At an MTB crossroads, what to do?
Discussion
Warning, rambling post follows 
I've been cycling for 18 months now and still have my original £400 GT Avalanche 2.0 which was my first proper mountain bike. As I've got better at riding I've discovered the short comings of the bits on this bike, so have been slowly upgrading them as things either broke or annoyed me enough to require changing. It's now a pretty decent trail bike and happy to tackle any of the local trails and anything Wales has to offer (barring the downhill course at Cwm Carn). Although I do need to buy a new fork for it, as I'm currently using a borrowed friend's one.
All well and good. However recently, at times, I've started riding more aggressivly (drop offs, jumps etc) and I fear I'm probably going to break the frame if I keep going, so I'm thinking I should be looking to upgrade. Trouble is to what type of bike?
During the week I tend to do a couple of local trails just to keep the fitness up. However, some weekends (maybe once a month), I'll go off with some friends to do some more difficult trails plus the odd bit of downhill. Here in lies the problem, I want a bike able to do mainly off road trails (like Afan, Cwn Carn et al) but also happy to handle the odd jump/drop off (like on the DH course at CC) without breaking (it or me
)
My current line of thinking is to build some kind of hardcore hardtail based on an Orange Crush or Santa Cruz Chameleon frame and transfer what I can off the GT (Mavic Crossride rear wheel, LX drivechain, Hayes FX9 brakes) and add a new fork and 20mm front wheel. I reckon I can do it for £500 if I go second hand for the frame. Annoyingly I missed a nearly new Orange SubZero frame on ebay for £250, although that might have been a bit of an over kill frame wise(?)
Or should I keep the GT and save up for a proper full susser? Trouble is I really can't afford anything like that for a good year or so due to funds needed elsewhere.
Any thoughts appreciated
I've been cycling for 18 months now and still have my original £400 GT Avalanche 2.0 which was my first proper mountain bike. As I've got better at riding I've discovered the short comings of the bits on this bike, so have been slowly upgrading them as things either broke or annoyed me enough to require changing. It's now a pretty decent trail bike and happy to tackle any of the local trails and anything Wales has to offer (barring the downhill course at Cwm Carn). Although I do need to buy a new fork for it, as I'm currently using a borrowed friend's one.
All well and good. However recently, at times, I've started riding more aggressivly (drop offs, jumps etc) and I fear I'm probably going to break the frame if I keep going, so I'm thinking I should be looking to upgrade. Trouble is to what type of bike?
During the week I tend to do a couple of local trails just to keep the fitness up. However, some weekends (maybe once a month), I'll go off with some friends to do some more difficult trails plus the odd bit of downhill. Here in lies the problem, I want a bike able to do mainly off road trails (like Afan, Cwn Carn et al) but also happy to handle the odd jump/drop off (like on the DH course at CC) without breaking (it or me
)My current line of thinking is to build some kind of hardcore hardtail based on an Orange Crush or Santa Cruz Chameleon frame and transfer what I can off the GT (Mavic Crossride rear wheel, LX drivechain, Hayes FX9 brakes) and add a new fork and 20mm front wheel. I reckon I can do it for £500 if I go second hand for the frame. Annoyingly I missed a nearly new Orange SubZero frame on ebay for £250, although that might have been a bit of an over kill frame wise(?)
Or should I keep the GT and save up for a proper full susser? Trouble is I really can't afford anything like that for a good year or so due to funds needed elsewhere.
Any thoughts appreciated
i would go for a really decent HT frame for now,
A cove stiffee FR would be perfect for you, i have one built up with FR decent kit and one of my friends has one too,
I am not knocking FS bikes some are stunning but you can have a lot of fun on a HT and i find the stiffee is fantastic at what ever you throw at it, and i can keep pace with friends on FS bikes,
OK i have to work harder and feels more fun down some of our trails, than on a FS, which is faster posibly but a bit drama removed as it is more comfy, but maybe thats just me, i just love HT's
but the difference between your GT and the Stiffee is going to be massive, you can always still get a FS frame in future, but have fun in the meantime, and i expect you will never want to part with it.
