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Chumba F4 for sale, worth it?

Aug 11, 2004
3
0
hey everyone,
I am new to this whole downhill thing. I rented a bike a few times this summer at a few different places. I really want my own bike to be able to bring with me. I have been saving up and searching around for a good used bike. What are your opinions on Chumba Wumba f4's? are they good bikes. I am really light, will I be able to use this bike? will it be the right size for me, I am 5'6". There is one on ebay right now that sounds really nice. My parents said I could buy it if I have enough money and they will pay for it and I can pay them back. Are they good bikes? Should I consider anything else? I have ridden a kona stinky, specialized big hit, and a rocky mountain before as rentals. Would this be good for me. Someday I would like to try a race. here is the link if you want to check it out and try to gimme some pointers or advice on teh bike

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1,1&item=7188009963&sspagename=STRK:MESE:IT

I might be able to get it really cheap because the auction is only at 399 right now.
Please help, I can't stop thinking about it and my parents keep telling me to stop pestering them about it.
 

Bicyclist

Turbo Monkey
Apr 4, 2004
10,152
2
SB
It looks like a great bike for the money. The size will probably be good for you, although I've never ridden a Chumba Wumba myself. It will be lighter than any other rigs for the same ammount of money, but if you're really light, you may want to look at something more like a Specialized Enduro or a Kona Coiler.
 

Fury

Monkey
Oct 9, 2002
739
0
Toronto, Canada
I call spam.. he posted after the ad had been up for like an hour and he's been 'pestering his parents' for how long?


maybe...
 

dG video

I blew a mod to get this title
Feb 25, 2004
2,133
0
vermont
Buy my F4 frame with someparts. Do a search for Chumba Wumba, its the greyish blue one.

Dan
 

8it

Chimp
Apr 6, 2003
91
0
NYC
I own a Chumba Wumba F4 and its an amazing frame, light and fast. But and this is a big BUT if you are just getting into DHing I would not recommend it.
First off that auction is gonna close much higher than $399 like Fulton said. Secondly the F4 is a high maintenance frame from a small manufacture. This means that you'll need to get really friendly with a GOOD mechanic cause he's gonna be your new best friend. Chumba is a good company but like most small companies they have limited resources and questions and request generally tend to take longer to get answered (please spare me the flame, I did say generally).
There are other things like the BB being really low and you are gonna be clipping your pedals on everything and learning how to get speed through rock gardens is gonna be tough. The rear thru axle and floating brake is a royal PAIN to take off and put back on so even a flat is a pain to fix. With the floating brake some hubs won't fit, my ringle hub had to be slightly modified. These are things that later on won't bother you as much because of the trade-off in cornering speed and stuff but as a beginner its gonna suck.
There are so many good used DH/FR frames out there, try finding something like a Specialized Big-Hit. Those are sweet frames bombproof frames you can FR and DH and you can find anyone to work on them. With QR axles you can use any regular hub. And you can find Bighits for CHEAP!!!
Hope this info helps.
 

Zutroy

Turbo Monkey
Dec 9, 2004
2,443
0
Ventura,CA
8it said:
I own a Chumba Wumba F4 and its an amazing frame, light and fast. But and this is a big BUT if you are just getting into DHing I would not recommend it.
First off that auction is gonna close much higher than $399 like Fulton said. Secondly the F4 is a high maintenance frame from a small manufacture. This means that you'll need to get really friendly with a GOOD mechanic cause he's gonna be your new best friend. Chumba is a good company but like most small companies they have limited resources and questions and request generally tend to take longer to get answered (please spare me the flame, I did say generally).
There are other things like the BB being really low and you are gonna be clipping your pedals on everything and learning how to get speed through rock gardens is gonna be tough. The rear thru axle and floating brake is a royal PAIN to take off and put back on so even a flat is a pain to fix. With the floating brake some hubs won't fit, my ringle hub had to be slightly modified. These are things that later on won't bother you as much because of the trade-off in cornering speed and stuff but as a beginner its gonna suck.
There are so many good used DH/FR frames out there, try finding something like a Specialized Big-Hit. Those are sweet frames bombproof frames you can FR and DH and you can find anyone to work on them. With QR axles you can use any regular hub. And you can find Bighits for CHEAP!!!
Hope this info helps.
I've been racing an F4 all season, I think the floater is much easier to deal with than the floater on the Foes Mono i raced last year. I haven't had any maintence issues. The biggest things I've heard is the bell crank developing play, and most of the time it's from people being lazy and not checking for loose bolts. The BB is pretty low, i run 165s and hit them on things every so often.

Just depends what you want. I don't think it's any worse of a bike for a bigger to start on they and of the low BB bikes, which a good chunk of the bikes on the market are.
 

DS Dom

Monkey
Nov 14, 2001
213
0
Denver, Co
I know the owner of this bike, and if you were to buy any used F4, this would probably be the one for you. He used to be really into DH but after he bought this bike he probably rode it a grand total of under 8 times. He is also a manager of a bikeshop, so he knows how to work on and take care of his stuff.