[cjcrashesalot]

1) How does it do on the uphills? I've read some short reviews on here but nothing super extensive. Could I take it on XCish rides and be OK?

2) How does it work for gnarly Downhill? IE Keystone here in CO...50+ mph descents, gnarly rock gardens, roots, and everything inbetween? I figured it jumps very well, but not sure on the actual DH abilities.

3) Might get flamed for this one, but here it is...How would it work to put a n 8.0x2.5 shock on there? The stock is 7.875x2.25, so the 8x2.5 would give it 6.1" of rear travel and barely lift the bb. I ask because this may make it slightly more DH friendly

I'm looking for an almost do-it-all bike. I have a dedicated DJ/street bike, I want a bike that can go on trail rides, hit drops, go to keystone, and do everything inbetween. I'm not looking to race (DH racing days are done for me), but I don't want to be white knuckling it down the mountain either.

Any insight? Thanks, -Chris

 

[ZHendo]

i've ridden keystone, it was my trip for graduating middle school. i loved it there and rode a trek session 7 and still had a great time. i'm a fan of hardtails, so i like riding short travel bikes in technical situations. i know that the bottlerocket will not work with the longer travel idea. if you're looking for a great all around bike for keystone, build up a yeti asx. when i was there, the trail crew was riding them, and most of them loved the bike, not just because they got them for free from yeti. i'm absolutely in love with mine, and with a light weight dual crown up front or a rockshox totem, the bike will be fantastic. i would have a totem on mine, but i got a travis dc. 180mm is the way to go on this bike. seriously though, my bike weighs in at 40 lbs with the full DH setup, and it just rips. i could get it so much lighter, but because of the way yeti positioned their single pivot, the small chainring has lots of pedal feedback while the middle ring has next to none, so climbing is a breeze. i ride with guys on intense 5.5s, turners and all manner of XC bikes, but i can still keep up. i know i'm biased towards my own bike, but it is such a great rig. the versus blitz II is also a light weight frame that can still rip the downhills.

 

[cjcrashesalot]

Xclusive- you pretty much missed the point. I'm not looking for a magic bike that win's both pro class DH and XC events. I realize that all bikes have trade offs, but am looking for a bike with as few tradeoffs as possible. The Gran Mal is a heavy hucker rig, not what I'm looking for. I simply wanted to know how the bottlerocket handled the specific situations I listed, as I know it will be fine for everything inbetween.

ZHendo- Thanks for the insight. I have actually spent a fair amount of time on the ASX, and would get it...except for the high standover! That is the only thing that kills it for me. My buddy's medium felt great in all aspects except for the standover...I felt like I had to ride too high up on the bike to avoid crunching my nuts. If they made a lower standover ASX, I'd buy it in a heartbeat. Maybe the small would work for me (5'10")...

And I think you guys are missing the point with the longer shock... The longer DHX is .125" longer...only 1/8th of an inch! Yet it has a .25" longer stroke, which in this case equates to about .5" travel. The only problem I could see is some sort of rubbing/unwanted contact when fully bottomed out...

Everyone is all about the shorter shocks these days...take the turner highline for example. Everyone loved the old ones in stock form, but a few started putting shorter shocks on to experiment. Apparently it went over well. Now the new ones come with a .25" shorter shock to give a bit less travel/lower geo. Everyone loves the new ones too. Now I guarantee you, if the shorter travel version had come out first, and people had suggested putting the longer shock on, everyone would have hated the idea! See my point?

 

[gmac]

1) Climbs great up short technical stuff. I tried a section of trail the other day thinking I couldn't make it. Right up it. A section I've missed repeatedly on my old bikes. & longer climbs suck on any bike right ?
2) I've ridden it DH w/o a problem though. But it isn't for that and doesn't ride like a DHR...
3) I'd ask Transition on the shock.

 

[joelsman]

where can you find a 8x2.5 shock, all the 2.5's I've seen are 8.5

Brad, who works at transition and owns www.spectrumtechwear.com, rides his BR with a 66 on the front, rides it for everything and seems to work good, not as plush as a dirtbag though. he has a romic on his that is 8x2.25.

