I've gotten the blessings from the wife to purchase a new ride toward the end of this year. If I can hold out I might wait for the 2008 models to get a good deal on a 2007. But then again, I might not wait because I am obsessed and impatient and you never know what will sell out.
I currently ride a 2006 Transition Preston FR but it isn't a good fit for myself. At over 190 pounds fully geared up, I'm no lightweight rider and the Preston suspension design seems fit for someone a little more on the light side. And I'm nearly 6'5" so losing weight isn't much of an option. I bottom out the rear shock (Swinger 4-Way) on almost every ride - and I'm not talking about big drops. Even a good standing bunny hop can cause it to hit bottom. Heavy roots and rocks on a trail will do the same thing, along with jumps and drops. I've put on a 650 lb spring and the air pressure on the shock is at 170 lbs. The thing is stiff.
So I'm looking to get something with a little more travel to compensate for this and to allow me to ride without worrying about hearing that awful bottom-out sound.
I want something as versatile as the Preston, but with the extra room to push the suspension through. A majority of my riding is rooty and rocky singletrack, with stops along the way to hit drops and stunts. Occasionally I'll go urban and hit stairs and other ledge drops.
I'll have $3000.00 to spend.
Here's what I am considering:
Transition Dirtbag: Might as well keep it in the family if I can. The Dirtbag is the bike I wish I would have gotten had I done a little more research and known what I was after. I think it'll do fine on the longer trail rides but also have the suspension to allow me to hit the bigger stuff. I'd go with the Marzocchi 66RC2 if I made this choice.
Specialized SX Trail I: This seems like a little more of an all-purpose bike than the Dirtbag but I don't know if it'll be too similar to the Preston. It looks to have 1.5" inches more travel than the Preston so that's good at least. If anyone can give me feedback on how this bike handles a rider around my weight I would appreciate it. The sub-human blathering on MTBR's review page is useless.
Kona Coiler Deluxe: My friend has one of these and it rides like a Buick compared to my Preston, which is more like a Civic. I'm confident this will be able to take the hits and I've seen my buddy put tons of miles on it.
Yeti AS-X: Another friend of mine I rode with used one of these and like the Coiler, there was a world of difference between the Preston and the AS-X. And like my other friend, I've also seen the Yeti on long rides and it does really well.
I can't even put them in order I'm so torn. I'd have to say though that the AS-X and the Dirtbag would be highest on the list.
I'd appreciate anyone's opinion, especially first-hand bias.
I currently ride a 2006 Transition Preston FR but it isn't a good fit for myself. At over 190 pounds fully geared up, I'm no lightweight rider and the Preston suspension design seems fit for someone a little more on the light side. And I'm nearly 6'5" so losing weight isn't much of an option. I bottom out the rear shock (Swinger 4-Way) on almost every ride - and I'm not talking about big drops. Even a good standing bunny hop can cause it to hit bottom. Heavy roots and rocks on a trail will do the same thing, along with jumps and drops. I've put on a 650 lb spring and the air pressure on the shock is at 170 lbs. The thing is stiff.
So I'm looking to get something with a little more travel to compensate for this and to allow me to ride without worrying about hearing that awful bottom-out sound.
I want something as versatile as the Preston, but with the extra room to push the suspension through. A majority of my riding is rooty and rocky singletrack, with stops along the way to hit drops and stunts. Occasionally I'll go urban and hit stairs and other ledge drops.
I'll have $3000.00 to spend.
Here's what I am considering:
Transition Dirtbag: Might as well keep it in the family if I can. The Dirtbag is the bike I wish I would have gotten had I done a little more research and known what I was after. I think it'll do fine on the longer trail rides but also have the suspension to allow me to hit the bigger stuff. I'd go with the Marzocchi 66RC2 if I made this choice.
Specialized SX Trail I: This seems like a little more of an all-purpose bike than the Dirtbag but I don't know if it'll be too similar to the Preston. It looks to have 1.5" inches more travel than the Preston so that's good at least. If anyone can give me feedback on how this bike handles a rider around my weight I would appreciate it. The sub-human blathering on MTBR's review page is useless.
Kona Coiler Deluxe: My friend has one of these and it rides like a Buick compared to my Preston, which is more like a Civic. I'm confident this will be able to take the hits and I've seen my buddy put tons of miles on it.
Yeti AS-X: Another friend of mine I rode with used one of these and like the Coiler, there was a world of difference between the Preston and the AS-X. And like my other friend, I've also seen the Yeti on long rides and it does really well.
I can't even put them in order I'm so torn. I'd have to say though that the AS-X and the Dirtbag would be highest on the list.
I'd appreciate anyone's opinion, especially first-hand bias.