specialized ptich as an all day bike???

ive been reading up on this pitch and think they are a nice bike for the money,but after reading a few threads on here where some people are saying they are not reall suitable as an all day bike and is more of a mini downhill machine……..

well is that still the same opinion or do people use them as all day/xc/trail centre bikes??

i was looking at the Yeti 575 but that has gone out the window as yeti have said im too heavy for the 2007 frame i was looking at!!

now its between the pitch pro or the fuel ex8 both 09 models..

im 112kgs by the way so what do you think??

cheers

steve

all-dayable for sure.

(although i think it's testimony to the bike that people have realised it's mini-Dh potential)

if all you want to do is ride up and down hills, you'll be fine on a pitch. But if you want to ride up and DOWN hills, then a pitch will do that too.

a Pitch weighs a little bit more than some other long-travel xc bikes, but i bet you won't break one.

Well, you could do, but it would be a waste of a good bike. If you want an all-day bike get a Stumpy FSR (Having had both, and a Yeti 575…)

You've only got to look how the spec of the 2010 Pitch has changed from last year for a clue to it's intended use – Wider rims, double and bash, chin device added.

Personally, I think buying a cheapish, tough, weighty bike like the Pitch, then trying to lighen it to do XC is pointless. Just get an XC bike in the first place. The Pitch is a burly thing indeed, I've heard more than one person call them a mini-downhill bike too.
Mine's gone the other way from standard – I've built some tough wheels, fitted wider bars, and I've now got an uppy-downy seatpost to fit and some coil Lyriks on the way, and I've always thought it felt wrong having SPDs on it, so flats it is. Next thing to find is a coil shock I think….

Yeah, it'll pedal all day if you want, but if the bike had a personality, it would be bored stiff doing it….. 🙂

I've had the Pitch for a while now and i couldnt recommend it highly enough. For the money it's a fantastic bike and all the mtb awards it's won shows this. More than capable of all day riding, obviously going to be slower on the ups than a designated XC bike, but the downs then make up for it 🙂

I think it's fine as an all day bike although you'd probably want to replace components with lighter versions as they wear out. I disagree it's over biked to, depends where and how you ride. Out on the trail I really can't tell much of a difference between a 120mm and 140mm bike until things starting get rocky and fast yet for some 140mm is over-biked and 120mm is for XC/marathon. They may have changed the spec this year but the 09 one is built as trail bike (budget Enduro) rather than a mini-DH one.

They may have changed the spec this year but the 09 one is built as trail bike (budget Enduro) rather than a mini-DH one.

But all the 09 ones were gone by Febuary last year….

I'll say it again – If you wanna ride XC all day, get an all day XC bike!!
There was a shedload of people bough Pitches last year, then a few months later, a lot of them came up for sale, because the owners were tired of dragging them round XC rides and wanted a better bike for that. I'd wager most of us on here that still have one from back then (Me, Grum, Flamejob for starters) have beefed them up even further and discovered that THAT'S the way to go with them, not lighter! 🙂

Out on the trail I really can't tell much of a difference between a 120mm and 140mm bike until things starting get rocky

So, for most of your ride, a Pitch would be a waste of time then. 🙂

At 112 kilos then a Pitch may well be more suitable as an all day bike. Something often overlooked by lighter people is that bigger bloke = bigger, more burly bike.

BP (95 kilos on XL stumpjumper FSR that's been made more burly over the years)

I'm impressed that at 112kg you are willing to ride all day.

I'm with the Poddy on this.

The Pitch will work as an all day bike but is a bit on the heavy side of 30lbs but it is much more suited to chugging up the hills and then hammering down them. If you only intend to trail ride on it get the Trek but if you fancy the odd DH day or you are particularly tough on your bike get the Pitch.

IIRC you have an 05/06 Enduro at the moment, that is what I came from too and I find the Pitch more fun and lighter. It is a more all round bike thanks to the air shock and lighter but longer frame.

My '09 Pitch Comp.

The point is though, unless you're racing, it should be out enjoyment. If you're 112kg then a kilo more on the bike isn't going to matter and a 140mm trail bike is likely to be more comfortable overall and more fun on the downs than a more XC biased shorter travel bike.

I've never owned a Pitch but used to have a pre-X Anthem and later bought a Zesty (which isn't far off a Pitch). I never felt the extra weight of the Zesty was an issue out on the trails for the riding I did and it was just simply more fun to ride. I'd never look at both in the garage and have a debate over which to ride, it was always the Zesty so I sold the Anthem.

I'm not saying you need 140mm to have fun, a lot of people get more enjoyment out of a single-speed rigid bike than they would on a mid-travel FS but equally I don't agree it should be dismissed as over biked unless your doing Alps trips etc. it's down to the individual and what parts of riding they get enjoyment from.

