"man there's some bikes out there, Husqvarna's, MZ's...." -the photographer from Fear and Loathing
But what the fff is a SAPA?
Would you buy a Turner 4X bike?...
- Thread starter leprechaun
- Start date
But what the fff is a SAPA?
Oye Caballero,that black prototype looks wonderful (but heavy like a dhr)
Yes i said a tad heavy for racers looking for an edge.
But when she's on full steam she's keeps rolling.
You don't notice the 'extra' weight.
Jumps great too. And Rails corners.
A DHR? I need white one... -hubba hubba-
Adios,
The YETI 4X is the best short travel gate racer out there, hands down. I still have one left in the shop if anyone's interested.
lol .
Pur-sang, right, I know he mentioned a third bike but I never knew what it was. Sounds Vietnamese..
cmon !
pur sang means pure blood, you did watch the da vinci code right? (san greal ----> sang real)
On-Topic!
Would you buy a Turner 4X bike?
Yes i have... a 'raw' Turner 4X SL version which is in pieces due to me sanding / polishing the front triangle.
Since i'm such a sucker for Ball-burnished... i believe J. Kirkcaldie's frame was finished that way and not polished.
But since nobody has a small rolling drum filled with small ball bearings to hammer the toplayer to submission and making it shine. I'll have to make do with DIY elbow grease and lots of polishing paste.
Anyone interested in a Turner Rail proto?
Would you buy a Turner 4X bike?
Yes i have... a 'raw' Turner 4X SL version which is in pieces due to me sanding / polishing the front triangle.
Since i'm such a sucker for Ball-burnished... i believe J. Kirkcaldie's frame was finished that way and not polished.
But since nobody has a small rolling drum filled with small ball bearings to hammer the toplayer to submission and making it shine. I'll have to make do with DIY elbow grease and lots of polishing paste.
Anyone interested in a Turner Rail proto?
Yes...I already have one and would happily buy another.
All I own is my turner and a DH bike so it gets used for everything from dirt jumping to xc and seems to handle it all. Definitely most at home on slalom-esque terrain but makes an incredibly fun bike in the woods as well in my opinion.
It's honestly more versatile than a lot of 4x frames; reasonable seat angle, front mech capability, pedals well.
For what it's worth, I bought mine used for $750, so that's how I could validate it as my only bike. I'd rather take a slalom bike to the woods than try to take a 6-incher to the race track, so this fit the bill.
All I own is my turner and a DH bike so it gets used for everything from dirt jumping to xc and seems to handle it all. Definitely most at home on slalom-esque terrain but makes an incredibly fun bike in the woods as well in my opinion.
It's honestly more versatile than a lot of 4x frames; reasonable seat angle, front mech capability, pedals well.
For what it's worth, I bought mine used for $750, so that's how I could validate it as my only bike. I'd rather take a slalom bike to the woods than try to take a 6-incher to the race track, so this fit the bill.
Daaang... If only it was a long, I'd be all over it.
I don't think there's ever a way for that to be proffitable for Turner. There's just not that many people that would buy one, and not that many people that would use one. It would be cool, and I've ridden some DS/4x bikes that were pretty neat, but it's more like a novelty, and it would be pretty damn expensive to make it worth turner's while with the numbers of people that would want one IMO.
Someone on my local craiglist was selling one brand new for a decent amount and he ended up selling it for 500 dollars because no one was offering him any money. I so wish I had the money to buy it, dude lost out on some major bank and the other dude got a killer deal.
I definitely love the frame but being broke and me not being able to find one when I had the money, I can only save it to my pictures folder and look at it every night before I go to bed...
I definitely love the frame but being broke and me not being able to find one when I had the money, I can only save it to my pictures folder and look at it every night before I go to bed...
The reality is that most people can't afford an XC bike, a DH bike, a freeride bike, an AM bike, a 4x bike, a slope style bike, a single speed, a rigid bike, a road bike, and a BMX bike, they have to make choices and go with less. I seriously doubt there are that many people out there that want a 4x bike before things like a DH bike and AM bike, meaning the market is pretty small. Just for kicks, do you own a 4x bike, if not then why not, and if you do, what was the order of your purchase (what types of bikes did you purchase before it?)?
I have a DHR (DH), RFX (FR/Trail), and a Burner (XC). Bought in that order.
