Come on then what dh bike for recent convert from endurance stuff?

Kona Operator? YT tues?

Will try but will need to plan a journey to shops ith stocks. Few down here in Cornwall.

Alps, Gawton, Local woodlands

To complement a 5 (16in)

p.s. I aint great and am a bit of a scaredy cat. Alo on the short side 5ft 7in

Medium santa cruz vp-free? could be persuaded to pass mine on now my back is not what it was!!

Rachel

I sold my DH bike and pretty much only ride my five at gawton and chipshop.

If you like your 5 why not try a 224, similar but bigger?

Jam bo, you probably have more skill and courage than me!!
I realise this is more about wnt than need!

Did the Mega this yr and loved it but failed to qualify for any of the three mass start races (time was quicker than some that did but i aint complaining)

im a big kona fanboy and i love my stinky so id be very keen to try out an operator they look sweet on paper and if you are buying new good vfm for a complete bike

How big do you need?
Try a Marin XLT if you feel the need to ride the uplifts. Or a Yeti ASR7.

What’s your budget? New or used?

If you want a new bike the Saracen myst which should be available soon is a killer deal at 2300, it’s even only 38lb in stock form. Kona are supposed to have a cheap full bike this year too.

If you’ll look at second hand there are a couple of giant glory’s available for 2000 (or less with a bit of haggling) there are in good condition (one has a brand new frame) over on southerndownhill.

Lots of decent ‘my first 2nd hand DH bike’ for sale on Pinkbike & Southern DH. £600-800 is a good price to look at, save some for specific upgrades if you can and just go see a few near you. plenty of folk buy a dh bike and dont use it much, try to find those out rather than the ‘was very expensive now thrashed to bejesus’ ex race ones.

2nd hand Stinky. Can’t go wrong.

2nd hand Stinky. Can’t go wrong.

As a dh bike I can’t see how you can go right with this option. Stinky’s aren’t dh bikes, not enough travel or correct geometry.

As a dh bike I can’t see how you can go right with this option. Stinky’s aren’t dh bikes, not enough travel or correct geometry.

eh ? 64 degree head angle, same as an orange 224

and a whole 1 inch less than the standard 8 inch travel dh bike so pretty much spot on for a lot of uk riding

They are nothing like a 64 degree head angle? Anywhere between 70 & 66, depending on age.

Apart from they ride like a sack of sh*t.

http://www.konaworld.co/bike.cfm?content=stinky
64.2 according to their website and mine rides great thanks!

Me on a rented Stinky in Les Gets after some voleurs made off with my Big Hit. Seemed OK for DH to me. Very stable and predictable.

222/223/224 any day

I’d agree with the 222/3/4 comments if you already ride a Five and like it.

Only saying 22x, as I ride a Patriot as my day-to-day bike.

http://www.konaworld.co/bike.cfm?content=stinky
64.2 according to their website and mine rides great thanks!

Well I never, i’ve learnt something new today.

However I still wouldn’t buy one though, Kona’s don’t have the best of reviews when it comes to DH bikes. There are plenty of better bikes out there for the money.

There is no real mention of budgets, but for a first bike there isn’t much point in spending a huge amount of money on a new bike, it will just lose a fortune.

Buy a second hand Glory/Sunday/224. You will get one for not much more than a grand.

P9011447 by simonmcc88, on Flickr

This time!

Found that a Stinky will consume all that Whistler can throw at it with consumate ease. Should be able to handle the UK quite adequately.

I think the new Kona Operator looks great. Also great value DH bikes coming onto the market from Nukeproof and Saracen. I think the likes of a new V10/224/Session are all so expensive especially if its just for fun and not racing.

There’s usually a lot of really good 2nd hand bikes for sale over on descent world which may be worth a look.

