The One Bike

[Nerf Herder]

I've been lucky enough to enjoy quite a bit of riding over the last few weeks ... and also have a relatively diverse stable of bikes.

I am forming the opinion that there is no such thing as "The One Bike" or a "Do it all Bike"

IMO thats not possible and the compromises are too severe that they either take away from the fun of the ride ... or in the worst case makes it dangerous ... eg, blow a blood vessel trying to get your 18kg AM rig up the hill or crash your brains out on the tech-fest section of your local DH track ... or other bits of expensive snappage to bits that well shouldn't snap.

As an example
my Bullit is supposed to be my "Do it All" bike ... but what I find is that the wheels are too burly for XC ... and I just can't seem to accelerate after a corner ... and its too heavy for sustained hill climbing.

For DH ... the 3 ring combo is way too noisy and drops chains faster then a socialite drops their mobile with uhmmm ... videos of them having uhmmm sexy time ... back on topic ... and as nice as having 6" and 7" F&R is ... it ain't as good as 8 & 8 [insert bigger numbers if needed].

As for Park or Street ... forget about it ... unless of course you consider a ride thru the park and street to get milk as the "S" and the "P" in your STP

Anyways ... what you think Lad ???

along with your well thought out answer provide the following details for some context
i) What rig you Got ... or What rig do you consider as a "Do it All Bike"
ii) How many or what styles do you use it for ... [are you really doing everything with it ?]
iii) What other rigs have you ridden
iv) Would you have ridden the various styles you ride faster, better or with more confidence if you had a more specific bike to that style / track.
v) Assume your on a group ride ... you all have roughly the same skillz and fitness ... everybody except you has a specific bike design for the style of track you are riding versus your "Do it All" rig ... Are you kicking arse ?

Note:
- I don't care about finances ... I also don't care whether brand X is better then brand Y ... this is about purpose built rigs used for specific tracks vs a Nomad or Bullit or SX Trail [or insert Do it all Bike + build here]
- Similarly, although the above is kinda implying having a bike for every different track (eg for DH) ... I'm not really saying that.

 

[Staunch]

I agree, I dont see how a truely "Do It All" bike could exist....
On an AM bike like a Giant Reign X you could ride some XC laps and do some DH maybe but no-way you'd be able to dirt-jump or ride street.

Also on a hardtail like an STP, yes, you might be able to ride DJ and street, do some XC laps and do some DH but you'd never be able to even compare it's XC or DH abilities to a true DH or XC bike, you'd never have a chance in a race.

XC rigs normally are very light, made for speed and have carbon frames sometimes, DH bikes are normally very heavy and have alot of front and rear suspension and DJ/Street bike are normally hardtails with around 100mm of travel, none of these is suited to do another, just like an olmypic swimmer wouldn't have a chance of winning a gold medal in a 100m sprint.


I and II)
What rig you Got ... or What rig do you consider as a "Do it All Bike"
How many or what styles do you use it for ... [are you really doing everything with it ?]

I have a DH bike (Norco A-line) with 8" front and rear travel and a DJ/street bike (Transition T.o.P.) which is a hardtail with 95mm forks and only rear brake.
There's no way that I could use one for the other, my hardtail would absolutely die on a proper DH course and my DH bike wouldn't be able to jump proper dirt jumps properly and it's incredibly hard to do a fakie on it let alone any other tricks. In general I only use my hardtail for DJ, street and park and my DH bike for DH, FR and aggrevsive AM (things the require alot of travel and weight doesn't matter that much), no fucking way am I riding it up a hill.

III)
What other rigs have you ridden

I have ridden alot of different types of bikes properly (not just test ridden) includind DH, DJ/street, XC hardtail, DH hardtail, FR and BMX and out of these I never found one that would be any easier to do every disipline with that another.

IV)
Would you have ridden the various styles you ride faster, better or with more confidence if you had a more specific bike to that style / track.

