one bike to rule them all?

for a while now i have had a hankering for a bike that i can do all work on.
i cant decide. quite like the bottlerocket, scott genius and ransom but also cant get it out my head that i already have the tool for the job, the hummer and demo9

arrggghhhhh
i even thought about the orange blood.
i haven't had a want for a bike in years as was happy i have the bikes i need but it's in my head now….

then again, it's not about the bike

tony i'll throw in a ragley ti then run away 😉

Demo 9

The meta 5.5 is very very capable bike too… Light but with a very good rear suspension. A bit more gravity associated is the meta 6.

"meta 5.5 is very very capable bike too… Light "
Light?
The frame weight is about 7.5lbs (for a 140mm QR dropout frame, known to have a problem with cracking)?

A Kona Abra Cadabra looks pretty versatile (or the magic link coilair version)

nicolai Helius AM perhaps ?
174 / 162 / 154 / 146 mm of adjustable travel on 57mm stoke shocks.
160 / 150 / 140 / 130 mm of adjustable travel on 51mm stoke shocks.

adjustable levers can offer either a 3:1 or 2.4:1 leverage ratio.

tough as a tank.

buildable into a 28.5lb trail masher or 33lb alpine thrasher.

options options options.
colours colours colours.

the weight won't put you off after the demo 9.

i fail to see anything else out there that's so adaptable, customisable or plain capable for the weight / travel offered.

i s'pose i'm a bit of a fanboy.

thoughts ?

mike, i got a hummer already

I don't really want bikes, then I had a blast on jay's Orange blood, then Col sent me a link to a bottle rocket on ebay and I started to feel the odd yearning.

Luckily for me, we are getting evicted soon as the landlady is selling up so we have to save and try to buy. 🙂

I'd go for the blood. Seemed to ride as well as a bottle rocket for less money and less weight.

I have a Stiffee and a Devinci Ollie what I can't do on one I can do on t'other. You already know the answer to your question 🙂

i also should clarify i have the helius AM and a Ti456 and a singlespeeded Hummer………

oh dear…….

but i'd have the helius over them all i guess if i had to have only one bike……

If the offer still stands from the other place (thread about Esher shore) you're welcome to have a go on my Blood (15", coil sprung) to see if it suits. It really is bloomin' ace.

Huw

James yes it's light. Mine is at 14.3kg with proper mtb kit some of it being rather heavy too). It is light for a real mtb (you can ride it down mountains).

However I concur on your choice of kona.

huws, of course it stands!

Jedi if you come down for a course I'll let you have a go at mine 😉

i s'pose i'm a bit of a fanboy.

There's an understatement if ever there was one!

down where juan?

you still got the Blade tony?

of course it stands!

Sweet. Bring sunglasses. She's no shrinking violet.

yeah odf course i got the blade still 🙂

"It is light for a real mtb (you can ride it down mountains"
That may be, but what other 140mm travel (QR dropout, non piggiback air shocked) FS frames are heavier?

I've gone right off front mechs. They spoil the lines of a nice bike and don't help with chain tension and rattling, banging chains – silence is nice! Looking forward to trickle down of 10 speed cassettes, then you could have a do it all bike with just a swap of wheels. Something like the Nicolai mentioned above or an Intense Tracer – that kinda thing.

Knolly endorphin with a set of 36s or lyrics. It's their trail bike but can be built burly if needed.
Should be strong enough for a rider of your calibre.

Mine is at 14.3kg with proper mtb kit

My Hustler weighs in at almost a kilo lighter in Alpine mode – including a Gravity Dropper and DH Maxxis tyres.

Answering the OP – a Hustler.

Yeh the bottlerocket would be a good choice, proper bombproof all rounder, my mate loves his.

But, i've tried the one bike for everything before, and at the end of the day it'll be a compromise, and I ended up going back to more than one bike.

I've now settled for;
-A dh bike (built up reasonably light)
-A 140mm travel f/s with double and bash, light enough to ride all day but strong enough to take some hammer.
-And a bmx

With those three i'm pretty happy, but still miss my cotic bfe…

So, i'd say stick as you are, or just buy a bottlerocket as well 😉

[lurker comment] Oooh Nicolai :0 [/lurker comment]

i cant have a light dh bike for herts shore, it needs to be bomb proof!
i was going to keep the hummemr and demo9 for my non work riding 🙂

now mkfan I don't want to say your scale might be a bit wrong, but if you factor a gravity and a pair of DH tires, that's 1 kg more that my seat post and my tires.
It means you save 2 kg on the over all build. I think I have gone as light as it's reasonable to go. You could probably shade 200g of the crank, another 200 of the fork, (getting a float one) and maybe 150 g off the pedal and the same off the brakes. You still need to get one KG somewhere else. So unless the frame is 1 kg lighter (which i doubt) you may have got something too light for my liking (and i may be wrong) somewhere critical…

i cant have a light dh bike for herts shore, it needs to be bomb proof!

maybe one bike can't rule them all in your case then?

Just to stir it up – not saying it isn't a good bike but is the Bottlerocket really a do it all bike? Looks very DH / Freeride orientated or that end of the spectrum.

Wouldn't a Blur LT be worth considering? or perhaps a Heckler?

jedi – Member
i cant have a light dh bike for herts shore, it needs to be bomb proof!
i was going to keep the hummemr and demo9 for my non work riding

Ahh right, if it's for that sort of north shore/play about/jumpy/teach other people to ride bike then get a freakin bottlerocket 😉

fontmoss, one bike for all my coaching work!

….I'd be tempted by a Corsair Marque, there's something about them that has me wanting. However, I have no idea what it would compare to bikes like the Blood etc

oh I see! well id guess most of the time you're on a hardtail and can still lead them comfortably? if so id say keep yer bits and invest in some custom geometry-some indy fab would be a-mazing

could always be cheeky and see if you can get in the grassroots team?

Read about this here.

When we went to see Nigel page he had an Intense 6.6 I think, so I think the suggestions around that area have some merit, something with 6 ins travel air shocks and c2.3 tyres

jclaw, rode one and its wayyyy too short

Get the long then!
The Coastal Crew seem to do OK on theirs (short) & Dylan is a big guy.
No option for a front mech, but I think they're an ideal UK play bike.
Light & jumpy with an air shock & fork, throw on a coil shock & some longer forks & you can ride Whistler all day on one 😀

I just actually paid attention to what the Yeti ASR-5 does. Its on order. That will be my do-everything bike and I think it will.

We sell them at thebikechain.co.uk by the way, but thats not why I chose it 😉

dylan is a geezer.
i think i may just get a new fork for the hummer 🙂

i think i may just get a new fork for the hummer

bah if you're not going to indulge the lust don't tease!

[get an indy fab]