[Closed] Spesh Pitch Comp - Help me settle a debate with a mate

Wheels.

For XC riding my first upgrade would be a Stumpy FSR, not a Pitch. Wrong bike to start with, IMO.

Wheels, the forks are very good (don't let the Fox marketing dept tell you otherwise). Replace the rear shock when it dies (but not with a DHX air, they are shite), but it sounds like his is faultly so get on the phone to Spesh and they will do everything they can do fix it.

As for wheels, do a search for the deals on Pro2's with Stans Flows and that will make a huge difference to the ride

I would do that as well but he wants to do the suspension first to improve the ride for the type of riding he is doing.

I;ve got a XC comp and find the wheels crap as well. Mavic Rims and Hope Pro II's for me.

PP. I agree with you. For 1k XC comp would have (was) my choice but all about personal taste I suppose!!

Leave it alone and ride it... if you have to upgrade anything just pop some lock on grips on it.

Bang loads of lube in the air can on the x fusion and it should hold air better, if not, try the warranty, I had a Fox once that lost air from new, no bother as long as you top it up, loads of lube in that and it wasnt a problem. Also from experience its worth checking if its lost pressure by checking sag not the pump.

Ride it enough and there is plenty of time to spend lots of cash on it.

If you buy a bike and want to upgrade forks/shock straight away would have been better off buying the next bike up the range.

as we all know scottish xc is a different thing entirely to the more common uk xc.

lockout/lockdown is massively overrated - tell him to learn to move his weight about better on the bike - if that is proving difficult for long climbs then a more climbing orientated bike/frame is more likely required.

if the rear shock is faulty, get it fixed. if when it is fixed it doesnt work/blows up then replace it

Wheels - If they are anything like my Pitch Pro ones, then they are too light if anything. The ones mine came with are the same width as a Mavic 717 (I measured them against my Mavics) which is not man enough for a 6in travel bike of the Pitch's calibre. I went wider and tougher (SUN SOS rims) which suits the bike more.

If you made me choose between the forks and shock, I'd say the shock because Pikes are excellent forks and you won't miss the lockout as much as you'd miss the brilliantly performing RP2 I have on mine. Just make sure you get the right compression and propedal tune to suit the bike......
🙂

sorry to disagree Xan i'd upgrade the rear shock, the pikes aren't a bad unit and would cost a lot to upgrade to something significantly better

Definitely not the fork, no place for a lockout on a bike like that, no place for a lockout anywhere really, pointless IMO.

**** me, njee20 I thought you would love lockout being fully XC racer... 🙂

But if you have to have that kind of feature a lockdown is of more use for climbing.

I got a SH Motion Control cartridge for £20 and now have lockout and compression adjust. I think a new one is about £40 so and its a 5 min job to literally drop it in. Other than that my shock is now an RP3 from the bay and I've got much better brakes couple of other things to make it fit me better and because of crashes but I would do the same again.

I would like some 36 Talas tho. 😀

[img] [/img]

The MoCo cartridge isnt in the pic.

I'd always rated the brain shock on my 04 Sworks Enduro, but the RP23 on the Ventana I've just built is better from a "locking it out for climbing" aspect. I'd go for the rear shock first, the forks are fine, I have 454 Coil Pikes & hardly ever lock them out.

I got a SH Motion Control cartridge for £20 and now have lockout and compression adjust. I think a new one is about £40 so and its a 5 min job to literally drop it in

You know, that is a superb idea. Really.
😀

On a spesh?

The bars! Unless Spesh have started fitting proper ones they'r hideously narrow.

Ditto the lockout comment, I run my forks fully open unless its on the road. Climbings much easier if you can just concnetate on the ballance point between rear wheel grip and wheelie without having to wory about the front wheel.

My bars were 660 I think and not too narrow they were the wrong shape for me tho hence the Truvativs. Something else I would recommend is one of [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=17670 ]these[/url] as it gives a larger area to push against making it easier to wind the forks up or down meaning he will be more willing to do it.

I 2nd PP, if he wants to improve the bike for the riding he does he really needs to just buy a Stumpy. The Pitch is an awesome bike but from what I've seen on the trails, a lot were bought off the hype of the review with very little attention paid to intended use.

motion control upgrade kits with bar remote are £99 new,

Get the rear shock sorted first.

If I were changing the forks I'd be looking at a Fox 36 or the new Rev Team 150mm.

