100mm mini downhill bike

hey folks, i thought I would ask for a bit of a hand from the knowledge of the stw forum.

I’m looking for a new/new to me frame to build up a short travel super slack and low, can take a beating thrash bike, i suppose everyone calls them 4x/slopestyle, but just something for ragging around the woods.

so far i have seen the nicolai Ion14 and the specialised SX supercross(not SXtrail), ideally I’m looking for something with a slammed bb height (don’t care about pedal strikes) and either slack stock head angle or one i can change with an angleset to about 65deg (which rules out the dirtjumpers like the killswitch/soda slopestyle/dartmoor shine/transition double), plus a seat tube that will fit a dropper.

Have i missed any out? and since i’ve found it next to impossible to get hold of a test ride for these frames, anyone own/ridden one and have an opinion?

cheers,
Matt

Wee bit more travel, but I really like this

http://oldsite.dmrbikes.com/?Section=page&p=/newnews/&f=newsproducts&newsid=211

Have a look at the new NS fs bikes.

GT Distortion? http://www.southerndownhill.com/reviews/bikes/gt-distortion-20-first-look.html

GT Distortion 2011 first ride

mythic rampant.?

your going to stuggle to get anything to 65 degrees though…there is a reason for that though!

emmodd is that the soda slopestyle? the dmr bolt looks cool, i think its about 68deg, 13.5in bb height so a bit too steep and tall for what i am looking for. 65deg HA 12.5inch BB or similar would be perfect, I’m just going off this review http://blistergearreview.com/gear-reviews/2011-specialized-sx-part-2 which sounds awesome.

As above NS Soda Slope.

scott votlage fr and lower the forks?

Kidwoo knows his shit! If you were happy with what you read get the SX

He wrote more about it on Ridemonkey too.

I would love too GW, spesh don’t import them to the UK and its a real pain to get hold of one over here (rare as on the s/h market), so i just wanted to check if there is anything else about like that – seems like a semi custom nicolai is the only way and thats pretty expensive

Yes, look nice bikes

Didn’t morewood make a bike just as you describe?

see if you can find a mongoose nugget

Had a go on one a while back and it felt nice

Kona stuff frame is rock steady and good fun over the lumps n bumps 🙂

Kona howler,if you can find one.
Or
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=73329
Or with an angleset
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=44608

I loved my Commencal meta 4x. Ran it with some 140mm Pikes, was wicked.

There was a 2011/12 SX for sale on SDH about a month back.

Can’t you find a US shop that will send you one? Did Spesh bring any into Europe at all?

My old 02 SX (see Enduro thread from a few days back) has even slacker/lower geometry and 115mm travel, they still occasionally turn up for sale S/H all these years on.

Transition Preston. Perfect for what you want. Only available 2nd hand now. 4/5 inches at back designed around a 5/6 inch fork. I had one for a few years and they are great fun and tough as nails.

Some other choices:

Kona bass

Commencal sx

Cove hooker.

All would need a works components angleset and offset shock bushings.

I was after the same bike a while back, but as I am 6’3 with long legs I couldn’t get one big enough. Kona bass comes in a 17.5, but is rare as rocking horse shite.

liking the commencal 4x, most of the other frames I have found/have been suggested are around 69deg HA, how much can i realistically get from an angleset, is the 1.5 deg on the cane creek the max out there – does it just change the HA or lower the BB also (i am a geometry retard)? Basically the spesh SX looks like the bike i want but they are hardly ever for sale second hand, and nobody i have spoken to in the UK is in the slightest bit helpful about importing one (to be fair thats only 3 shops). Do US shops ship mail order to the UK, I always thought that was verboten to keep our rather ‘unique’ pricing structure/margin alive over here

Santa Cruz Blur 4X, mine with 36’s has a 66 degree HA.

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Blur[/url] by le_grande_momo[/url], on Flickr

Do you want rear sus?

I have a dartmoor phantom 4x frame for sale in the classifieds

Most short travel frames have an 1 1/8 headset so you can only get a degree change. Add offset shock bushings and you can get another degree.

No idea of price, but Nukeproof are launching something at Sea Otter this week that you might find interesting.

http://www.sicklines.com/2012/04/16/nukeproof-rook-slopestyle-bike-with-integrated-gyro-setup/

slainte 💡 rob

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Santa-Cruz-Blur-4x-frame-and-shock-/170823722401?pt=UK_sportsleisure_cycling_bikeparts_SR&hash=item27c5e325a1#ht_618wt_1265

Pivot m4x if you’re prepared to part with the cash?

