Riding the bike while not freeriding/dh!

B

Borizuka

Squid
Hey guys,

This may seem like a dumb question, but I can't seem to get a decent aswer. I'm from Canberra so I visit the usual places like Stromlo etc, I want to get my first freeride bike, compared to the usual 21/24/27 speed dualies how are they to ride to the top of the hill or basically around the place. (Gearing, weight, position wise)

I guess what I am asking is will I be able to easily use it doing basic XC to get to the top and around Stromlo Forrest, or if anyone is familiar with Canberra locations, doing some things at sparrow hill. Or will I need to use my existing dually?

Would I be better of upgrading to a bigger/tougher all round dually? That is geared, and lighter. (I'm just afraid to break it on some jumps and drops!)

At the moment the bikes that I am looking at would be:

- Ironhorse Sunday Team
- Norco A-Line
- Norco Shore

Any reccomendations? Please!!!
 
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Staunch

Staunch

Eats Squid
Hey
Firstly the Ironhorse is more a DH race bike than a FR bike, the A-line is more of a DH/FR bike, the Shore is the only actual proper FR bike.
Secondly I have a Norco A-line, tried to do a 5km XC track on it once.....never...again.
There is a reason why bikes like this have 8 inches of travel, they're for smashing down rock gardens and huge drops, not riding up things, that's why they're called "Downhill bikes" (not trying to be a smart-ass bit it's true)
Big travel bikes don't work well for XC, you'd be much better looking at 6" AM bikes rather that full on 8" FR/DH bikes. They'd still be decent for riding up hills and doing some XC while holding up to some lighter FR.
 
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hazza6542

hazza6542

Eats Squid
First ride on my Stinky was an XC loop. As said before, never, again. The shore might be a bit lighter than the others, but still a heavy bike. The Sunday would be completely pointless. A Giant Reign maybe? I think your looking for an All Mountain bike.
 
Fixie God

Fixie God

Likes Dirt
Specialized Stumpjumper, Specialized Enduro, Giant Reign, lots of others....

As already said, you'd die trying to ride a DH/FR bike up Stromlo.....literally.....

Get an AM bike and you can go up and down!!!!!
 
Barnsy

Barnsy

Likes Dirt
Honestly, the best physical training you'll get for FR/DH is to do XC on your DH bike... Once you can do 20-30km XC loops going hard all the way DH runs don't really tire you out much! So my advice is perhaps go for a lighter FR/DH bike (17kg isn't impossible on most DH/FR bikes) and get those legs rolling! The key is to find a technical XC track with some fun downhill bits.
 
Nerf Herder

Nerf Herder

Wheel size expert
depends on what your use to ... if your riding with XC whippets then your heading for a major heartlege.

If your not out to break any records then you'll be fine with your selection ... especially if you are not worried about pushing up some (read: most hills)

I use to ride my Stab on AM rides ... alot of hill walking, but man the techy bits were nice. I suggest you focus on what you want to do most ... if there is uphill pedalling involved on most of your rides, then an AM rig would be better.
 
B

Borizuka

Squid
Thanks guys. Like I said, silly question but still good to know!

I do want to do DH/FR, but wanted to check if the bike can be used for anything else, or there was a versatile solution. Now I understand that I need two bikes, haha.
 
RAC_DH

RAC_DH

Likes Dirt
Friend of mine rides a reighn X or Xo and he smashes around gap creek on it it ahs fox talas 36 on the front and 6inches at the rear so its good for Dh and some light Xc, would be great with an extendable seatpost.

but as said above no DH bike will ever be good for XC as they are built for 2 different things.

you could maybe get a nomad they are good allmountain and can be built as an agressive bike
 
willsy01

willsy01

Eats Squid
I used to try using my old Specialized Big Hit for getting around the trails.....it was a pig. It actually turned me off riding to the point where I all but stopped going.

Fast forward a few months and I picked up an 09 Trance X2 and believe it's the best $2800 i've ever spent. It's not a FR machine, but something like the Reign is a bit more capable in that department.
 
B

Borizuka

Squid
Thanks everyone.

I think I have come to a conclusion that for a beginner in this area of riding I don't want anything too extreme just yet, so I have now shifted towards something like a Reign X, Kona Colair, Specialized Enduro, but I think I like the look of the Norco Six 2 the most. Depending on what I decide on doing I can modify the bike slightly to get it to suit more of what I want to do.

I think for the riding that I will be doing the original DH/FR bikes are a bit overkill, as I am just starting out in this type of riding as mentioned. So if I really get into it, I will get a specific DH/FR rig in the future.
 
C

camtb

Likes Dirt
I'd look into the ironhorse Mk range I know theres a few of the faster people from insideline who even race dh on them, well on the more pedally tracks, and i think theres another ironhorsee that would suit pretty good i think its called a 6 point? either them or a kona bass, there sick
 
N

nedless

Squid
i got a 09 specialized big hit its more 4 dh/fr but the lockout on the forks helps alot if your doing sum climbs and out of those bikes you mentioned the shore is probs best for wat u hav descibed
 
DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
I have a reign. I XC it regularly. The fact that you can lock both ends for climbing is fantastic. I also DH it. It moves around a lot compared to a DH rig but its still great fun. Handles jumps, dropoffs and Rock gardens easily. Get a good bashie system though :)
 
Captain Sensible

Captain Sensible

Likes Dirt
Barnsy said:
Honestly, the best physical training you'll get for FR/DH is to do XC on your DH bike... Once you can do 20-30km XC loops going hard all the way DH runs don't really tire you out much! So my advice is perhaps go for a lighter FR/DH bike (17kg isn't impossible on most DH/FR bikes) and get those legs rolling! The key is to find a technical XC track with some fun downhill bits.
Click to expand...
I agree, makes you a better rider too.

Maybe build up a FR/DH bike with a single crown fork and two chainrings. The Banshee Scythe can do this, as can several others.
 
Barspin Imports

Barspin Imports

Likes Dirt
Check out the Banshee Wildcard too! Big hit plushness with rideable geometry. You can run it with forks from 140mm to 180mm - and with Single, Dual or Triple rings. It's a very versatile platform!
 
MARKL

MARKL

Eats Squid
Barnsy said:
Honestly, the best physical training you'll get for FR/DH is to do XC on your DH bike... Once you can do 20-30km XC loops going hard all the way DH runs don't really tire you out much! So my advice is perhaps go for a lighter FR/DH bike (17kg isn't impossible on most DH/FR bikes) and get those legs rolling! The key is to find a technical XC track with some fun downhill bits.
Click to expand...
+2
I have done a couple of XC runs on my Sunday and its not that bad, all I do is drop the travel of the fork to 160mm (888 ATA World Cups) and a couple of clicks of compresion and good to go. A mate was on his Norco Team DH when we did the Oakes and that was like a tramp bike in comparison. Teaches you to pedal smoothly if nothing else.

Seriously if you want a downhill bike buy one, anything else is just a compromise. However if you need a bike that can do it all these are the ones I would consider

1. Pivot Firebird - if you want a true do it all bike this is THE ONE!
2. Santa Cruz Nomad...
3. Intense SlopeStyle
4. Banshee Rune
5. Norco Empire 5 (doesn't fit really with the above bikes I know)

I really like the Specialised Enduro SL but the head angle is to steep for downhill
 
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