, to brakes, to setting up suspension and fixing punctures etc.
Things like the Pearce days i worry about getting in the way of the racers pre-race testing, which puts me off these. Whilst it's a more laid back kind of place compared to Dyfi, it's still people who are trying to build their race speed for the race in 2,3,4 weeks time.
Llangollen, Ponty etc i can't uplift and ride at the same time.
Then places like FoD i'm usually uplifting after i've done my riding with mates, so that's not eating into my fun/ride time.
I don't know, it's all just where we find ourselves in the world at the moment, it probably is one of those things that doesn't make a lot of sense from the outside perspective, but for me, it makes sense.
Next weekend we'll be at Dyfi, it's my Birthday so Mrs Weeksy has offered to pay for my day, but i don't like her doing stuff like that and as i say, i want to look after the lad. So i'll end up doing 2 hours over at Climachx to get my fix for the day and then the rest will be talking rubbish by the fire..
I disagree, I think a DH bike gives you extra confidence
You might well disagree but to me an extra 20/30mm of travel makes bugger all difference if I want to ride something or not and wouldn't help me in the slightest.
In fact on the stuff I'm marginal yes/no can I get away with it a triple clamp fork is going to make things harder for me.
Mainly alpine walking trail switchbacks with exposure.
It's not just the 20/30 (or 50 in my case on a proper DH) but it's the geometry, riding position, the way it soaks up the chatter/trails more, just the whole thing. Riding the Session at BPW on Rim Dinger for example you have to think about line choice on the trail bike, but on the DH bike you just ignore that and let go of the brakes and it takes care of things.
I didn't hit anything 'bigger' on the days i used it, but i only used for a couple of hours while he was doing something else, but i expect i'd hit stuff i wouldn't on mine.
To add to this, the example Weeksy gave is talking about the ability to go faster on a trail he'd ride anyway vs the confidence to ride newer / bigger features. Take BPW as an example, I don't doubt I'd be able to ride a rough trail like Rim Dinger (or 50 Shades) quicker on a DH bike vs my 170/160 Raaw by smoothing it out more. However no amount of extra travel is going to help me personally convince myself to hit a big gap jump or drop that I am mentally not committed to. However my Raaw is arguably pretty capable anyway, I can understand the confidence gap to hit a new feature / trail being bridged more by a DH bike vs Trail bike (which I think the Trek is).