Here’s my spitfire built up with DBair and fox van 36..

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Have you thought about spitfire v2? It can be built up burly but easier pedalling up. Mine has DBair and van 36’s and its a solid bike!

Spitfire v2, dbair, 160mm fork, long,slack, low and solid!

I’m thinking the same the dh bike is gonna be easier on the body over the duration of the day… Only have room for one bike each though….decisions!

I would seriously look at the banshee spitfire v2…..an amazing frame!

Banshee spitfire now with reverb and some black tubeless wtb i23 frequency rims, just need to loose the white cables, stem and stickers and the stealth build will be complete!

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It has definitely been thinned out alot rode it sunday, only trees at the side none of the actual roots on the trail though.

I went over the bars into the bog and managed to get myself stuck under my bike much to the amusement of the photographer who snapped away as i swore!

35 mins exactly had a few tumbles and got stuck in the bog at the bottom of stage 5 very happy with that time considering only had 1 practice run on each stage.

Didn’t realise you had bought it.. Nice one enjoy!

You gotta try a spitfire aswell just rode the poc enduro and it flies!
Stage 4 was a steep nasty trail which I crashed on the third corner and then rode with squint bars and then got stuck behind someone for a bit till they moved over, still did ok..

http://app.strava.com/activities/56377701#1033539660
At no point through the event did it feel out of its depth but it also allows me to ride normal mellow trails with ease as it pedals so well. Just my opinion though!

The spitfire v2 is designed round a 160mm fork and combine that with a DBair it makes the 140mm rear travel feel bottomless, 66 degree head angle is pretty slack for a trail bike

Mindmap how much do you weigh? I weigh 13 st and have been jumping my spitfire a lot and its a solid frame. If you are only doing 1 or 2 uplifts a year then it will easily handle it. I would happily take my spitfire down the Innerleithen dh trails there’s nothing there it couldn’t handle, it just won’t be as fast as my dh bike. You should defiantly get a demo you’ll be surprised at what it can handle.

Glad you like them… you’ll be leaning the bike into corners at angles you never thought possible!

The bit from clifftop to the road is the best bit of that trail.. hows the minions working for you?

Shameless plug but I’m selling a mini dh frame and live in glasgow

http://m.pinkbike.com/buysell/1295353/

I have been riding round glentress with no camelbak through the winter, and was planning on not taking one for the enduro, but today we rode stages 4+5, and based on the distance of that and the glentress sections I’m taking a bag full of supplies, the length this course, for me, will be the big problem! 4+5 seat down definetly.

Hello mindmap… I am loving the spitfire…. Got my shock dialled in after a few rides and the bike really is amazing. Took me a few rides to find the sweet spot for cornering but now I’ve got it it absolutely rails them! I thought the wheelbase and long reach was gonna take a bit to get used to as my last frame was a meta 4x,which was really short and compact. However I just got on it and rode it and all was good, the bike still feels really nimble and playful even though its long I guess the short chainstays help here. Just rode stage 4+5 from poc enduro today and the bike felt really good on the steep stuff.
If you are only doing the odd uplift then the spitfire will be the better option but if you really like the dh runs and don’t have big bike then the rune would be the way to go as it can handle it all. The spitfire is based around a 160 fork so it is built to be ridden hard but the rune will be stronger. I was gonna go for a rune but there is to much overlap between that and my dh bike, I’m glad I went spitfire it’s perfect for my riding.
I have used it on jumps and drops and its all good, it handles everything, it pops of jumps easily and is well balanced in the air. I had a test on a covert and bandit last summer and really liked both of them, i was leaning towards the bandit for the same reason as choosing the spitfire… The covert/rune had too much overlap with dh bike.

Doubt you would be disappointed with either frame!

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Hainman check your trail Scotland pm’s

Creedy just read your post what is your combo like?

Mr plow I would also like to know how this goes I ride with minion/ ardent combo and am looking to change to either butcher/ purgatory or purgatory/ captain. I ride mugdock, lennox, cambusbarron etc.

Thanks.. how did you do find the i23’s do they build into a bombproof wheelset?

Would be keen to here how this goes.

I use the am490 rims got them built by big al at wheelcraft and they have been solid, use it for everything including jumps and drops.

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I had a big over the bars crash with a rock last week and the front wheel was fine, with the force of the impact I was expecting some damage, however they weigh 555g not the stated 499g.
I have been looking at WTB i23 rims for when I need to replace these ones just as strong as flow ex but lighter.

Aye legend was last wed late afternoon, was brilliant dry and partly frozen trails! Will be soaking again now

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I just built up a spitfire v2 and used the banshee headset, it comes with split crown races for both fork options. Easy to install, so far so good!

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Thanks i built it strong took most of the bits of my meta 4x and forks of my mini dh, it is a cane creek it’s the DBair.
I’m gonna put a couple of spacers under it because my neck was getting sore the other day. There is no problem with bar clearance though, I dont normally ride with any spacers but this is the first time I have used a flush headset and its low!
I was worried it was going to be too heavy I reckon it must be 34lb+, however it climbed very well due to the steep seat angle and on the way down was it incredible, i can’t wait to get back out for another ride!
I’m gonna lose a few pounds of my gut probably be cheaper than putting the bike on a diet!

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I chose the spitfire took it to glentress yesterday this is what I thought.

Just had my first proper ride on the new spitfire and it was seriously good fun!
My build is on the heavy side with freeride inner tube and heavy wheels, fox 36 coil forks, ccdbair etc I reckon it must be at least 34lb+, i ride 1×9 with a 34 front ring and am not that fit, I weigh 85kg.
When I built it I was worried by the weight but as soon as i started pedalling all those worries disappeared, I climbed my local trails with ease! I was also worried that the fox 36 would make everything feel dead and too easy as that is how it used to feel on my old bike, but again those worries soon disappeared as I started decending. It was so much fun to ride, it felt lively and light. In the air it was balanced, I was expecting the DBair to soak up the jumps but it had plenty of pop of all lips, roots.
I’m used to a low bb bike but I think the extra wheel base just helps add to the stability of the bike, there is lot of grip on the rear and it just rails berms and corners. I’m only using the 135×10 dropouts with 10mm bolt through and it feels plenty stiff. I also ride a dh bike with 150 rear end so know what that setup feels like, the back end of the spitfire definetly feels strong and planted. Finally I was concerned about the length of the top tube and the reach of the bike but with a 50mm stem it feels spot on. My last bike had top tube of 559mm with a 50mm stem, this is so much more comfy to ride. I know this sounds like I’m looking through rosé tinted glasses, but I have had so much fun on this bike today!

the bottlerocket is due a facelift in the spring so it may shed a few lbs. i’m holding out to see what the new mega and the updated bottlerocket have to offer