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The Perfect Bike?

BigRedBike

Chimp
Jun 6, 2010
12
0
Beaverton, OR
So it's that time again in my life; Time to buy a new bike!! :rockout:

But. .

I can't decide which frame to go with because I can't afford a Downhill bike AND a dedicated Freeride bike so. .

My question is this: In your humble opinions, Which frame feels great on Downhill but doesn't have any problem hitting big doubles and funky wooden features???

I've had my heart somewhat set on a Transition Blindside. (my logic being that since it's basically a long travel bottle rocket, it must jump well) but I can't really confirm that. . So..

ADVICE!
PLEASE!
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
Avoid banshee IMO, i think the transition would be a good choice, i have also seen people race on SX trails, i personally believe that you wont find a perfect middle ground, and you will have to lean one way or the other. (which is you preference) The most important factor is fitting and comfort though.
 

rigidhack

Turbo Monkey
Aug 16, 2004
1,206
1
In a Van(couver) down by the river
SX Trail for a shorter travel bike. Blindside for a longer travel bike. Demo 7 if you must. Giant Reign X is pretty competent as well. If you are mega rich, Knolly DT or V Tach. Everything with a Totem and all is good.
 

Jeromev

Chimp
Jun 16, 2009
40
0
Long Island
If you're looking for something that jumps well the Scott Voltage FR is good. I have seen them set up with an DHX RC4 and a Boxxer

I have mine set up light

And all different set-ups in between. This thing loves to be in the air. It's extremely well balanced and is extremely versatile. With the adjustable rear travel and 3 different dropout lengths you can build it up to suit you. I saw James Doerfling Riding it in the last season of Stund and he was hitting huge drops in the dessert and getting crazy air on some big lips they built.
 

BigRedBike

Chimp
Jun 6, 2010
12
0
Beaverton, OR
It looks like the rear wheel is really out there behind you on that bike (voltage), like the cockpit is just kinda crammed up front, do you notice that at all when you ride it?
 

Jeromev

Chimp
Jun 16, 2009
40
0
Long Island
It looks like the rear wheel is really out there behind you on that bike (voltage), like the cockpit is just kinda crammed up front, do you notice that at all when you ride it?
Depends which dropouts you ride with the short, medium, or long which produce 415 mm, 425 mm, and 435 mm chain stay lengths respectively. The bike frame is available in short or long, which IMO has more to do with what you'll be using the bike for rather then how tall you are. There's tons of guys riding these this year and so far I haven't heard or read anything but good reviews. Obviously I'm partial to it because I'm on one, but check it out, there's a little bit of a learning curve because it's pretty innovative.

http://www.scott-sports.com/us_en/video/bike/2194
 
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BigRedBike

Chimp
Jun 6, 2010
12
0
Beaverton, OR
That's pretty interesting. Between different eye to eye and different sets of drop-outs you're basically changing the entire style of the bike. 4 - 8 inch changeability is pretty nifty if you can only afford one bike, however I suppose you still have to buy a shorter stroke and eye to eye shock if you want to run the minimum. Same can be said about fork, but at the end of the day alot cheaper than buying a second bike. Looks to me like he was jumping it real easily so theres nothing to worry about in that respect. How do you feel about it's rearend stiffness? I'm 6'5" 210lbs and my bullit flexes quite a bit when I really rail corners. Do you find that the Voltage is real tight in the rear?

Thanks for all the info
 

Jeromev

Chimp
Jun 16, 2009
40
0
Long Island
That's pretty interesting. Between different eye to eye and different sets of drop-outs you're basically changing the entire style of the bike. 4 - 8 inch changeability is pretty nifty if you can only afford one bike, however I suppose you still have to buy a shorter stroke and eye to eye shock if you want to run the minimum. Same can be said about fork, but at the end of the day alot cheaper than buying a second bike. Looks to me like he was jumping it real easily so theres nothing to worry about in that respect. How do you feel about it's rearend stiffness? I'm 6'5" 210lbs and my bullit flexes quite a bit when I really rail corners. Do you find that the Voltage is real tight in the rear?

Thanks for all the info
That's why I bought it, I have yet to find a flaw in this bike, but once again that's just me.
 
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rigidhack

Turbo Monkey
Aug 16, 2004
1,206
1
In a Van(couver) down by the river
I'm just shy of 6'6" and every Scott I've tried has felt really cramped. Cool bikes, but not a great fit for me. The Blindside is known to be roomier, as is the SX Trail. The V-Tach is a tiny bit smaller, but a FANTASTIC feeling bike. It is heavy though. On the plus side, you won't break one. (Which is good, because you may have to take out a mortgage if you want to buy another frame!) If I had tons of $, I would have a stable of Knolly bikes. If I could only own one, I think it would be a DT rather than a V-Tach as the DT is lighter and just about as capable. Not as much travel though (6" vs. 7.5").

Given that the Blindside is a single pivot bike, it probably jumps pretty well. SPs tend to, or at least can be set up to pop really well off lips and such.

As another option, I have heard that there may be a FTW FB10 left from the first run. There is another thread about it going now with more info. That is my next bike. In fact, the one in the pic below might even BE my bike. At any rate it should arrive later this week. Light, strong, super stiff, really adjustable (using the different shuttles you can set it up to have 6"-9" of rear travel).