It is a bit expensive at 549GBP RRP Frame only i suppose but its worth it.
However, my friend has a brand new 17" 06 Cove Stiffee FR frame in Powder blue for sale at big saving, PM if intrested.
To balance out my cove biase,
also worth considering a cotic soul and a dialledbikes PH as well they are really good apparenly, burly and steel,
never felt the santa cruz was that impessive on trying one, do not like the dropouts and the new BB shell not keen on that. Never really tried a orange HT.
Good Luck Though, what ever you decide on.
A cove stiffee FR would be perfect for you, i have one built up with FR decent kit and one of my friends has one too,
I am not knocking FS bikes some are stunning but you can have a lot of fun on a HT and i find the stiffee is fantastic at what ever you throw at it, and i can keep pace with friends on FS bikes,
OK i have to work harder and feels more fun down some of our trails, than on a FS, which is faster posibly but a bit drama removed as it is more comfy, but maybe thats just me, i just love HT's
but the difference between your GT and the Stiffee is going to be massive, you can always still get a FS frame in future, but have fun in the meantime, and i expect you will never want to part with it.
It is a bit expensive at 549GBP RRP Frame only i suppose but its worth it.
However, my friend has a brand new 17" 06 Cove Stiffee FR frame in Powder blue for sale at big saving, PM if intrested.
To balance out my cove biase,
also worth considering a cotic soul and a dialledbikes PH as well they are really good apparenly, burly and steel,
never felt the santa cruz was that impessive on trying one, do not like the dropouts and the new BB shell not keen on that. Never really tried a orange HT.
Good Luck Though, what ever you decide on.
Edited by pastrana72 on Sunday 6th January 20:53
Thanks for your thoughts all. Seems there two camps here too I do like Coves and borrow my friends G-Spot whenever it's offered to me. I must admit I had totally over looked the Stiffee! Will check it out.
One thing that does bother me slightly about the GT is it's weight. At 30lbs all up, it seems a little heavy (not that I have a problem flicking it up a trail). I would have expected it to be a bit lighter, although perhaps a new fork could save a couple of pounds over the Suntour XC Pros on there currently. I suspect the frame itself might the culprit though....
I do like Coves and borrow my friends G-Spot whenever it's offered to me. I must admit I had totally over looked the Stiffee! Will check it out. One thing that does bother me slightly about the GT is it's weight. At 30lbs all up, it seems a little heavy (not that I have a problem flicking it up a trail). I would have expected it to be a bit lighter, although perhaps a new fork could save a couple of pounds over the Suntour XC Pros on there currently. I suspect the frame itself might the culprit though....
It's interesting to see the Full-Suss not Full-Suss debate.
We can all see what you need is something with at least 5" travel be it hardtail or full-suspension.
My Full-Suss although very comptent and good fun to ride, there is something even more grin enducing using a hardtail as there is more skill involved IMHO of getting it up and down safely. Once i've got the long-travel hardtail built up and given it a good hack about I think I will then be able to tell which is better if there can be a winner, maybe be there wont be, maybe they are just different and you crack out the one your in the mood for when you want to ride.
I do like the "plush" feel of the full-suss but it is missing the rawness a hardtail gives.
I think you need to short list a few hardtails and full-sussers for test riding and see what feels best to you, the bikes mentioned thus far are a good start
We can all see what you need is something with at least 5" travel be it hardtail or full-suspension.
My Full-Suss although very comptent and good fun to ride, there is something even more grin enducing using a hardtail as there is more skill involved IMHO of getting it up and down safely. Once i've got the long-travel hardtail built up and given it a good hack about I think I will then be able to tell which is better if there can be a winner, maybe be there wont be, maybe they are just different and you crack out the one your in the mood for when you want to ride.
