Well, I was not really sure where this thread should go...
What do you call a bike with a 66degree HT, a long wheelbase and a low BB? A Downhill bike would be my first guess.
But what about a bike with 127mm of travel that climbs like a goat? XC? Trail?
I finally decided to do a quick search and it appears that most of the Spitty threads are here in the DH forum so I decided to post this where the people interested will see it. Plus I'm a mod here, and this is my home turf.
So away we go!!
Lets start at the beginning I guess. For the last 6 years I've been riding an Ironhorse MK3... that replaced a 2001 Hollowpoint. All in all great bikes. 140mm of travel with a 140mm Pike up front. I also have owned two 7points and a 2001 V10. So really, the only bikes I have bought since about 2002 have been Ironhorse's with DW linkage, so this was a really big step for me.
I decided to get a new bike bc my 7point was too burly and heavy to keep up with my friends on their Kona Coil Air's, Ventana El Ciclone's etc and my MK3 was too "xc" when it came to the small drops, jumps and steep rock rollers with abrupt transitions (OTB city!!). I'm keeping the 7pt bc it is newer and also a blast on some of the local DH trails where there is no shuttle option. But I have a feeling I'll be riding it less and less now. Special thanks to the guys at 5689 Bike Studio in south OC. http://www.5689bikestudio.com/ for some great service!!
Here is the rundown on the Spitty Specs:
-Medium black ano spitfire frame with a PUSH'd 2005 Fox RP23 (off the MK3)
-2008 Fox 36 VAN (coil)
-Saint front brake 203mm, XT rear 185mm (both with the "servo" levers)
-Raceface Deus cranks with a 36/22 Bash setup
-Sram x9 drivetrain
-WTB front hub with a skinny XC rim (soon to be swapped for a Flow)
-Hadley bolt-on rear hub with Mavic 819 UST rim
-WTB seat on a Sette seatpost (My legs are too long for the Banshee post that was included & saving funds for a Reverb eventually)
-EA50 70mm stem with 20degree rise and a 3/4in rise 680mm bar
Just getting on the bike my initial impressions were that the reach (ETT) is just about the same as my Large MK3 (which was a 23.5in) but the front wheel seemed to be a fair bit further in front of me, due to the slack HT. The bars were also a bit higher, but that could be due to the 3/4in spacer and 20 degree stem I was using. I may switch back to my old stem and bar just to compare (it was a 70mm 0degree with a 1/2in rise bar, no spacers) but again, probably only temporarily.
Yesterday was the first ride on this bad-boy and WOW, was I impressed. Unfortunately no pics bc I was having way too much fun to stop. Now, this may seem like it isn't impressive, but I would say that is climbs almost as well as my MK3 and descends almost as well as my 7point. When they say that the bike is long and low, they mean it.
The ride (as most do) started off with a climb... some steep sections, a few tight switchbacks etc. I was a bit worried that the more upright position would hamper me or that the front wheel would wander but that really wasn't an issue. I did have to be a little more concentrated on the steep tight switchbacks but I still made them all w/o dabbing. I was also a little worried that there would be some "bob" with the 22t granny but this really was not the case. At least not with the Pro-Pedal on, and I even had a light pro-pedal setup from Push since this was coming off a DW link bike. Didn't try it w/o the PP. All in all, the bike climbs great and unfortunately cannot be my excuse when my friends leave me behind. Only my legs and lungs are holding me back. Oh, and my back (series of bulging disks over the past 2 years). The bike really scoots when you put down the power. Granted, the bushings have yet to really wear in so that is a little extra "propedal" so to speak. If things change later on I'll update this, but I doubt it will be noticeable.
Once at the top I put the seat back down and got ready to go (dang a reverb would have been awesome here). The first trail was newly built so it was pretty tight with some swoopy bermed turns and some tight switchbacks (some bermed, some not). The bike was VERY stable coming back down and ate up the swoopy turns. It was a little noticeably longer when it came to the switchback turns though, but I was right on the butt of my friend on his 7pt the whole way down.
We then climbed up a steep fireroad (the 3rd "B" for those of you who know Santiago Oaks) and again the bike felt great on the climb. I was afraid again that the front would pop-up a bit since this is a STEEP fireroad but it didn't even wander too much to my pleasant surprise.
