New DH bike, opinions needed

[Nautonier]

I do understand where you're coming from and hopefully now you are looking through my eyes but the devinci, glory and demo seem the go.. Now the question is.. Can i get the weight of an alloy down to around 16kg/17kg

Easily. I have an alloy Demo and it weights in at around 16.75 kg - and that's with heavy tires. You might be struggling to get the weight down any more than high 16s unless you cheat and use single ply tires like so many of the people posting ridiculous weights for DH bikes do.

 

[grimrepa]

Easily. I have an alloy Demo and it weights in at around 16.75 kg - and that's with heavy tires. You might be struggling to get the weight down any more than high 16s unless you cheat and use single ply tires like so many of the people posting ridiculous weights for DH bikes do.

My Demo weights 17.4kg with a metal frame and all stock gear, you could easily get it down by a few kgs without much expense I don't mind running single ply tyres it only saves about 1kg but you seem to peddle so easily

I would be interested to hear what type of gear people would suggest to bring the weight down while still having a solid bike and not spending thousands

 

[ando120]

wait.. which demo's do you have? the II or just the I of what year? unless custom built.

 

[grimrepa]

I've got the Demo 7 but use to own an 8 II comparable weight but I like the single crown totems

 

[morticus]

running a vivid air / world cups or 40 floats would bring the weight down dramatically, tubeless, and carbon cranks etc should see you at low 16s surely?

 

[ando120]

I've basically decided devinci wilson if i can get the weight down to 17kg somehow and i need to get the weight there otherwise i'll get a glory or a demo. I don't want to have to pay for carbon

 

[driftking]

Why so weight crazy?
Your better of spending money on skill clinics and getting skills and fitness up, that will improve your time and fun plenty more times than 500grams of bike weight. Unless you are one of their pinners already.

But yes you should be able to get the bike under 17 easily even without going air out back.
What's the weight between alloy and carbon? And price. It will probably workout pretty even. You will spend more on lighter parts on alloy where you can get away with heavier parts on the carbon. I'd expect money wise you would be pretty even if you build to weight number.

 

[BLAKE-2234]

im pretty much the same build as you and im on a new commencal supreme dh world cup and can say it corners like an animal and the headangle is super slack super sturdy at speed aswell, mine is at about 17.5kg at the moment and there is a tonne of places to save weight on it, but im not too worried about that more or less just going to the gym and getting fit to be able to handle the bike better first then looking at a set of lighter wheels as weight is not a bad thing on a bike I don't know why everyone chases such low weight esp a downhill bike... weight plays on your side through rock gardens and cornering aslong as you know how to use it to your advantage...

anyway wheels are realistically the only logical place to save weight as rolling weight is worse then sprung/unsprung weight

my 2c

 

[ando120]

I'm so weary of the weight because i'm only a thin light weight freak.. if i have two heavy, its too much.. where as if i have too light, i'll bounce around. Thanks so much for the feed back people!

 

[heavyp]

Get something that looks like a session.

You know sessions started out looking like Kona's which were Turner Afterburners ? People using the net and riding these days must not have any clue about the industry before 2006 I reckon haha.

 

[driftking]

I'm so weary of the weight because i'm only a thin light weight freak.. if i have two heavy, its too much.. where as if i have too light, i'll bounce around. Thanks so much for the feed back people!

Weight it overrated.
At 54kg my first dh bike was 22kg. My current bike is 17.5 I'm a wee bit heavier now but still a lightweight myself. Also consider where the weight is placed. A bike that's weight is low down (low center of gravity) will feel lighter, it will change direction faster, be more stable and corner better, weight placement is huge.
The new commencal as mentioned are not the lightest bikes but their weight is low the bike feels lighter and handles much nicer than you would expect.

Don't get me wrong a bike that's light is nice, it does give you a but more bounce in the rock gardens but its so minimal, the unsprung weight of the bike is small and as the rider you are the heaviest part and placed higher, your body weight would be a bigger factor and your athletic ability.

If you want to build up a light bike do so, by no means is it up to us to decide for you, if you have a dream build go for it, but don't worry about weight to the point you sacrifice performance or spend stupid amount of money (unless you have it and want to)

I like to use the example of gee atherton, when he won the worldcup overall back in 09 (I think) he was in one of the heaviest bikes in the field. We have seen riders go to the extreme only to be beaten by a rider who has a kilo heavier bike.

Weights important but not nearly as important as it appears.

Main point is dont choose a bike on weight go with the frame that will perform the best for you.

 

[ando120]

Far out i love it when you Rotorburners suprise me with a long paragraph. I love it! Thanks so much on all of that. But i'm still very unsure on which bike still. I have the Devinci Wilson, the Giant Glory and the Specialized Demo 8 (presume 2014 models) and I'm totally stuck.

 

[BLAKE-2234]

find and rise a v3 supreme dh you wont be disappointed I know is opinionated of me to say but the weight is low slung and the head angle is slack so it loves cornering and steep stuff

in saying that you need to ride all of these bikes you cant just take someones word for it on the internet...

