[Jeromev]

I've been looking into getting a bike that's good for light freeride, dj/ss, and trail riding. I've narrowed it down to the Kona Bass and the Specialized SX, not the sx trail the sx with the fox rp23. The 2010 kona bass is $2,299 but I would have to change out the rear hub because I want to have some gears in the back. The sx is sold as frame only with an MSRP of $1,550. I've never built up a bike before (I've only owned bikes that came complete) so it's a little overwhelming to me and it seems like I could easily spend another $1,500 on parts. I'm not looking to spend over $2,500 when all is said and done. Anyone have any input on what's the better option here?

 

[demo 9]

SX the kona is crap, i had 1, hated it. concentric is good for singlespeed, but pedals and rides like garbage. I have heard many people rave about the spesh SX.

 

[Jeromev]

I needed somebody to say that. I've been lying to myself that the bass would be just as good because of the price tag. But I think I can get the sx down in price, I'll just build it with comparable parts to the bass instead of premium parts, except for the fork probably get a talas.

 

[3MORESTITCHES]

SX for sure.theres a nice one listed in classifieds now

 

[livewakesnow]

i would go sx over bass. its really a different bike. I was looking at a bass vs bottlerocket but went with the bottlerocket for a number of reasons but 1 being that i think the bass is much more dj/slopestyle specific with the steeper headtube and shorter travel. the specialized is going to be waaay better for everything

 

[Jeromev]

Yea just wish the sx wasn't so much $$$. By the time it's built up it's gonna be close $4k.

 

[Jeromev]

Check out this video of the new sx in action. Not to mention it's Wayne Goss on vedder mtn. http://www.pinkbike.com/video/126298/

 

[rockofullr]

probably get a talas.

Don't do et!

Save yourself some $$ and get a coil pike with U-turn. Feels better IMHO and is the most reliable fork I have ever owned.

 

[Dirtjumper999]

Kona is Fail. I would trust Specialized over Kona any day. You can build it up for pretty cheap. Get a RS Pike, Azonic outlaw wheels, then spend the rest on cockpit parts. Personally if you want to keep it under 2500. Get the frame, then spend a good amount of money on the wheels, fork, and cranks. Then buy used or closeout/clearance for the rest of the stuff. Treefortbikes had some Avid Elixer R's as takeoffs for like 180 bucks for the set.

And umm.. not sure if it's still there, but there was like a 2008 RS Pike Air U-turn that was off of a floor bike on wheelworld for like 300ish... but that was several weeks ago. Let me know if you need any help finding deals, looking for bike parts is kind of like a hobby lol

 

[3MORESTITCHES]

Dont think there are any new ones avalible in the lower 48. Sold out already?

 

[Jeromev]

Dont think there are any new ones avalible in the lower 48. Sold out already?

Seriously??? Oh crap, I just emailed my LBS like 2 hours ago about it too. LOL

 

[Jeromev]

I also thought the Scott Voltage FR was supposed to be available as a frame only with an rp23 rear shock. Anybody know about that? I wasn't considering it because I haven't seen it yet.

 

[3MORESTITCHES]

Hope you get lucky and find one,the sx rides so nice.

 

[roel_koel]

I've been looking into getting a bike that's good for light freeride, dj/ss, and trail riding.

have a good look at the Banshee Rampant, its light, tight and has mad "pop" on jumps - this is my Rampant and its 28lb !!

its a serious contender

only 6.96lb for the short frame including fox RP2 air shock, seatclamp and all shock hardware

very tough (only 1 has broken Worldwide in 2 years, which broke when a Kamloops, BC rider came up short on a 50 foot back country freeride gap and snapped his fork stanchions, cracking the frame...)

the big deal with the Rampant is the virtual pivot suspension - it gives you the pedal ability which the Bass lacks, and also the active suspension on braking bumps, which the SX definitely has and any faux-bar like Bass or Transition Double lacks!

the way the suspension is designed means it will handle DH runs without having poor small bumps compliance, but also handle the bit hits without blowing through the travel (unless you have the air shock pumped up super hard on a bass or double)

Rampant is like a SC Blur 4X but modernized with hydroformed / ribwall tubing in a physically smaller frame!

wicked little bike, too much fun to ride

I've beaten the sh*t out of mine, no problems to report, its a keeper for sure...

 

[Jeromev]

Talked to the my LBS yesterday. He contacted the specialized rep. The rep said specialized only made 5 of the SX in size short. Could this possibly be true? Anyway the rep is trying to locate one, but doesn't look good. I think I've decided that I'm gonna go with the Scott Voltage FR 10 frame which also comes with the Fox rp23 shock. I found one online for a great price. Just waiting to get a 100% confirmation on whether I am or am not getting an SX frame.

 

[demo 9]

Talked to the my LBS yesterday. He contacted the specialized rep. The rep said specialized only made 5 of the SX in size short. Could this possibly be true? Anyway the rep is trying to locate one, but doesn't look good. I think I've decided that I'm gonna go with the Scott Voltage FR 10 frame which also comes with the Fox rp23 shock. I found one online for a great price. Just waiting to get a 100% confirmation on whether I am or am not getting an SX frame.

if that is true, i almost guarantee that those 5 were preordered and more dedicated people than you already snagged them.

 

[Jeromev]

Yea, i figured that already.

 

[demo 9]

Yea, i figured that already.

for what its worth, my vote goes to banshee. ( i have the wildcard for all the stuff you want.) i chose it over the SX because it had more travel and could be built "bigger" so that rampant should be a great bike for you.

 

[Jeromev]

I put my order in yesterday, went with the scott voltage fr 10 frame.
http://www.wrenchscience.com/freeride/frames/Scott/Voltage+FR+10

 

[thatoneguy]

A bit late, but I have a new 03 SX in small I am trying to get rid of...

 

[buma]

The Spec SX has a super low BB, so unless your trails are pretty smooth, you'll be bashing things all over the place. I love mine, but can only ride on pretty buffed out stuff. Super fun if the trail will take it though.

 

[Jeromev]

Here's what I ended up going with. I realized that the Bass was really only going to be good for DJ and I ride a lot of other things besides DJ. I found this to be the most versatile frame and I paired it with a just as versatile fork and I got my Swiss army bike.

 

[murphy]

WHOA.

 

[Dirtjumper999]

Sick little ride. I would love to hop on one of those Voltage FR's. Ride report soon?

 

[Jeromev]

Sick little ride. I would love to hop on one of those Voltage FR's. Ride report soon?

The thing is incredible, I've been on it for a few weeks now. I've ridden it on some of the local trails around here and some dirt jumps also. So far, I'm very happy with it.

The Talas seems to be the perfect match for the Voltage FR with the 215mm i2i shock set-up. The rear is adjustable 135mm or 150 mm, while the Talas adjusts 160mm, 130mm, or 100mm.

So far I've been using the 130mm/135mm combo for trail riding. The bike is incredibly well balanced in the air and just loves to be jumped. It rails through corners like you would not believe, I find myself not using the breaks through corners that I used to on other bikes.

I drop the talas to 100mm for climbs, which it climbs a lot better then you would think.

I also ride with the Talas set to 100mm for dj. Even though it's heavier and has the rear shock, I've hit jumps that I didn't on my hard tail and I'm styling jumps that I used to just be happy getting over.

I haven't used the 160mm/150mm set-up yet but I will once Diablo opens during the week, which will be the first week of July and I will post more reviews then.

 

[Dethklok]

I was wondering how the Voltage FR climbs, could it be used as a good allmountain rig?