Searching for the holy grail

motomike · Jul 30, 2005

>IH 7 point

>Intense Uzzi VPX

>Santa Cruz VP Free

>Specialized Enduro

I don't like the Reign, it just doesn't look like it can take any type of abuse. Plus the parts specs are more XC oriented

dothedew772 · Jul 30, 2005

i have an 05 enduro expert and have done 10ft drops to trannies on it and it held up fine. It pedals well too

RideND · Jul 30, 2005

Six-Pack?

ridetoofast · Jul 30, 2005

session 7
Frame
ZR 9000

Front Suspension
Manitou Stance Flow w/TPC LO, 1.5, 170mm

Rear Shock
Manitou Swinger 4-Way coil, 170mm

Wheels
Bontrager Earl

Crankset
Bontrager Earl 32/22

Rear Derailleur
SRAM X-7

session77
ZR 9000

Front Suspension
Manitou Sherman Breakout Plus, 1.5, 170mm

Rear Shock
Manitou Swinger 4-Way coil, 170mm

Wheels
Bontrager Big Earl

Crankset
Shimano Saint 32/22

Rear Derailleur
SRAM X-9

BMXman · Jul 30, 2005

hmm... that's a tall order..I think you may need to up the weight limit to 35lbs...D

Mike B. · Jul 30, 2005

I say 7point. I have a large at 37 pounds right now and 33 might be tough. On the other hand, it doesn't pedal like it's 37lbs. I had a Joker a few years ago that weighed the same but did not ride anywhere near as light. 35 and maybe even 34 would be achievable with a few changes.

sanjuro · Jul 30, 2005

Dude, fyi Santa Cruz Nomad. With XC wheels, carbon bars and a light saddle, easily 30 lbs. Put on a light Dual Crown, and you have about 33lb bike.

Fulton · Jul 30, 2005

RideND said:
Six-Pack?

that would be my choice, 6 pack, with a 06 fox 36 coil, mmmm

Or maybe even go air front and rear. Could easily be built to under 33 pounds.

atrokz · Jul 30, 2005

Not a tall order,

Enduro frame
fox 36 talus
fox air shock
single ring with custom carbon guide, lexan guard
road drl
etc
etc

Bicyclist · Jul 30, 2005

An enduro doesn't even have to be modified to fit your bill.

chicodude · Jul 30, 2005

Yea, Those enduros are pretty slick, I know punkassean has on and he is pretty happy with it

seismic · Jul 30, 2005

Can the Enduro take serious DH abuse ??

Jm_ · Jul 30, 2005

Turner 6 pack. It rails. I love mine.

Great lateral stiffness, great suspension, floats over rocks, uphill and downhill, very minimal bob (that can be tuned to less), very active, great geometry, etc....

Mine's built up a little light, although recently it's gotten heavier. Lightest was about 30lbs with an RP3, then it went to about 31, then 31.5, and now maybe even a bit more with mallets and a heavier saddle. It's my only ride right now, so I use it for everything. I have a 130-150mm all-mtn 1 on the front, although very soon I'm going to order some Z1FR lowers to use the fork with a 20mm axle. I think I'll be very happy with that setup, although I'm very impressed with how it all works right now. Has mostly XT parts on it, thomson, mavic f519 "all mtn" type rims, overall a great bike for my purposes.

My fox DHX was a little screwed up when I first got the bike, and it progressively worsened over a few months, so I just send it to fox and got it back and they took care of the problem totally, which really impresses me because I've dealt with other suspension companies that simply did not want to fix my shocks when they were malfunctioning. Fox wasn't out to try and prove me wrong or ignore me, they simply took care of it and replaced the bad parts (piston, valve, etc). So props to fox for standing behind their product.

mxer338 · Jul 30, 2005

look at the santa cruz nomad, built light and santa cruz can build it up with what you want, you can go air or coil sprung, sc or dc, its really versatile

dexter · Jul 30, 2005

sinister splinter with ti sprung rear shock or dhx air, travis fork, lighter wheels, sram/avid/stuvativ kit. sounds killer

jackalope · Jul 30, 2005

Bullit or AS-X with a floater :blah:

Cheap and can take serious abuse, plus 33 pounds is doable - although certainly not easy...