My old Kona Howler was awesome fun. Long (17 inches) chainstays and about a 44 inch wheelbase on a medium (15.5 inch) and 100mm travel with a 2:1 shock ratio. I swapped the 200mm shock for a 190mm Fox DHX3 so that it lowered and slackened it. BB was a little under 13 inches. I used U-Turn Pikes and if I was doing local stuff I’d use them at about 125mm but could go 140mm for the FoD downhills. Great fun bike and the easiest front end to get up I’ve ever had, despite the long chainstays. They turn up now and then 2nd hand. Use a 30.0 seat tube though so it’s a 27.2 seatpost with a shim. There are a few uppy downy ones that come in that size now. I think they only did them in ’06 and ’07.
Here’s mine – an ’07 medium (15.5 inch).

[/url]
Trail Centre Razzer[/url] by Rick T.[/url], on Flickr

Just thought. You could find an old ‘dale Prophet MX frame with the 12mm bolt through rear, swap the shock to something smaller in length and you’d have a super low and slack machine. Benji from the mag did that for a wee while and took it to Innerleithen. Impossible to endo!

get an older Spesh Enduro SX, i’ve had two over time and they’re a total blast – just the job for what you wnat to use it for

wow that pivot m4x is definitely going on the list, had totally missed those – demo day on the 22nd in the forest of dean too so I can actually test one of these things out. should be 66deg HA and 12.5 BB with an angleset mmmmmmm.

cheers mbarnes, those dartmoor phantoms look great but i really want a bit of squish to pump thru corners etc with and take the edge off things.

cheers for the info kudos, am i right in thinking that an angleset just slackens the bike but offset bushes drop the bb and change the seat tube angle also?

Not slack, but the Morewood Ndiza is definintely the most fun bike I’ve ever ridden for general razzing about the place, corners like a weapon!

Couple of interesting Nicolai Ion 14 builds

Nicolai Ion 14 – The AttitudeBikes Build

Nicolai Ion 14 – Trail Build.

I’ve been after a short travel dh/freeride bike for ages, can’t find much about. The Kona Bass looks the best to me. There’s also the Banshee/Mythic Wildcard. I’m still keen to try a DMR Bolt but heard they don’t pedal very well, and they’re really heavy.

Personally I don’t see the fascination with super slack angles, they slow everything down too much and make the bike feel wallowy or something. 67-68 is about right imo.

from what I’ve seen tom, its spesh SX supercross, pivot m4x, Ion 14 and maybe commencal 4x, unless you are looking for a freeride hucker?

I read lots of stuff from people saying that BB pivot sus systems pedal like crap too, not really sure if that is true for a 4inch susser and everyones definition is different anyway, which is why I really want to test one of these things out first. I think it should feel really good to ride based on what I would like to change on my current bike, but it might well be a pig on wheels when I actually have a go (pretty hopeful it wont tho, its mainly for superfast bermy trails that aren’t too rough, just want some squish to take the edge off landings and let me pump in corners/dips)

The old SX are great fun if you can find one. With 130mm forks mine was something like 64 degree HA and silly low BB in the slack setting.

those SX’s were awesome bikes. triscombe killed one of mine and fort william the second.

am i right in thinking that an angleset just slackens the bike but offset bushes drop the bb and change the seat tube angle also?

Angleset actually drops the BB and steepens the seat angle very slightly because you’ve got the same length fork at a shallower angle, so the head tube gets nearer the ground. Offset bushes drop the BB and slacken both ends.

Whatever happened to the Ragley designs with the 160 front and 100/120 rear… could be what your looking for?

Any Nicolai can be run in short travel mode at the rear. I tried it on my Helius AM and it did pedal better when I had a crap shock on it, but it pedals so well with a decent shock that I don’t see any benefit now… from the MTBR forum there are a few folk who have adjusted their Nicolai AM/AFR’s with shorter shocks and/or different mountings to lower the bottom brackets and run shorter forks etc. Might be worth a squize over there or dig about for geetee1972 on here who has done this to his Helius AM.

This is his AM with a different front shock mount to lower the BB and allow him to run a shorter fork.

There are probably a few other AM type bikes about which you could short-shock/fork and get similar results???

Just saw this on the Nicolai site, looks well nice – http://www.nicolai.net/index.php?article_id=152&clang=1

how about a YT-industries Play? 66,5 HA

http://www.yt-industries.com/shop/index.php?page=product&info=156&xbfe61=h9jk08jjld6ip7oing23rmsrmh2p5956