ha ha. i need an invite to be insulting?

mate you were asking what the best frame out there was. Al said basically 'everyone will say their own bike is best, why bother asking?' (or words to that effect)

you got all shirty. (rightly or wrongly)

hence me saying, if you can't hack it, buy some magazines – read up on what is 'best' and roberts your mothers brother.

DezB wrote…
(Swinley and AM?? ) ❓

2hrs too late – check the end of page one….

Look guys to clear this up once and for all….

I have read my original post back to Al, re his comments and yes it was shirty (wrongly), but I can admit that. I did not have a problem with the pic, I actually found it quite funny, however….

cynic-al – Member

Seriously though, does anyone believe this question is even worth asking, apart from spotty 12-year-old Top-Trumps-playing boys?

^^^This is what I didn't like – It wasn't saying "Is it worth answering" – it clearly states "is it worth asking" – this makes it sound like Al is telling people not to bother answering because it was a question from a spotty 12 year old?

Reading mags is ok, but where do you get the experiences from there – usually just a load of 'marketing'? So I wanted peoples experiences/ opinions on a bike and not me.

Sorry if I have offended anyone – as I said I was just looking for any info I could get.

no worries mate, its spiralling into something bigger than it should be.

IMO:

ask someone what bike to get, and 90% of the time they will say theirs.

ask a magazine what to get and they will say either whatever they have been given for free, or score all bikes 9 out of 10 anyway.

just go out and ride some. everytime you see a rider, have a go on his/her bike. form your own opionons. buy your favourite. and voila, you can then (justifiaby??) tell everyone the bike they should get, is the one you have just bought.

This thread is useless without TLR's input. The benchmark for everything and everyone.

END OF TEH THREAD. FACT

convert – Member

DezB wrote…
(Swinley and AM?? )

2hrs too late – check the end of page one….

As always!

this thread has gone not in the direction I clearly intended too

Do they ever?! Check the one about HDMI cables…

ChunkyMTB – Member
This thread is useless without TLR's input. The benchmark for everything and everyone.

END OF TEH THREAD. FACT

OMG how could we forget?

8)

ibis mojo.

tree is the best AM ride I've ever had… 8)

ibis mojo.

Aye, it even seems OK when some tard fits the shittest tyres known to man to it 🙄

That's because AM is too easy for me, so I make it harder for myself.

RADCORE TO THE MAX111!!!!ONEELEVEN!11

Dosn't AM mean riding back to the top again as well, rather than leaking like a sieve and stopping to smoke a tab halfway up?

Oi, chubster, I'll have you know the doc who did my physical before I got out here said I was "the fittest fat bloke I've ever met", so ram it! 😡

8)

You're the fittest fat bloke I know too

*twirls*

tree – fancy a motorboat?

http://dirt.mpora.com/news/dirttvbike-test-2010-specialized-enduro-pro.html

the answer to OP

I would actually ask "Trail bike or All Mountain bike?"

most of the bikes people have suggested in their replies have been 5" travel (5 x 5) trail bikes

I would class all-mountain as 6" travel (6 x 6) typically with a 67 degree head angle and wider / tougher rims to take bigger tires, than you'd normally use on a trail bike

the biggest selling suspension category in the UK is the "trail" bike, simply because it suits most riders want / need for the UK!

personally? I ride a Devinci Hectik (6 x 6) which is just over 30lb, and with a Fox 36 Talas on the front, and DHX 5 Air with pro-pedal switch on the rear, seems to go up, along and down very rapidly…

when I ride trails, I run the Pro-Pedal 'on' and the fork on 130mm travel which certainly keeps the suspension and geometry lively

I've taken it to Cwm Carn for the uplift (DH) day, and just switched the tires and installed a shorter (50mm) stem and it was 100% at home

since I only have the one bike, and like to go quick on the DHs, and jump / drop off things, I would not trust myself on a trail bike

Lol at the direction this thread went….

Funny that some people think 6" bikes are too heavy to pedal around, overkill for most uk riding I agree with, but too heavy is rubbish.

In the days when I could only afford one bike I used to ride my VP free with triple crowns everywhere. Even completed skyline at afan on it a couple of times, not in lightning speed but kept up with the guys on a blur/5/Patriot without much issue.

A poll function on this forum would be interesting. Not necessarily useful as far as answering the question, which is totally open ended and has far too many variables to definitively answer I must add. But it would be nice to see what the STW hive mind thinks.

It already has.

Ibis mojo or Orange blood.

Best is just too subjective. Like, I love my Hemlock, I enjoy riding it a lot more than the Five and Zesty I testrode, but I'd say they're both better. The Hemlock's just more fun. There's no best suspension design, no best head angle or travel or frame geometry.

Of all the bikes I've ridden, which is just a fraction of the options, I'd still say my Hemlock because it has a fun factory that many technically superior bikes lack. For me. But you might hate it.

I agree on the comments about grip. Suspension tracking is key to grip on rough ground. The plusher and more you have then rougher it can be without having to work it with your arms and legs.

My limited experience is that heavier bikes feel more planted and fast on the downhills but unresponsive when pedalling. I guess that's what AM means: winch up, plummet down.

Reign X?

2010 Specialized Enduro is the best lightweight 'All Mountain' bike, due to it's great geometry and suspension.
If you want something a bit burlier, a SC Nomad is hard to beat. For lighter duty/less travel, it's gotta be a Banshee Spitfire. Anything with a head angle steeper than 67 deg is going to hold you back on 'proper AM' terrain.

Just to reinforce the point that it's all subjective……

Comparing my last two bikes – an '06 Enduro Elite and an '08 Enduro S-Works. The 5.5" '06 soaked up anything you threw at it, but was a pig to drag uphill and the 6" '08 will ride all day, but isn't as confident d/hill. As for the best AM bike – probably neither of these based on the above, but asked to choose between the two, then I couldn't tell you – apart from the fact that the '08 suits my personal requirements better.

I haven't read any of the posts so don't know if this has already be said but…….

A few years ago the answer would have been Inbred,in actual fact it was the answer to almost anything…Well that & Conti Vert Pros….. 8)

just arrived – thanks chunky 🙂
however, for once i agree with cynic-al – depends how you ride, where you ride and what you expect from the ride.

nicolai helius AM for me , fwiw……