Yes,
Firstly I used to ride a crappy hardtail for DJ/street which was meant to just be a trail bike but as soon as I got my T.o.P. I found it so much easier to do things like fakies and had alot more confidence.
Same with DH, I used the same trail bike for that but as soon as I got my DH rig I gained alot more confidence due to having a bike actaully suited to the terrian it was ridding and I found it so much better to ride with. Actually having a bike with 8" front and rear travel and hydrolic brakes much it so much easier to ride DH track with.

V)
Assume your on a group ride ... you all have roughly the same skillz and fitness ... everybody except you has a specific bike design for the style of track you are riding versus your "Do it All" rig ... Are you kicking arse ?

No,
When I was still riding my old trail hardtail and I was riding DJ or street with my mates I found it so much harder to do things. I couldn't do things as well simply because my bike wasn't suited to it. I actually learnt to bunnyhop on my mates DJ/street bike just because it was so much easier.
Also same with riding DH, there was no way I could keep up to him on my hardtail when he was on his DH/FR bike, he just ate up all the obsticles with his 7" front and rear travel and I had to go so much slower with my hardtail getting beat up all over the place.

I think the only way a true "Do It All" bike could exist is if it did each of the disiplines of riding very
poorly.


Geez that took a while.....

 

[flamshmizer]

personally i don't think any dually will ever be a do it all bike to an acceptable degree. however if you have insanely strong legs i reckon a freeride style hardtail, with adjustable forks, built light, could do everything quite well. but i know i LOATHED riding my sasquatch up hills at all.

in conclusion, no. there is no do it all bike. someone on here once said "An all mountain bike is one that does everything badly". but if you don't have enough money for 6 bikes, i'm sure an AM rig would still be just as much fun.

 

[Plow King]

Do it all bikes = Bikes that are equally shit at every different genre of mountain biking.

 

[leftykonashred]

i) What rig you Got ... or What rig do you consider as a "Do it All Bike"
ii) How many or what styles do you use it for ... [are you really doing everything with it ?]
iii) What other rigs have you ridden
iv) Would you have ridden the various styles you ride faster, better or with more confidence if you had a more specific bike to that style / track.
v) Assume your on a group ride ... you all have roughly the same skillz and fitness ... everybody except you has a specific bike design for the style of track you are riding versus your "Do it All" rig ... Are you kicking arse ?

hey man i got a 2008 kona shred
i do dh on it i do xc on it i can do dj or street on it and if i wanted to i could do freeride on it its the ultimate allround bike imo
i probably wouldnt go to good against the same people with say dh bikes no way but dh in general hell yea

 

[Sethius]

i reckon if you take out the true XC style part some of the short travel rigs are getting close, heck my 4play was setup for alright sub 15kg, easy light, would of handled DH if the frame wasn't faulty.

*34 or 36 tooth ring
*wide range 11-32 or 11-34 cassette
* mid weight single ply tyres,
*2 pots XT/slx,
*Extension seatpost
*fox or z1 forks

i think thats a pretty solid start to one, i think bikes are getting close to be able to succficently do it all as such, just not excelling in any one area.

and if i did it all again which will oneday for all times sake: yes old dorado and the old frame: always been and always will be my favourite frame...

 

[Christo]

Do it all bikes = Bikes that are equally shit at every different genre of mountain biking.

Yep, hence the phrase 'Jack of all trades, master of none'.

You can't have everything without some compromises.

The closest I've actually seen & ridden to a DIA bike is the Specialized Enduro carbon.

 

[Beerismyfriend]

I bought a Nomad to do the things I want to do in the bush I ride in. Very happy overall. Climbs well enough for a heavy bike and is fast, stable and sure on the way back down. I very much had the 'one bike' idea in mind when I chose the Nomad, but now I'm feverishly converting an old hard tail into a commuter! I'll be happy with the two bikes. Anyone interested in my Meta 5?

 

[bikesarefun]

I found a solution...

Instead of looking for the ideal "do it all bike", cut back from trying to be a "do it all rider".

If you're happy to cut 30+ km XC rides out (which I am), there's a heap of bikes that will happily go for a shorter XC ride, hit big freeride stunts, and be competitive on the DH.

