Craftworks S1 or Cove Peeler DH?

dazz

Downhill Dazz
Never thought I'd post a bloody 'which bike?' thread, but here I go....
Which is the better RACE bike.

2005 Craftworks S1
or
2004 Cove Peeler DH

Will use my 04 888's up front with std crowns.
 

LTR

Annoys the hell out of Grip!
Mate, the S1 is one of the LIGHTEST DH frames out there at 9.9lbs.
 

DW-1

Dirt Works
dazz said:
Never thought I'd post a bloody 'which bike?' thread, but here I go....
Which is the better RACE bike.

2005 Craftworks S1
or
2004 Cove Peeler DH

Will use my 04 888's up front with std crowns.
my understanding was that from a geometry point of view, the Cove was more of a "freeride" bike.

The Crafty' is more of a "race" frame.

Elvis.
 

Juls

Junior Marzocchi Tech
DW-1 said:
my understanding was that from a geometry point of view, the Cove was more of a "freeride" bike.

The Crafty' is more of a "race" frame.

Elvis.
This was my understanding too.. although I never did understand the long chainstays and the short wheelbase on the crafty.. ??? the shortish (but not super short) top tube suggests the reasoning in the shortish wheelbase, but I thought offset by the chainstay.. hmm However it all adds up to DH measurements. and 4.5kg frame + shock is HOT! very very nice!

the Peeler though, tiny little cockpit, and reasonably high BB.. suggests FR, but the shortish chainstays are nice too. The head angle is leaning to DH but has some FR in it.. i don't have exact weights, but i'm told around 5.5kg mark for the frame/shock.. (noting it has a lighter shock as well)

just my thoughts.

Juls
 

Mugger

Senir oMermber
If anyone knows Rohan Gearing, according to some mates he's riding the Peeler as his DH bike. Came 42nd or sometihng at Norba, is doing the slopestyle events.
 

MrCove

South Shore Distribution
damn those single pivot bikes, never catch on, someone better tell C-Dale, Foes, Orange, Commencal, Cove, Crafty, Kona, Cruz............
anyway, very entertaining...

so back to the story,
Rohan is doing ok on his Peeler, he told me he really liked it, he had a bad crash a few months back now, think he had to be heli aired off the track but he's back on the pedals now

the current Canadian DH champion is riding a Peeler, Tyler Morland
http://www.velirium.com/fonctions-en/communiques-en/com_velirium_19juin2005/communique_view

http://www.covebike.com/2005/05/cove-team-results.htm

Cove did incredibly well at Bear Mountain this month
http://www.covebike.com/news.htm

locally Ashley Grundy ripped to 1st place in U17's at NSW State DH5 on a Playmate he'd had for a week,
http://www.pixelpics.smugmug.com/photos/27677011-L.jpg
his time would have put him 2nd in U19's, 1st in Expert and well inside the top 10 in Elite

even i managed 3rd in Dads Army category, also on a Playmate

the Peeler sports 8 1/2" travel to the Playmates 7 1/2
slacker angles, bolt thru rear etc, it IS coves DH bike, last years peeler had a chainstay length of 18inch, and could be adjusted down to having a 13.25" bb using 7" boxxers,
not measured this years
they are a heavy rig, compared to some bikes, they aren't made to just get one season out of, they are insanely strong

i've never riden an S2, they look nice though, but Craftworks do have a history of cracking, this isn't just my opinion it's a pretty widely accepted fact, maybe the S2 is different, i don't know
 

Daver

Kung Fu Panda
How many guys have actually ridden them though?

The Peeler has a really low bb when its sagged- the thing actually chews through e13 bashrings when you're running 40% sag. It's got a pretty good top tube length and is so easy to ride, not to mention that its not overly heavy (lighter than my Yeti...). Afaik, the top tube on a Medium peeler is the same as that on most other medium frames too.

The Peeler is sweet as, but i reckon the Playmate would make a better DH bike (its lighter, and more flickable after riding one on the weekend). They'e all solid as f**k, and the backing here is awesome. Just make sure you buy one with a DHX, because they feel a shitload better with the more active shock.
 
