I loved my pipeline.
Worst downhill bike of all time?
- Thread starter Bearmntpicnic
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Lenz Sport pro D had the fastest time at national champs in 05
Dude, lobo's were badass!
stinky 9
I'm with you there.stinky 9
Lobos were indeed badass. Sure, they broke, but they were badass, no denying it.
yayyy, nobody has mentioned my 1997 Cheeta!!!
well, i guess i have proved that it works and wont break until you put something Shimano on it:biggrin:
KHS dominatrax & DH50(unless theyre the same thing, ive ridden a DH50) most definitley the worst of all AND they were made post y2k which is pathetic.
well, i guess i have proved that it works and wont break until you put something Shimano on it:biggrin:
KHS dominatrax & DH50(unless theyre the same thing, ive ridden a DH50) most definitley the worst of all AND they were made post y2k which is pathetic.
my shop still has a brand new one of these just sitting there....
I know that one is not very "DH" but i swear i saw one a while back that was built more for DH, I remember someone riding it back when bikercross was in the winter X games.
oh yea. another vote for anything KHS. and the cpc and gsr were crap. also GSR for thinking that elastomer would ever be good again for suspension. they had a rotating elastomer compression thingy, that would put out 14" rear travel. simply stupid
Mine was **** but thats probably my fault, back then I had no idea forks and shocks needed oil and that they werent suppose to feel like a pogo stick
My pick too ! Also, I might add the GT STS Carbon
No-one has mentioned the URT Storm?
just because somebody wins on it, doesn't mean it's good. Concentrics bob like crazy, and offer little performance advantage when it comes right down to it.
Also, the pipeline got stiffer when you stand up (massive sweet spot design). What use does that have in DH?
Ah...my apologies. didn't see it.
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/969252/
these were made from such ****ty aluminum they cracked everywhere and bent like bows.The BB is at your knee level...imagine taking a turn...
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1088284/
and this piece of SHIET!They tryed to COPY the Disco Volante suspension but it sort of didnt work.Cheap Taiwanees sh it!Whatch out for them!
these were made from such ****ty aluminum they cracked everywhere and bent like bows.The BB is at your knee level...imagine taking a turn...
http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/1088284/
and this piece of SHIET!They tryed to COPY the Disco Volante suspension but it sort of didnt work.Cheap Taiwanees sh it!Whatch out for them!
Zedro's 'file cabinet'... 
2 Things
a- have you ever ridden a pipeline?
b- the pipeline is not a DH rig nor was it ever advertized as one.
I still ride mine from time to time and still think it's an amazing allround bike.
I still love my Pipeline, but for trail riding only!
do you want cheese with that swingarm?
i had 3 swingarms snap on me, all warrenty though...
How about the Cannondale Fulcrum? I believe that was the bike that put Lopes out of DH due to it being terribly uncompetitive.
No, but before it was the pipeline it was the vertex TO or something along those lines, and was essentially the same bike, but it was definately marketed toward DH. I'll dig out my 96 MBA downhill special if you want....
I'm not saying it wasn't a good bike, but not for DH.
Hey dont dis the lenzsport pro descender. They rocked back in the day infact a mate just retired his last week after 6 years of abuse. It got him many a podium over the years. It was light and accelerated well. Angles are a little dated now.
As far as I remember, the Fulcrum was a mid-90s design that never went beyond a few team members. The design you're thinking of was from the first year that Lopes, Cedric and AC were all on that team together. I was similar to the design of the KHS I think.
Yeah, I thought the KHS was essentially the production Fulcrum. I just remember reading an interview with Lopes sometime in the last year where he really trashed the Fulcrum.
Trek's DEVO Team DH bikes were the worst ever. I mean...it was a simple single pivot design. Nothing fancy...yet it was the heaviest bike on the circuit and the most fragile. Tons of adjustments for head angle, etc...but none of them did anything. MASSIVE...just freakishly MASSIVE....for no reason.
Herndon had full XTR on that thing and it still weighed 50 POUNDS!!!
It was probably the worst example of basic engineering gone horribly wrong. The thing was enormous without reason.
I think he's still got the frame bits hanging around his house.
Herndon had full XTR on that thing and it still weighed 50 POUNDS!!!
It was probably the worst example of basic engineering gone horribly wrong. The thing was enormous without reason.
I think he's still got the frame bits hanging around his house.
i rode something like the trekk 9000 with 5 inches and a bullit bros fork.. we replaced the stock bumper stack on the back with an earley fox air shock...that was my first dh race ever at mt. snow
See the link below (scroll down) for a shot of the Fulcrum.
http://www.descent-world.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=478&Itemid=130
check yonder: http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=169754&highlight=fulcrum
for my cannondale shots
for my cannondale shots
I've always been curious about that original Gemini with the two shocks. I wonder how good or bad it was.
Thanks for the Fulcrum shots! That link also (to the Ridemonkey thread) also had shots of the Kestrel Rubicon which this thread made me think about - full carbon, 2 shocks, and probably lots of trouble.
I once witnessed some dude on that KHS DH bike trying to race it on a pedally slalom course. I had tears all over my cheeks from the laughter. Sprint, bob like a hooker, repeat. Worst bike ever.
http://mbaction.com/detail.asp?id=183 mixed results back in the day for the khs
Story time.