 

[driftking]

Far out i love it when you Rotorburners suprise me with a long paragraph. I love it! Thanks so much on all of that. But i'm still very unsure on which bike still. I have the Devinci Wilson, the Giant Glory and the Specialized Demo 8 (presume 2014 models) and I'm totally stuck.

If your still stuck I think its time to choose one, if you don't like it sell it, ok sure its not ideal this way but if your truely stuck its impossible to say which ones best for you. You said the giant wasnt as great in corners and the demo wasnt balanced as well. What did you fel on the Wilson? Any cons?


The good news is you have ridden each of the bikes. Did one stand out? Can you test ride on the bikes again where you can tinker with settings to get a true feel?
Testing is the true way to pick a bike if you are stuck.

It's a hard decision choosing more so if you don't have the money to buy and sell constantly until you find one.

 

[ando120]

That's the thing man, the glory and demo are the only bikes i could tinker with (because they were mine) except the wilson, that was someone elses.. The demo and glory felt more lively at low speeds where the wilson felt like crap, it only felt good going fast..

 

[indica]

Weights important but not nearly as important as it appears.

Yep. I think a bike on the lighter side would take a very skilled and strong rider to hold on to the fucking thing and keep it going the right way.
My Fury is a hefty 18.5 kg and for me being a larger bloke it is perfectly suited.I am not a racer and never will be - more the weekend warrior type.
Test ride. Get the right size, get a good spec.
A good rider can ride whatever fast.
Sik Mik goes from bike to bike and consistently performs very well. Sure Gwin was not good with the change but he has not been riding / racing for that long really.

 

[driftking]

Yep. I think a bike on the lighter side would take a very skilled and strong rider to hold on to the fucking thing and keep it going the right way.
My Fury is a hefty 18.5 kg and for me being a larger bloke it is perfectly suited.I am not a racer and never will be - more the weekend warrior type.
Test ride. Get the right size, get a good spec.
A good rider can ride whatever fast.
Sik Mik goes from bike to bike and consistently performs very well. Sure Gwin was not good with the change but he has not been riding / racing for that long really.

To elaborate on that point. I half agree.
I'd say the bike matters a bit ie gwin (but weight was not the factor) it
Was the geo and design, its very different to trek and yeti, now that said even if we look at gwins times. His say 4seconds back. Lets say this is the bike not the rider, in a 4min race that's only a 1.6% difference.

This is how minimal the bike really is, its just if your a top racer its highlighted because the margins are so close and athletes are so highly trained. A well designed bike will always be fast under a rider. Sure it might not be the best choice ie, gwin but not only was that a sizing issue mainly but its a small difference. A good rider can get any well designed bike to work.

Suspension set up is way more important.


As long as you buy a worldcup proven bike you should have no trouble really.

 

[ando120]

Well my plan now is to go out an test ride a few bikes. I look at the Specialized and the Wilson now and the reason i'm such a weight freak is because i've ridden too heavy and not heavy enough before.. It's not great. My main love would be a carbon demo 8 with fox 40's but when i look at it that way, i could get a carbon wilson (full carbon) for that price..

 

[driftking]

Well my plan now is to go out an test ride a few bikes. I look at the Specialized and the Wilson now and the reason i'm such a weight freak is because i've ridden too heavy and not heavy enough before.. It's not great. My main love would be a carbon demo 8 with fox 40's but when i look at it that way, i could get a carbon wilson (full carbon) for that price..

Is the carbon demo a alloy rear?

If it is, its designed that way for a reason, generally because there is no benefit going carbon for them.
Carbon is only as good as its purpose. For instance don't look at carbon as superior or alloy as inferior. It's how they are used that matters. For instance the older gt was full carbon but it was not crazy light because they built it for strength.
The new gt is very light and its alloy.

There is lots that makes a bike stiff or flexible, light, heavy not just material. I think your putting to much emphasis on carbon and the small things. Rather that looking at the bigger things.

Get out and test and see how you go.
Good luck.

 

[ando120]

Is the carbon demo a alloy rear?

If it is, its designed that way for a reason, generally because there is no benefit going carbon for them.
Carbon is only as good as its purpose. For instance don't look at carbon as superior or alloy as inferior. It's how they are used that matters. For instance the older gt was full carbon but it was not crazy light because they built it for strength.
The new gt is very light and its alloy.

There is lots that makes a bike stiff or flexible, light, heavy not just material. I think your putting to much emphasis on carbon and the small things. Rather that looking at the bigger things.

Get out and test and see how you go.
Good luck.

Maybe you are right, maybe the demo is probably better for me. I can't actually ride a carbon demo, i know what an alloy one feels like though. As for the devinci i only rode an alloy (full) and i can say i needed it to be lighter. If i can get good results with going tubeless and other weight saving factors on the wilson, i'd be fine. Although i don't want to be spending big and i dont want air forks or shock.