……..what DH rig / bike would you choose and why ?
FWIW I’m considering a Nicolai ION / Chumba F5…..

Commencal supreme DH – cos I have one
Santa cruz v10 – cos I’d quite like one

One of these would do nicely, cos I like giant bikes and it would go nicely with my giant trance mtb and my giant defy road bike 😆

Dirt mag (who have ridden one or two DH bikes) seem to like the Empire quite a lot, and also rate the Orange 224 (with a crane creek DB) and the Trek Session 88.
I would be an extremely happy bunny with any of the above,guess a test ride would be your best bet,have fun!

OH, forgot to say,
‘you lucky sod!’

Mate who races DH just got one of these

He’s VERY pleased with it.

i had a ride on a empire at hamsterley.
only proper DH bike i have been on, very very odd feeling compared to other normal bikes.

Ton – not when it gets steep and fast…

ton – why – long low slack and plush perhaps 🙂

tlr, just cos i like the look of it…..
and i figure a bike built in the uk would be good for uk dh courses…

ton – how did it feel @ hamsters – there’s big rock and good roots there afaik ???

what sort of cost are the empire ?

If i had a national dh track on my doorstep i’d be very happy! The 3 bikes id most likely have in my shortlist would be the commencal, a turner dhr, and the trek session 88. But there is just a shed load of choice out there… The new elsworth looks amazing as well. It does depend on your riding style a bit as well

Clearly an M6 evo, or wait a while for a 951. Failing that, one of the multitude of Iron Horse Sundays that will be going cheap since Sam Hill stopped riding for them

lyons – interesting point about style.
i’m a long time trail rider (20 + years !!!) , but need a bigger slacker bike for the DH course next door 🙂
The Nicolai and Chumba are proven designs.
the Nicolai is all about build quality and minimal maintenance….and I already own a Nicolai Helius which is exemplary….

This is mine and its sodding awesome! I quite fancey a Intense 951, they look brilliant without being overkill.

what DH course is that Simon? Is that why the road was closed last week?

Chumba F5 is a beast and is a proven race design (but i am biased!) and looks great in the new team blue colours, will also be seen at Fort William with these guys

F5 frame

guitarhero – LOL…

PDS is my local DH course now we have a condo there 🙂

how’s the Session 88 going ?

Let’s face it you have a thing for Nicolai….get the ION ST…me personally I’ll have my Intense 951 in a couple of months as a replacement for my SS…perfect for Fort Bill and light enough to carry up most Munros.

si – still considering the F5 – richard @ gravity is getting one in – i’ll take a look if i don’t go with the ION ST 🙂

opt1cal – i like Nicolai bikes – options and attention to detail – minimal maintenance and proven designs………………….

In which case, fancy renting it out for a week in July 😉
Sessions sweet, but i wouldn’t recommend it, they’re common as muck.

Real world reports so far on the Session 88 are its a little fragile. The very thin tubing picks up dents quite easily apparently, lots of mumblings that it should have been given a F.R.O. label…

and everyone i’ve seen so far creaks quite a bit. i’ve only had a quick car park bounce but they seem very nice.

twohats is right about sessions. I’d be wary if you plan to keep it a while.

I’d be looking at intense m6, santa cruz v10 or iron horse sunday. I’ve got a sunday and it’s the best dh bike I’ve ever had (including an intense m3 before it) corners like nothing else. If you’ve got a bit more of a budget there are some great prices/builds available on solid mission 9’s and plenty of people ride them pretty fast. A full solid can with good spec can be had for the price of a v10 frame!

Oh and a friend of mine got a deal on an f5 chumba having ridden oranges, v10s etc before and got rid after 3 months as he reckoned it was no where near as good.

Don’t be fooled with F.R.O label having ridden plenty of bikes…Intense build them tough and I’m 200lbs and ride my bikes hard….no complaints from me…not seen any issues with Socom or M6’s out on the hill…and I do see plenty of snapped, dented and cracked metal…if the 951 doesn’t work out I’ll buy the ION ST

*cough* demo 8, not pimp, not flash but i love mine…..however now hill rides one i might change….

Not wanting to turn this thread into a debate on the Session, but mine is surviving dent free after 7 months of DH’ing, with the usual uplifts, crashes, etc. My Sunday had worse battle scars after that time.