What type of DH are we talking ? :)

Alpine descents? Local messing about? UK racing?

I would say it depends how much you like to tinker with your bike in the shed. I view such things as an option for me to fine tune my bike set up more to my liking, and then leave it at that. If you really could own just one bike, and rode very diverse terrain/styles regularly and you weren’t lazy when it came to working on the bike then it would be useful and worth it. Otherwise, assuming you like a bikes geometry then I wouldn’t view it as a neccessity.

It’s not something that would be high up my priority list when it comes to bike shopping.

Did I see night vision at the end??

Diablo ordered.

I’ve had 2.5 high rollers and wet screams on mine, both tubeless. 2.5 seemed prone to burping mind. 2.35 maxxis were perfect.

Thanks Mr. Luminous.

Luminous – Member

A Diablo it is then, happy trails.

Do I sense a bit of dismay, and or mild derision from your post? Perhaps to be expected.

I think so anyway mate, cant stretch to one of your lights, and tbh I’ve not heard much about them other than from you or reading your site . The figures are very impressive on paper though, and they look tidy. Not sure about the ano colours mind.

I’ll maybe get one next year, and perhaps by then I’ll be able to get 3000+ lumens for £200 :)

Luminous – Member

I may have missed the budget, if the OP has posted one,

Budget would be as cheap as possible, but I would still like something that gives 700+ lumens and is usable on its own without getting into silly money.

Like everyone else I’ve looked at the deal extreme stuff but I found the range of light units a bit confusing, never mind trying to figure out which x77800lxu charger would need to be bought to go with light grsex101y 500 and so on. Also, I’m a notorious breaker of stuff, so the less wires and batteries to go wrong the better, and I thought it would be best if I went with a reputable company who could easily be contacted should I need spares/repairs etc.

I’m leaning strongly towards the diablo.

valleydaddy – Member

to be fair jimjam I use it with a MaxxD as my main light and the diablo is only on for the techy bits as a helmet/spot light – I like lots of light you see

Burn times aside, would you be happy to use the diablo on it’s own?

valleydaddy – Member

I’ve got a Diablo and it’s awesome by the way

agree what you say about toggling between power levels to extend battery life.

So how long have you managed to drag it out on mixed settings?

dyls – Member

I’d say they are very similar on light output on the max setting, well I cant tell the difference anyway! The diablo is a lot more compact though, although it wont last as long as the hope. Remember the diablo is only rated as 3 hrs on the medium setting, I haven’t really tested how long the battery lasts am my night rides up to now have been shorter than this.

Thanks guy.

How does the diablo compare to the hope 4?

A separate battery wouldn’t be a deal breaker, no. But the idea of wireless is attractive, as is the idea of using the light as a torch when needs must.

valleydaddy – Member

the diablo only has a 1 hour run time on full chat so is that long enough for your anticipated rides??

I could probably navigate the fire roads / less techy bits (which would make up the vast majority) on low power till I get to the fun bits, then bang it on to full for the fun stuff. Which realistically on a 3 hour night ride would probably amount to maybe 20 or 30 minutes if I’m lucky.

That’s the plan in my head anyway as I am drawn to the diablo.

Fix!! Travesty!! etc

As if the others have a “spark of genius”?????

Someone should really write some sort of guide to these lights and the mods should sticky it from novemeber to march. That someone would surely become a forum legend. And buy someone I mean someone who isn’t completely confused by them all, as I am.

Would be very interested to know how you think it compares to the sx trail, after a proper dh shakedown of course.

Brilliant. Seasons is a great film, but I think that section is the reason why everyone thinks it’s the best by such a margin, I defy anyone to watch that and not want to get out and ride. Love it.

Brycey
Not keen on sped up sections personally, but you’re not alone and all the big DVDs seem to do it these days, shame really.

