Gah, I hate my heavy bike!

[Zark]

So I have a SGS freeride I've built for trail riding :rolleyes: So far I've done 2 rides with it and my impressions are this: It climbs like a bannana slug, it descends like monkey with a fire under its butt. I just can't live with the heft, 37 pounds is just too much, and I don't see parts swaps doing more than a pound or so.

I've done this see-saw with my trail bikes of them being too heavy FS's then going to a bone-jarring, but light, Hardtail.

Santa Barbara has really steep mountains and loads of rocks so I need a steed that is light enough not to suffer too bad on the climbs and plush enough not to clobber me on descents.

I think a Turner 5spot with good spec would be perfect, but the price is a killer. Any ideas for a frustrated trail guy? :p

[pixelninja]

Yeti 575. Not sure about your budget, but the frame is about $500 less than the 5 Spot. The Enduro kit runs about $2400 and should be right around 30 lbs. When I bought mine, I upgraded to the Talas and put on lighter xc tires and its around 28 - 28.5 lbs.

[ncrider]

37lbs doesn't sound to bad, but I guess that bikes not much of a climber. Maybe a heckler or bullit in conjunction with a stable platform shock could work well for you. Honestly, as I'm sure you know, a REALLY solid trail bike is going to be in the mid to upper 30lbs range. If you ride really rocky places like tunnel up there in SB then I would error on the side of beef than light weight.

[DHS]

Giant VT, i beat the living crap out of it.
digital fish scale says its 26lbs, or it was 25.7 or something.
its a 2003, with LOTS of upgrades.
carbon bars, thomson seatpost/stem, Terry Dragonfly Ti, stans selant, lite Mich tires, custom minute 2 with evolve, RF Ti BB, RF next lp carbon, swinger 4way coil/with ti spring(weighs as much as the air), XO drive train.

[Echo]

I have to agree that it seems like a pipedream to have a bike that truly is capable for DH (under someone who has ridden DH on a real DH bike) and also truly capable for trail riding (under someone who rides/races XC regularly). My Yeti AS-X is 36 pounds of pure fun, but I'm not going to try to tell anyone it climbs great. And when I take it to Plattekill, it makes it down the mountain, but it sure as hell isn't my M1. I'm starting to think there is no answer, only compromise.

[DHS]

meh, just have lots and lots of bikes!

[Zark]

37lbs doesn't sound to bad, but I guess that bikes not much of a climber. Maybe a heckler or bullit in conjunction with a stable platform shock could work well for you. Honestly, as I'm sure you know, a REALLY solid trail bike is going to be in the mid to upper 30lbs range. If you ride really rocky places like tunnel up there in SB then I would error on the side of beef than light weight.

37 pounds is bad when the trail ride has 7-10 mi & 3,000' of climbing in it, its real bad. I don't plan doing Tunnel as a trail ride I've got the M1 for that. The problem is the XC trails have descents often as bad as Tunnel in parts.

I weigh in the 150-160lbs area. But I beat the crap outta bikes, especcially wheels and tires. There are so many sharp edged rock to slap into and so little time :blah:

So far I've had:
Haro Escape A4 HT. 27 pounds.....ass hammer, totally sketchy on the descents
Giant AC2. 34 pounds....a pig & flexy as hell
Azonic DS1 31.5 pounds....OK on the climbs weight wise, but rough in general
Intense Tracer 32.5 lbs.... Climbed good, descended OK But I was pretty sure I'd break it soon the way I ride, so I sold it. :dead:

Right now I'm leaning to an Enduro, but the older 5" one, or a Stumpy 120.

[fusion_prncss]

Hey Noah :) ,
Just logged in here to see if my account still worked after a year - which is does, go figure! Hope you get the bike situation sorted out, sorry I can't help...MY Rocky Mountain's light, but would probably crumble under one of your rides :p Did it stop flooding there yet babe? I'm covered in un-countable inches of fluffy white powder, missin' SB and riding, but skiing's taking their place for now - its a really LIGHT sport!!
Have a great weekend!
~N

[Zark]

Hey Noah :) ,
Just logged in here to see if my account still worked after a year - which is does, go figure! Hope you get the bike situation sorted out, sorry I can't help...MY Rocky Mountain's light, but would probably crumble under one of your rides :p Did it stop flooding there yet babe? I'm covered in un-countable inches of fluffy white powder, missin' SB and riding, but skiing's taking their place for now - its a really LIGHT sport!!
Have a great weekend!
~N

Nikki! Ha! Good to hear from ya, remember you always have a place to stay in SB if you get sick of that white stuff :p

The SB deluge seems to be done, but so is the damage. The mountains are covered in landslides and its gonna take long time to fix.

[Echo]

The SB deluge seems to be done, but so is the damage. The mountains are covered in landslides and its gonna take long time to fix.
Make sure you get that fixed by next month when I'm out there! That reminds me, we should try to grab a beer.

[Zark]

Make sure you get that fixed by next month when I'm out there! That reminds me, we should try to grab a beer.

Will do ;)
Are you bringin out the big bike too or just the XC rig?
If you don't bring the big bike, my SGS will work pretty well for a shuttle rig. Its the climbing it takes issue with.....
A beer? How bout several :p

[Smelly]

azonic saber. frame weighs in at around 8 or 9 lbs with shock and can be build up to around 30 lbs fairly easily. i've been riding mine for 2 years and love it for trailriding. it's certainly no dh bike or xc bike, but it's a nice middle ground.

[Zark]

azonic saber. frame weighs in at around 8 or 9 lbs with shock and can be build up to around 30 lbs fairly easily. i've been riding mine for 2 years and love it for trailriding. it's certainly no dh bike or xc bike, but it's a nice middle ground.

That is a bike that has always interested me, but a 8.5 lb frame doesn't seem like the answer...

Anyone know how much my SGS frame weighs in at? Just for comparison.

[Snacks]

I think a Turner 5spot with good spec would be perfect, but the price is a killer. Any ideas for a frustrated trail guy? :p

Get the Turner. I have mine built up light were I can get away with it, but beefy enough for serious trail riding = 28.5. Love it. Climbs great.

[MMcG]

I'd look into that Yeti if I were you - or what about a 2005 or 2004 IH Hollowpoint.

Does -BB- live near you? if so, ask him what he thinks about his Hollowpoint.

[DRB]

Heckler....

[mkspecialsauce]

Hey Zark,
The 04 Enduro's (the ones with the Itch Switch) are sweet I had one for a while last season! It was sweet for Little Pine run it in the 4" for the uphill and then WIDE OPEN for the 7 mile downhill. I believe Specialized has some Sworks Enduro Frames left from last year.

Or...

The new Giant Reigns are pretty TRICK too. The REIGN 1 weighs in at ~28lbs. 6 and 6 inches! It has MAESTRO SUSPENSION, but rumor has it you only like 4-bar linkage bikes, but technically the Maestro is a modified 4 bar linkage...

Gman says Whatsup and when you gonna come ride with us?! and to get a rodie bike!

[punkassean]

Noah,

I loved my Bear for SB riding. I liked my Enduro a little more, the extra inch of rear travel and the Horst link made it a tad smoother. But the Bear was super reliable and never gave me any troubles where as the Enduro broke twice on me. You know how I had my Bear set up, with light but burly King/D3.1wheels (as are mandatory for SB rocks!) a TALAS fork and a nice XT/XTR build with a few carbon and Ti tidbits to scrape the last bit off. That bike weighed 30 dead even with 2.5 tubeless Michi's and did everything well. When I had the Enduro I was running 2.35 2-ply Mofo's as that was my only bike, Once I got the feel for the bike, people often told me they were surprised by my ability to hang with them on Tunnel and Cold Springs. (Dr. Dave/Johnny Martin both commented!) I am stoked to check out my new 6" Enduro and give it the SB test! It's aiming to be 34# or just less and plenty burly.

There is a whole new breed of bikes out there that should fit the bill nicely I'd think...

[Skookum]

i've been very happy with my Enduro, right now i'm sure you can get them for a song....(last years model)
Plus the build on the expert is alot of bang for the buck....
Sound like you ride your bike similiar to how i ride mountain trail rides. Pedalling up forest roads to get to prime descending singletrack, yes sometimes steep downhill runs...
The Talas air fork is soooo sweet i could go on and on about it.... solid fork, plush at speed over techy stuff and smaller jumps/drops, firm on the descents and over obstacles, and it's got options. The variable travel allows you to drop your front end making climbing super comfy.
The frame is adequate old school horst link like your old Tracer but built sturdier. . A drawback on the frame is the chinse derauiluer hanger bolt hole just waiting to bust. i've busted mine, it's really not THAT big of a deal but if you rip your hanger off don't expect that little loop to hold up. Also there is a flip link on your frame, one position give you a slack head angle and lower bottom bracket height. i ran it this way for almost a year and i really put myself thru too much misery, the bb hieght is WAY too low, you'll be pedal skippin off everything, and bashing your bb on almost everything else, my poor FSA bashring.... i flipped it, it's steepened my head angle but now it climbs like a frikkin goat and i have clearance i'm sooooo much more happy.
Anyways that's about it..... good luck with whatever you get.
:dancing:

[BMXman]

another vote for a Hollowpoint :D

[MikeD]

I'd go Enduro or Hollowpoint, 5-spot if you have the cash, but I told you that already...

Personally, the Yeti 575 intrigues me, but I don't think it's the bike for you.

