Quantcast

State of the Union: trailbikes for real men.

-BB-

I broke all the rules, but somehow still became mo
Sep 6, 2001
4,254
28
Livin it up in the O.C.
Having just got back from a pedalfest in Sedona and riding a Shova and my bro on an Imbuzi i would say the bigger and slacker Imbuzi.
We both ran 2 rings with DRS chainguide and lots of seatpost extension for the climbs. Throw in wide bars and flats and you sir will be ripping trail DH style.
He was hurting a little more on the climbs but i would think thats the price you gotta pay to have the confidence to go big on a trail bike.

The 2 frames are not far apart travel wise but based on your quote above you'll be happier with that little bit extra that the Imbuzi offers.
Remember too that the Imbuzi and some other trailbikes now have 1.5 steertubes so running slacker headset cups are possible if your looking to tweak the headangle.


Edit: That corsair trailbike pictured is pretty hawt.
LOO!!! Been a long time dude!

I fully agree that giving these bikes a 1.5in HT is a great way to go. It just gives you SO many more options and greater strength in a shorter head-tube.
 

ecsnsmb

Chimp
Jun 10, 2008
56
0
NJ
Awesome rigs everybody..
Here's mine - 7.875x2.25" RP23 for ~5" of RWT.
Just added XTR M970 Cassette/Rear Derailleur and RH Shifter as well as Chris King ISO Hubs a while back. Singletrack Machine.
 
Last edited:

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,379
5,117
Ottawa, Canada
Awesome rigs everybody..
Here's mine - 7.875x2.25" RP23 for ~5" of RWT. Singletrack machine.
ecnsmb: nice bike. out of curiosity, how much to you weigh? I have an Enduro also, and I'm curious about the RP23. I have a DHX Air on there now, and I like the sound of the RP23 because I've heard it would produce less mid-stroke wallow. I feel like I blow too much of my travel. Plus a bit of weight savings would be nice... :rolleyes: but I'm worried I weigh too much at 210 w/o gear.
 

ecsnsmb

Chimp
Jun 10, 2008
56
0
NJ
ecnsmb: nice bike. out of curiosity, how much to you weigh? I have an Enduro also, and I'm curious about the RP23. I have a DHX Air on there now, and I like the sound of the RP23 because I've heard it would produce less mid-stroke wallow. I feel like I blow too much of my travel. Plus a bit of weight savings would be nice... :rolleyes: but I'm worried I weigh too much at 210 w/o gear.
slyfink - I too weigh in at about 210 without gear :thumb: The RP23 has held up extremely well to my abuse, which is certainly not light. It doesn't have as much mid-stroke wallow as some DHX's I have ridden. Its been taking a pounding for about 3yrs now without complaint. It has developed a light squeak in the Propedal position, but none in any other setting. Its been a great shock. I have been considering getting it Push'd or Protuned by Fox, but that remains to be seen. I just bought some new XTR M970 kit for her so the Protune might have to wait. I'd say go for it if you're looking for something lighter and a bit more 'nimble'. Good luck!
Cheers
 

mullarks

Chimp
May 9, 2008
33
0
It's been mentioned before but a Blur 4x with a longer fork absolutely rocks. Slack and low and weighs in around 30 lbs. The only 2 drawbacks at is that is sucks for techy climbing because the pedals smash into everything and that Santa Cruz (in their infinite wisdom) stopped making it.

If I had to buy a new trailbike today it would be a Banshee Spitfire.
 
Last edited:

BmxConvert

Monkey
Aug 6, 2007
715
0
Longview, Washington
I'm jealous of my shorter friends sometimes, since these interupted seat tubes provide enough adjustment for climbing, and they can fully slam their seats. LUCKY!
I'm in the same boat. I'm 5'11" with a short upper body so I buy mediums for the shorter top tube, but my freaking 36" inseam makes getting proper leg extension on a frame that allows me to drop my saddle down real far hard. Whatever bike I buy this year will have to have a telescoping post.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,379
5,117
Ottawa, Canada
slyfink - I too weigh in at about 210 without gear :thumb: The RP23 has held up extremely well to my abuse, which is certainly not light. It doesn't have as much mid-stroke wallow as some DHX's I have ridden. Its been taking a pounding for about 3yrs now without complaint. It has developed a light squeak in the Propedal position, but none in any other setting. Its been a great shock. I have been considering getting it Push'd or Protuned by Fox, but that remains to be seen. I just bought some new XTR M970 kit for her so the Protune might have to wait. I'd say go for it if you're looking for something lighter and a bit more 'nimble'. Good luck!
Cheers
sweet... thanks for the response. time to watch ebay and the classifieds!
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,379
5,117
Ottawa, Canada
slyfink - I too weigh in at about 210 without gear :thumb: The RP23 has held up extremely well to my abuse, which is certainly not light. It doesn't have as much mid-stroke wallow as some DHX's I have ridden. Its been taking a pounding for about 3yrs now without complaint. It has developed a light squeak in the Propedal position, but none in any other setting. Its been a great shock. I have been considering getting it Push'd or Protuned by Fox, but that remains to be seen. I just bought some new XTR M970 kit for her so the Protune might have to wait. I'd say go for it if you're looking for something lighter and a bit more 'nimble'. Good luck!
Cheers
ecsnsmb, one more thing: why did you go with such a short shock? How does that impact shock performance and bike geometry?

