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jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
Serious question for RidEgg riders. I have a buddy who's in the market for a new bike - he just sold his bike last weekend. We're about a month away from riding season. I'm pushing him to look seriously at the Smash.

My question is whether there are riders who might not be a good fit for the Smash.

This buddy of mine is a fast rider. He's single, fit, and has good bike handling skills. He's not a downhiller, but can ride downhill very fast. He sold his Pivot mach 429 because the suspension sucked, and he felt it wasn't enough travel. He was always interested in going fast, so always gravitated towards XC bikes, but I think he's starting to realize that modern trail bikes pedal really well, and modern geometry is way more fun than old-school xc bikes. I'm happy to push him towards GG, but I also don't want him to blame me if the bike isn't what he's looking for...

Our terrain is typical east-coast. Rox, lots of short up and down, kinda twisty. Is the Smash a good fit for this?
have him also look at the trail pistola. or even pure trail pistol.
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
He's single, fit, and has good bike handling skills. He's not a downhiller, but can ride downhill very fast.
Marital status has an effect on bike selection?


If he's just trail riding, I'd lean toward the Pistol with a light build over a Smash, unless he's really interested in riding more gnar stuff that would require the Smash's extra squish. Have not ridden a Smash, so I can't tell you if it would be "too much" on XC type trails, but have ridden the TP a lot, and have rarely felt undergunned. Rode the US Open DH track the week after the Open and for sure wish I had a bigger bike, but it was still manageable. I ride trails like that 8-10 times a year, but ride miles and miles of XC with blue and black downhills all the time, so I prefer a bike that's geared for that, as long as it's okay enough on the double blacks.

Then again, if he's the type of character that asks for suggestions, then holds you responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong after he takes you suggestion, I wouldn't even talk about bikes with him.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
Marital status has an effect on bike selection?
Yes of course it has an effect on bike selection, just like it does on suspension set up. You see, married dudes are 20-30% fatter than single guys, and married guys with children under 12 or so are usually around 250% fatter than their single, childless counterparts. So assuming his friend is also w/o child(s), he can look at frames/builds that are much lighter, and his suspension set up will likewise be quite different (so much so, he may not be able to find a light enough spring if he opts for coil). If he ends up with a GG, he can work with Matt to find areas to drill speed holes and save some grams.

Seriously tho, sounds like a TP or perhaps a Pistola as jonKranked suggested would be ideal fits. I have a Pistola and its fantastic for the riding around here, which is hilly but largely devoid of the choppy, east coast rox found in NE.
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,288
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
Marital status has an effect on bike selection?
yes. in so much as it means he has much more time to ride bikes that those who have "other priorities". I suppose I should have said "has no kids (that we know of)"; which would probably have been more to the point. :D
If he's just trail riding, I'd lean toward the Pistol with a light build over a Smash, unless he's really interested in riding more gnar stuff that would require the Smash's extra squish. Have not ridden a Smash, so I can't tell you if it would be "too much" on XC type trails, but have ridden the TP a lot, and have rarely felt undergunned. Rode the US Open DH track the week after the Open and for sure wish I had a bigger bike, but it was still manageable. I ride trails like that 8-10 times a year, but ride miles and miles of XC with blue and black downhills all the time, so I prefer a bike that's geared for that, as long as it's okay enough on the double blacks.
I think the thing is he went to short travel route and got burnt. In my opinion, it was for two main reasons: a) his suspension was shite (bottom of the line fox float), and b) there wasn't a lot of it. I guess in this day and age, you can have less suspension and use it better. But I also think no matter how well you use it, short travel bikes will take more of a beating, and transfer more force and stress to other components (notably wheels, seatpost, bearings, axles, rider). He also watches me just pull away from him effortlessly in proper chunky terrain, and that infuriates him, because he's genuinely a faster rider than I am (overall).

Then again, if he's the type of character that asks for suggestions, then holds you responsible for anything and everything that goes wrong after he takes you suggestion, I wouldn't even talk about bikes with him.
you know... this is good advice! I think at this point, I'm might step back a bit! :D
 

slyfink

Turbo Monkey
Sep 16, 2008
9,288
5,028
Ottawa, Canada
Seriously tho, sounds like a TP or perhaps a Pistola as jonKranked suggested would be ideal fits. I have a Pistola and its fantastic for the riding around here, which is hilly but largely devoid of the choppy, east coast rox found in NE.
what is the Pistola... I'm a little lost here...
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,140
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
Yes of course it has an effect on bike selection, just like it does on suspension set up. You see, married dudes are 20-30% fatter than single guys, and married guys with children under 12 or so are usually around 250% fatter than their single, childless counterparts. So assuming his friend is also w/o child(s), he can look at frames/builds that are much lighter, and his suspension set up will likewise be quite different (so much so, he may not be able to find a light enough spring if he opts for coil). If he ends up with a GG, he can work with Matt to find areas to drill speed holes and save some grams.
So a single guy, in good shape with no kids is light enough to ride a Pole with the "prototype" rear end? If so, he should get a Pole, and a protractor, then tell us what the geometry numbers are
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,596
5,894
in a single wide, cooking meth...
So a single guy, in good shape with no kids is light enough to ride a Pole with the "prototype" rear end? If so, he should get a Pole, and a protractor, then tell us what the geometry numbers are
Yes, but the warranty is immediately void if he follows Beyounce's advice and "puts a ring on it" and/or helps make a larval human. If that happens, he'll be just like that fat ass @jstuhlman

 

captainspauldin

intrigued by a pole
May 14, 2007
1,263
177
Jersey Shore
Serious question for RidEgg riders. I have a buddy who's in the market for a new bike - he just sold his bike last weekend. We're about a month away from riding season. I'm pushing him to look seriously at the Smash.

My question is whether there are riders who might not be a good fit for the Smash.

This buddy of mine is a fast rider. He's single, fit, and has good bike handling skills. He's not a downhiller, but can ride downhill very fast. He sold his Pivot mach 429 because the suspension sucked, and he felt it wasn't enough travel. He was always interested in going fast, so always gravitated towards XC bikes, but I think he's starting to realize that modern trail bikes pedal really well, and modern geometry is way more fun than old-school xc bikes. I'm happy to push him towards GG, but I also don't want him to blame me if the bike isn't what he's looking for...

Our terrain is typical east-coast. Rox, lots of short up and down, kinda twisty. Is the Smash a good fit for this?
As others have mentioned, I'd probably recommend talking him into buying it as a Pistol/Pistola(maybe lean toward a Pistola since it's 10mm more than his Pivot) and then decide if he needs moar travelz. Get a fork that's easily convertible in travel from 130 to 160 (My helm air is easily convertible, I think the Lyrik is also with shock shafts. Can't comment on the other forks). Just my 2 cents.. In Pistol mode it rides like it has more travel(yeah, cliche AF), I honestly hafta get some more seat time before I can really comment on the limits in Pistol mode.
 

SuboptimusPrime

Turbo Monkey
Aug 18, 2005
1,658
1,633
NorCack
Another vote for the pistola in this application. Get with the DHX2 and MRP Ribbon and it’s a superlative all around bike. Ribbon is easy to change travel as well.
 

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
So, what would happen if someone built the Megatrail with an imperial :fancy: 7.875x2.25 shock and a 160mm fork? Asking for a friend.
That shock is far too short, about 30mm shorter than spec. A 160mm fork works well.
Shocks are available with the frame, or there are also folks buying/selling shocks for GG frames online as they try different seatstay kits.
 

lobsterCT

Monkey
Jun 23, 2015
278
414
Do you guys get the "is that an E-bike?" question on the trail a lot?

I think we need a riding shirt to buy at the rid egg shop that says "Not an E-bike".
 

mtg

Green with Envy
Sep 21, 2009
1,862
1,604
Denver, CO
Do you guys get the "is that an E-bike?" question on the trail a lot?

I think we need a riding shirt to buy at the rid egg shop that says "Not an E-bike".
I’ve never had that question. But I do like it when people see me riding a GG and ask “how do you like it?”:brows:
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,838
6,145
Yakistan
Plan B initiated, can't keep waiting for Hadley to ship this microspline driveshell. Going to run my used 11speed stuff now that a friend found a boost crankset in his parts bin...
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
I could probably get away with a 2 speed 11-50 cassette, sadly my old ass needs that 50.
The SunRace 11 speed cassette is da shit if you are still on an HG freehub. Better gear spacing than Shimano and at a fraction of the cost. Plus it lasts much better than Shimano and SRAM comparable (non-XD) cassettes.

EDIT: The Box cassettes are just rebranded SunRaces. They just have a cooler black finishing.
 
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rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
23,055
11,298
In the cleavage of the Tetons
In general, our new trails are often more fun. And by that, I also include the stuff on Teton Pass. Shoving/pushing/cursing your bike up 2500 feet only to just ride your brakes the ENTIRE way down got way old. We aren’t talking ‘fast and fun’ as much as ‘go about 8mph downhill or just fucking die’.
things have gotten WAAAAY better, both with XC and DH, but you know this. But I don’t think you rode here in the late 90’s.
 

boostindoubles

Nacho Libre
Mar 16, 2004
7,838
6,145
Yakistan
I cut in all my singletrack with a single-speed, who needs gears? It's either climbing or coasting.

Having the gearz makes things easier though. Not having ridden in 8 months, it's gonna be necessary.
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
54,225
20,003
Sleazattle
I cut in all my singletrack with a single-speed, who needs gears? It's either climbing or coasting.

Having the gearz makes things easier though. Not having ridden in 8 months, it's gonna be necessary.
I like to pedal on my descents. I am far from the best technical rider, but what I do ride, I like to spice up with speed.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
In general, our new trails are often more fun. And by that, I also include the stuff on Teton Pass. Shoving/pushing/cursing your bike up 2500 feet only to just ride your brakes the ENTIRE way down got way old. We aren’t talking ‘fast and fun’ as much as ‘go about 8mph downhill or just fucking die’.
things have gotten WAAAAY better, both with XC and DH, but you know this. But I don’t think you rode here in the late 90’s.
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