But really, the Enduro SX trail seems like it would fit the bill pretty well for you (although again, the 33 lbs would require some careful component choices)...

As the SC Nomad, what's the availability of those frames? If it's like most new SC products, be prepared to wait - a LOOOOONNNG time....

Fulton · Jul 31, 2005

dexter said:
sinister splinter with ti sprung rear shock or dhx air, travis fork, lighter wheels, sram/avid/stuvativ kit. sounds killer

sweet bike, but a little short on travel, he said 6" min, 7 prefered.

Fulton · Jul 31, 2005

Jm_ said:
Turner 6 pack. It rails. I love mine.

yup yup, 6 pack with a 36 would be the perfect all mountain bike imo.

atrokz · Jul 31, 2005

seismic said:
Can the Enduro take serious DH abuse ??

No trail bike is supposed to take serious DH abuse. Thats what DH and FR bikes are for, but they weight 38lbs in their lightest carnations.

The enduro should be more than adequate for some occasional DH runs, drops, etc. And if you look at the SX trail or other enduro, you'll see that it's equipped for heavy duty FR use. So that frame paired with a long stroke air shock should help make for an ideal fr bike.

spacemanspiff06 · Jul 31, 2005

cannondale gemni 900 is 36 lbs stock with 7 inches (adj. to 5) and peddles better then i do. it's my swiss army knife, test ride one.

OGRipper · Jul 31, 2005

The Nomad with a Fox 36 or maybe an '06 66 or Travis if you really want 7" in front. That bike is built to accept a dual crown so that tells me you should have no problems with light DH. My vp-free and blur have a small amount of brake effect but not bad at all, remains pretty active IMO.

For the saga of an eduro build, look up Punkassean's thread. Really sweet rig too fo' sure.

dexter · Jul 31, 2005

the sisnister is 6 inches but if you have ridden one it feels honestly like there is 7-8 inches out back. toss a new travis s/c fork on it and it would be up for anything (hell next season i might race my splinter on a lot of the smoother courses)

ioscope · Jul 31, 2005

Just get a freeride bike, and live with the pedaling and weight. Buy a rigid for xc if you really need it!

jncarpenter · Jul 31, 2005

...........depending on whether your need for climbing demands "just reaching the top" for the next DH run, or if you consistently are climbing rough/ rocky/ rooty terrain:

I would be tempted to try the new VPP 6.6 from Intense for the "strictly shuttling to the top" type of climb....otherwise I would agree that the Turner RFX (no longer called the 6 Pack

neaky: ) should fill the bill nicely. In either case, the 06 66SL w/ ETA would make a great fork option.

6.6 (reported weight @ 28.5 lbs

Mike B. · Jul 31, 2005

Ok, so I already suggested the 7point but I got another good ride on mine yesterday and I'm even more impressed. We did a 3 hour, shuttled xc ride that is very technical at times. The trail has everything from loose, sandy descents to twisty singletrack to rocky, rutted downhill and some short but steep technical climbs. I normally ride my Loco Moto on this ride and I took my Imperial down it twice before, but this time I opted for the 7point. Even though it currently weighs about 12 pounds more than my Titus, I don't feel like it cost me any time or energy riding the heavier bike and I cleaned 3 of the tech climbs that I've struggled with in the past. I don't know if it's the DW link, the 2.3 stick-e nevegal or what but the thing just climbs. I don't believe it's the new bike effect or that my fitness level has changed a great deal.

I was also thinking and with mine currently at 37 pounds that 33 might be achievable if you didn't mind changing out tires for the DH days. If I changed the stem, got a carbon bar, Ti spring for the 5th, different cranks, lighter saddle, etc. I think it would be close. I've also got some ti bolts we use for the Martas so I may change out the caliper mounting bolts too. Mine is a large by the way, so you may save something if you need a smaller frame.

bighitfsr · Jul 31, 2005

Which ever rig you decide on I'd reccomend setting up 2 wheelsets one for DH use and one for XC. Reducing rotating weight and running XC tires for XC will make a huge difference for climbing.

