Ill second the Trance, FClinder has his set up awesome and he shreds some gnarly trails on it. With the right build the Trance can be a mean lightweight do-it-all fully.
Looking for fun to ride anywhere frame.
- Thread starter bdamschen
- Start date
Older = Pre-05. They're 5" of travel, a bit lower slung, and look less like a Demo:
I had one set up with a 5" fork, chainguide, etc. and it was mean. I never got a pic of it but I rocked it at Mammoth and Big Bear and it was pretty dang fun.
I'm not looking for a brand spankin new frame if I can help it. Used heckler and sometimes blur 4x frames are pretty easy to find. I don't think I've ever seen a used covert frame for sale.
Covert's new this year.
you won't find a used covert, but you could probally find a used preston FR. those things are great do it all bikes.
Kyle,
Kyle,
Im curently looking into somthing similar, my dads got a fuel ex, and i know its not the same but its the leas impressed ive ever been with a bike, it doesnt soak up anything, the shock sucks itl sort of absorb a single bump but thats about it then it just packs or if you put more air in it it it does nothing, its twitchy to the point where im scared on the most tame of descents, the geo feels all wronf, the swingarm fieels very long and hard to manuver so is realy not very flickable dispite the twitchiness and im not impressed with the way the linkage seems to work making it quite hard to work the trail like you would a hardtail or a descent trail bike but the lack of usefull suspension means that its harder to ride over rough stuff than a h/t. Iv pretty much decided on a prophet mx, im the relitively small medium for flickability, even though it has a little more travel than id like it seems super versitile, it can be built from a 28 or less pound xc machine to a 30lb 4x bike to a 35 lb mini dh, concidering people have used this bike for 4x and slope style etc, it should be nice and flickable and a solid base but thats kinda asumption because i cant realy find allot of info.
If you can get you hands on DIRT mag a couple issues back they did a multi month test of the kind of bike you looking for......the series of Article was called "Middle Ground". It was a well done , well thought out set of articles......the did one test where they timed like a dozen bikes on a UK forest trail, sounded like it was kind of Super D. They described how some bikes felt fast, some felt like a rough ride and other were smooth and really couldn't feel anything. They tested alot of lightish 5 inch bike and up into the 6 inch burly range. The fastest bike of the bunch but not the fastest feeling was the Orange 5. Bikes that felt fast were in 6 inch range but their times on the trail were off quite a bit........they said the orange was super snappy and quickish. They alsos mentioned Orgnge is coming out with a tweaked 5 that is going to be a little more relaxed in Geo, not sure how extreme though. The did test the Heckler also, they said the build was very heavy and the bike rode heavy. I can see their point, some people do over build the Heckler and the bike can ride heavy, but you have to tinker with the suspension to find the sweet spot, then its all good.
I think single pivot is the way to good. On an xc bike you just want to ride and with as little maintenace as possible......the Blurs, Giant VPP, and MKIII, just wouldn't want to take on the off the bike stress of all those pivots, in mud they will be a problem. Single Pivot is virtually maintanence free.....
I think single pivot is the way to good. On an xc bike you just want to ride and with as little maintenace as possible......the Blurs, Giant VPP, and MKIII, just wouldn't want to take on the off the bike stress of all those pivots, in mud they will be a problem. Single Pivot is virtually maintanence free.....
I am 5'11" and have a 18". The real TT is 21.5" long. I would get the 20" if I were you. I climb a lot on my bike and it feels great to me and run a 45mm stem too. The frame is very strong with very little flex. This surprised me and made me very happy!!!! It will feel much like the SX. Like I said I put it through the test every time I ride it and I am about 175lbs. I do run air shocks front and rear too.
For those that have not seen it and the build here it is. The pic is not up to date and a few parts have changed since the pic was taken, but the curent build is below.
06 Giant Trance Frame Size 18"
Rock Shox Reveltion Dual Air Fork with U-Turn
Azonic Outlaws
Thomson Stem and Seat Post
Easton EA50 Bars
ODI Grips
Sram X9 shifters
Sram 34-11 C
E13 LG-1
Truvativ Hussefelt cranks
Hayes El-C brakes
No name Ti Seat
Michelin All Moutain A/T tubeless tires
Total build is around 28esh on the bike scale at the shop.