I notice that my Enduro (2005 Expert) calls for a 8.75" i2i. I also see that Fox doesn't sell RP23s in that length, the longest they go is 8.5" i2i. I'm thinking that 1/4 of an inch isn't going to make all that much difference...

and what about valving? did you get an off-the-shelf tune, or was there a special tune you could choose from? or possibly you had it Pushed?
 

ecsnsmb

Chimp
Jun 10, 2008
56
0
NJ
ecsnsmb, one more thing: why did you go with such a short shock? How does that impact shock performance and bike geometry?

I notice that my Enduro (2005 Expert) calls for a 8.75" i2i. I also see that Fox doesn't sell RP23s in that length, the longest they go is 8.5" i2i. I'm thinking that 1/4 of an inch isn't going to make all that much difference...

and what about valving? did you get an off-the-shelf tune, or was there a special tune you could choose from? or possibly you had it Pushed?
slyfink - it is a shorter shock because it is an '05 SX. Its not the SX Trail or Enduro. Its the 4X version and hence has a smaller amount of travel and a shorter shock.

As for your shock, putting a shorter i2i shock on a frame, especially a linkage driven frame, will change the suspension characteristics a bit. It will also drop your BB a bit, slacken your HA and give you a bit less travel. You will want to make sure that it wont cause any binding/frame on frame action when its fully compressed. Again, I am no expert on this. I do think, in short, that the shock you are referring to will work, but it will definitely affect certain handling/suspension aspects.

You can get it tuned for you, either by Fox or Push setting it up yourself is pretty easy. Refer to some threads here and manuals and whatnot and you can get it pretty dialed in.

Hope this helps, good luck!
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,884
450
slyfink- I have an 07 enduro like yours, and I short-shocked it on purpose (8.5x2.5) and it works fine. HOWEVER I remember there being a clearance issue on the linkage on the first models (05) if you ran a shock like this. So it would be good to try out a friends to make sure there is clearance before you buy.
The nice thing about this mod with the enduro is that you still get the stock "low" position by using the "high/steep" shock shuttle, but you have one more slacker postion than stock.
After all of this I have found that I like the stock slack setting better after trying both. The bike just felt wierd slacker than stock.
Your bike would definately take an 8.5x2.5 shock with the high/steep shuttle, but you may have clearance issues with the low/slack shuttle.
I hope this makes sense, PM me if not.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,379
5,117
Ottawa, Canada
slyfink- I have an 07 enduro like yours, and I short-shocked it on purpose (8.5x2.5) and it works fine. HOWEVER I remember there being a clearance issue on the linkage on the first models (05) if you ran a shock like this. So it would be good to try out a friends to make sure there is clearance before you buy.
The nice thing about this mod with the enduro is that you still get the stock "low" position by using the "high/steep" shock shuttle, but you have one more slacker postion than stock.
After all of this I have found that I like the stock slack setting better after trying both. The bike just felt wierd slacker than stock.
Your bike would definately take an 8.5x2.5 shock with the high/steep shuttle, but you may have clearance issues with the low/slack shuttle.
I hope this makes sense, PM me if not.
I think it makes perfect sense, thanks. I ride the high/steep shuttle (I may even have lost the slack shuttle in one of my last 4 moves... :rolleyes:)

I like your idea of trying a buddy's shock. I'll ask around and see if anyone has one.

I also spoke to Specialized warranty here in Canada who told me it wouldn't void the lifetime warranty on the frame. I think all I have to do now is find a good deal on one. :thumb:
 

TrailzHozer

Monkey
Jan 29, 2010
120
0
I just pulled the trigger on a 2008 6point4. $1200 brand new?! For that price, I could throw the frame in the garbage and get something else! Stoked!