Mmm perhaps you might like my immaculate Sunday WC, size small so perfect for you, with WC Boxxers, complete bike, all good to go. 🙂

New Kona Operator looks good and a bit of a bargain. Dirt Mag next month has a factory build DH bike group test. I think the Kona is in there and getting favourable reviews. I’ve never been a fan of Kona, old ones I had a go on were horrible things.
Kona, YT and Saracen all look good for the money. Canyon is good value, but don’t like the look of the numbers.

budget?

Norco Atomik – http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/29803/Norco_Atomik_Bike_2010

Giant Glory – http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b4s1p2260&tbv=GIANT_GLORY_0_Mountain_Bikes_Full_Suspension

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/product/19913/Kona_Stinky_Deelux_Bike_2009

bargin

How about this for value for money, looks unbeatable, especially while the pound is strong against the euro.

http://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=2095

224…..great DH all-rounder, plenty of scope for adjusting the geometry while you settle into DH, very simple trouble-free design and neutral handling in the right set-up. Not too heavy either.

if I was short I’d def go shorter travel on my DH bike. (I already run my boxxers extra stiff as I prefer a 7″ fork to an 8″ one).
7″ is enough for even the roughest tracks and shorter is often faster in a lot of the tighter kinda tracks the UK has. being short and a beginner you’ll benefit from as low a stand over height as possible, lower BB bikes can have low standover but if you’re not used to not being able to pedal in certain situations it might be an expensive/sore learning curve to go through.
if I was just getting into DH now I’d also def get a S/H bike rather than new. there are an abundance of great bikes not selling s/h everywhere.

ART, how much you looking for the Sunday and where are you based ?

Thank you for all the replies. Will definitely look at pinkbike and southerdownhill. The budget all depends on whether it is secondhand and cash up front or interest free. At present swayed towards the s/h option. An immaculate Sunday would be great but deffo over budget!

thanks again
Rhys

i recently admitted to myself that i just don’t need 8″ travel, even on my Dh bike.

i’m quite slow; at the speeds i hit things i need silly soft springs to use 8″ of travel.

i’m much happier with my 160mm travel ‘mini-Dh’ bike, i use all the travel without it being ‘wallowy’.

it’s got a granny ring, so it goes uphill without a chairlift.

it’s lighter than a proper Dh bike.

it was cheaper than a proper Dh bike.

i’m faster on it than i was on my Dh bike – because it’s lighter, and more nimble.

i get more use out of it than my Dh bike – because it’s less ‘specialist’

I don’t know if it’s the same everywhere but my local Gumtree is always full of used, entry-level DH bikes. Now fair play a lot of them are totally shagged but some look decent. So might be worth a try.

I’ve had a fair few DH bikes in my time. What I’d say is any of the big names will do you well.

But if you’re going down the second hand route, remember that DH bikes have a hard time. A couple of my mates have recently bought second hand DH bikes, a Sundy and a V10 and both were a bit suspect. Pretty worn out, dings in the rims, ropey brakes, suspension in good need of a service. I’m not saying you can’t get a good second hand DH bike, I’d just say, make sure you try before you buy and make sure you know what you’re looking for.

Save a bit of money in your budget for new tyres and grips and a suspension tune to get it set up cporrectly for you including any new springs you might need. These thins are a lot more important when you have 8″ of travel as opposed to 5″.

Mondraker Summum or whatever its called. One of the prettiest bikes I’ve ever clapped eyes on.

Check out the ‘Torque’ DH bikes on the ‘Canyon’ outlet page;-

http://www.canyon.com/_uk/outlet/list.html?type=mtb

They’re a German Co that sell direct from the factory which cuts the cost and the above are even cheaper ‘factory outlet’ sales. That’s a lot of DH bike fopr 2.5K 8)

The next issue of Dirt is supposed to feature ‘Production'( as opposed to custom) DH bike reviews, but as Dirt can be a bit random in its feature content check the index first before purchase!

Bazzer – South West/ Bath environs, you can mail me for details if you’d like. ruthdotandyatbtinternetdotcom