Next up was the "main course"... a FAST all-out no brakes descent with some little booters and drops thrown in for fun. This was my first real "downhill" on the bike (not DH downhill) and I was hitting things faster/further/bigger on my first run than I would have ever hit them on my MK3. Almost as fast as on my 7point and it has 2in more travel in back, a coil shock and a Totem up front. From there the trail goes into a section of rocks where the spandex guys take it as a small series of S turns.... I straightline it though. It doesn't have big drops or anything but is is steep and rough this way. This section the bike WAS a little more bumpy than on my 7point, but I could take it almost as fast...and surely faster than on the MK3. Then there are a series of little table top jumps about 2-3ft high and 5-6ft long. The bike felt very stable on these and I was easily able to adjust the amount of air I was getting in order to not over-clear them. Again, almost no brakes here... just using the bike and my pre-loading to hit them perfectly. I wasn't "flicking" the bike on them, but the bike WAS very stable and confident in the air. I even threw in a little whip on one with ease (there was a mother and her daughter standing right next to them as they hiked up the trail so I had to show off a bit). Without a doubt, I was hitting things on the trial that I would usually only hit on the 7point and NOT on the MK3 and this was still my first ride on the bike. Best of them was a 2ft rock where if you hit it with speed has a nice fade-away landing about 8ft out, so you are actually landing about 5ft below the take-off onto a nice smooth transition. If you go slower it is more of a flat landing, so I launched it. WOW... this is my FIRST ride on the bike!!! No "lets take it easy" here!!
So am I happy with the bike? HECK YEAH!!
I'm SO glad I didn't go with that DW 5spot instead.
Oh, one last thing... since this bike has some unique geometry there have been a lot of people in a quandary over what size to get. Luckily I was able to test out HAB's spitty a month ago. He is only 1in taller than me and he rides a large (and is very happy with it). I have a Medium and am very happy with the Medium. I'm 5'11" he is about 6ft... the difference is that I have long legs and short torso (every car I get in I have to put the seat ALL the way back) he has shorter legs and longer torso... at least shorter than mine. As I said, I wasn't even able to use the Banshee post the bike came with bc I had to extend it at least 1.5 - 2in past the "min insertion" line. With the steep seat-tube the 23in ETT feels pretty much the same as my 23.5tt MKIII Standover is GREAT though.
What do you call a bike with a 66degree HT, a long wheelbase and a low BB? A Downhill bike would be my first guess.
But what about a bike with 127mm of travel that climbs like a goat? XC? Trail?
I finally decided to do a quick search and it appears that most of the Spitty threads are here in the DH forum so I decided to post this where the people interested will see it. Plus I'm a mod here, and this is my home turf.
So away we go!!Lets start at the beginning I guess. For the last 6 years I've been riding an Ironhorse MK3... that replaced a 2001 Hollowpoint. All in all great bikes. 140mm of travel with a 140mm Pike up front. I also have owned two 7points and a 2001 V10. So really, the only bikes I have bought since about 2002 have been Ironhorse's with DW linkage, so this was a really big step for me.
I decided to get a new bike bc my 7point was too burly and heavy to keep up with my friends on their Kona Coil Air's, Ventana El Ciclone's etc and my MK3 was too "xc" when it came to the small drops, jumps and steep rock rollers with abrupt transitions (OTB city!!). I'm keeping the 7pt bc it is newer and also a blast on some of the local DH trails where there is no shuttle option. But I have a feeling I'll be riding it less and less now. Special thanks to the guys at 5689 Bike Studio in south OC. http://www.5689bikestudio.com/ for some great service!!
Here is the rundown on the Spitty Specs:
-Medium black ano spitfire frame with a PUSH'd 2005 Fox RP23 (off the MK3)
-2008 Fox 36 VAN (coil)
-Saint front brake 203mm, XT rear 185mm (both with the "servo" levers)
-Raceface Deus cranks with a 36/22 Bash setup
-Sram x9 drivetrain
-WTB front hub with a skinny XC rim (soon to be swapped for a Flow)
-Hadley bolt-on rear hub with Mavic 819 UST rim
-WTB seat on a Sette seatpost (My legs are too long for the Banshee post that was included & saving funds for a Reverb eventually)
-EA50 70mm stem with 20degree rise and a 3/4in rise 680mm bar
Just getting on the bike my initial impressions were that the reach (ETT) is just about the same as my Large MK3 (which was a 23.5in) but the front wheel seemed to be a fair bit further in front of me, due to the slack HT. The bars were also a bit higher, but that could be due to the 3/4in spacer and 20 degree stem I was using. I may switch back to my old stem and bar just to compare (it was a 70mm 0degree with a 1/2in rise bar, no spacers) but again, probably only temporarily.