Zark is truly a 4-bar whore for those who don't know. Don't try and convert him; it's useless.

MD

Edit: I'm totally with Skooks on the TALAS love. The new 36 would probably be a great SB trail fork, too.

[caputo1989]

My Tall bike weigs 55lbs.

[MikeD]

A beer? How bout several :p

I can vouch for Zark's hospitality.

Hope there was beer left...tym and I bought a lot of bottles to help keep you in stock by way of repayment for the BBQ. Thanks again.

MD

[Zark]

Zark is truly a 4-bar whore for those who don't know. Don't try and convert him; it's useless.

I'm much less vocal about it than I used to be :D

I've actually run a non-FSR link bike for DH...If it had a floater

And yes, there is a ton of beer in my fridge still.

[MikeD]

I've actually run a non-FSR link bike for DH...If it had a floater


Ah, so there IS a chance you'll buy that R9 when your Intensely Thin-Walled frame develops another crack...

MD

[MikeD]

And yes, there is a ton of beer in my fridge still.

I think we have Maker's Mark to thank (?) for that.

[Zark]

I think we have Maker's Mark to thank (?) for that.

Yeah, I'm not sure if thank is the word :D

[BigHit-Maniac]

Give an Enduro SX-Trail a shot. I dunno exactly how much they weigh... but that thing'll kick some trail ass.

[Zark]

Give an Enduro SX-Trail a shot. I dunno exactly how much they weigh... but that thing'll kick some trail ass.

Dude, the SX trail weighs 40 pounds, I'd rather not tack on another 3 pounds to my ride.

[Spunger]

I was in the same boat, I switched some parts, made it better :)

I had my Joyride (4" rear) and my Shiver SC with a set of Arrow DHX's, Diablous stem, Raceface Prodigy DH cranks. Made my bike that should weigh in the low 30's all the sudden weigh like high 30's. I switched wheels, switched stems, and if I can find it cheap enough I'll swap cranks so I have something of a pedaling bike. It was like the gods talked to me when I swtiched wheels. I couldn't ride up anything with those DHX's.

I can do a hardtail on the XC'ish stuff. Hell that's what I grew up on. And my riding style was smoother I think on my hardtail then it is on my full suspension XC bike. I do alot of point and shoot riding :) but the hardtail forced me to not do that.

I hear ya in the department of price as well. I've seen IH Hollowpoints for pretty cheap. They look like a promissing trail bike. The Turners were my #1 pick for a different full suspension frame. You can usually find Kona's pretty cheap too (Stinky's) frame wise. I've seen them, the 6" one's new for the frame go for $600. That was always an option too.

Good luck though finding a replacement. You sure do go through bikes quickly...

[Sir Happypants]

what you truly need to do is figure out which you ride more(XC or DH) then get a second bike respectively... if u enjoy riding DH get a rigid ss, its inexpensive, put you in shape, annnd ittl probably make you a better technical rider... or if you rid emor xc than dh get a hardtail downhilly :love:

[Zark]

what you truly need to do is figure out which you ride more(XC or DH) then get a second bike respectively... if u enjoy riding DH get a rigid ss, its inexpensive, put you in shape, annnd ittl probably make you a better technical rider... or if you rid emor xc than dh get a hardtail downhilly :love:

There is no way in hell I'm riding a rigid SS in Santa Barbara, our terrain is brutal and I like my knees to much to do that to them. I have a DH bike, its perfect for intended use. The tricky part is our "XC" trails resemble world cup DH too. HT's aren't terribly fun here and only the most hard core will SS here, its too steep.

You appearantly really like HT's. I like them too, but they do not work here terribly well. I posted a photo of a S.B. trail section, its pretty typical trail in the photo. So everyone who says "Get a HT", just reference the photo. :rolleyes:

A 5" Enduro is the optimum ride for me I think, if only I could find one for a decent price.

[MikeD]

I posted a photo of a S.B. trail section, its pretty typical trail in the photo. So everyone who says "Get a HT", just reference the photo. :rolleyes:


To all:

Zark's lying. SB all smooth, buttery rolling singletrack with a moderate grade at best. It's at the beach for cripe's sake. They actually had those boulders in the pic artificially brought in, just that one 50' or so section, so that they could all justify shuttling their DH bikes. They take lots of pics there, but don't be fooled...Noah is a poser...

MD

[Zark]

To all:

Zark's lying. SB all smooth, buttery rolling singletrack with a moderate grade at best. It's at the beach for cripe's sake. They actually had those boulders in the pic artificially brought in, just that one 50' or so section, so that they could all justify shuttling their DH bikes. They take lots of pics there, but don't be fooled...Noah is a poser...

MD

Bwahaha :D
I'm so busted, I never ride!