Back in '96 there was a team called Pro-Dynamix that was run by an Italian living in Florida. He had connections and was trying to import bikes from the famous Battaglin from Italy. They made beautiful XC hardtails, but being a roadie company, didn't even know what a Dh bike was. Instead of getting an M1 and slapping their stickers on it like Tomac and everyone else, they had a local Florida framebuilder make a prototype DH bike.
The bike finally arrived at the Michigan DH race (yeah, DH in Michigan - the start of the Norba's fall). Shaums March saw the bike shortly after it was built and asked to ride it. He was bouncing up and down in the parking lot and the frame broke. The look on his face was priceless - too funny. He let the inteded rider use one of his Mountain Cycles for the race which was a good thing.
I don't think the bike even had one run on it before it broke, so it gets my vote as the worst ever. Although, there are only a few people that ever saw it.
Back in '96 there was a team called Pro-Dynamix that was run by an Italian living in Florida. He had connections and was trying to import bikes from the famous Battaglin from Italy. They made beautiful XC hardtails, but being a roadie company, didn't even know what a Dh bike was. Instead of getting an M1 and slapping their stickers on it like Tomac and everyone else, they had a local Florida framebuilder make a prototype DH bike.
The bike finally arrived at the Michigan DH race (yeah, DH in Michigan - the start of the Norba's fall). Shaums March saw the bike shortly after it was built and asked to ride it. He was bouncing up and down in the parking lot and the frame broke. The look on his face was priceless - too funny. He let the inteded rider use one of his Mountain Cycles for the race which was a good thing.
I don't think the bike even had one run on it before it broke, so it gets my vote as the worst ever. Although, there are only a few people that ever saw it.
oh yeah:
though to be fair, i only parking lot tested one of these. that was enough methinks.
crap. allready mentioned. well, seconded, or thirded...
though to be fair, i only parking lot tested one of these. that was enough methinks.
crap. allready mentioned. well, seconded, or thirded...
The Pro Dynamix team DH frames were made by DM (DNM) Italy and used Paoli shocks on them, also Italian. It was a stock Dm frame, and they are still making a later version of it called the maniac.
Thanks for posting big T.
That reminds me
Risse Lassen
That reminds me
Risse Lassen
The Cannondale Gemini "Variable Axle Path BS" bike has to be on the list of worst bikes ever. I remember talking to a couple of team riders back in 2002 or 2003 about it. The conversation was surprizing to me, especially from a team rider, and went something like this.
me: Hey, how do you like that Gemini?
rider 1: Seriously this is the worst riding P.O.S. bike that I have ever ridden!
me: Seriously? It looks bad ass.
rider 2: Its OK, they are changing the design, the suspension extends in corners and it is completely unpredictable to corner right now. Its going to be a single pivot. We have the air shocks pumped up as high as they will go to get rid of the variable axle path as much as possible now.
It has to take a lot to make a team rider that bummed on a bike.
me: Hey, how do you like that Gemini?
rider 1: Seriously this is the worst riding P.O.S. bike that I have ever ridden!
me: Seriously? It looks bad ass.
rider 2: Its OK, they are changing the design, the suspension extends in corners and it is completely unpredictable to corner right now. Its going to be a single pivot. We have the air shocks pumped up as high as they will go to get rid of the variable axle path as much as possible now.
It has to take a lot to make a team rider that bummed on a bike.
how many of you have ridden or tested the second (grey) version of the KHS? They added a roller and revised the leverage ratio...I'm just curious how that performed, I know the original was bad.
the fulcrum was scrapped not because of performance but because they couldn't bring it to market. The three chainrings were used because they could alter the chainring size without affecting chain torque. They tried it with a second version without the triple chain and I guess it just didn't work.
The gemini was a rad idea, but in practice it locked out under braking and pedalling, making it funny to ride. It was more hampered by the fork, which sucked balls. I'm sure it sucked up bumps well, but I would think that you'd need the suspenion to work most when you're braking into a rough corner, pedalling over rough stuff, and then maybe coasting at the end...so if it does 2/3 poorly....plus the weight...
but that's what confuses me about the sinister design, it's been done once already, and dropped. Why should it work this time around...? The same issues will be present, minus the weight, but plus the fact that you'll never get full travel rearward and up, which is where you need it most.
The rubicon actually did well in DH...but it too was goofy, it had more travel when you sat than when you stood up, thanks to the beam which altered the leverage ratio when you sat.
the fulcrum was scrapped not because of performance but because they couldn't bring it to market. The three chainrings were used because they could alter the chainring size without affecting chain torque. They tried it with a second version without the triple chain and I guess it just didn't work.
The gemini was a rad idea, but in practice it locked out under braking and pedalling, making it funny to ride. It was more hampered by the fork, which sucked balls. I'm sure it sucked up bumps well, but I would think that you'd need the suspenion to work most when you're braking into a rough corner, pedalling over rough stuff, and then maybe coasting at the end...so if it does 2/3 poorly....plus the weight...
but that's what confuses me about the sinister design, it's been done once already, and dropped. Why should it work this time around...? The same issues will be present, minus the weight, but plus the fact that you'll never get full travel rearward and up, which is where you need it most.
The rubicon actually did well in DH...but it too was goofy, it had more travel when you sat than when you stood up, thanks to the beam which altered the leverage ratio when you sat.
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