A lot of my friends are on them, and while I haven't had a chance to really put some quality miles on one myself, they seem pretty sweet. Very light for how strong they are, they ride more like a traditional mountain bike than a Tazer or something similar. Everyone who has one claims to love it, but that could just be the whole "I bought it for tons of money (or I got it for free) and it had darn well be good for all that $/effort I just went through" syndrome. I was surprised by how high the bottom bracket was and how long the chainstays were, but taller riders love that. The one I spent the most time on had a 36rc2 on it, in the 4" mode, and it seemed like a solid, well mannered bike. Hope that helps!
I was surprised too, since it claims to have shorter stays and lower bb than a regular blur. I know that the vpp design inherits longer cs's but intense got the tazer's down to 16.75.
I have one. I love it so far. I haven't used it for MTX, just for general trail use. I have a Pike Team in front, and it seems to mate well with the frame.
I posted over on the MTBR/SC forum if you want to hear/see more about it. MTBR link
-rob in NY
brian wilkinson said:
has any body ridden a 4x? i know they're the bomb but i just wanted to hear what everybody else thinks be for i get one.
I like the Pike so far. I am a longtime Marzo rider, but I went the cheap route this time around after hearing good things about the Pike (and because I bought a new $$$ wheelset for the bike).
So far - it seems like RS has turned it around. But, it's the longterm that will really matter. If I'm still loving the Pike a year or two from now, I will be satisified. It seems well made (in Taiwan); everything looks cleanly machined and well put-together. No leaking oil on the stanchions or anything else to make it appear to be a sub-$400 fork.
The travel adjustment is good for the 4X. If there was a Marzo AM1 w/ 20mm or a coil-spring Fox 36, I might have tried those instead. I am big on the Marz Z.1, but the A-C length would have just been too much for the Blur 4X.
I'm not done testing out all the platform stuff on the Pike. I mostly just keep it turned off. I'm about 165 lbs with gear, and bottomed the fork once or twice (but not harshly). If you're much heavier, you will need to swap out the stock spring. If you need more info on the Pike, check out mtbr.com - it's been discussed there endlessly. I think all the fork manufacturers have great products for '05. We're pretty freaking lucky.
SC is supposedly releasing a 6" travel bike soon. If a "trail bike" is what you really want, you might want to wait. The 4X is a bit of an ugly duckling, but I love it! "Just enough" travel in a relatively burly package.
-r
brian wilkinson said:
thanks for the info guys, Rpet, how do you like the Pike, i know nothing about it. and yes; grey would be my color!
rpet, your a man who knows his stuff, thanks. im about 155 lbs so that fork should be just fine. im going to use the bike just for jumping, no free riding. i have a Chase and a big bike but i want little bit of both i one bike for jumping. the travel seems just right. so the 4x is what i need.
According to everyone I know, and my personal experience on the 4x and many other similar bikes, the 4X will jump way better with a short travel fork. If you're smooth, you could run a Talas and save a bunch of weight. I haven't had any issues with a Talas while dirt jumping, and since you aren't going to be "freeriding", you don't need to bother with the 6" travel stuff. But if you want one for the options, go for it, the industry needs more money anhow. ;-)
Yeah, I know SC is planning to release the Blur LT, but the 4x is appealing to me as a trailbike.
Those of you who are riding them, have you run them with a 5" travel fork on trails? I can image that they handle well with the 4" fork on fairly flat DJ or 4x terrain, but how about medium to steep singletrack with a longer fork?
I'm very interested in hearing more about the various opinions. Thanks!
On Sunday I rode a Blur 4x with a 5" travel Z1 on one of my favorite trails. It wasn't as stable as my Specialized SX, and it didn't corner as well, but it climbed a lot easier. It did do a bit better than my Heckler, it felt a bit more suited for fast cornering, and it pedaled a lot better. As far as an all around trail bike, the 4x seems like a great bike, but for slalom or actual 4x riding, I'd get something lower with a shorter back end.
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.