You left out the FSR in the above and "No" to the statement above!!!! I see a lot and I mean a lot of mud here in the South East. I have not had a problem out of the Giant VPP design at all and have been on this design for almost 6 months now. I will say a Single pivot is almost maintenance free as I road Morewoods last year. Great bikes!!!!
For any bike that is ridden in the mud or elements that gets the proper cleaning after every ride you will not have as many problems with much like any single pivot bike. My friends always laugh at me for as much as I clean my bikes, but I also have fewer problems too.
Hope this helps....
It's the whole cleaning thing......if you have time and space then yes clean your bike. Personally i would rather spend the extra 10 minutes on the trail. I rode from november through January here in cold slushy sometimes muddish trails and the only time my Heckler left my truck was when i was riding it......
Word.
I have owned, or currently own several of the bikes mentioned in this thread.
I would place this bike at the top of that list:
http://www.specialized.com/bc/SBCBkModel.jsp?spid=22213
The SJ comp comes very well spec'd at cheaper than you could build yourself. The float rl can be easily switched to 140mm of travel which slackens it out just a bit.
The bike is very light, pretty stout, laterally stiff and corners really well. By specialized's #'s the ha seems steep, but with the fork at 140mm it's perfect.
The bike rolls and pedals so, so, soooooo much better thand my enduro or my old SX. But still feels almost as good as the enduro for all but the most gnarly stuff.
Other bikes at the top of the list (which is based on both value and function) would be the MKIII and the Giant Trance. The Enduro, SX, Reign, or Reign X aren't nearly as efficient.
Some companies have gotten very good at pivots. I'm not real anal about cleaning, but my bikes are well maintained.For any bike that is ridden in the mud or elements that gets the proper cleaning after every ride you will not have as many problems with much like any single pivot bike. My friends always laugh at me for as much as I clean my bikes, but I also have fewer problems too.
Hope this helps....
I've literally broken the frame on some linkage bikes before the pivots had a hint of slop, and on another one of my bikes I went throught a phase of rebuilding something every 15 rides or so before they got it right.
I still stand by my post above.
*edit* Oh, and winter in nor-cal isn't the same, but I ride all winter, rain or shine.
How tall are you and what size stem? I was looking at those pretty hard before I went for the SJ. (I'm 6'0", running a Large - 24"tt, with a 50mm stem)
*wow, three posts in a row.. I'm leaving*
Understand I am not a Single Pivot hater. I would be still on a Morewood if it wasn't for the deal I got from Giant. It was too good to pass up. I am not trying to start a SP/MP war here. My quote was to take care of you bikes and you will have fewer problems with it. Thats all....
Read Post # 49.
No SP/MP war needed. My post was actually meant to state that mp bikes aren't necessarily higher maintenance than SP. But it really depends on the manufacturer.Understand I am not a Single Pivot hater. I would be still on a Morewood if it wasn't for the deal I got from Giant. It was too good to pass up. I am not trying to start a SP/MP war here. My quote was to take care of you bikes and you will have fewer problems with it. Thats all....
Ok, so I've taken pretty much no one's advice and am leaning towards picking up a cannondale prophet. It looks like fun with 140 mm rear travel, the possibility of a rigid rear end if I get the mx with the 12mm axle and an adjustable HA from 69 deg to 67.5 deg.
So what does everyone think about these bikes? Who's ridden one? How much does a build setup more for trail riding than dh weigh? Is any some horrible reason why I shouldn't even consider it?
So what does everyone think about these bikes? Who's ridden one? How much does a build setup more for trail riding than dh weigh? Is any some horrible reason why I shouldn't even consider it?
Ahh, you're taking my advice! If you do a search, you'll find my comments on the Prophet along with others. The biggest complaint that some have had is that the rear is flexy on the standard version.
Just to reiterate a few of my previous comments on the bike, I own a standard Prophet and I think it's a great frame. In the slack setting, the bike is incredibly stable, but is still easily climbable. The BB is quite low and makes for a great, confidence inspiring ride. I have an '05 Prophet 1000 and I can't be sure on the weight, but I'm guessing it's around 30 lbs with a very solid all mountain build; lighter is certainly possible. I think it's a great bike. I've had very few problems.
Forgot about that one. I don't really have the single pivot's logged into my "recomendations book", but I like those frames. Really good deals, simple design, etc, etc.
I was trying to convince a frient to buy an SJ or an MK3 and after a while it came down to the SJ and the Prophet.
Have you ridden an MX as well? Any idea if the rear axle is the only thing with more beef, or if it's a heavier/beefier frame overall?
so I am going to try and highjack here for a moment, kind of...I'm a dher who needs a training bike. I recently tried selling my dh rig to get a reign x1 as a do it all race/training/fun bike but that didn't work out. So now I am going to pawn off my ht iron horse yakuza ( pm me if interested) and try to grab an 06 stumpy base (red one with bb7's) to ride some trails on. I have some q's:
I am 6'0" to 6'1" depending on the day, would a large work out?
What have done to accomodate stumpys to more aggressive riding?
I have been thinking about doing the following: shorter stem, layback or telescopic post, different fork (little more travel to slacken the ht); what does the order say about these changes? what fork would be recommended? pike vs revelation?
I'm sure I'll have more q's later
I am 6'0" to 6'1" depending on the day, would a large work out?
What have done to accomodate stumpys to more aggressive riding?
I have been thinking about doing the following: shorter stem, layback or telescopic post, different fork (little more travel to slacken the ht); what does the order say about these changes? what fork would be recommended? pike vs revelation?
I'm sure I'll have more q's later
They are the same fork. One has a 20mm axle and the other doesn't. I have the Revelation because its over 1 pound lighter. Thats a lot off the front end!!!!! The fork works great!!! Ether way you go you will like it.
AND the Revelation has 130mm while the Pike has 140mm
Yes you are right. Forgot about that.
I think a large would work out for you....Spec comes in 4 sizes instead of the usually 3, so there large is a true large. As for the rest...try shortish stem like 90mm and i wouldn't do the layback seat post, i really don't even understand why anyone would ever use one.....
Have your looked at the Reign X1?? its awesome all mountain? freeride bike.
i own a prophet 800, and have never seen/ridden an mx, but I do know that they are slightly beefed up with added gussets. I don't know much further than that.
I do like my trailbike, but it is loooong, so make sure you size down. A medium is 23.5 toptube, my large is 24.5 and will fit well with a larger stem. I dig the bike though, and this is coming from somebody who usually rides linkages.
Rad. Still sorta un-decided on a MX vs. regular prophet. I saw the thread that the regualrs are super flexy and I'm a pretty heavy guy so maybe the mx.
Whatever frame I get, looks like a Lyric is going on the front.
Whatever frame I get, looks like a Lyric is going on the front.
Definately go for the 19" frame size, it'll work out great for you.
I had one for a while, the model you were talking about, and it worked well for fast trails, and it was a really good climber. It just wasn't very fun feeling though, so I decided to put my money into playbikes. It's just that on steep sections or when it's super rocky, it's so much slower than an agressive bike. I did race XC on it, that was a blast. The thing was a rocket ship there.
If you're doing only training, go for it. If you want a fast trail bike that you realize can't handle crazy stuff, go for it. If you want to put flat pedals on it, a short ass stem, a 5" fork, and a chainguide, maybe look elsewhere.
I would decide whether the bike is going to see significant jumping or lift assisted use. For a trailbike, my prophet feels plenty stiff. I don't have a ton of time on it, but it was plenty adequate as I put a couple miles in on some varied XC. It felt like it could handle some small stunts or drops, but I would hesitate to make it a regular DHer. It climbed well and didn't seem to bob noticably, which was impressive for a nigh 6" travel frame. I weigh 185, btw, and rode the stock wheels with overinflated hutchi pythons. I feel that the weight and usability price you pay for the MX isn't worth it unless it's going to see a lot of jumpin' n stuntin'.Rad. Still sorta un-decided on a MX vs. regular prophet. I saw the thread that the regualrs are super flexy and I'm a pretty heavy guy so maybe the mx.
Whatever frame I get, looks like a Lyric is going on the front.
Stop giving bdamschen ideas, his girly said no more bikes. 
+1, and I have two 07 SX TR III frames. A new medium is for sale if interested
yup, called my rep at giant, they are sold out until the 08 production run. there are three bikes that have not been delivered to a shop yet but they have been claimed by guys at the western regional distribution warehouse.
how much would that effect angles etc?
I've never heard of that brand.......