Worlds Toughest DH/Freeride Bike
- Thread starter sh*t scared
- Start date
I reckon HOOD too.Extrovert said:
We get criticised by opinionated, often ill-informed people, the mods aren´t too bad though, sometimes a little over zealous, however, there are a lot of kids on there so keeping the contect clean is a hard job, BUT kids grow up very young today.........
You have PM Extrovert!!
What about a bighit from Specialized? I think I have seen only one or two broken since it came out in 2001. They seem to have a good track record, and not boutique expensive like the Canfields, Hoods, BMW's etc
........But not in the same league on strength. Thanks for the suggestion anyhow!Trond said:
I agree....Candfield, Hood or BMW....they should last for a while.
Jame's "Canfield Brothers Signature Series" Custom Steel frame. Custom head tube angles for a MT. 10. 10" front and rear with a very strong tube set and gusseting everywhere. Lived when everything else bent. I have a vid of his crash but don't know how to load it! 
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wow can you tell me more about this canfield bike?
It's 4130 heat threaded steel main frame, 7075 Alu links and a 6061 Alu rear with a 160 x 20mm rear spacing. 20mm Axles and bearing on the lower and 8mm uppers. He has a steeper ht to fit a MT. 10 fork and there are three current angles and we can do any custom angles if something wierd is needed. Slack seat tube angle for better fitting, 53 degree, 1" up is 3/4" back. Four different rear sizes to accomadate any tire size, even a 26" 3.0 gazzi. 100 b-b shell. Upper pulley wheel to eliminate chain stretch and bump induced input. The best thing about these frames is the rearward wheel path that allows the rider to hold momentum better and not hang up on bumps. It's just faster! period! As you land a big hit the suspension rolls you forward to deflect the inpact simialar to a moto gassing it on landing. :heart:
Here is the one Christopher built me for the 2002 Red Bull Rampage
Here is the one Christopher built me for the 2002 Red Bull Rampage
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Wow can I spell or what!
Banshee's are pretty tough from what I heard.
Actually, I disagree. I'd happily match up the bighit against ANY aluminum fully on the market for strength. With the exception of the HT not being 1.5, that frame is remarkably bombproof.sh*t scared said:
Boutique and heavy does not equal strong.
What about Keewee cromozone vs Demo 8/9?
any ideas on this comparison?
any ideas on this comparison?
math2014 said:
Keewee seems quite nice too.
About the BigHit...I have a friend who just smashed one. Broke in the headtube. I do not think they are specially strong
i have never actually road one but alot of people tell me that the higher end kona stinkys are tough as nails maybe cheak out the new stinkey surprem at konaworld.com
freeridebiker21 said:
I agree ! The old Stab Primo was very burly
I would say the strongest non-custom frame would be the Banshee Scream. I cracked a weld slightly on the shock mount on my 03, but the 04/05 designs have worked out the bugs. I've never seen a failed headtube area on a Scream. It doesn't ride as well as other DH bikes ive ridden though, including my brooklyn, but it costs way less so I guess that's fair. It is great for big hits.
I haven't looked at the 05, but the 03-04 was a pretty high leverage bike - thats why it didn't ride as good as other DH bikes besides the geometry differences (its not a DH bike either). I would run the travel at 6" unless you want to blow up shocks a lot for big hit applications...nickaziz said:
I am not so sure its the strongest non-custom bike out there either - it might be heavy, but that doesn't mean its strong...
Ok i am not the expert here, but for non custom bikes the demo series looks tough to be beaten...
For outright strenght, given the early fatigue rate of aluminium, the toughest bike ever would need to be made from Steel,, So i guess we´re narrowing it down to Brooklyn, Canfield and Hood, possibly Keewee too. What other steel bikes are around, and what happened to that bombproof company??
Last time i checked...
Alu has 1/2 the fatigue life of Steel and 1/3 of the weight.
Pure alu is indeed fragile... however... alu alloys and tube manipulation makes things VERY different.
The same goes for steel. Pure steel goes rusty in 0 time, ---> same life imho. Good manipulated Steel aloys though behave much differently.
In my opinion, it is not about the material, it is about the engineering of it.
There are many Alu bikes that should outlast Steel equivalents (not only on mtbs...but on roadies as well) , and vice versa.
What it is one of the good advantages of steel is that its easily repairable... you brake it, you weld it and you dont have to heat treat it usually. Alu needs rewelding and heattreatment or its toasted.
I think DW will agree on this, as he is the one that talked me into this.
Alu has 1/2 the fatigue life of Steel and 1/3 of the weight.
Pure alu is indeed fragile... however... alu alloys and tube manipulation makes things VERY different.
The same goes for steel. Pure steel goes rusty in 0 time, ---> same life imho. Good manipulated Steel aloys though behave much differently.
In my opinion, it is not about the material, it is about the engineering of it.
There are many Alu bikes that should outlast Steel equivalents (not only on mtbs...but on roadies as well) , and vice versa.
What it is one of the good advantages of steel is that its easily repairable... you brake it, you weld it and you dont have to heat treat it usually. Alu needs rewelding and heattreatment or its toasted.
I think DW will agree on this, as he is the one that talked me into this.
I have seen several 2004 demo's folded on the downtube, 5" from the HT. Speaking with a shop the other day Spec hasn't changed the tubing for 2005.math2014 said:
Once again, my vote goes for bighits. Superstrong, and cheap.
WHAT???? this sounds serious.Trond said:
The Hood looks awesome !
I'm not debating the Hood's strength, but I'd love for someone to explain why on Earth that bike costs what it does? Consider it doesn't have a shock. Take away the included hub and cranks and it's still crazy. It doesn't cost alot to make a steel single pivot bike that is heavy and strong. I guess their production numbers must be THAT low. Personally I'd rather pay the premium for exceptional engineering than extreme exclusivity, but that's just me.RD3 said:Hood.
As Ferris Beuler once said "IF YOU HAVE THE MEANS, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND YOU PICK ONE UP"
yes...not a cheap bike !
my demo9 handles everything i throw it at,drops to 25ft
gaps etc...it's mean and beefy.my mate chill has one to after he ovalised his big hits headtube and cracked the gussetts :O))
gaps etc...it's mean and beefy.my mate chill has one to after he ovalised his big hits headtube and cracked the gussetts :O))
over complicated frame structure and miles of welds...Bulldog said:
just for interest, what is the rough cost of a HOOD??
what a bike, would love one, but what a lot of dollar they are!!