Mock up of full build could look like this:
 
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demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
why? i´m thinking about buying a banshee wildcard...
because i snapped my wildcard on my 3rd run ever on a slalom course, they denied warranty because i bought it from a worker (at banshee) and they did not consider him a dealer. My friend got a MK1 prototype to test and sell for them. He went and wrote big reviews and the whole 9 yards, some of them published on major websites that you might have read. His chainstay cracked, they told him that since it was a prototype, he was sh!t out of luck because prototypes have no warranty. I had to pay extra money to get mine shipped super fast, because they were additionally slow(although this was trident sports and not banshee direct)

i give them 2 thumbs down, they sell bikes that might ride ok, but they do not stand behind their product, which isnt that strong IMO.



the worst part about mine was that they admitted it was clearly a defect and would warranty it, until they found out i bought it NEW from one of THEIR workers.
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
Out of curiosity, who exactly did you buy from? As far as I know, it's Jay, Keith and Rob, that make up Banshee.
Aaron, he is their photographer/videographer (or at least that is what im told, he gets payed with frames out the wazoo, so it makes sense to me
 

juanbeegas

Monkey
May 6, 2008
355
2
Singapore
Sucks that you have had bad experiences with Banshee. My local dealer has always been helpful and from the little contact I've had with Keith and Jay, I've always been left with confidence that I'd be taken care of, should anything happen to my frames.
Back to the OP, I've always liked the Knolly Delirium T and the new one looks even better. The frames are overbuilt and can definitely handle more abuse than their AM tag will lead you to believe.
The Banshee Rune would also get my vote, but after seeing how demo 9 has had bad experiences and I've had good experiences, maybe you'll have to take this recommendation with a pinch of salt?. From my experience with this frame, it pedals real good, is light for it's strength and frame stiffness and looks kinda bad@ass, in my opinion(like the Delirium).
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
*i want to add in, that i hate them, and their CS was very poor to me and my friend, but the bike rides great. It isnt the product i hate on, its the company (owners?) If they had the same warranty specialized or canfield had, id be all over the MK2, which i was going to buy until this happened.
 

builttoride

Chimp
Jan 21, 2007
88
0
As a second hand banshee owner you are entitled to crash replacement on the chainstay correct? (this is just like paying cost (nobody makes any money on it). Not many companies will offer that to second hand owners... (Arron Laroque is not a Banshee employee, he is a freelance media guy).

MkI legend owners bought the frames at cost (Banshee didn't make money from them) banshee offered them full support for a year, and then bro deal on a MkII frame when they were ready... the bro deal still stands for those guys, but the year of cover has expired... Banshee took a lot of money out of their own pockets to look after the MkI testers for a year, and are sacrificing profits to offer them MkII frame deal...
 

murphy

Chimp
Jun 8, 2010
48
0
Planet earth
If you're looking for something that jumps well the Scott Voltage FR is good. I have seen them set up with an DHX RC4 and a Boxxer

I have mine set up light

And all different set-ups in between. This thing loves to be in the air. It's extremely well balanced and is extremely versatile. With the adjustable rear travel and 3 different dropout lengths you can build it up to suit you. I saw James Doerfling Riding it in the last season of Stund and he was hitting huge drops in the dessert and getting crazy air on some big lips they built.
Nice bike dude :thumb:
 

demo 9

Turbo Monkey
Jan 31, 2007
5,910
46
north jersey
Any blindside owners out there with some jump characteristics information???
not worth that much, but a friend of mine has 1, he jumps it, hasnt complained about it, it might not be a hardtail, but id guess it flies better than a karpiel.

As for banshee, i guess i am the second owner, as Aaron doesnt work there, still crappy in my opinion that the company decided to use their clause as an excuse to get away from a misplaced weld. (as my welding friend says is the reason for the break) I got it brand new, and if Aaron rode it and snapped it, he would have gotten a brand new link, but because i got it from him (still new in the original box) i get the shaft. Yes, that is what the warranty is there for, but in all my past experiences, ive never gotten treated like this, not even by yeti.


Good to know about the bro deal, ill pass that on to him, and make sure he knows. I do not know much about his situation, except that he eventually was able to get 1 from some other distributor (trident?) My guess is that if there is a bro deal, he will take advantage of it, because he seems to like the bike enough
 

Tetreault

Monkey
Nov 23, 2005
877
0
SoMeWhErE NoWhErE
new or not you were still NOT the origional owner, text book #1 reason for no warrenty.

the scott is a great option, if your looking at the smaller end of things i would recomend the SC nomad as well
 

ALEXIS_DH

Tirelessly Awesome
Jan 30, 2003
6,147
796
Lima, Peru, Peru
i second the scott voltage. i have one. VERY VERY versatile. its very low and rails corners really good. ive done very technical downhills and have no complains on the bike.
i have also ridden the bike around town (20-30 miles round the city rides) and ridden the bike xc (20 miles) and have found the bike to be comfortable enough. the full seatpost is great, make the bike very versatile.

but its kinda heavy. not that it matters much in downhill runs... but when i had to pedal little uphills at 10000ft above sea level in between dh runs.. i usually got off the bike and pushed it uphill. those are the only times i wished it was lighter or had a small chainring.

if you are going to pedal the thing uphill a lot, i´d recommend getting a hammerschmidt or a nomad.