looking at these bikes

biggins · Oct 8, 2004

get a santa cruz heckler

biggins · Oct 8, 2004

well, as you ride you will progress. the heckler is way more versatile. about the only difference is the coil shock and a couple more gussets. i have a friend that has a heckler and he is very xc oriented but it also allows you to go bigger if you come across something you wanna hit.................like my avatar

Skookum · Oct 8, 2004

I'm not sure if any of the bikes you mention in your list would be anything but entry level XC racing bikes for fun. i may be wrong since i don't race, but biggins has a valid point that the Heckler would be more capable of taking a beating, and since you noted you are into aggressive xc we have to assume you like beating the hell out of your bike on trail rides. good luck.

McGRP01 · Oct 10, 2004

Yeti 575.

caputo1989 · Oct 10, 2004

stumpy

blue · Oct 10, 2004

Yeti 575...C'Dale Prophet...GT Ruckus...SC Blur...Titus Loco-Moto...Intense 5.5 EVP...Titus Switchblade...

Pick any one of those and it will work for what you want, although most of them aren't what you would call "raceable", although I have seen a dude race beginner on a Heckler.

blue · Oct 10, 2004

Meh, I'd much rather race on a Superlight. Blur's have too much travel...you aren't gonna find many people racing on them.

Skookum · Oct 10, 2004

jeremy155rr said:
not quite sure i get what your sayin there... are you saying that all of those rides seem entry level to you?
2. all those rides are too trail bike oriented for serious xc racing, but they would be okay to race xc for fun?
3. if i'm way off.,. what would you consider to be a real serious xc racing bike and why?

1 no i wouldn't say any of those bikes are entry level mt. bikes on a recreation level.
2 and 3 Yes more for epics, and general trail riding than for serious XC racing. XC racing seems to be won in pedal efficiency, and cardio end of riding, and has little if any technical skills needed for most courses, i just don't see alot of suspension bikes in the XC racing scene, there are way more light hardtails. But again your local circuit may be different and again i state i don't race and am really qualifying myself here, just going on what little i've seen

blue · Oct 10, 2004

Skookum said:
1 no i wouldn't say any of those bikes are entry level mt. bikes on a recreation level.
2 and 3 Yes more for epics, and general trail riding than for serious XC racing. XC racing seems to be won in pedal efficiency, and cardio end of riding, and has little if any technical skills needed for most courses, i just don't see alot of suspension bikes in the XC racing scene, there are way more light hardtails. But again your local circuit may be different and again i state i don't race and am really qualifying myself here, just going on what little i've seen

You're just jealous cause us HT riders can bomb the same crap you can

That and a lot of my XC races have been on uber-technical ish...Whatever. What I'm saying is that those wouldn't be great XC racing bikes...You can race whatever the hell you want to, I mean jeez, I do gap jumps on my 20 lb XC bike, but its just not going to do it well.

If you're beating the hell out of your bike, go with a 575 or Heckler, and race if you want to, it'll feel better when you beat all the guys like me on 20lb bikes.

jacksonpt · Oct 11, 2004

Of those choices... I'd go with the Blur or the Stumpjumper. Have you looked at the Titus Racer X? Might be a bit more expensive depending on how you build it... but it's the closest thing I've seen to a raceable trailbike (which sounds like what you are looking for).

MTB_Rob_NC · Oct 11, 2004

The Blur is an excellent Trail Bike that can pull very good double duty as a racer. No less than 3 of my close Sport level racer friends race them competitively. A Blur can be built up ~ 25lbs with race parts. With the Blur you could fit your bill if you build it up with say an adjustable travel Talas, XT level build and a nice wheelset.

It won't take the beating a Heckler will (I have a Heckler btw) but a Blur will be better on an Epic technical trail then say a Titus Racer-X.

Get 2 sets of wheels. One set up to take some abuse with 2.3 or so tires and ride trail all day long, then get a set of CrossMax with some light weight race tires for race day. Crank your Talas down to 100mm and throw on the Cross max and you'd have a pretty competitive race bike, put the bigger wheels and tires on and crank the talas back up to 125, sit back and relax and ride all day long. (just don't drop off anything bigger than say 3')

Wumpus · Oct 11, 2004

Another thing to consider is how much you weigh.

Couple more choices:

Ventana x-5

Hammerhead 100x and the soon to be 125x(built by ventana) and 150x(built by titus).

Kornphlake · Oct 11, 2004

Really there is nothing wrong with a 4-5" bike, except the fact that the market is moving toward 6". I think for a sport class rider something like a gary fischer sugar or trek fuel, specialized enduro, stump jumper, or a giant NRS will be "enough" bike, although in some situations you may find yourself pushing the limits of what the bike can really handle. So you have to ask yourself, do you want to wear out and break parts or do you want to be a little slower on climbs. Remember that more suspension doesn't always mean that the bike will pedal worse, some of the longer travel bikes are very efficient without resorting to VPP linkages and such.

Ridemonkey · Oct 11, 2004

Alright first of all - this guy is looking for an XC bike that he could race XC on one day. He listed the bikes he was looking at. Heckler and 575 were not in that list. I'm getting tired of non-related crap being tossed around and ruining a lot of threads. That includes this forum and the ROAD forum!

IN OTHER WORDS - POST SOMETHING HELPFUL OR DONT POST AT ALL! That especially goes for you fools who post freeriding advice in the road forums for cripes sake.

Anyway... geesh. You can certainly race an efficient 4-5 inch trail bike. You won't go pro on one, but I'm sure that's not your intention. Of the bikes you listed I would get either the Blur or the Stumpy - blur being a better choice for a racer. I've never been a big fan of the design or quality of RM bikes.

Skookum · Oct 12, 2004

i got 10 dollars this guy is gonna shred NC on his blur, XC race but find it kinda boring, and want a bigger bike in a year or two, to handle them crazy southern mountains.

*running like hell from RM's wrath*

JRB · Oct 12, 2004

Skookum said:
i got 10 dollars this guy is gonna shred NC on his blur, XC race but find it kinda boring, and want a bigger bike in a year or two, to handle them crazy southern mountains.

*running like hell from RM's wrath*

Well then we can have a trail bike thread huh???

MtnbikeMike · Oct 13, 2004

At Mammoth I saw a couple of the Luna Chix's racing XC on Blur's.

freeridebiker21 · Oct 15, 2004

i would get the rm slayer. i test rod one a couple weeks back and it was a blast. all raceface stuff ,fox suspention ,and 5 inches of travel all around can't bet it.

Sir_Crackien · Oct 31, 2004

i like the spec FS 120 and the RM slayer that best of your options but its really perferance. one note though the blur has no tire room, 2.1" max

blue · Nov 4, 2004

jeremy155rr said:
1st find out if i'll like xc racing (might not be technical enough for my liking)

Local/Regional XC racing usually kicks ass, its the national/worlds level that sucks. If you tried to use something like some of the Norba series in our local XC series, you'd get laughed at and nobody would come to your race.

Crappyness of NORBA/UCI/bull**** courses are one of the main factors for me going to 24 hour racing full time...No giant sports federations to screw things up...yet.

Barbaton · Nov 4, 2004

I really like my Blur. It's fast and goes uphill with a thought. If you want something a bit more beefy they've just released a beefed up blur.

EDIT: And now that I've read to the end of the thread it looks like you've already made your decision. Have fun with the vt1 and welcome back to the sport..

MtnbikeMike · Nov 4, 2004

xbluethunderx said:
Local/Regional XC racing usually kicks ass, its the national/worlds level that sucks. If you tried to use something like some of the Norba series in our local XC series, you'd get laughed at and nobody would come to your race.

Crappyness of NORBA/UCI/bull**** courses are one of the main factors for me going to 24 hour racing full time...No giant sports federations to screw things up...yet.

World cup courses are actually VERY techy. Granted, they turn into mud fests(because of the weather in Europe), but the descents are crazy.

Kornphlake · Nov 5, 2004

Get into shape over the winter and try racing the VT in the spring, I think you'll be suprised how capable the bike can be as a racer. Really what it's going to come down to is the fitness level and skill of the rider not the bike he's riding. We have a local trail that's pretty rooty and rocky and mostly downhill, there's a racer chick who trains on the trail on a hardtail with an 80mm race fork, she'll shred up the trail and we'll catch up with her at the top, pushing our "trail bikes" expecting to smoke her on the downhill since our bikes have more travel, bigger tires and stronger frames, but every time she'll get the holeshot and keep a good distance in front of us. As long as you are enjoying the ride and comfortable on your bike, it doesn't really matter what ethnicity your bike is.

NCBikingJim · Nov 20, 2004

STUMPJUMPER, that's the only way to go. The 4-bar linkage is such a better design than the others on the market. If you're wanting the 5 inches of travel then go with the 120, otherwise I would look at the 100. Just had a buddy pickup a 2005 S-Works Stumpjumper in addition to the '03 Stumpjumper he already has. He says "it's like going from a Lincoln Towncar to a Bentley".

aznfreerdr08 · Nov 21, 2004

if you want to have a little fun, but still have a bike that pedals extremely well, get the slayer. it pedals well, but it still has the suspension to go fast and to have fun(not saying that you need suspension to go fast, but it helps)

caputo1989 · Dec 1, 2004

Stumpy!

genpowell71 · Dec 4, 2004

I took the stumpy 120 for a ride today. As far as a good XC bike, it'll do great. But if you ride aggressive trail like you say then that should not be on the list. I would go with a Blur either. Both of those bikes are great if you want to ride the groomed trails at Tsali. However, if your wanting to ride and do drops, jump gaps, and "semi" freeride stuff then I think that the bike you want is the Heckler. Most of my friends that ride one swear by it. They give thier bikes a pounding and it asks for more. The 120 would be a great race bike, but thats about it.

skittles · Dec 4, 2004

santacruz blur it the way to go

looking at these bikes

Chimp

Rump Junkie

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JRB

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