I'm debating to buy a 316 Spicy 2011 model and i cant make my mind up. Ive have had an Orange 5, Zesty and a Trek ex9 before but I love the coming down more!!! Dont we all 😀
Has anyone converted from a Zesty to a Spicy and had no regrets??
Any comments welcome.
I wouldn't bother unless you live in wales or scotland. It won't be as much fun to ride.
I do go to Inners a lot and love it!
kudos define fun? My xc/trail bike is a nukeproof mega, I ride mostly in the peaks and it's ideal. You don't even need big hills to warrant one just to like riding the kind of trails which suit them.
Wordy if you like the downs more and feel that the current bike is holding you back then why not change, worst case of all you could always go back.
steveh - Good idea pal, I would consider myself reasonably fit and I feel having a bigger bike would make me fitter still. With the added factor of nailing it on the downs. 😀
Decisions decisions.
a friend of mine has a remedy which, the day he bought it, slammed 36's on, and went 1x10. Now I don't live far off Brighton, so not exactly scotland or wales, and I'd say with today's suspension technology you won't get much bob or lose much efficiency, so I'd go for it.
I wouldn't bother unless you live in wales or scotland. It won't be as much fun to ride.
Slightly arbitrary comment. I love riding my Pitch with 160mm forks in the Lakes, Wales, Scotland, to DH in the Pyrenees and the Alps. If you only have one bike it makes sense to have one you can truly do it all on IMO.
i had a '10 spicy 316 and an '11 zesty 714. spicy won for the fun factor, especially with coil shocks f+r.
slowrider - Was the bike still ok going up hills? Comparing both bikes which one put a smile on your face?? 😀
Zesty 714 and just demo'd a Spicy 916. Great bike but quantum leap over Zesty? Not really. I do couple euro trips each year and the Zesty seems more than capable and I can't see 160mm being any faster Afan etc. The slacker HA was noticeable on the downs but I felt overal it wasn't as agile as Zesty. Current thinking is just to upgrade to 2012 Zesty with 67 HA and shorter stays its geometry is effectively the same as pre 2012 Spicy
how much difference is it 20mm?
cant see a problem with it all this stuff too much for uk is bollocks..where does this come from= marketing jargon magazines etc.
we have stuff here if you look about!160 is peadlly nowt major i pedal my 160 everywhere no probs.
kudos define fun?
Fun to me is having to work the bike, not having the suspension flatten the trail out so it feels like I'm riding a sofa. I had an enduro and it only came alive on downhill tracks. Some people like the feeling of confidence a longer travel bike gives you, I find it dull for most stuff.
Horses for courses.
Ride the bike that best suits the majority of your riding. If you think your local trails warrant a Zesty, then fair enough. It perhaps won't be so much fun on my local trails as my hardtail is, but I might feel under biked on your local trails on my hardtail possibly...
it was ok at climbing, with the exception of the zesty i havent ridden a bike under 35lbs in years and always with a single ring up front so im used to grunting my way up stuff. the spicy was stretched out enough for me to climb comfortably in the saddle without needing to shift my weight much.
i think a key element was the coil shocks, both spicy and zesty felt skittery with air shocks to me.
I have just been out on my Froggy that has triple clamps and had a great time (and i only live next to the South Downs). Wouldn't want it as an only bike but with an air shock and pro pedal it still winches uphill.
Have a friend that I ride with a lot that has a few bikes -Scott Spark, a Whyte hardtail but since he bought a Spicy about 9 months ago I have hardly seen him ride anything else. At first I thought it was just new bike syndrome but seems to have been going on too long for that now.
If I had to have only one bike (something I would try and avoid) a Spicy would be on the list, but probably not at the top because it is still French after all.