I do like the "plush" feel of the full-suss but it is missing the rawness a hardtail gives.
I think you need to short list a few hardtails and full-sussers for test riding and see what feels best to you, the bikes mentioned thus far are a good start
atom111 said:
I do like the "plush" feel of the full-suss but it is missing the rawness a hardtail gives.
Very well said, i must admit although i love hardtails, a really good FS frame is on the list one day, waiting to see what the new Cove hustler replacment is like,
i can see the day comeing when i will yearn for a plush ride,
loved the scott genous and an intense i spent some time on,
never get ride of the HT's though,
Went through this thought process about 2 years ago. Decided to keep the short-travel HT (Giant XTC) and get a long'ish travel FS (Yeti 575). Regularly swap between the bikes and find the challenges from both bikes to be different yet as much fun.
The Yeti just piles on the speed everywhere and allows me to take the straightest line possible and is much quicker around some of the rockier trails here. The Giant requires me to be more skillful and nimble and is a rocket uphill, and is significantly quicker on the singletrack forest trails, if a little arse-numbing!
The Yeti just piles on the speed everywhere and allows me to take the straightest line possible and is much quicker around some of the rockier trails here. The Giant requires me to be more skillful and nimble and is a rocket uphill, and is significantly quicker on the singletrack forest trails, if a little arse-numbing!
Realistically, a long travel HT isn't going to to be around the 27lbs mark so don't get too hung up on weight.
Cove Stiffee FR is an awesome bike frame that I'm finding hard to move on from [to a Hustler or Orange 5 or Meta 5.5] - but pricey. Buying new you'll be looking at £950 odd for the frame and a set of Rock Shock Pikes.
The frames that spring to my mind are the On One Inbred 456 (£175) or a Dialled Bikes Prince Albert (£240) or a DMR Trailstar (can't remember the price). The Trailstar is bomb proof but heavy, the Inbred is amazing value but the quality isn't as good as the other two and still a 29lbs bike, the PA is very well finished, a mix of steels (520 and 4130) to improve ride quality and looks great package. Atom111 is building one up at the moment.
In answering your initial question though I don't think you're going to have any issues with your frame for now. 'Cheap' bikes are cheapp bikes because they're simple. No flashy tubeset or manipulation just simple tubes - hence it being heavy. Should last you fine whilst you save up for a replacement. Fork may need an upgrade though.
Cove Stiffee FR is an awesome bike frame that I'm finding hard to move on from [to a Hustler or Orange 5 or Meta 5.5] - but pricey. Buying new you'll be looking at £950 odd for the frame and a set of Rock Shock Pikes.
The frames that spring to my mind are the On One Inbred 456 (£175) or a Dialled Bikes Prince Albert (£240) or a DMR Trailstar (can't remember the price). The Trailstar is bomb proof but heavy, the Inbred is amazing value but the quality isn't as good as the other two and still a 29lbs bike, the PA is very well finished, a mix of steels (520 and 4130) to improve ride quality and looks great package. Atom111 is building one up at the moment.
In answering your initial question though I don't think you're going to have any issues with your frame for now. 'Cheap' bikes are cheapp bikes because they're simple. No flashy tubeset or manipulation just simple tubes - hence it being heavy. Should last you fine whilst you save up for a replacement. Fork may need an upgrade though.
A further question if I might, regarding 20mm axles.
Are they really worth the extra cost and weight penalty for what I'm wanting to do? There's some pretty decent all mountain long travel forks available these days that take a normal QR wheel (namely Fox 32 Vanilla R's, RockShox Revelations, Marzocchi All Mountains and XC 600's) which are all lighter than 20mm axle forks and would save me the cost of having to buy a new wheel
Are they really worth the extra cost and weight penalty for what I'm wanting to do? There's some pretty decent all mountain long travel forks available these days that take a normal QR wheel (namely Fox 32 Vanilla R's, RockShox Revelations, Marzocchi All Mountains and XC 600's) which are all lighter than 20mm axle forks and would save me the cost of having to buy a new wheel
I'd stay away from the xc600's as they've been fairly unreliable and quite a poor effort from the usually reliable Marzocchi. Dirt Jumpers would be a good choice with either the QR or 20mm axle. I would try and get 20mm forks if you're planning to ride the bigger stuff but it's not essential especially when working to a budget. The extra weight is there for a reason though and keeps the fork stiff and more capable of standing up to the big hits.
Have you visited the Southern Downhill forum yet? They have a very good classified section and one of my riding buddies picked up a cheap Chameleon frame there.
www.southerndh.com
Have you visited the Southern Downhill forum yet? They have a very good classified section and one of my riding buddies picked up a cheap Chameleon frame there.
www.southerndh.com
I had Marzocchi bombers 04 with 20mm through axle for 18 months on my previous bike and on my current Cove stiffee for a bit,
i found coming from QR 01 bombers, they were a lot stronger and more confidence inspiring, (bought a friends old wheels with hope hubs so gave me the option to change them between QR and 20mm with out spending to much),
the big down side with these Marzocchi's were removing the front wheel to get it in the car could have been a lot easier, and when i accidently dropped the endcap of the axle and it rolled down the drive and down a storm drain, when putting the bike into the car before a ride early one sunday morning,
it was the last straw, ;(
the cap is alluminium,(always dropping the springs out too) so could not fish it out with a magnet, so had to dig out all the filth and sludge, and use the kids fishing net to get it out and 1 hour of digging later got it out, went for a ride(very full drain, stank , but it ammused the neighbours).
So i sold them to a mate, ( who was very happy as i sold too cheap to him apparently and does not take his wheels off) and i bought some 06 Rockshox Lyriks 20mm (coil oil), the wheel removal is really easy and much better.
The forks are stunning and currently on my cove stiffee they feel super strong and smooth, a friend has pikes with 20mm axle on his cove and they are just as good (less travel)and same design on axle. So i would recommend them (Rock shox) over marzochhi.
But then i have QR Rockshox revelations on my cove HJ, much lighter, feels fine, great forks, so really they are cool too,
so 20mm axles are good if you feel like investing in some strong new wheels,
but to i reckon QR is fine, give you more options to choose for forks and wheels.
Goodluck.
PS i am in SWest too, usually out on sundays for a ride.
i found coming from QR 01 bombers, they were a lot stronger and more confidence inspiring, (bought a friends old wheels with hope hubs so gave me the option to change them between QR and 20mm with out spending to much),
the big down side with these Marzocchi's were removing the front wheel to get it in the car could have been a lot easier, and when i accidently dropped the endcap of the axle and it rolled down the drive and down a storm drain, when putting the bike into the car before a ride early one sunday morning,
it was the last straw, ;(
the cap is alluminium,(always dropping the springs out too) so could not fish it out with a magnet, so had to dig out all the filth and sludge, and use the kids fishing net to get it out and 1 hour of digging later got it out, went for a ride(very full drain, stank , but it ammused the neighbours).
So i sold them to a mate, ( who was very happy as i sold too cheap to him apparently and does not take his wheels off) and i bought some 06 Rockshox Lyriks 20mm (coil oil), the wheel removal is really easy and much better.
The forks are stunning and currently on my cove stiffee they feel super strong and smooth, a friend has pikes with 20mm axle on his cove and they are just as good (less travel)and same design on axle. So i would recommend them (Rock shox) over marzochhi.
But then i have QR Rockshox revelations on my cove HJ, much lighter, feels fine, great forks, so really they are cool too,
so 20mm axles are good if you feel like investing in some strong new wheels,
but to i reckon QR is fine, give you more options to choose for forks and wheels.
Goodluck.
PS i am in SWest too, usually out on sundays for a ride.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff