[wysiwyg]

I've currently got an old school Faith with the links flipped. I rarely ride it preferring my commie mini which has now died. My key concern is reliability it's got to take 6 weeks of whistler thrash in the summer. So will I notice a diff from faith to m6. Worth the trade? I'd like something lighter obv. Help!

 

[norbar]

I've currently got an old school Faith with the links flipped. I rarely ride it preferring my commie mini which has now died. My key concern is reliability it's got to take 6 weeks of whistler thrash in the summer. So will I notice a diff from faith to m6. Worth the trade? I'd like something lighter obv. Help!

You will. While m6 is not the most agile bike for long park trashing it will work great. Didn't have much time on it since I only rode friends bikes but it's worth the try. Just make sure the links aren't cracked.

Also cover the downtube - it dents easily.

 

[gnarbar]

I rode one pretty hard for two seasons. lots of vert/km's

Just watch the linkages for wear/failure as mentioned

They are tanks, pretty solid. They destroy rough trails. Once you get moving the M6 destroys everything in it's path. They ride nice for pure DH tracks. Wouldn't go for an M6 myself if you like air and jump trails, just my 2c. The only real reason I sold mine was the HTA was a bit steep compared to what I could buy new, and wheelbase was a bit short. Tho I was 6' on a medium so watch for sizing, I should have been on a large. My bad. The M9 came out the following season as proof I got the right feel for what was holding me back. No regrets with the M6, I had a real good time on it and it helped me progress in DH quite a significant amount. From the Faith, you'll find a significant improvement in how the bike handles and its intended purpose. Going from a freeride pedal-up beast to a racebred all out DH ripper.

 

[nowlan]

I agree with the above. I owned an M6 for a few seasons. How tall are you? What size is it?
Take the time time to set it up right with the proper sag, right spring etc. Its not the most nimble agile bike out there but it will slay anything in its path and picks up speed like crazy. I know a few guys who broke linkages, hangers etc but they are easy to find. What shock is on it? I had the revox and always wanted to know what another shock would have felt like on it. First time I ever dealt with a manitou product and trying to get spare DU bushings for it was retarded. The only place in my local area that deal with the manitou distributor was a surf shop. (I guess Trident took on Manitou as a side project or something) Besides all that I had alot of fun on it, recently sold it because I felt i wasnt putting it through its paces.
The bike was designed for the gnarliest WC tracks out there so keep that in mind.
Id go for it.

 

[gnarbar]

First time I ever dealt with a manitou product and trying to get spare DU bushings for it was retarded.

Good call, mine did eat bushings. That's VPP for you, I think? Apart from that, no issues.

 

[rav400]

Still riding my M6. It rides great so I haven't had a need to replace it. I never felt like the bike was holding me back even on super steep trails with its not as slack for today HTA. Its amazing on steep rough trails. Really fast on rocky stuff, it allows me to keep up with my buddy who is much better than me on gnarly technical terrain. I grew up riding BMX so I have never had a problem jumping with it. Most people say that jumping is not one of its strong suites, but not a problem for me. The only issue I've had with it is losing the E clips on lower pivot bolts.

 

[wysiwyg]

Cheers all, im 6'2" its a large and its like $400 with a CCDB.... and its not been thrashed I know that.

So check linkages and bearings, check.

Its a plough - check.

Leave as std or chuck in some offset bushes?

 

[iRider]

Cheers all, im 6'2" its a large and its like $400 with a CCDB.... and its not been thrashed I know that.

So check linkages and bearings, check.

Its a plough - check.

Leave as std or chuck in some offset bushes?

No offset bushes. The rear tire will hit the frame otherwise and the BB is fairly low to begin with. Use an Angleset instead if you want to slacken it out.

 

[ChrisRobin]

Yup. Angleset and you'll have fun on it in Whistler. Especially those runs where you pick up a lot of speed and want the stability. I have an M9 now but always wondered how the Me rode.

As for the down tube denting, Zelvy carbon made a nice down tube protector for the M9. Not sure if they make one for the M6.