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MrCove

South Shore Distribution
F.B.R said:
They'e all solid as f**k, and the backing here is awesome.
FBR, i'm loving you right now!!

full ACTUAL measurements of P-mates and Peelers coming up shortly

A
 

MrCove

South Shore Distribution
measurements, actual

playmate fr, '05 model, Med, set up with '05 888rc @ 170mm travel
bb height 14 3/4", 375mm (888, fork length 22 1/4", 565mm)
chainstay 16 15/16", 430mm
top tube, actual, center/top of headtube to center/top of seat tube 21 1/2"
seattube, actual, center-top, 16 1/2"
listed seatube angle, 68*
listed headanlge, 66*


Peeler DH, '04 model,measurements taken from frame only

chainstay 17 3/4", 450mm
toptube 20 1/4", 515mm
seattube 16 1/2", 420mm
listed seatube angle, 60*
listed headangle, 65.5* (adjustable)
bb height adjustable

Peeler DH, '05 model, measurement taken from SML frame (all use same Swingarm)
chainstay 17 3/4", 450mm
listed seatube angle, 60*
listed headangle, 65.5*
listed bb height 14.75"
 

udi

swiss cheese
I've ridden the peeler and didn't like it much. The toptube length felt awfully short, and i'm a fairly short/small guy to begin with. 20.25" explains it, most good DH frames are around the 23.5" figure for a medium. That's a big difference.

It also weighed a metric tonne, and the one I rode didn't have too many heavy parts on it. Anyone got a frame/shock weight on it?

The craftworks frame seems to be finished nicer, and weighing in at 9.9lbs frame+shock like LTR mentioned, it is a very lightweight package. I haven't heard of any breaking, but then I have only ever seen about 3 of them around.

The S1 however has quite a long chainstay length, which is probably it's only big flaw. At 18.3" it's a fair bit too long for my liking.

I haven't ridden a playmate, but judging by the geo-chart that MrCove posted up, that'd be the go. Shorter stays (just under 17" which is great), and also a decent BB height with the 888 on there.

I'd want to hope it was lighter and had a bigger cockpit area than the peeler though!

--Udi
 

dazz

Downhill Dazz
Thanks for cleaning up the thread Jon.

Ok, got some feedback on the Cove Peeler so far. C'mon there must be some Craftworks S1 riders out there, they are an Aussie company after all!! Tell me what your bike is like to race, this long chainstay, is it noticable? What type of terrain does the Crafty love? What type of terrain does it suck at? Have you had any problems?

More opinions on the Peeler are welcome too.
Keep it coming people,

Dazz
 

MrCove

South Shore Distribution
the Peelers top tube measures short, it also has a SIXTY degree headangle, this pushes the seat back considerably, if you want it too

maybe a rider of well over 6 feet would want that an actual top tube measurement of 23 1'2" but that would give a projected length af about 26"!!!

according to the guy i deal with over at the Cove, the owner of www.pinkbike.com is a tall guy (plus 6 foot 2) and he has a Playmate AND a Peeler in LARGE

top tube lengths are LISTED as being
PEELER
SML, 21.75"
MED, 22.75"
LGR, 23.75"

PLAYMATE
SML, 21.75"
MED, 22.75"
LGR, 23.75"
these are 'projected' measurements (measured horizontally to the seat post)
as you can see, they are listed the same, even though the 2 frames have very different length top tubes
this is because the very slack seat angle on the Peeler leans the post back further


the Intense M1 has regularly been heralded as 'the best' DH bike, they have a 20 1/2" actual top tube, combined with a very slack seat angle

hope this helps

A
 
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udi

swiss cheese
The one I rode did have the seat quite low, and combined with the supposedly slack seat angle, might have added to how short it felt. That could have been it.

Still keen on hearing frame+shock weighs for the peeler and playmate.

Also, FYI the Intense M3 has a 23" TT in medium (and a fairly slack SA)
IH Sunday has a 23.5" TT in medium
 

red_dog

Likes Dirt
My LBS proprietor has had both an S1 and a Peeler.
He sold his S1 to buy a Peeler and is much happier with it.
As a complete bike the Peeler weighed in at 2o.3 kg's with FOX 40's up front.
Thats a little heavy I know, but there are other race bikes out there that weigh more.
The S1 as they come, weigh a little more (with 888's up front).
The head angle of both the S1 and Peeler are the same, and the comments from those that have ridden both, suggest the pedal feed-back from the Peeler is less than that of the S1.
Granted though - the Peeler has a better rear shock! (swinger 4 way compared to a 5th)
I'm pretty happy with my Peeler and its done me well, but at the end of the day if you want a race bike - get a V10
my 2 cents worth
 

mattvincent

Likes Dirt
hey

I own a craftworks S1 and love it it rides really nicely and corners really well even thought it looks like it wouldnt due to the length of the chain stay and that the bike is a fairly long bike itself.

It comes with a great set up of parts for the price and if you are just bying the frame it weights barely anything at 4.5 kgs frame and shock. the only problems i have had with it are the rims and the rear hub. rims arent very goood quality and the rear hub i got wasnt packed right in taiwan but oher people i know with the S1s havent had any problems with them.

Ill try and get some pics up of my bike as soon as possible

cheers matt
 
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