If you can't do away with the long ass XC rides, then maybe get a unicycle or something.

 

[No Skid Marks]

Yeah, hardtail isthe only thing that can do it all, but that's just because of a hardtails limitations. A dually (like your trance)will still do most stuff better(barring DJ, or street), it's just you know a more speccific dually would do a better job of say DH, than say your Trance, and this is why a hardtail seems better, and it is in a lot of ways, living up here in the rocks though, my old body wasn't dealing with the hardtail pounding.
I'm digging my Pitch, it's only shit at real techo rocky XC. My girls set up with the adjustable forks(travel), and air both ends is very very versatile, and is her only bike for XC, and tame DH. At 14kg with 6" travel front and rear(6.5 front, and with piggy back air shock, rear could be 6.5 also)it can be set up XC stiff, or DH soft.
http://forums.farkin.net/showthread.php?t=164097&highlight=Pitch
Tree Hugger, you should've had a go on mine. It didn't slow me down on the ups or downs, my skills did
So I'd say any good 5-6 travel dually with air shocks. Ellesworth, Reign, Pitch, etc etc.

 

[mullan2304]

i) What rig you Got ... or What rig do you consider as a "Do it All Bike"
I have a Turner Rail (the 06 bitza version, not the square tube version).

ii) How many or what styles do you use it for ... [are you really doing everything with it ?]
It gets used as a dirt jumper and 4x bike regularly and with change of stem, a drop in pressure on the back and a drop in compression damping on the front it's the perfect trail and xc bike. It's also done a couple of runs down Awaba. Sketchy, but heaps of fun.

iii) What other rigs have you ridden
First edition Mongoose black diamond for a couple of weeks (demo bike). Nothing else worth even considering being classed as do it all.

iv) Would you have ridden the various styles you ride faster, better or with more confidence if you had a more specific bike to that style / track.
Downhill at Awaba is definetly more suited to a DH bike, you do notice the TT is a little short on long XC rides. On DJ's the rear sus saps a bit of speed, but it still does just fine.

v) Assume your on a group ride ... you all have roughly the same skillz and fitness ... everybody except you has a specific bike design for the style of track you are riding versus your "Do it All" rig ...
I think I'd struggle.

 

[mtb1611]

I've got a 08 Reign 0. Fox Vanilla R Forks, RP23, Avid Elixir R brakes, Hope Pro 2/Mavic 819/DT wheels, XT groupo. Does everything I ask of it. Therefore it's my "one" bike.

 

[Staunch]

Compared to everyone elses anwser seems like I put in so much work for nothing

 

[3viltoast3r]

Im going to pitch in for a 4"-6" HT.
My five-o is set up with dual-ply tyres, 8" rotors 1x8 single ring/hucking rims (824g rims ) setup.....Basically I DH'ified it as much as possible.....I can still shred DJ's/ Park (Although clips are a limiting factor)....

Building it up with 6"/7" rotors, single ply tyres, 2x9 with shifting guide setup, and reasonable wheel-set with a travel adjust fork IE 180mm-115mm with a totem,domain,lyric etc etc and you have a pretty a fairly reasonable rig......Light enough to shred round the trails, but still be able to take a bit of abuse. You would be surprised how much fun it can be, being able to DJ,DH, hit the hills and still be able to ride home on the road.
Consider it:
-Norco FR HT
-Travel adjust forks (180/160mm extended)
-2x9 shift guide setup
-Run dual ply's for shuttle days, otherwise try the Maxxis "fr" range.....Basically single ply minions/highrollers, about 200g heavier than XC tyres (about 850g all up)
-6"R 7"F rotors

 

[jackthewolverine]

i) What rig you Got ... or What rig do you consider as a "Do it All Bike"
I have a 08 Norco Six
ii) How many or what styles do you use it for ... [are you really doing everything with it ?]I do XC,DJ,DH on it
iii) What other rigs have you riddenI few downhill bikes, Xc bikes,DJ and i like this the best, Plus another do it all bike
iv) Would you have ridden the various styles you ride faster, better or with more confidence if you had a more specific bike to that style / track.well of course but my Six does just fine
v) Assume your on a group ride ... you all have roughly the same skillz and fitness ... everybody except you has a specific bike design for the style of track you are riding versus your "Do it All" rig ... Are you kicking arse ?
They would still be faster but then say if they all had Dh bikes, i could kill the uphills or vice-versa

 

[Nerf Herder]

Compared to everyone elses anwser seems like I put in so much work for nothing

heee heeee ... welcome to farkin ... be patient grasshopper

 

[roboworm9000]

kona bass

i consider the kona bass as a do it all bike ( when set up right )

my mate uses it for eveything- down hill, jumping, 4x, xc, cross country and so on i join him with eveything apart from the down hill and freeride on my norco ryde

fuji outlander, some eastern, giant yukon, norco havoc, giant glory

depends what the weathers like. if its muddy then no
( bad day-vs-good day )

 

[Staunch]

welcome to farkin ...

Welcome?, I've been on Farkin for almost 5 months now.....and atleast double that if you count the time I used to use my mates account....

 

[Tofsy]

i) What rig you Got ... or What rig do you consider as a "Do it All Bike"
I am currently riding a 2006 Specialized SX (the 4X model, not the SX Trail) and I could not be happier with it. I believe it is a truely "Do it All Bike"

ii) How many or what styles do you use it for ... [are you really doing everything with it ?]
I really do use this bike for everything, DH, 4X, DJ, XC and a fair bit of commuting - it would be fine im sure for street but im not really into that. It does so well in all these styles (of course it is not perfect - although pretty close - for everything but nothing will be). I have ridden it on International at Mt Buller and had a blast and i have ridden it on 40km XC rides and have had equally as much fun. And on the 4X track it is just a dream.

iii) What other rigs have you ridden
I have very little experince with other bikes - i went straight from my Avanti hartail (which i also rode everything on) to this.

iv) Would you have ridden the various styles you ride faster, better or with more confidence if you had a more specific bike to that style / track.
I dont believe i would ride DH any faster or with more confidence on a DH bike - it would however be a lot more comfortable and i could ride for longer i think. As i have a chainguide on the front i think on a XC specific bike you could ride for longer and faster. But overall, no, i dont think i would ride better, faster or with more confidence on a style specific bike.

v) Assume your on a group ride ... you all have roughly the same skillz and fitness ... everybody except you has a specific bike design for the style of track you are riding versus your "Do it All" rig ... Are you kicking arse ?
No, I am not kicking arse, but I do keep up. On XC rides I sometime kick arse up the hills but that is because i dont have a choice with no granny ring, so i just pound up the hill (very tireing but good for me )

I love this bike, thought of getting a DH bike but decided I really didnt need one and I was having so much fun on my Specialized SX!

 

[Cuthbert]

From a performance/competitive standpoint the 'jack of all trades, master of none' concept holds true. And there will never be a true 'jack of all trades' rig as no one bike will ever handle all disciplines adequately enough to be labelled as such. For example, any bike that is somewhat DH capable will be less than ordinary for street/park riding. However, for recreational riding or a play bike you can could have one rig that will handle some but not all of the different discipines adequately enough - don't need it to be a master for this.....

The typical 'do it all' bike is always spoken of as a classic 'freeride' dually, one that can get you down your favourite DH tracks with a bit of speed, take on a few jumps/stunts on the way, can be pedalled back up to do it all again and when you're done ride 10km of single track back home. A 6 inch travel Reign or similar is a good example.

However, IMO the most versatile 'do it all' bike is a jump/4X rig running dual front rings and with adjustable travel forks. These are is strong and capable enough to get you down a DH track unscathed (albeit a bit slower than anything with squish in the rear), can be pedalled around ok and will get you to the top of that climb (not fast, but you will get there eventually, especially if you choose to run a long seat post), will perform at the DJs and skatepark and can be raced 4X.