Its so buttery smooth that some riders slide right off the trails into the bushes;)

[jon cross]

Someone else said a Giant VT would do the trick- let me repeat
YOU WANT A VT

They pedal extremely well and are plush on the descent. I bought one for use as a DH/DS bike (collegiate DH courses are usually mild and won on a 6in travel bike or so), but ended up using it more for XC rides. It IS the hotness.

[jon cross]

forgot to add- check Ebay- my VT frame sold for 276 dollars a few months ago- with shock and headset.

[Sir Happypants]

There is no way in hell I'm riding a rigid SS in Santa Barbara, our terrain is brutal and I like my knees to much to do that to them. I have a DH bike, its perfect for intended use. The tricky part is our "XC" trails resemble world cup DH too. HT's aren't terribly fun here and only the most hard core will SS here, its too steep.

You appearantly really like HT's. I like them too, but they do not work here terribly well. I posted a photo of a S.B. trail section, its pretty typical trail in the photo. So everyone who says "Get a HT", just reference the photo. :rolleyes:

A 5" Enduro is the optimum ride for me I think, if only I could find one for a decent price.

lol i said that more to jsutify what i'm doing right now to myself...

[kicknitLivE]

Ive built, and ridden yeti 575's and they feel like road bikes (no offense to other owners). Dude, I really think your looking at this the wrong way. Weight may not be as big of an enemy as you think. Its actually GOOD in rocky loose conditions because it is more solid and stable and doesn't dance around like a scared puppy dog. My former Banshee Chap weighed in at about 42lb and was one of the best climbing AND DESCENDING bikes I have ever ridden (I weigh 145lb mind you). I took it on many 15-25 mile rides without feeling dead the next day. It climbs way better than my 27lb Intense Tracer, with its Romic Stable platform turned up a few clicks. I think geometry, suspension design, and shock selection are more key than weight especially when you also want destroy the downhills.

[James]

There is no way in hell I'm riding a rigid SS in Santa Barbara, our terrain is brutal and I like my knees to much to do that to them. I have a DH bike, its perfect for intended use. The tricky part is our "XC" trails resemble world cup DH too. HT's aren't terribly fun here and only the most hard core will SS here, its too steep.

You appearantly really like HT's. I like them too, but they do not work here terribly well. I posted a photo of a S.B. trail section, its pretty typical trail in the photo. So everyone who says "Get a HT", just reference the photo. :rolleyes:

A 5" Enduro is the optimum ride for me I think, if only I could find one for a decent price.
I really love my hardtail(s), but honestly, they are not the bike I would take up to SB, unless I was riding Connector, then it'd fly.
I'm really interested in giving my Reign a good beating up here, as soon as I get the rear brake re-bled, and maybe look at a slightly longer-travel fork, the Reba at 115mm may be just a tad too short. We'll see though.
I need to lower the front end too, too much time riding on a 1" rise bar makes a 2" seem like a skyskraper!
The supalight carbon hardtail was NOT the choice for Jes though, sketch-factor 9...
We should BBQ or something soon...

JJames

[Vulcan]

Any ideas for a frustrated trail guy? :p
Maybe an MKIII? They definatly climb well and they are burlier than the hollowpoints were. I got an expert for 2000, so the price is pretty good as well.

[OGRipper]

It's something I struggle with all the time, but with where the technology is right now you're gonna have to make some compromises somewhere. I do lots of epic rides with long climbs, tech sections, and sketchy descents on my blur. It's a great all-around rig but there's just no way to feel as confident as I do on my big bike when it's time for the gnar, even if I stop to drop my seat and add fork travel. In the flip side I hate climbing on my vp-free but it's ridiculously sweet when gravity is helping out.

So you need to choose a weapon that will work pretty well for most things but not be great at any one thing. Check out a heckler - cheap, pretty light, can take big tires, super burly, pedals great with the right shock. You can build it xc light or freeride strong - they should have called THAT bike the chameleon.

[dpdsurf]

My Heckler is 35lbs and climbs really well.

The one thing that helps the most in making the bike feel noticably lighter for climbing are the tires. These UST Hutchinson Octopus' (2.5 front, 2.3 rear) made a huge improvement in the weight department over the Michelins I was running.

http://www.pmaclub.com/demaray/bike/pics/z11.JPG

[quickneonrt]

you can never go wrong with an 03-04 enduro. I have seen them as light as 28lb and as heavy as 37lb. Great all around bike. You can put a slightly longer shock on them to raise the bb and give it close to 6" or get the 6" link from betd. Then run a new 6" sherman firefly on it and you'll have a nice 6" bike. I currently have an 03 S-works with a 5th ele air 7.85i2i and 05 fox fanilla rlc and love it. I hear the romic w/ a ti spring works really well on it but have yet to try it. this is my 2nd enduro btw.