[ltr450rider]

It finally arrived, My new Slash 9 is here. Got my first ride on it here in S.B. on Romero sunday morning. This bike rips, platforming is awsome on the climb, I thought it might be a little too slack but front wheel stayed planted over the steep stuff just fine.

I thought I would need a few rides to get comfortable on the descent, but I felt right at home from the first corner. HB seemed a little funky at setup but felt fine on the trail, I will be leaving them "un-cut" at 750mm. Tires hooked up great (after a good rain on friday, any tire was hooking up though).

The Reverb Stealth seatpost is probably my favorite component on the bike, super smooth actuation, doesnt slap your boys like other posts, and easy to set-up and bleed. The bike came with a bleed kit and fluid, which is actually 2.5 wt shock oil.

Chainguide is quite and the built in bash gaurd is really nice. It will be nice to run any double crankset, no more triple conversions will save some money when I put on some XT's.

31.4 lbs out of the box, tubeless (needed tape and valve stems which werent included). I am very happy with this bike, color looks even better in person. The only thing that this bike needs is I-9 wheelset and XT kit. Sram works good, just like derails that dont get ripped off through the rocks.

 

[IH8Rice]

does the DRCV still suck like it has in the past? 31.4lbs is pretty heavy even w/ a tubeless setup. what size is it?

 

[ltr450rider]

does the DRCV still suck like it has in the past? 31.4lbs is pretty heavy even w/ a tubeless setup. what size is it?

Yes, Everything sucks on this bike. 31 pounds is very heavy for a 19.5" all mountain bike. The DRCV shock feels like crap, it blows throught the travel and bottoms out really hard, oh and it fades within 3 minutes of fireroad descending.

Is that negative enough for you?

 

[IH8Rice]

Yes, Everything sucks on this bike. 31 pounds is very heavy for a 19.5" all mountain bike. The DRCV shock feels like crap, it blows throught the travel and bottoms out really hard, oh and it fades within 3 minutes of fireroad descending.

Is that negative enough for you?

so i see the drcv hasnt changed then.
and yes, 31.5lbs is a bit heavy w/ tubeless. sorry to burst your bubble

 

[ltr450rider]

Dammit, I thought I had a nice bike. What should I have gotten sensei??? I feel like such an idiot!

 

[fourseven]

sick bike man. could you take a picture of the built in bash guard? not quite sure what the heck that looks like.

 

[chillindrdude]

31.5 lbs for an enduro/mini dh bike isn't too shabby in my opinion. this exact bike was pinning the trails at whistler...granted, alot of it was the rider but bear in mind it's basically a scaled down scratch. the transition covert, aluminum enduro, giant reignX are all in that 31-ish weight range. if the house branded bontrager parts were replaced with high-end components, it would be sub 31 easy...


if you want sub 30lbs...remedy is your huckleberry.

i always wonder why tubeless is the a hallmark of a "lightweight" build.
weight of a tubeless specific casing tire, plus/minus rim strip and valve stem, plus enough sealant to actually seal, and tubeless specific rims essentially is the same weight as a tubed setup. maybe 100grams lighter...TOPS.

i run regular ("xc") butyl tubes in my dh bike, as low as 25psi, and i rarely pinchflat.

 

[chillindrdude]

and thats a SWEET ride ltr450...i wonder if it means my Slash frameset will be arriving soon...

 

[Da Peach]

Pretty awesome. Just had a look at one at the shop today. So nice. It was too big for me at 18.5" (pretty sure), but oh, how I would like one...

 

[gonefirefightin]

Damn.....not a fan of green but that looks pretty sick....nice build

 

[ltr450rider]

sick bike man. could you take a picture of the built in bash guard? not quite sure what the heck that looks like.

MRP makes it, it's surprisingly light. The best thing about it, no more triple with bashguard conversions. Also uses derailleur style pulleys instead of a roller, it's pretty much silent.

31.5 lbs for an enduro/mini dh bike isn't too shabby in my opinion. this exact bike was pinning the trails at whistler...granted, alot of it was the rider but bear in mind it's basically a scaled down scratch. the transition covert, aluminum enduro, giant reignX are all in that 31-ish weight range. if the house branded bontrager parts were replaced with high-end components, it would be sub 31 easy...


if you want sub 30lbs...remedy is your huckleberry.

i always wonder why tubeless is the a hallmark of a "lightweight" build.
weight of a tubeless specific casing tire, plus/minus rim strip and valve stem, plus enough sealant to actually seal, and tubeless specific rims essentially is the same weight as a tubed setup. maybe 100grams lighter...TOPS.

i run regular ("xc") butyl tubes in my dh bike, as low as 25psi, and i rarely pinchflat.

Bontrager has gotten a bad rap in the past (it's been well deserved), but I've been thouroughly impressed with them lately. The only Bont. parts are hb, stem, saddle, wheels/tires. The bars are pretty nice, they have a funky sweep when setting them set up, but comfortable when riding.

The wheels are surprisingly stiff even though they are 28 hole. But I will be getting a set of I-9 with Flow's when the budget allows. There really is not alot of wieght to drop on the bike, wheels would be the only noticeable difference. I-9's should drop it below 31 for sure.