After I had my DHR and RFX built up, I was looking for a Rail (Turner's "mini-DHR" style 4x/slalom frame) for years but never found a good deal on a frame. That is when I decided to build up the Burner and ride more XC instead. I raced slalom at Mt. Snow and had an absolute blast, and wanted a short travel fully that would be great for that and DJs.
Exactly. The number of people that buy two different types of bikes is relatively small, the number that buy two different types of bikes from the same manufacturer is probably smaller, and the number of people who will buy THREE different types of bikes is smaller yet, then consider that 4x is nowhere near as big as the other types if riding/racing. I KNOW there are people that want one BIG-TIME, and for these people it may in fact be their favorite type of riding, that is not what I'm debating, just that the actual numbers are pretty small. For most people that would even consider owning a 4x bike, it would come after some more basic types of bikes, like AM and FR bikes. Then how much disposable money do you have? How many people can then afford another bike?
Holy shizzzz I would've bought that in a heartbeat.
Maybe you haven't realized it yet, but there's a LOT of people willing to spend a LOT of money to get stuff they want. Someone may ask who is willing to spend $2600 for a DH frame, yet look at how many DHRs you see out there. Also, you seem to be pigeonholing the 4X frame into a pure 4X-only capable bike, yet I'm sure it could make just as nice DJ/trail/AM bike if setup correctly.
If you built it, they will buy it.
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after you spent 2600 dollars for that DH frame, how much would you spend to build it up?
And then once you were done with that, what would you buy next? XC bike for most people. same deal, 2500 for a frame, then you have to build it up. Your down 5K in frames alone, and generally a build costs as much as the frame (for a good build, which I am assuming occurs with most turner frames). After that, most people don't have alot of money to throw down on another bike, but after a bit of thinking about it, they decide to throw down for an RFX. You could have bought a car for the money you've spent now.
There seems to be a market for DJ FS bikes, look at the enduro sx, look at the bass, yeti 4x, there are plenty examples out there, but way fewer in the botique range
I think the frame pigeon holes itself. Yes, I would love to build up a 4x, do everything bike, but the current crop of 4x race frames are way too small for me. There is no way that I would be able to use a 15" seat tube. My current 4x HT has a 16.5" ST with a 71*SA and I've high posted it a few times for XC and it just felt wrong. Not too mention it flat out just looked goofy with a seat post that is the same length as the seat tube. I guess short people are the lucky ones when it comes to 4x frames.
EDIT: And I can't even come close to justifying a $1600 race-day only frame.
EDIT: And I can't even come close to justifying a $1600 race-day only frame.
I would love to agree with you, but Turner does build them every year (and will be building a DW link 4X bike for next year as well)....and they only sell a handful. The majority end up in the hands of sponsored riders because of all the reasons JM mentioned.
There is a good reson that the only companies that continue to make 'production' 4x bikes are the little, high end guys (Turner, Yeti) that can do a limmited run and off-set the cost by the visability of the frames ridden by high profile riders
The problem is that most 4X frames (if truely designed for 4X) dont cross over very well at all. They are generally to 'light' to be much of a jumper (althought geo can be pretty good). Most are built quite small (21.5" top tube), low and designed for a very short fork (80 - 100mm) so they are not very applicable to XC with unless you are 5' even. The travel for a 'race 4X' bike is generally under 4"....certainly not what people are buying for AM...or XC for that matter.
I think the VAST majority of people would be better off taking an AM type bike and making some mods (like all the link and stay swaping of older Turners..short shocks, etc) to gain some '4X' qualities ....than to buy a true 4X race bike and trying to make it work for trail duty.
As far as the older rail is concerned....that thing was in its own class.....really a super short travel DH bike. It weighed a TON.....ans while I dont think it would ever break, it was SOOOOO limmited in what you could do on it, it was very much a fourth tier bike. If you raised the seat to even half leg extension, you a$$ ended directly over the rear axle....
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Point is I want one and if I had the money I would buy one.
Bah, all you negative nancys don't know what you're missing. If I could keep only 1 bike, it would be my sx. It does everything from xc (there's a reason they make 410mm seatposts) to lite dh. I would trade it for a Turner 4x (horst or dw), but the list of comparable bikes is pitifully short...
