Recomend me a freeride/ mini dh bike.

Hey all, Im on the lookout for a new ride and i am drawn to the idea of a mini dh type rig that could be used on some uk dh tracks and some park type stuff when needed. Not too fussy in terms of new or used. Ideally would like some pedalability but desending capability is more of a priority. Cheers

Budget? Used? new? Will you want to ride it uphill at any point?

Shameless plug

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/very-tentative-see-if-theres-any-interest-fs-intense-ss-mk1-bling-spec

But seriously, what mikey74 said.

Kona Entourage

Scott Voltage FR. I love mine, such a fun bike. Jumps effortlessly, not too bad to pedal around on and it looks awesome. Doesnt soak up too much of the trail so its still a fun ride. I mostly ride at woburn on the “bike park” style trails and its spot on for there. Still need to get down to Aston Hill for a razz fown S2A.

Got mine set up 160mm 55s up front and the shock in 150mm setting and its great. I do have plans to lighten it up a bit though, my forks are pretty tanky and I may get an air shock!

Giant reign x. I have one and it is one of the most fun bikes I have owned. SX trail is another good bike.

Mine has boxxers on it now, so not much of a mini DH now, but still great fun.

One thing I would suggest is to get a frame with a 1.5 or taper headtube. I found long travel 1 1/8 forks a bit too flexy at the crown.

Bergamont big air or NSbikes soda for something below €2000.

tr250

Another vote for the Scott Voltage FR. Mine’s the FR30 2013. Totally standard ,only had it a couple of weeks, and only been to Antur Styniog with it, but it really was great fun to ride there. No problem pedalling from the drop off point up to the start of the Red/ Blue tracks. Price is £1600 ish, unless you get one on the cycle to work scheme! 😉

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I’ve got a lovely Demo 7 with nearly 8 inches of rear travel and mint condition 66’s going very cheap 🙂

SX trail is the only one. The older design ones are better.

Im Interested fd3chris, Message me?

Any dh bike with a long enough seatpost can be pedalled… It’s a bit like running on a bouncy castle though.

Bit unconvinced by the whole “mini dh” thing personally, coil suspension and fat, heavy, sticky tyres make any bike less than fun going upwards. My old SX trail (1st gen) wasn’t that much better to ride up a hill than my Herb or 224, but, was quite a lot less good coming back down (and no better than a modern trailbike).

Not sure I really have a conclusion here but if it’s for downhill I’d say, get a downhill bike, or something very close. But any quality trailbike these days is up for a bit of downhill so it’s just about finding your balance.

Can’t really agree with that.

I’ve just sold my sx trail which I used as a single ring trial bike and downhill bike. Just moved to a status and while the status blows the sx trail away downhill there is no way it’s almost as easy to pedal though.

However the mini dh bike thing is bollocks. The sx trail was good fun but the status is in a different league. If you are going to ride dh then just get a dh bike.

Thirded, Mini DH bikes are pretty pointless when you look at the new breed of trail bikes.

Ah, to expand on that- all 3 are crap to pedal up a hill- there’s different degrees of crap but in the end, crap is crap 😉 It’s a big sacrifice of downwards for not enough of a gain in upwards IMO, if it were enough of a difference to make climbing not crap that’d be worthy but then, that’s what trailbikes are for.

All just IMO of course.

I disagree that min dh bike are pointless: Ultimately, they are lighter, more maneuverable that full-on DH bikes, and more suited to the majority of UK tracks. I would also say that a lot of people who ride DH bikes rarely ride them to their full potential, making a mini-DH bike more appropriate.

With regard to trail bikes: Yes, the suspension these days can be set up for pedaling, as well as descending, but both are a compromise. As is the geometry, which is generally steeper, making it less suitable for DH.

£1,700 brand new. Insane value. I love it. GO for one of the single crown versions which are 170mm travel if you dont want dual crown forks, though the rear can be switched to 200mm

Single crown version here: https://www.canyon.com/_en/mountainbikes/bike.html?b=3057

You never see any racers really opt for a mini DH bike though do you. It’s DH bike or trail bike.

If it doesn’t warrant a set of triple clamps, a good trail bike will more often than not be the weapon of choice.

Not everyone who rides DH is a racer.

mikey74 – Member

As is the geometry, which is generally steeper, making it less suitable for DH.

Aye, good point that- I forget that a little because my taste in trailbikes means “slack and long”, my Hemlock’s slacker than my SX or my old Dare were. So when I say “a good trailbike” I guess I actually mean “a bike I like” 😉

You lot need to mtfu 😛 My Bullit halfway up Snowdon. It wasn’t even that bad (though I did have a granny ring on it) and down Rangers was awesome on it!

I do miss that bike now 🙁

My voltage at the minute. Like I said, may lighten it up with an air shock and a Lyrik DPA if/when funds allow. It feels pretty great how it is though.

Mini DH is a half way house, there will be better bargains in the Used DH market and either spend the difference on the trail bike or DH bike.

The problem I found with trail/AM bikes when I was looking is that they seem to be more focused on keeping the wheels planted with their long wheelbases and chainstays, whereas “freeride” bikes are more built for fun than outright stability. And with the voltage, it does have a steep enough seat angle to pedal it, but you’d need the long version if you’re tall.