Agree with lockout comments. Never ever use it myself.

I used to have one of these, rather nice it was too but it was too much bike for what I rode 90% of the time. Ended up with Hope Hoops, DHX 5.0, Van 36R's, Double n' bash, joplin blah de blah.

Get the shock sorted by Spesh'

Change the wheels for something like Hope Hoops and while your at it sling a XT or SLX cassette on there and that'll save you a bunch of weight.

The bike isn't a brilliant climber, but it's ace at going back down

Pitch is pretty capable as a DH bike, I'd get rid of it completely if all you plan on doing is XC and trail centres.

The Pitch is supposed to be a great all rounder, 32ish lbs on the Comp model and Enduro-esque geometry make for a compelling all day bike.

If the Comp were mine, I'd opt for the lockout cartridge as suggested elsewhere. I'd also ditch the X-Fusion shock for either a Fox unit or a Rockshox Monarch, the latter can be had for a bargain on Merlin lately. Just make sure you get the eye to eye length right.

You could transform the bike for less than £300, but then that does beg the question as to why not go for a Pitch Pro in the first place.

Definitely not the fork, no place for a lockout on a bike like that, no place for a lockout anywhere really, pointless IMO.

Totally agree. I used to ride Pace RC40's and the lockdown was great as it helped me keep the front end of the cotic down, however the lockout on the pikes doesnt, although the Pikes are far better than the paces ever were.

Forks don't bob that much if you climb steadily, and on a bike like the Pitch I'd have thought thats what you'd be doing.

Sort the shock on warranty, people automatically assume a Fox will be massively better.

Lighter wheels will make the biggest difference, something like Stans Flow rims? Or even just lighter/less draggy tyres? Depends what tyres are on it now?

Fox 36 Vans were the best upgrade for my Pro - but I will be using them for DH/Alps duties. My bike is rather over-the-top for XC duties now but I can only afford one bike.

Personally I would probably not upgrade anything until it breaks, apart from minor personal things like grips, saddle etc. The stock saddle is awful imo.

**** me, njee20 I thought you would love lockout being fully XC racer.

Nah, never been one for lockouts, even on the 140mm TALASs I had on my Fuel Ex I think I dropped them once to check it worked, and never ever used the lockout!

Certainly wouldn't bother spending money on that fork though, do the shock if you really want to, fair bit of money though. I'd do the wheels or just keep the money until I had a better idea!

khani - Member
motion control upgrade kits with bar remote are £99 new,

Bar remote's are much overrated taking your hand off the bar for a couple of seconds to twist a dial 90 deg really isnt that difficult. To be honest I don't use the lockout unless its a really big hill and pretty smooth I have the cartridge for the extra compression control it offers me. Means I can run a softer spring than I could otherwise.

The Pitch is supposed to be a great all rounder

Well, I think you've been misled there. They are a bike to plod steadily up to the top of a mahoosive great big hill, then unleash back down the other side, preferably over rocky, jumpy, technical terrain. An XC bike IT IS NOT. Too heavy. Too slack. Too much bike.

Lighter wheels will make the biggest difference

Yes, but in the wrong way. As above, a Pitch is not an XC bike. Light wheels are a silly addition. If you're trying to lighten it, you've bought the WRONG BIKE. It needs heavier, tougher wheels, big tyres, wide bars, a bash ring and possibly a chain guide.
How many 'XC' bikes come with ISCG mounts?

An XC bike IT IS NOT. Too heavy. Too slack. Too much bike.

I dunno, you can use it for XC, it's just not the ideal tool for the job. The bike is all about riding like a loon downhill certainly, but I have taken it up Helvellyn, High Street etc in the Lakes, and I am not mega-fit.

I was a bit shocked to meet someone in Kentmere who had been sold a Pitch Comp by Evans, and she was walking down a very easy, short, smooth-ish, downhill section because it was too steep/scary. You have to think she got sold the wrong bike really.

I was a bit shocked to meet someone in Kentmere who had been sold a Pitch Comp by Evans, and she was walking down a very easy, short, smooth-ish, downhill section because it was too steep/scary. You have to think she got sold the wrong bike really.

Not necessarily a bad thing to have a bike more capable than yourself. We grow into things, you know. It can take time to build confidence up, and better to have the tool for the job ready and waiting.

Not necessarily a bad thing to have a bike more capable than yourself. We grow into things, you know. It can take time to build confidence up, and better to have the tool for the job ready and waiting.

