Forum menu
Dougal - MemberSo MSCs don't break then Nick? Did you see the 2 (or was it 3???) at Dalby...
Really? Who broke theirs?
I know of two failures this year, and both were due to bad setup with the bars spinning and cracking the brakes off the TT.
It was 2 hardtails in the seatstays IIRC.
Try Beyond Mountain Bikes in Cranleigh, they do Scott, Specialized and Trek. An increasingly high proportion of decent MTBs are carbon now, particularly in the XC race market, discount carbon and you're excluding a vast number of awesome bikes, not least the Epic, Top Fuel and Spark! I know all are available in alu, but they're cheaper, much heavier and less well specced than their carbon counterparts.
Picked up one of these yesterday, Only short ride so far to set up saddle and pedals but it feels mighty nice!!!
[img] 
[/img]
Carbons not the material to fear if you get it from someone who knows how to make carbon. Scott and Specialized both make a great carbon product and Scotts stuff is amongst the best.
I have a quiver of carbon bikes, my favorite is still the Spark. My 2007 Spark is still working beautifully. I blew up a Nude shock on the BC Bike Race this year but it was 3 seasons old. I find I only use the lockout on tarmac or FSR sections and only use full travel when i'm into uber techy or grarly descents...traction mode works well for almost all trail conditions I've ridden on that bike, so I dont feel that you have to keep switching between modes.
That said, my next spark (or upgrade on this spark) will be an RP23...The new 120mm fork geometry with an RP23 will make the bike a perfect all round do everything Whistler/Squamish race able trail bike which will suit my riding perfectly.
I also have a 2009 Genius, found it tricky initially and was left a little deflated on the first few outings but after ride 4 I think, I finally clicked with it. I didn't ride it before I got it (which is silly) although if I had, I would probably be missing out on what is a super versatile bike.
So, if you like to pedal with the odd trail center trip and fancy yourself as a racer - Spark. If you like to pedal with the frequent trail center visit, like a longer travel option when the going gets rough and might race the odd enduro or social event - Genius.
The Genius is hilariously priced! The 2009 20 with a very mediocre XT spec was the better part of £4000. Bit nuts.
Makes this brand new unridden custom spec'd 10 pretty cheap at £3200 then 😉
[same spec as my ridden bike]
[img] 
[/img]
Spec on request
i'm lead to believe that the new DW turners are very good.
For that money though, you are going to want to demo a whole load of bikes.
How about the Intense Tracer ?
As far as bike shops go, have you tried Head for the Hills in Dorking?
Also, Moose Cycles have a demo day in Peaslake on 4th October, including an Intense Tracer among others; check their website for more details.
A friend of mine had an ASR for just under a year and loved every second, the main problem was he was getting too confident on it and decided that special flexy carbon stays and constant hard riding were incompatible, he sold it before he could break it and bought a Reign, which was the right move for him as he was drifting away from XC raceyness towards jumping off stuff DH gurning, but still, I think He misses the ASR…
If it’s a purist XC bike with proper handling you want then the ASR does it very, very well…
Makes this brand new unridden custom spec'd 10 pretty cheap at £3200 then
It appears to belong to someone, so it's not brand new, there's no warranty for a start, it's also got silly flashy wheels that aren't actually that good, and the rest of the spec isn't incredible. I'd look for a deal on an actually new 2009 one rather than buy that.
Marin alchemist- so good marin won't let you have one!!