Give us some reasoning…
An SX trail isn’t as slack as a downhill bike, will have a steeper seat angle and will be similar weight. Chainstay and front triangle geometry should also be in it’s favour so why will it climb ‘just as badly’ as, say, a Demo 8, which would be the obvious comparator? Surely it’s got to be slightly better, even if the improvement is only marginal? Without reasoning your claims are just unjustified opinion.

Same for descending. I’ve no doubt you raced the Endurance on the Hemlock rather than the SX Trail, but that counts for little. Give us some decent technical reasons as to why the SX Trail wasn’t as good at descending – because all the obvious reasoning would suggest it should be (by far) the more capabale.

catvet – Member
Turner 5 spot total shite

Really? I liked it when i rode my mates, bit of bob on climbs but lovely going down!!

PS, does anyone want to buy an SX Trail? It’s bloomin amazing, climbs like a trailbike but descends like a downhill bike!

😆

Scott Endorphin

An awesome piece of kit in a straight line and very comfy on long haul rides but it was a pig on stilts in the corners, it just couldn’t do them.

neallyman – Member

Without reasoning your claims are just unjustified opinion.

Seriously, you’re saying my opinion is “just unjustified opinion” then say things like “all the obvious reasoning would suggest it should be (by far) the more capabale”. Forget real world experience, what I need is obvious reasoning…

You can “should be” all you like, it’ll not become “is”. On paper it looked amazing, but in the metal it felt excessively high and front-endy, not all that stable despite being so long (which robs it of agility), and wallowy. Even in “long-and-low” mode it’s a little bit steep and tall (I’d liked to have tried a set of 66s in it but that’d make it even taller). Oh, and the frame design gives you a very limited range of seatpost movement, I needed a Scoper to get both a good pedalling and descending position, couldn’t be done with a standard post. And for whatever reason, it bobs like a duck.

To be fair, if I’d got one in 2005 it’d possibly have blown my mind. And it does fly superbly.

Transition Bottlerocket, tried one at UKbike skills, hated it and the dude had a white saddle and kept being ‘nice’ and smiling at me a lot.

Forget real world experience

Yip. Absolutely…on the basis that at that point in the discussion you still hadn’t given any!

But I’ll respect your opinion.

ps what year SX Trail is it? Mine was a 2010 – great geometry, 180mm forks, thoroughly capable for it’s intended use. I realise from your 05′ reference that yours may be an earlier (different) model?

Lynskey ti 29er with twisty tube thing. Certain the set up was wrong but other people said they liked it ? It did Not go round corners. A bit of a lean should be all that’s needed, but you need to book 6 months in advance for a corner.

Trek 9300
GT Ruckus
GT I-Drive
Whyte E5
Santa Cruz Blur

All of them where Gash

Only had one i really didn’t like which was a 2001 Cannondale Jekyll.Just so boring and uninspiring to ride,and then it cracked.Got it replaced under warranty and sold it straight away. Funny how much peoples opinions can vary so much.Kiwijohn finding the sc tallboy sluggish and slow to turn whereas i think its lightning quick.

I have ridden a number of other peoples bikes on which the setup didn’t suit me so felt really bad to me but as others have said set up is individual so I wouldn’t dismiss them on such short experience. The worst bike I owned was the 2008 Trek Top Fuel 9.8 carbon that broke after 35 miles riding… most of them on the road, but that is another story

Orange Patriot (old one) – yuck.

Orange Alpine – horrid feeling, just dead and lifeless. Not sure why as all the angles are there – but i rode it and ploughed it into the back of a double!

Orange Patriot (old one) – yuck

What year patriot did you try out? I loved the ones i tested in 06 and 07, a bit annoyed i bought a Coiler over it now.

It was an old patriot. But the five and the alpine have both reinforced my views that oranges are shite.

But the five and the alpine have both reinforced my views that oranges are shite.

I guess some people just don’t like single pivot bikes then…..

Marin Palisades Trail – my first mountain bike in 2006 after riding BMXs as a kid. Completely wrong advice by the girl in the shop. Too big for me and too XC orientated with really narrow rims that made the tyres go like balloons and roll around, the front one I turned into a pringle shape on the 1st ride.

Horribly stiff frame that felt like a gate, hayes sole brakes that constantly rubbed and a Manipoo fork. I was glad when it got stolen. Except for my lovely indestructible 321 rim which I had built onto the front after my first ride. Looking back there was no way that wheel should have buckled and the rear spokes were lose when I checked them after the ride.

Replaced with my lovely Merlin with nice handbuilt wheels, revelation forks and a frame that had just a bit of spring and was very chuckable.

Transition Bottlerocket, tried one at UKbike skills, hated it and the dude had a white saddle and kept being ‘nice’ and smiling at me a lot.

I think that man is always smiling at people. You did progress a lot riding it did you? Most probably you just looked good on it.

A folding recumbent called a Linear. I’m not very keen on the way you sit on a recumbent bike anyway and that one in particular was unbelievably flexy. Nasty ugly bendy thing with shit brakes.
(Despite that I would still like to try a Speedy though).

Anything that doesn’t quite fit +1

The sx trail isn’t going to descend as well as a DH bike because it isn’t one! My 08 with totems was great fun for the jumpy freeride trails it was designed for, but could still handle DH. It was designed for Bearclaw not Sam Hill. I once did an XC ride on my sx and it wasn’t fun, but I managed, the same trail on my Demo just would not have happened. Pure DH bikes are only good for one thing…

I’m on my first single pivot after 8 years of four bar and loving it!

If I can put my nerd hat on for a moment, the 2005 SX trail is identical to the 2005 Enduro except for the coil 5th Element shock. The geometry is exactly the same. Later SX Trail frames were slacker in the head tube.

At the end of the day, if you don’t get on with it then you don’t get on with it period. Otherwise we’d all be riding Orange Fives wouldn’t we?

popstar – Member
I think that man is always smiling at people. You did progress a lot riding it did you? Most probably you just looked good on it.

I look better on it than he does.;-)

And yeah I ride good now

Back in 06 the enduro was the fastest bike down the Dirt 104 track, only beaten by the intense M3!

obviously it wasn’t 🙄

?

Back in 06 the enduro was the second fastest bike down the Dirt 104 track, only beaten by the intense M3!

FIFY

Smarty pants! 🙂

ETSX. Awful in so many ways.

Yeti 575; rented one at Moab couldn’t get on with it, perservered and then fell off. Great bike I’m sure but not for me

Kona Stinky I rented in Whistler, bloody heavy slack alice thing..