Hmmmm, I really don’t know if that is a problem with the D90 or the editing software. I was trying to force a consistent 24 frps, looking at my premiere comp it’s 30 by default, and so was manually changing all the footage. And as I said above, I had to import/ export jpeg sequences between adobe after effects and premiere. Somewhere in the process I must have slipped up, nothing is intentionally sped up. Tbh it looks more like it’s dropping frames than being sped up.

chris_mbuk

jim jam do you know what color the standard handlebars are that come on the bike? are they just black?

Yes, hussefelt in black I believe. Luke’s was a frame only complete build. He’s sporting the lo rise renthal fat bar there.

chris_mbuk

Ordering mine in a few week time cant wait, but mines going to be purple but also its getting a cane creek just cause i can xD

Luke doesn’t get excited about much, wouldnt shut up about this bike. I had a go too, it’s all it’s cracked up to be, but I’d be getting a ccdb too. Just right.

Where did you get it from?

Got that beat. Guy in belfast commutes to work on a genesis abyss, panaracer uffda tyres, wearing black and yellow fox push pants from circa ’99 and a fox rampage full face helmet. Yep.

backhander – Member

tolly as in tollymore, NI? Haven’t been in years! Newcastle is an interesting little town isn;t it?
Good vid mate, you have a talent so keep going!

Yeah Tollymore. Newcastle is interesting like any seaside/tourist town. It combines good things with urban terror from belfast overspill. It’s got Donard though and is within fifteen minutes of dozens of trails I suppose. Thanks, will try and go bigger and better next time out.

Thanks guys, yes it is tolly. No love for the chest cam then. Fair enough. I actually did a chase cam, with Luke following me, it’s on my youtube page, here I though it looked okay, wanted to cut it in, but it was late in the day and the light had gone. Plus, it rattled around still, and the fish eye lens meant that, even though luke was pretty close to me, he was tiny on screen.

For what it’s worth I really like pov stuff cut into vids, but hate vids that are just pov, rampage footage aside. Must tweak that aspect.

kudos100 – Member

I liked it mate. Some creative cinematography and decent music. Maybe fewer focus pulls and creative camera angles and some longer pans would have helped. At the start the cuts were a bit quick, but this got better.

Needs a bit more flow to it in terms of editing and length of shots and would have been nice to have a bit more variety in the riding (jumps, drops, berms)

Appreciate the good critique. I actually couldnt do proper pans because the tripod was a p.o.s and was jerky, and the nikon d90 suffers terribly from rolling shutter. I tried to get jumps drops and berms in there but it was one forest, over one day and I think I shot all of the available jumps drops and berms that aren’t in very dark areas. But I agree with you. Most of tolly is rough single track type stuff.

I know it doesnt look like much, but the rock drop you see in the first half is pretty technical, there are even bits and pieces in there where he is dropping/ launching 6 or 7 feet nearly but, as usual, it looks like nothing.

Fortunateson09 – Member
criticism is that I would have maybe liked an occasional bit more radness – you know, something a bit more Alpine 160-worthy, bigger rocks/drops whatever. Still really nice though.

I agree, we were looking at decent sized path gaps amd such but Luke had a bruise the size of his thigh, from binning it a few days prior and was unsure how hte bike might react on bigger hits as he had only ridden it one day before.

I kinda wrote off the idea anyway as I didnt want him injuring himself further and wasting the whole day. Then I had the continuity problem of him maybe needing a full facer to feel comfortable on stuff like that and so.

But I agree, both bike and rider, ideally would be capable of so much more. Formulating plans for some bigger, big mountainy style stuff.

baldSpot

nice one – hats off.

was it shot in the Mournes?

Indeed it was.

mikey74

Good video, but could have done without a couple of daft ‘speeded up’ moments, and the editing could have been a little smoother.

sssimon
probably just an editting glitch?

Not sure what parts you’re talking about mickey, I noticed that it was dropping frames on the version I uploaded to mpora. A few sections were exported to afetr effects to colour grade, and might I might have imported them at the wrong frame rate, but the difference couldn’t be more than a few frames. Nothing was speeded up, not intentionally anyway. Luke has won xc and dh races so I didnt need to. I can’t actually tell as I’ve watched it so many times now anyway.

chakaping

Liked that. Good work. Great footage, edited well, nice tune.