Get Some!
congrats...

only issue is if you get another frame it needs to have a 150mm rear end and 83mm BB for you to swap parts over.
 
Last edited:

Nagaredama

Turbo Monkey
Nov 15, 2004
1,596
2
Manhattan Beach, CA USA
I have a 2007 Enduro and am running the slack shuttle with a 8.5" x 2.5" RP23. It is by far the best upgrade I've made to the bike so far. I've bottomed out several times on bigger hits and haven't any frame contact.

I am thinking of finding a cheap Enduro SL frame to save some weight and hopefully better pedaling performance. The bike squats a lot while pedaling. When the hill starts pointing down the bike is mint!
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,910
6,213
Yakistan
seeing how you already pulled the trigger, I am a little late. BUT... I've been riding a transition covert for the last two seasons. 5.5" travel with a 36 talas up front. weighs in around 33 lbs. I've ridden the piss out of it on everything from freeride trails to xc singletrack. 6'3" and 200 lbs. The bike takes care of business.
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,884
450
Great point, the covert is a trail bike that fits all of the criteria, even the seat tube..
That six point looks sweet. Too bad they aren't making them anymore.
 

4130biker

PM me about Tantrum Cycles!
May 24, 2007
3,884
450
I think it makes perfect sense, thanks. I ride the high/steep shuttle (I may even have lost the slack shuttle in one of my last 4 moves... :rolleyes:)

I like your idea of trying a buddy's shock. I'll ask around and see if anyone has one.

I also spoke to Specialized warranty here in Canada who told me it wouldn't void the lifetime warranty on the frame. I think all I have to do now is find a good deal on one. :thumb:
Good call on asking about warranty, I completely forgot!
I found a few good deals on rockshox monarch 8.5x2.5 shocks. That's what I bought and it works great. Depends on the feel you want though. The flood gate works much better than the pro-pedal, and I don't feel like the shock wallows in the travel as bad as the stock dhx air. My only complaint is that it's a bit "sticky" feeling, but nowhere near as bad as a swinger.
I think if you ride it aggresively, it's a good shock.
 

TrailzHozer

Monkey
Jan 29, 2010
120
0
Great point, the covert is a trail bike that fits all of the criteria, even the seat tube..
That six point looks sweet. Too bad they aren't making them anymore.
good point! the IronHorse 6Point doesn't have a full length seat tube, it's interrupted by main axle of the the upper links
 

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
If I were you - I would take that $$ an invest in anger management classes instead.

anyway - you don't even ride and that bike doesn't look like it could handle the gnarniness of the etraweb
anger management classes suck!

i wouldnt be paying retail for that thing. never did.

god forbid i mention Curnutt on teh internets
 

dh_newbie

Monkey
Jun 7, 2006
191
0
Hong Kong
If I were you - I would take that $$ an invest in anger management classes instead.

anyway - you don't even ride and that bike doesn't look like it could handle the gnarniness of the etraweb
Hi Luc,

I am agree with you, I think this frame is over pricing and I have not idea why the design can adapt 68 mm BB space with 150 mm rear hubs?
 
Feb 13, 2002
1,087
17
Seattle, WA
I didn't need to ream the seat tube at all. if yours, for reason, doesn't allow full insertion then it shouldnt be stripping
Supposing I did need to ream the seat tube, what does that involve? Take it to a machine shop? A bike shop? Get in there with a rat-tail file?

Also, anyone have a source on 6-point pivot hardware? There's still plenty of places that have der. hangers, so that's good.
 

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
Hi Luc,

I am agree with you, I think this frame is over pricing and I have not idea why the design can adapt 68 mm BB space with 150 mm rear hubs?
retail is expensive, but i did say i wouldnt be paying retail.

i had zero issues with my RS7 w/ its 68mm BB and 150mm rear end
 

ride

Monkey
Jan 11, 2005
471
0
My 6 point is a 2007 and I have full length seat tube adjustment. There are no weld deformations on the inside of the seat tube preventing full insertion.

*SPAM*
It's in great shape and for sale by the way if anybody is interested!
 

-BB-

I broke all the rules, but somehow still became mo
Sep 6, 2001
4,254
28
Livin it up in the O.C.
Supposing I did need to ream the seat tube, what does that involve? Take it to a machine shop? A bike shop? Get in there with a rat-tail file?

Also, anyone have a source on 6-point pivot hardware? There's still plenty of places that have der. hangers, so that's good.
Enduro sells bearing kits for the IH bikes (Max-E bearings), but I'm not sure about where you can get the pins and bolts and stuff. If you find a place, let us know. I'd like some for my 7point and MKIII.