As above what you want is a Scott Voltage FR. I got a 20 back in 2011…

…and used it purely for gravity but it was so much fun to ride I put it on a ghetto weight saving exercise earlier this year and with a few simple mods – tyres/tubes/chain/cassette/pedals/rotors/seatpost/seat – it lost over 5lbs. It still retains its motorbike-like stability on the descents where it is simpley OARSUM but because it’s as stiff as a block of concrete it’s quite easy to ride uphill. The only time it struggles is on long draggy fireroad climbs where I’m simply not strong enough to put any momentum into it but otherwise it rolls very easily and gains momentum like it’s been thrown off a cliff. The slack angles, freakily compact (but not cramped) frame and subterranean c-o-g makes it off the scale on tight twisty stuff it’s a revelation if your used to a gate-on-wheels trail bike.

Pinkbike’s 800+ page Scott Voltage thread
Get one you won’t regret it

rocketman how much does yours weigh and what’s the spec? I think I could knock a fair bit of weight off with different forks as everyone complains about the 2010 55 RC3 (non ti) being a bit of a tank.

Commencal Supreme/Mini DH. The 2007 ones pedalled really well (for a 160-180 bike)and could handle DH, jumping and be built up fairly light for a bike at that time. Can pick one up for about £600 complete

Another vote for the Voltage – Got Fox 36 air’s on front and a Bos Vip’r and it’s about 33lbs with a reverb – great for messing around on 🙂 Pedals OK and really nice to jump on.

rocketman how much does yours weigh and what’s the spec?

Ayup tom it feels like 34 lbs or so without doing anything too drastic

Spec is std FR20 apart from:
11-32 PG990 cassette (£40 On One)
KMC superlight chain
Conti Superlight tubes
2.5 Minion 60a folder front
2.25 Ardent 60a folder rear
34T E-thirteen guide ring
Saint pedals
Thomson seatpost (£40 On One)
SLR saddle (165g)
Ashima rotors (180F 160R)
Spank 777 bars & dm stem
MTX 33 rims
X0 shifter + X9 mech (bike-discount)

Have also tried it with a significantly lighter wheelset and it felt like crap. Too much leverage in the steering like it had a bmx wheel up front and by the same token the lighter rear didn’t feel planted.

Forks…meh the std dual-crown Domains are The Heaviest Forks In The World (7lbs or so) but they are stiff, feel good and work well enough esp compared to flex-o-matic trail bike forks. A set of Boxxer coils is going to be £800 new for the sake of a few 100g & you’re looking at World Cups to make a significant weight saving ££££££££. My experience with the wheels is that there’s a danger of making it too light and lose its obstacle-crushing ability.

loads of AM-style Voltages on Pinkbike it just shows what’s possible

i was going to suggest the enduro evo or a lapierre froggy….but that canyon looks nice!!

Another blatant plug, but I’ve an cheap old Patriot 7+ if you fancy a dabble at small expense. It’s got Boxxers on at the moment or would be a really simple mod to single crowns and a front mech if you wanted later.

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/fs-orange-patriot-7-bike-475ish

Open to offers.

Cool cheers Rocketman 🙂 I have no idea what mine weighs now but it does fly downhill and off the jumps! Was surprised as I always thought my Bullit was a really fun and easy to launch bike but the Voltage just makes you go bigger and much easier to do so. Don’t think I’d like to try Boxxers on it, it feels great with 160mm each end!

There seems to be a bit of prejudice toward the humble ‘mini DH’ bike, but for many of us it is the right tool for the job. I’ve been back and forth from DH bike, to beefy trail bike, to mini DH and back several times. If I have to pedal the four mile slog to local trails it is much easier than a full DH bike, easier to push up, makes more sense in my local woods, but will take more punishment than my trail bike. Very rarely feels out gunned, fits in the car more easily…

I’m riding a 2013 spesh enduro evo for this purpose, it’s even great for casual XC.

I’m riding a Dartmoor shine as my do it all bike.. it’s pretty light but slightly compromised with 4″ of rear travel and a bb pivot. I get away with it cos I’m only the size of a hobbit.
Have a look at the new NS soda air or Dartmoor wish. The ns will be my next frame.

Well said Bagstard 🙂 I see my bike as a kind of 160mm “do everything/all mountain” bike (to use typical buzz words) but it can also take a beating and has the geometry to be way more fun and jumpy-pumpy-manually than something longer and slacker. A bit of extra weight to take up hill but that just means you get a better workout which I’m sure most round these parts could do with 😛

Don’t think I’d like to try Boxxers on it, it feels great with 160mm each end!

What’s it like with 160mm travel tom?

Mini DH bikes are pretty pointless now trail & AM bikes are so good. Stick a decent set of tyres on & you will go just as quick.

As someone who raced a lot of DH, and no longer has a DH bike, I can race my trail bike just as fast as my old big bike on the vast majority of tracks in the UK. There is only a handful of tracks I’d struggle on.

That was how I felt Hob Nob, my cracked frame said different.

What’s it like with 160mm travel tom?

Really fun 🙂 I wanted something that felt like a bouncy version of the Charge Blender I had for a while and it pretty much delivers 🙂 I’ve only had one other FS which has been a SC Bullit (as pictured earlier) which was also really fun but a bit big and tall for me. Definitely prefer the Voltage with its lower standover/BB and I don’t really like triple crowns. Oh and it actually manuals easier than the Blender somehow. The rear doesn’t feel as plush as my Bullit, definitely more dead feeling but I think that makes it good for jumps. I may try it in the longer travel position to see if that makes it feel any different.

If you’re at all local to Woburn you’re welcome to have a ride on it at some point.