Hey all,
Long story short, I have been riding/racing for a while and have a lot of riding experience under my belt, but not a ton on a full on DH bike. Back when freeride existed, that was my scene, but this raked out speed machine business is relatively new to me.
I bought a 2013 Glory 0 last year for an insane price and rode it a bunch in Whistler and throughout Washington state. Coming from a Banshee Spitfire, I really didn't find the Glory to be all that great. Whereas the Spitfire punches well above its weight and is better at just about everything than it should be, the Glory seems unremarkable - decent jumper, decent cornering, not great in the rough (feels like it hangs up on square edged bumps). I tried a new fork, overhauled the rear shock, etc., but nothing really improved it to where I feel like it should be. As a benchmark, I rode my buddy's 2015 Trek Session 9.9 and it absolutely blew the Glory out of the water in just about every respect.
I'm not sold on DH bikes made of fantastic plastic, and said friend has now had his Session frame in for warranty 4 times. That influenced the list of bikes I'm looking at, which includes:
Transition TR500
Scott Gambler
Knolly Podium
Guerilla Gravity GGDH
Quite an eclectic selection of bikes, I know. The Gambler is the closest to coming off of my list given its unapologetic plow bike personality, but I think it's a sick looking bike and can't really write it off just yet. The others, at least according to reviews, tend to lend themselves to a more "deliberate" approach to high speed chunder, but good cornering and a lively feel are a big deal to me.
Does anyone have any experience on 2 or more of these bikes, or on one of these bikes plus the Glory?
Long story short, I have been riding/racing for a while and have a lot of riding experience under my belt, but not a ton on a full on DH bike. Back when freeride existed, that was my scene, but this raked out speed machine business is relatively new to me.
I bought a 2013 Glory 0 last year for an insane price and rode it a bunch in Whistler and throughout Washington state. Coming from a Banshee Spitfire, I really didn't find the Glory to be all that great. Whereas the Spitfire punches well above its weight and is better at just about everything than it should be, the Glory seems unremarkable - decent jumper, decent cornering, not great in the rough (feels like it hangs up on square edged bumps). I tried a new fork, overhauled the rear shock, etc., but nothing really improved it to where I feel like it should be. As a benchmark, I rode my buddy's 2015 Trek Session 9.9 and it absolutely blew the Glory out of the water in just about every respect.
I'm not sold on DH bikes made of fantastic plastic, and said friend has now had his Session frame in for warranty 4 times. That influenced the list of bikes I'm looking at, which includes:
Transition TR500
Scott Gambler
Knolly Podium
Guerilla Gravity GGDH
Quite an eclectic selection of bikes, I know. The Gambler is the closest to coming off of my list given its unapologetic plow bike personality, but I think it's a sick looking bike and can't really write it off just yet. The others, at least according to reviews, tend to lend themselves to a more "deliberate" approach to high speed chunder, but good cornering and a lively feel are a big deal to me.
Does anyone have any experience on 2 or more of these bikes, or on one of these bikes plus the Glory?