I would also recomend a frame with a 1.5 head tube as many of the lightest fork options with 6+ inches of travel are 1.5 SCs.

Buying a stock FR bike like a 7 point plus an XC wheelset will probably workout more cost effective than a custom build.

If you take a 38lb FR bike and swap out the wheels and tyres that will get the weight down to sub 35lbs (weight savings = 500g per end for tires and 200g per end rims and spokes). Saving weight off the wheels is said to be twice as effective as saving weight elsewhere as its rotating weight so the virtual weight saving would be something like 6lbs between an XC and DH setup.

Slider · Aug 1, 2005

rbx said:
Giant reign(maybe to weak for my weight)

please excuse me while I snicker tee hee hee hee
you sound like one wopping huge man at 188 pounds.

Get an old bullit with 6 inches of travel put a shock on it with some sort of lockout otpion spv if you are spendy. and go from there

Neal · Aug 1, 2005

I've got a G-spot from the Cove. It's a great bike. It pedals up the steeps just fine. I can take it to Whistler, the Shore, local djs and semi-epic xc rides.

But, if you are leaning towards the epic xc stuff, I'd go with a Bullit. The Cove is built to ride up so you can get back down again. The Bullit seems to be at home in the XC stuff.

Mayber your location is pretty important to your decision. Here in Wa/BC, the Cove is a solid choice. Maybe it wouldn't make sense in other locales?

Good luck

dante · Aug 1, 2005

7POINT9?

neaky:

dw · Aug 1, 2005

You can build a 7POINT up pretty light if you use the right parts. The bike is still made to take some abuse, so you wont have to worry about that. All of the production frames are built up with heavy DH tires and burly wheels. I have one with 721s, on WTB light hubs with butted spokes, 2.3 single plys, and a pretty normal build and its in the mid 30s. My 17" frame with seatpost, axle, shock with steel spring, headset weighs 10.9 lbs on my big scale. A ti spring will drop a solid lb. Its definitely overbuilt for trail riding, but it is also a pretty structurally efficient frame, so although it is very strong, the frame really is pretty light for what it is.

As far as low pedaling feedback coupled with efficient and high traction pedaling, I would stake my life on the fact that there is no other 7-8 inch travel bike bike that I am aware of that can touch the dw-link and the 7POINT in that respect. I really do belive that. Also, the 7POINT has a true 7 inches of travel. There is no extra sag, or anything like that at all. Becuase of the dw-link axle path, the 7POINT's 7" of travel feels like a solid 7 inches if not more. Riders who own and ride them can verify all that for sure.

If you hate pedal feedback, you may want to be careful about what type of linkage suspension you choose. Linkage suspension does not = low pedal feedback. Some popular linkage suspensions have much more pedal feedback than any single pivot frame. Just be aware what you are looking into.

From what you are describing though, you might be looking for a Type 6, which you won't see until Eurobike most likely.

Anyways, the best way to make a decision is to ride and test. Thats the only way to really find out what you like, I would however, in your situation consider the 7POINT for a test ride. I ride mine on the somewhat flat trails here all the time and I love it.

dw

Jm_ · Aug 1, 2005

dw said:
As far as low pedaling feedback coupled with efficient and high traction pedaling, I would stake my life on the fact that there is no other 7-8 inch travel bike bike that I am aware of that can touch the dw-link

What about the Giant Faith? :evil:

dw · Aug 1, 2005

Jm_ said:
What about the Giant Faith? :evil:

what about it? :rolleyes:

rigidhack · Aug 1, 2005

dexter said:
sinister splinter with ti sprung rear shock or dhx air, travis fork, lighter wheels, sram/avid/stuvativ kit. sounds killer

Im the same size and build as you. I second the Splinter. Truly sick bike.

Bldr_DH · Aug 1, 2005

Sounds like a Lenz Sport Fat Jack is just about perfect for what you want. 6" (I believe) and burly. It could be built fairly light as well. It's not on the website yet -- you'd have to give Lenz a call. It's basically a beefed up Lumberjack. They are a bit on the expensive side though, so I don't know how much of a factor that is.

Searching for the holy grail

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