 

[ltr450rider]

Damn.....not a fan of green but that looks pretty sick....nice build

I may or may not like green bikes! All I need is Zarks 951 to complete the collection.

 

[golgiaparatus]

so i see the drcv hasnt changed then.
and yes, 31.5lbs is a bit heavy w/ tubeless. sorry to burst your bubble

Pay no attention to Mr Negative here... 30ish pounds is a very respectable all mountain bike. Throw some different tires on that thing and I bet you can get it down to 30.

 

[IH8Rice]

Pay no attention to Mr Negative here... 30ish pounds is a very respectable all mountain bike. Throw some different tires on that thing and I bet you can get it down to 30.

if i hadnt ridden that junk DRCV then youd be right, but unless Trek did something magic that GF couldnt do, then im sure my point is still pertinent.
and for $5800 bike running tubeless w/ top of the line parts on it, it should be closer to 30lbs.

 

[dezhamer16]

your name should be ih8everything instead of ih8rice... and trek suspension designs work better than fisher's

 

[IH8Rice]

and it has all those fancy acronyms just like trek does...and is the same company.
and i dont hate everything. i hate companies trying to force stupid tech to make up for their suspension designs. cough Spesh Brain cough

 

[golgiaparatus]

if i hadnt ridden that junk DRCV then youd be right, but unless Trek did something magic that GF couldnt do, then im sure my point is still pertinent.
and for $5800 bike running tubeless w/ top of the line parts on it, it should be closer to 30lbs.

So I'd be right about 31 lbs being a respectable weight if Treks suspension platform were better?

BTW I've ridden this platform @ the Trek Demo day that they host at our trails every year... it was perfectly fine... it didn't knock my socks off, but I couldn't complain either.

I'll agree that $6k for this bike is damn steep. My custom ti bike is costing far less.

 

[golgiaparatus]

and it has all those fancy acronyms just like trek does...and is the same company.
and i dont hate everything. i hate companies trying to force stupid tech to make up for their suspension designs. cough Spesh Brain cough

Spesh's brain is fantastic. What other design can be hammered up a steep climb in a large gear, out of the saddle, and not actuate the shock at all?

 

[ltr450rider]

Hey Rice, still waiting on your answer for what bike you think I should have bought.

 

[golgiaparatus]

Hey Rice, still waiting on your answer for what bike you think I should have bought.

I'll reply for him: Something lighter that doesn't suck nearly as much.

 

[IH8Rice]

So I'd be right about 31 lbs being a respectable weight if Treks suspension platform were better?

less then 31lbs would be moar better for a top of the line aluminum bike

Spesh's brain is fantastic. What other design can be hammered up a steep climb in a large gear, out of the saddle, and not actuate the shock at all?

Foes' Curnutt does position damping better (and holds up better) IMO just not the the extreme level that the Brain goes to.

Hey Rice, still waiting on your answer for what bike you think I should have bought.

if Trek could design that bike without the need for that shock and make the bike lighter for that price, then that bike is fine. then again, trek is fantastic at marketing

 

[golgiaparatus]

Foes' Curnutt does position damping better (and holds up better) IMO just not the the extreme level that the Brain goes to.

My point was the Brain actually does it's job and isn't an example of useless tech? I found it useful in making my epic an extremely efficient climber, and it was tunable enough that I was able to get the bike to also handle technical terrain quite well.

Anyway, I don't want to hijack and turn this into a thread about my old bike. So what should OP have bought instead of the Trek that would have been about the same price?

 

[ucsbMTBmember]

To the OP: Live in IV? theres a few of us in IV that ride all the time.

 

[IH8Rice]

So what should OP have bought instead of the Trek that would have been about the same price?

im sure its a swell bike. dont mind me and my skepticalism

 

[fourseven]

MRP makes it, it's surprisingly light. The best thing about it, no more triple with bashguard conversions. Also uses derailleur style pulleys instead of a roller, it's pretty much silent.

I like it. I like the whole bike.

 

[TheTruth]

less then 31lbs would be moar better for a top of the line aluminum bike


Foes' Curnutt does position damping better (and holds up better) IMO just not the the extreme level that the Brain goes to.


if Trek could design that bike without the need for that shock and make the bike lighter for that price, then that bike is fine. then again, trek is fantastic at marketing

Santa Cruz Blur

 

[ltr450rider]

Riding Romero today is realization of how awsome this bike is. Cant be any happier!

 

[chillindrdude]

woot! picked up my slash frameset tonite!

the build begins!

 

[ltr450rider]

woot! picked up my slash frameset tonite!

the build begins!

Sweet, post it up when it's all done!

 

[speedster]

How do you like the 19.5" size wise? How tall/inseam are you? It seems the slash is sized ever so slightly smaller than the remedy's, which fits this bikes purpose, and I am curious how you like it.

 

[ltr450rider]

I am about 6'1 with a 32" inseam. Standover is good. The cockpit is a little tight for climbing. It came with a 70 stem, I put on a 90 and it's perfect.

 

[madzappa]

I also just put together a Slash. Frankly I don't give a hoot about branding, marketing, image etc. I've owned several boutique bikes, and this one shreds DH equal if not better than any of them. 29.8lbs no Reverb.