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Come on – they were decent forks. 20mm bolt through, 32mm stanchions. Many, many sets of pikes were ragged all over the world on decent technical terrain. 34/35/36mm stanchion forks are stiffer, but I’d never describe a pike 454 as pointing in a random direction… I’ve got a 9mm QR revelation on my DJ bike set at 100mm, run very firm. On a bmx gate there is a fair bit of flex in it (mainly due to my shit gate technique), but it is fine on trails.
They were good compared to the OE Indy I had BITD but I was (at the time) comparing them to the 35mm Suntours on my bike. I used his bike for a DH race once (at his behest) and the forks just noodled, relatively, all over the shop. Complete bobbins. The 32mm Epicons I have in the spares pile are stiffer.
I know, I was talking specifically [s]about DH[/s] out my arse.
😉
Geex is talking a lot of sense!
One thing that supports both sides of the argument - watch this:
https://m.pinkbike.com/news/ben-cathro-dh-savagery-v10-29.html
His old bike looks like a BMX under him but despite it being tiny he’s still going for it. But then that new bike absolutely flies (and looks like a medium-sized 26” V10, not an XXL 29”, because he’s crazy tall).
“the forks just noodled, relatively, all over the shop. Complete bobbins. The 32mm Epicons I have in the spares pile are stiffer”
Knackered/oversized bushings?
No idea, maybe, but they were still shit 😆
Very neat bikes and veeery "LLS". And lots of love for these bikes.
But at the same time ... - this very long wheelbase makes those bikes (like Nicolai Geometron bikes as well) way too stable? Those bikes are niche bikes in my view. Great for some bikers. Great for some trails. But for many bikers "too LLS"...?
Haha
I find most climbing monotonously dull whether riding an oldskool XC hardtail or 170mm carbon derp.
to ease the monotomy do you think I should buy a Pole machine or an Ebike?
😉
[edit] I actually enjoy technical climbing. the less suitable the bike the more technical it becomes.
(once I've cleaned a really difficult climb i'll happily walk it from then on to eternity tho)
neat
I realise english might not be your native language but there's no way you can use this word to describe anything about an industrial looking Geometronanonanon
😉
I think the machine would make me laugh more than smile 😉
what's "Quack quack" in German?
😉
Where do you think UK DHers have always gone to practice?
There's more of them now and many more people rising them, that was my point.
Most riders I know including myself ride LLS enduro bikes for DH (lift or fireroad climb) and dirt jumping (which they are surprisingly good at).
I thought the 'low' bit was so the fat old blokes buying these bikes can get their leg over the top tube remounting after walking through a technical section?
@geex I remember riding my 120mm hardtail at a Gethin uplift day sometime in the noughties - it felt OK, but my knees didn't work properly for the following week. Since its been BPW, I have mostly avoided the rock garden.
jumpers for goalposts? Wasn' it? isn' it?
😉
Never been to BPW but spent loads of time digging and riding at Gethin back then. I've always wondered what of the old tracks still remains and what hilariously quirky names they now have.
I thought the ‘low’ bit was so the fat old blokes buying these bikes can get their leg over the top tube remounting after walking through a technical section?
haha
Did the sales guy try to convince you with this...?
My medium slackificated Zesty (angle set, long fork, chipped rear shock)
[img] 
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My super slack Dune, any slacker and it would be claiming benefits and slinking off for a smoke behind the bike sheds
[img] 
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Both are a LOT of fun to ride 😉
@geex Not really sure what you're saying, other than 'I used to ride it on a rigid wheelbarrow and I was still faster than anyone on here.'
There are plenty of technical climbs that I ride regularly when I'm doing natural stuff on the Mendips. Perhaps my early 90s Merlin titanium would be quicker up them than my Mega, but the bike never stops me from riding them, and it's much better at everything else.
You sound a bit angry, like the Northern bloke I met the other day at a bikepark, who I'm sure is from this forum. What's the issue?
JP
Angry?
why would I be angry? I love riding bikes and geeking out about them. you'll never find me angry on a bike or a bike forum ever, I'm certainly not northern and haven't been to a bikepark since June (and it wasn't in the UK)
I was genuinely interested in whether you did any technical climbing on it, being an enduro bike. that's all.
not sure where you think I said I was faster on a hardtail than the DH bike or a modern FS bike. would be kinda pointless ever owning anything else if that was the case.
All I was saying is a 100mm hardtail is a perfectly capable bike and I still happen to enjoy riding them.
not sure where you think I said I was faster on a hardtail than the DH bike or a modern FS bike.
You do have a tendency to present yourself as the David Hasselhoff of mountain biking. I imagine you looking a bit like this.
montgomery
Member
I thought the ‘low’ bit was so the fat old blokes buying these bikes can get their leg over the top tube remounting after walking through a technical section?
As one of the blokes you describe (more or less) I can say definitively that it is the dropper that allows this more than the geometry.😁
Banksy?
Is that you?
You do have a tendency to present yourself as the David Hasselhoff of mountain biking.
Hahah.
"LLS and emotions"...an never ending fight!
veryL,L,S is bad?
L,veryL,S is good?
L,L,veryS is good?
and and and and
LLS is boring?
Ha! Glad it's not just me that drops their saddle to make remounting easier! Getting older every day…