 

[ZHendo]

definitely ask transition regarding the rear shock, i'd imagine that if they have one sitting around in the shop, maybe they could stick it on the frame and give it a nice squish. the only reason climbing will suck is because it seems like the chainstays are really short, and when paired with relaxed angles and a short stem, wheelies and wobbly steering are bound to occur. i'm loving a ton of the bikes coming out right now, but a raw bottlerocket with a dhx 5.0 coil is probably at the top of my list. and you're very right about the asx standover, it's fun to ride but the standover is the only real weakness to the bike. a 19.5 inch seat tube is i think what the medium has, which is pretty crazy. a small would probably work though for you at 5'10. i'm 6'0 and i could ride a small, but i like longer top tubes in most cases.

 

[cjcrashesalot]

where can you find a 8x2.5 shock, all the 2.5's I've seen are 8.5

Brad, who works at transition and owns www.spectrumtechwear.com, rides his BR with a 66 on the front, rides it for everything and seems to work good, not as plush as a dirtbag though. he has a romic on his that is 8x2.25.

You're absolutely right...I read the shock sizes wrong. Looks like there is no DHX in an 8x2.25. So no more for that idea I guess.

Oh well, I think I found a bike much better suited to my needs:
Giant Reign X

I've heard very good things...and it is priced very nicely. Should be like a mini dh bike that climbs well too...perfect!

 

[mattmatt86]

I had a buddy that rode a Trance, he loved the Maestro suspension. I just cant get over the way they look, its so weird how the shock goes through the downtube. But never the less, it should be a great bike!

 

[ditchpig]

You might want to check out a Transition Gran Mal. They are super adjustable, and work great with a 7" single crown fork. A little more travel might help you out a Keystone and other DH areas.

 

[daveycrokett88]

hey man,
ive been looking at getting a bottle rocket for a while, and as soon as it gets warm, im going to go ahead and get it. i ride a little more free ride and xc trails then down hill, so thats why i like the bottle rocket cause it will climb and do some great freeriding stuff--some pretty big stuff. hope that helps.
dave

 

[Xclusive]

The bottle rocket can handle some pretty rough Dh trails and big hits. It's designed with slopestyle in mind so it is pretty versatile. I'd say get the bottlerocket and don't look back. It also pedals pretty well for the singletrack.

 

[GumbaFish]

It would seem to me that just because of the geo of the bottle rocket in order for you to get a full pedal stroke for XC rides you would have to jack your seatpost way up. I think something more like the reign you suggested or an sx trail might be more what you want.

 

[Xclusive]

The only logical way to go on a long xc ride IS to raise your seat up. who wants to ride a 10 miles or even 2 mile trail with your knees in your face. It takes less energy to pedal with your seat up. Ridin with your seat low zaps your legs fast. I dont think I have ever seen someone cruisin the single track with there seat way down.

 

[GumbaFish]

Obviously you have your seat up when riding xc, my point is that the geo of the bottlerocket is such that you will have a lot of seat post exposed in order to ride xc as opposed to a frame where it is intended to actually be ridden in that manner.

 

[DirtBag]

The BR is a fine versatile bike that can handle everything.

For climbing it is not that bad. The geometry is really not too bad when sitting. I find it very hard to climb while standing and when it is steep - the rear wheel loses traction a bit. But sit down and it works very well. Yes you doo need a large amount of seatpost but who cares? It is not your XC bike so raise it up for climbs and drop for everything else.

For DH it is not bad either. I use mine a a particular place that is flowy with nice berms and big jumps and it rides very well. Rock garden areas are also pretty smooth. The bike corners and handles major drops perfectly.

You cannot go larger than a 7.875 x 2.25 shock. The rear triangle will hit the seat tube if you try to go longer.

All in all the Bottlerocket has been my favorite build so far. I literally use it for everything - FR, DH and XC. I just finished the Gran Mal and it feels like a bigger Bottlerocket with endless travel. Only one ride so far on the GM...

 

[spacemanspiff06]

it's be a little on the heavy side, but you can get full leg extention with out hassle.
as far as swapping shocks, you will notice the diffrence in the geometry long before you'll notice the diffrence in travel. i wouldn't do it unless i were after a steeper, taller geo.