140mm bike for XC – cripes! You guys must have more exciting trails than me.

I've made mine 'burlier' but I've still used it for long-ish rides in the Lakes. Taken it up High Street, Helvellyn etc and plenty of 30-35k rides with 1000m+ of climbing around Grizedale etc

I weigh 16 stone though.

It is the kind of bike that encourages you to really go for it on the DHs – it really does lend itself to the 'all-mountain' cliche of riding up the hill slowly then riding it like a DH bike on the way down.

Test ride one first,

I test rode the enduro on which the pitch is based, even with fox suspension front and back it felt horrible. Kept pushing my weight further and further back to try and ballance the bike, might have been the demo bike setup (fox forks + jetwash = £800 rigid forks), but it was just horrible.

If you're 112kg then a kilo more on the bike isn't going to matter and a 140mm trail bike is likely to be more comfortable overall and more fun on the downs than a more XC biased shorter travel bike.

Weight has very little to do with it. It's all about geometry – The Pitch is a long, (Very) low, slack-angled beast. Yeah, it'll climb OK, but it gets wandery at 140mm on the front sometimes and they don't come with U-turn forks anymore. I've used mine on the local twisty singletrack, and it does OK, but it's not exactly quick turning by any stretch of the imagination. It's just not an XC bike. By all means buy one, you might get on with it for XC (I know someone that does, it has to be said) but 6 months down the line you might eqaully be wanting to get rid of it….

This is a rare thing actually, somebody NOT recommending their own bike! 🙂

Grum – Yeah, I've used mine in the Lakes too, up Helvellyn, but that's worth it for the downhills

it really does lend itself to the 'all-mountain' cliche of riding up the hill slowly then riding it like a DH bike on the way down.

Yep, that's about it. Plod s..l..o..w..l..y up the hills, let it loose on the way back down. 🙂

140mm bike for XC – cripes! You guys must have more exciting trails than me.

Probably, where do you ride usually? 🙂

Does really depend what you mean by XC – I ran into some guys around Kentmere a few months ago when we were on a climb, they said 'watch out, our mates are coming down in a minute and they're real nutters, they'll be absolutely pegging it'. We got out of the way and saw some people coming past at a kind of slow-medium pace dragging their brakes half the time.

I'm not willy-waving and there are loads of people out there faster than me DH (plenty of whom might be faster on a much smaller bike) but on my 'XC' descents I will be jumping/dropping off every possible drop-off and riding pretty much flat out – on some fairly steep rocky stuff in the Lakes etc.

I've ridden in the Alps and there wasn't much on the Mega that was significantly harder than stuff I ride in the Lakes all the time, it's just a lot more sustained out there.

cheers lads mixed opinions as normal!!

i might have misworded it a bit though, i do ride xc yes but im also starting to do a few more trail centres and was even considering going up to fort bill with it too!!

i test rode my mates 09 enduro(medium though) and actually quite liked iteven though it was a bit small.

i feel a little stretched on my 06 enduro(large) and looking at the angles the pitch has a slightly shorter top tube (620 vs 623 so not much!!) but it has a steeper seat angle which might put me more central on the bike.

i am quite hard on kit but on the other hand dont want to be lugging a heavy bike around .

what about the trek , less travel but would it be capable at the trail centres and doing a few drops etc??

As for being too heavy/slack. MTFU

Used to do long XC rides in the peaks, one guy on a SS CX bike, another on a 2×9 kona stinky, another on a retro AMP sull susser, p-X armadillo, orange sub-5. They just had different priorities.

Climbing speed is barely affected by weight, which is why people say take a dump before you go, its the total weight of bike+rider that matters. Unless its really technical.

Decending a light bike with the right gemoetry/suspension/stiffness/strength is always better as its more manouverable.

A couple of guys I ride with have them, they're very good bikes for the money. You will have to work a bit harder cross country/uphill than you would on the Trek but the Pitch will be a lot more fun on the descents and is probably the more versatile bike out of the two.

If you don't think your '06 Enduro is too heavy/slack then you probably won't think it about the Pitch either.

I think a few people in this thread are answering your question from their point of view, not yours.

The Trek is a great bike, but it would probably feel a bit more spindly than your current bike. Somebody linked to a cut-price '09 Remedy on another thread – that might be worth a look.

it cant be any harder than trying to ride my enduro cross country or uphill!!

in fact i hazzard a guess and say the pitch is probably 4 or 5 pounds lighter!!

edit… i do find me enduro slightly slack in the seat angle dept and always felt uncomfortable climbing on it!!

the pitch has a lot steeper seat angle which might help a bit!