Apart from the chest cam bit, made me feel motion sick too.

I could not get that to work, it was strapped on tight as a drum. Spoke to some go pro owners and they have alieviated the problem by padding out the case with foam or a plaster. Didn’t know at the time mind you.

Music OK, typical MTB video stuff

I wasn’t enthused about the track, obviously didnt want to go from something too heavy, I needed something innofensive and mid tempo and that’s all I could find that worked. I think the next time out I’ll have a firm music choice in my head and work it in fromt teh start. Want something with a bit of mood and atmosphere.

Crank Bros 50/50XX
Gussett Slim Jims

Crank Bros 50/50s, some of the worst “proper” pedals I’ve ever used. Gusset slim jims, not bad if you can get them for say twenty quid. I did manage to shatter a pair. If you are looking cheap go for wellgos or onza hognesiums or of course v8’s.

Straitlines are very good, mega grippy but hardly cheap and the platform doesnt feel very nice. I’ve got some point ones myself. Best feeling pedal on the market, but hardly cheap either.

Sx Trail. You won’t break it, it can be pedaled, and the only limiting factor in terms of what the bike is capable of is probably just the pilot. It’s the most versatile and fun bike I’ve ever ridden.

A DH race bike is only fun when you get up to dh race speed. That’s when they come alive, at lower speed they tend to feel sluggish and cumbersome, and not much fun.

kimbers

might not the mondraker be a bit too light for someone of tons errr magnitude?

I reckon if Damien Spagnolo can ride away after going about 30ft passed his landing on the road gap at Val di sole, it can stand up to anything casual rider can throw at it regardless of their size. But it’s hardly just a play bike, as has already been stated.

They felt horrible with my saint/xt/lx old style shimano brakes. Very noticeable “pulsing” effect, though to me it felt more like a clunking effect. Much prefer my aztecs in every way, especially stopping power.

SSB_UK

He drives a hydroelectric humvee or similar …

Arnie’s Humvee is one of them new fangled diesel motors. His is “converted” to run on vegetable oil though. I believe he also had one of his Ferrari V12 engined hummers converted to run on bio ethanol – his green credentials are beyond reproach.

sailor74

err how does any of that point to me being an expert?

You caught me there, I was being facetious. You don’t really come across as an expert, more an arm chair critic.

Surrounded By Zulus

I’ve never seen a trail that needs anything even close to that to get round.

I’ve never seen a giant squid. Doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

You’re clearly an expert. I suggest you go and make one. How hard can it be.

(I feel naked without my pads btw)

If there is one flat out there which is the best by far for all types of riding then I've yet to find it. Some ultra grippy, massively wide ultra burly pedals are just too heavy for an xc bike and obviously some of the lighter pedals simply aren't suitable for dh racing in heavy mud. 5 10s are simply the ultimate, AM 40s have their good points, both are vastly superior to any skate shoe. Imo 50/50s are dirt, v12s are grippy but don't feel nice, easton, burgtec and straitline are pretty heavy for the money.

I like a flat as opposed to concave pedal myself, azonic x frame are really nice if a little small. Reasonable weight too and cnc'd. If I had the money I'd like to get my paws on these….

Pieface – Member

If you're riding flats maybe hiking boots / shoes would do the trick?

Feels horrible. 5 10s are pretty water resistant.

I'd say forget the hat mate, your head will boil in all but the coldest weather – I can barely wear a buff under my helmet even in the depths of winter.

Sealskinz socks are excellent and well worth the money, they'll keep your tootsies bone dry. 5 10s or Shimano am40s are probably your best option for flat shoes.

Check the compatibility on xx. I was under the impression that none of the xx drive train would work with anything else, even down to the chains. Could be bullshit though.

cheers.

*bumpity*