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Lightweight freeride frame?

trialsboy50

Monkey
Nov 23, 2004
160
0
I'm on a bulit right now, but will be going to college in Cleveland soon, and plan on hopefully riding at Rays a bit. My bullit is setup for DHish stuff witha Boxxer WC, I'm looking to sell the frame/fork and get a lighterweight frame and fork.

Any suggestions? Ideally 6" and fairly light.

Thanks
Byron
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,618
5,942
in a single wide, cooking meth...
A real good one - Transition Preston...
My '04 has 4" of travel, but it's really plenty for a majority of what I do...Nice slack geo, great customer service (i.e. you can actually talk to the owners - super cool dudes), solid 4 bar sus, nice build quality on the frame, Romic shock, and a seat that can be lowered to the front derailleur it seems...Slap a decent fork on the front (unlike the Pyslo I currently have residing in the head tube), and you're golden...Plus, the new models come with the Dangerboy plates that make it adjustable between 4-5"...And you can buy the Dangerboys for later models like mine if you're hell bent on having 5" of travel...Definitely check'em out at www.transitionbikes.com

Btw, I have a Bullit as well, but like yours, it's more of a chair lift bike at this point...Can also dirt jump a Preston worlds better than you can a big phatty like a DH equipped Bullit...Really been very pleased with this bike so far...

But if you really want 6" of rear travel, I'll sell you my Marin Wolfridge for a good deal :)


Other options would be a Kona Coiler or SC Heckler...
 

bballe336

Turbo Monkey
Mar 3, 2005
1,757
0
MA
that preston looks pretty cool. if you have the cash maybe a sinister splinter MX. it pedals amazing, has adjustable BB height and adjustable dropouts plus its pretty light. i have ridden one and realy like it. plus its adjustable travel also. its not too slacked out but bny adjusting it with the pull rod (which is really cool btw) it could be pretty slack. and it is designed around a 6 inch fork which is perfect for freeride. and it has the signature quality of any FTW frame.
 

Transfer

Monkey
Jan 23, 2004
545
0
Seattle, WA
I have a Preston also but have only gotten to ride it once so far. As far as light weight goes, it can definitely be built up light. Mine with a Pike team is somewhere between 30 and 34 pounds according to several people. Great geometry, strength, and squish but the suspension is definitely no Bullit as it is still short travel.
 

Ohio_Huck

Chimp
May 15, 2005
19
0
Cleveland Ohio
hey, i live in the cleveland area. i dont know where you live now, but rays is definatly a sweet spot, however, there is no need for a 6 inch lite freeride bike. if i were you, id say keep the DH style bullit for mohican (sick DH courses about 1-2 hours south), and build a sick hardtail you could ride for XC, urban, and bike parks ( ie rays) plus, the urban scene in cleveland is sick, there is amazing **** all over. let me know where your goin to school, im heading to OSU next year.
 

dante

Unabomber
Feb 13, 2004
8,807
9
looking for classic NE singletrack
air rear shock and pike fork? Ti spring and pike fork? the bullit frame is actually relatively light, so you're not going to save THAT much by going to a different frame.

I say you keep that and build up a FR HT. nice frame, fork, maybe even SS it, and you're good to go. Just make sure the fork is 20mm and you can swap your wheels over from your bullit.

:thumb:
 

trialsboy50

Monkey
Nov 23, 2004
160
0
Hey thanks for the suggestions.

Ohio_Rider, I'm going to Case western this fall. I'm debating on whether to build up like a 24" street bike as I think it would be more practical in an urban setting. Mohican sounds awesome, I'm not sure how often Id get down there though.

Thanks for the suggestions guys,

Byron
 

Ohio_Huck

Chimp
May 15, 2005
19
0
Cleveland Ohio
yeah, rays is definatly set up more for hard tails than freeride bikes. a sick hardtail, with like a breakout plus or something adjustable would be perfect. so then youd have something that could handle the huge stair sets around cleveland, but still be very DJ-able. and XC able. if i had the money, id absolutely buy a burly hard tail, and a dedicated DH bike.
 

Ohio_Huck

Chimp
May 15, 2005
19
0
Cleveland Ohio
and yeah, mohican is just as sick as any DH trails you'll find elsewhere. tons of rocks, boulder drops, nasty rock gardens, and a ton of jumps, with the last one being right about 30 ft
 

***MTB***

Monkey
Dec 19, 2004
278
0
SoCal
Take a look at the session 7or 77 (if money isn't an issue). Also0 look at the heckler with the coil shock. I test rode the Heckler and it was awosome . super light and the suspension was really plush.
 

PatBranch

Turbo Monkey
Sep 24, 2004
10,451
9
wine country
Mavic rims are really strong and light but expensive; completely worth the price. The ex729/d321 are the same the 729 is just newer. I have a rear ex. 325 which is really nice also.