From another perspective- I assume it's the bike on the classifieds? At that price, you're not going to get much better bang for your buck- even if you do decide in a few weeks that it's not what you want you probably won't lose much if any money on it if you decide to sell.
They're fun to ride, it's got a U-turn fork, so that'll help a bit with the geometry, the chassis is pretty sorted and pretty much bombproof, which should be a consideration to you. Hope that helps.

yep vinneyeh its that bike, going to pick it up thursday.

i really wanted the yeti but all the talk of them being spindly put me off. 🙁

I'm not knocking it – I wish I needed a 140mm bike for my local rides! It's very tame round here, long bridleway slogs before you get to the few (short) technical/singletrack sections dotted around.

but im also starting to do a few more trail centres and was even considering going up to fort bill with it too!!

Yeah, sod it, get a Pitch, you'll LOVE it for that! 🙂

i think the problem is the generic term for xc leads people to believe you are going to get lycrad up and shave your legs, which if you looked like me would be totally wrong.

i just ride and ride and ride, if i see a drop i want to tackle i will have a go.

i am also fairly hard on kit as i have no riding style nd tend to just batter my way down stuff

to put it another way, one of my riding mates rides a spesh fsr xc and now weve been riding for a while and getting braver etc , he is starting to feel completley underbiked!!

Great bike! Love mine and have also gone for the burlier options – double n bash, stinger, uppy/downy seatpost etc. It doesn't go so well up the hills but yes downhill (even with me on it) it feels great. It really depends on the terrain and how fast you want to go up. I found it wanders at 140mm on the front and when you drop down to 95/100mm you increase the pedal strike rate even with careful timing.

few mates have them. seem to turn, ascend and descend without any serious problems.

all of them rave about how awesome/fun they are too.

dont beleive the hype about climbing weights and all that, if you're noticing 1/2 lb to a 1lb difference *that* much on a climb then you either need to grow some balls or train harder.

going to pick it up thursday.

Good move.

Make sure you come back and update this thread when you;ve been out for an all-day ride on it though.

We need closure.

😉

yeti have said im too heavy for the 2007 frame

Phew! Good job I mentioned that eh?

Good luck with the Pitch!

'all day' is a difficult concept.

kinda depends on who your riding with and who sets the pace.

I can do multi day tours on my 'big bike' (meta with pikes) but try to do it with the normal bunch of lads i ride with (on their light weight 100mm hardtails) and it just kills me – they all get to top of hill first and wait (up to half hour) for me.

really depends if you want to be able to keep up with anyone faster.

yep Dezb, i spoke yeti who confirmed it!!

i feel really bad as the chap i was going to buy it off was a decent enough bloke and it was the bike ive always hankered after.

but if you are spending that sort of cash on a bike you need to be sure its the right bike!!

ive noticed the yeti is up on the classifieds now and im sure it will go for that price!!

sorry again jenga!!

I Love mine, but i have upgraded and made it a bit more 'burly' as some of the others have said. I can still ride it all day though and regularly do 50 – 60 miles a week on it with no problems at all. It is slower than other bikes up the hills but i think that is more down to the rider, on the downhill it is great fun and just makes you want to push it faster and faster. Highly recommend it.

Here's mine

Sorry better link here. Hope it works, haven't got the hang of putting photo's up yet.

Nice Gold Finchie!

This is the kind of riding it was made for, all day harsh downs and easy ups.

Buy it then when you get bored stick some 36 TALAS on it and you'll fall in love all over again.

PS I think we should have a SPOC meeting at my gaff some time soon.

Forgot about the SPOC who fancies meeting for a DH day at cannock chase?

Depends on your riding but burly long-ish travel bikes suck the fun out of most basic trails if you ask me, all-day rides tend not to be packed with super-steep super-technical hard hitting descents. But then I know a lot of people believe too much bike is never enough 😉

I had one of the first Pitch comps in the country when they came out back in '08, rode it for a while as standard and then started adding bits here and there and it just got better and better at going down/over/through things, but I was riding more XC/trail type stuff so it went in the end after a good 18 months of daftness.

Too much of a bike for all day trails in the likes of England & Wales IMHO of course.

This is how mine ended up before I broke it up and built a bike more suited to my needs:

My mate had one, it was stolen, he demo'd a few and went and bought this year's Pitch, he missed his so much. He 'rides xc all day' but we live in the lakes so it's rocky and descent orientated, and he's doing Whinlatter enduro 30 miler on it too. He's the first to admit it wouldn't be the ideal bike for that, but for the majority of his riding it does what he wants.

I don't understand the 'big bike for trail centres' chat though. The ones I've been to the trails are generally smoother and more forgiving thean out local 'xc' riding.

I think when most people on here talk about XC they usually mean riding around farm tracks and muddy fields. By comparison to this a trail centre probably seems quite extreme. 😉