Yeah true, I am still growing into my bike certainly 🙂 - but my gf is not a very confident rider, and happily rode the same section on her £200 hardtail.

bars (wider) stem (shorter) if its anything like the 08.

PP, you could get some light, but wide rims (stans flow or similar) which allow you to use lighter, big volume tyres for day rides, or heavier tyres for a more stable feel for messing about / DH. As long as they're wide / strong enough, I can't see light rims being a problem.

thanks all for your input. I'll let him know what the general thoughts are. As said above its a cracking bike and really good for pounding hills but IMO PP is right with what he is saying. Not my choice of bike for XC. For the riding my mates and I do my Spesh XC with Fox Talas and a few more upgrades coming (wanted a Stumpy but was limited to 1k with C2W) is more than enough bike. But I suppose it's all about what you like and what you are looking for in a bike.

Wheels are my next upgrade as the ones I have compared to my mates Hopes mine are s**t. Hubs dont seem to last the pace either IMO.

PP, you could get some light, but wide rims (stans flow or similar) which allow you to use lighter, big volume tyres for day rides, or heavier tyres for a more stable feel for messing about / DH. As long as they're wide / strong enough, I can't see light rims being a problem.

Very true. And the cost of said light/wide rims is how much? On top of a budget bike? Expensive parts on budget bikes? = Still bought the wrong bike.....
🙂

Not my choice of bike for XC. For the riding my mates and I do my Spesh XC with Fox Talas and a few more upgrades coming (wanted a Stumpy but was limited to 1k with C2W)

FSR XC. Brilliant bike. The XC version of a Pitch. Oddly, the clue is in the name....
🙂

i had Noah's Ark take a brand new Pitch and replace more or less every part on it for me before it left the shop.

What I have now is basically a trail bike that is perfect for my needs, specced WAAAAAYYYYYYY higher than a Pitch Pro........and only cost me a little bit more than the pitch pro!

The only difference to the spec list detailed in the link below is that I now run Fox 36's up front instead of the Pikes (which transformed the bike completely). I bought Steve_b77's 36's for the same price that someone bought my pikes, so it was a straight swap really!

[b][url= http://www.bikeradar.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=12616979 ]Specialized Pitch Elite[/url][/b]

I reckon the cycle to work scheme'll be scrapped before I can get round to actually convincing my boss to let me get a bike... for cycling to work on. 🙄

Don't understand how you got all that stuff for £450 - an RP23 alone is about £300 innit? Sweet bike though.

every penny is accounted for in the first post grumm, have a read 😉

FSR XC. Brilliant bike.

I'm gonna disagree with you there PP, if you want to ride XC for that sort of money I'd buy a Rockhopper Pro, the XC Pro is still a rather weighty bike, I'd say Rockhopper or Pitch personally.

But a Rockhopper is a hardtail innit? Bit of a different thing.

I'm gonna disagree with you there PP, if you want to ride XC for that sort of money I'd buy a Rockhopper Pro, the XC Pro is still a rather weighty bike, I'd say Rockhopper or Pitch personally.

And now I'm gonna pull that argument apart.... 🙂
FSR will still be lighter than the Pitch. It will be more suited to XC then the Pitch, with more suitable geometry and components, and you're not carrying around suspension and metal that you don't need.

It's the Spesh way. You have a flagship bike (Enduro, Stumpy FSR, Stumpy) and a cheaperr version (Pitch, FSR XC, Rockhopper) in each catagory.

I canse you didn't realise, I have a Pitch Pro. It's a ****ing brilliant bit of kit, but by heck it's a waste of time taking it on an XC ride!!!!
🙂

Yes, but PPs saying the Pitch is too heavy for XC and the FSR XC is a far better bike.

I say the FSR XC is still a bit heavy for all day riding, not light enough to be a nice XC bike, not tough enough to be a burly FS bike. I'd be much happier on a Rockhopper Pro. If I wanted a bouncy bike for that money, I'd get the Pitch.

The key phrase is that is what [b]I[/b] would do. I'm well aware plenty of people are happy on their FSR XCs, I've sold a whole load of them in fact.

by heck it's a waste of time taking it on an XC ride!!!!

Do not agree - it's the only mtb I have and I take it on plenty of XC rides and have plenty of fun, I just get knackered a bit quicker than I would on a lighter bike.