Yesterday was the first ride on this bad-boy and WOW, was I impressed. Unfortunately no pics bc I was having way too much fun to stop. Now, this may seem like it isn't impressive, but I would say that is climbs almost as well as my MK3 and descends almost as well as my 7point. When they say that the bike is long and low, they mean it.
The ride (as most do) started off with a climb... some steep sections, a few tight switchbacks etc. I was a bit worried that the more upright position would hamper me or that the front wheel would wander but that really wasn't an issue. I did have to be a little more concentrated on the steep tight switchbacks but I still made them all w/o dabbing. I was also a little worried that there would be some "bob" with the 22t granny but this really was not the case. At least not with the Pro-Pedal on, and I even had a light pro-pedal setup from Push since this was coming off a DW link bike. Didn't try it w/o the PP. All in all, the bike climbs great and unfortunately cannot be my excuse when my friends leave me behind.
Only my legs and lungs are holding me back. Oh, and my back (series of bulging disks over the past 2 years). The bike really scoots when you put down the power. Granted, the bushings have yet to really wear in so that is a little extra "propedal" so to speak. If things change later on I'll update this, but I doubt it will be noticeable.Once at the top I put the seat back down and got ready to go (dang a reverb would have been awesome here). The first trail was newly built so it was pretty tight with some swoopy bermed turns and some tight switchbacks (some bermed, some not). The bike was VERY stable coming back down and ate up the swoopy turns. It was a little noticeably longer when it came to the switchback turns though, but I was right on the butt of my friend on his 7pt the whole way down.
We then climbed up a steep fireroad (the 3rd "B" for those of you who know Santiago Oaks) and again the bike felt great on the climb. I was afraid again that the front would pop-up a bit since this is a STEEP fireroad but it didn't even wander too much to my pleasant surprise.
Next up was the "main course"... a FAST all-out no brakes descent with some little booters and drops thrown in for fun. This was my first real "downhill" on the bike (not DH downhill) and I was hitting things faster/further/bigger on my first run than I would have ever hit them on my MK3. Almost as fast as on my 7point and it has 2in more travel in back, a coil shock and a Totem up front. From there the trail goes into a section of rocks where the spandex guys take it as a small series of S turns.... I straightline it though. It doesn't have big drops or anything but is is steep and rough this way. This section the bike WAS a little more bumpy than on my 7point, but I could take it almost as fast...and surely faster than on the MK3. Then there are a series of little table top jumps about 2-3ft high and 5-6ft long. The bike felt very stable on these and I was easily able to adjust the amount of air I was getting in order to not over-clear them. Again, almost no brakes here... just using the bike and my pre-loading to hit them perfectly. I wasn't "flicking" the bike on them, but the bike WAS very stable and confident in the air. I even threw in a little whip on one with ease (there was a mother and her daughter standing right next to them as they hiked up the trail so I had to show off a bit). Without a doubt, I was hitting things on the trial that I would usually only hit on the 7point and NOT on the MK3 and this was still my first ride on the bike. Best of them was a 2ft rock where if you hit it with speed has a nice fade-away landing about 8ft out, so you are actually landing about 5ft below the take-off onto a nice smooth transition. If you go slower it is more of a flat landing, so I launched it. WOW... this is my FIRST ride on the bike!!! No "lets take it easy" here!!
So am I happy with the bike? HECK YEAH!!
I'm SO glad I didn't go with that DW 5spot instead.
Oh, one last thing... since this bike has some unique geometry there have been a lot of people in a quandary over what size to get. Luckily I was able to test out HAB's spitty a month ago. He is only 1in taller than me and he rides a large (and is very happy with it). I have a Medium and am very happy with the Medium. I'm 5'11" he is about 6ft... the difference is that I have long legs and short torso (every car I get in I have to put the seat ALL the way back) he has shorter legs and longer torso... at least shorter than mine. As I said, I wasn't even able to use the Banshee post the bike came with bc I had to extend it at least 1.5 - 2in past the "min insertion" line. With the steep seat-tube the 23in ETT feels pretty much the same as my 23.5tt MKIII Standover is GREAT though.
Last edited:
