Ash-Kennard Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 right, never ridden anything like this before, and looking to get a bit of a project on the go but at the moment i haven't got a clue what to look for. been looking a xc/dh mix bikes, but don't really know if that is a great plan of not. as mbuk seems to say they are all a bit twitchy at the rear end and aren't that stable, but coming from trials, that may be okay for me... i've ridden trials for around 8 years now on and off, I currently have a 24" marino and a 26" gu le. I think I want a 26" bike for this project. so that rules out dj/park/street bikes as i would do them on a 24". I am 5.11ft and weigh just over 12 stone. its mostly frames and forks I don't know much about. what frames can i pick up second hand at a reasonable price that are reliable and with nice geometry? general advice would be nice to get this project started. and if maybe people can link me to some second hand bikes or frames that might suit, it would be appreciated. cheers ash Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boumsong Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 For something that you can ride straight away and do reasonably well you need to be looking at sort of £500 - £700 straight off the bat. Best thing to do is get on pinkbike and look in classifieds, stick your budget in and see whats available. I started on a cheap Specilized FSR and to be honest compared to the Patriot it was a waste of time, totally the wrong bike for the job, so best advice is to get something suitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted December 27, 2011 Report Share Posted December 27, 2011 I have just spent the day riding DH on my Orange five, it was fun! I recken if you can get an orange frame (either a five or 222 if you really just want to ride dh) as they are easily the best riding frames I have been on. I may only have 5" of travel on the back, but combined with some 6" travel forks to slacken the head angle it feels pretty amazing. It's also pretty light too which makes it more of an all rounder plus it makes it easier to push up the hills too. A full on DH bike would be cool if you only ride pretty steep fast tracks, otherwise 5" is pretty good for most UK stuff. I entered a dh race a couple of weekends ago on my Five and I was 5 seconds of the fastest rider of the day who was also on a 5" travel bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 right, so im looking for 5" travel. and preferably orange... isnt orange one of the more upmarket brands? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boumsong Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 I'd say 5" as a minimum! On trails such as cannock chance and the more hardcore dh routes I can easily use 6"+ of an available 8" on my patriot. If you're looking to hit big drops and lairy jumps and transitions you'll be grateful for the extra travel, especially at speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Orange Fives are closer to 6" anyway. I've got a Commencal 5.5 (similar bike to Orange 5) and an Iron Horse Sunday DH bike. They're completely different - the Iron Horse is way more stable at speed, but I'd never want to pedal it up hill. For some UK not-really-DH races you'll get away with shorter travel bikes (especially if you need to pedal lots) but for proper DH you'll want something heavier duty than an Orange 5. It depends a bit on what you plan to do with it: If you're getting lifts or just pushing up then get a DH bike. If you're planning on sessioning DH tracks but maybe riding to the top on a fire-road, then a longer travel (160 - 170mm ish) freeride bike might be what you want (E.g. Lapierre Froggy, Orange Alpine, Trek Slash) If you're planning on going on decent XC rides with a few downhill sections thrown in there, get a 150mm ish XC bike (Like an Orange 5). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 I think the 5 is more than capable of being a UK DH bike. Much more nimble and lively. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trialsmax04 Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 Totally agree with Ali here. If your going to be sending it huge off some massive drops then 8" of travel is then a good idea. I used to live just down the road from some of the best and hardest (Double Black run rated) DH in the country, and did it all on a hardtail with 140mm of travel. Agree'd it was hard. But it is do-able. It all goes back to if you want a do it all bike (now labelled as an "All-Mountain" bike or a "trail bike") so that you can hit the DH trails on a 5/6" bike and ride it home. Or if your going to drive to the trails, push up, and hammer down them. In which case you want a downhill bike itself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 right, so it seems i would be better off with a freeride bike instead then? i love confusing sports... trials, bmx, they are pretty much the same thing okay, so im looking to be able to whip this bike around the woods but having it still be capable of blasting down tracks. what am i after? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 an orange 5am Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted December 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 haha. just been looking at prices second hand. could be a long project... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted December 29, 2011 Report Share Posted December 29, 2011 A full on DH bike would be cool if you only ride pretty steep fast tracks, otherwise 5" is pretty good for most UK stuff. I entered a dh race a couple of weekends ago on my Five and I was 5 seconds of the fastest rider of the day who was also on a 5" travel bike. http://www.orangebikes.co.uk/bikes/five_s/ 140mm = more than 5" effective travel is reported to be 5.5-6". Ash, i'd say go for something around 6-7" something like a meta 5, patriot, stinky (capable but not pretty), norco shore, trek session 77, big hit etc. In fact, this one looks quite tidy for a decent price. http://www.pinkbike.com/buysell/994942/ EDIT: Didn't notice toms post about the orange 5 travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 You could ride a 5 inch trail bike on most DH tracks in the UK (that goes for most international DH tracks, really), but it's not the right bike for the job. I'd compare it to riding a trials bike on dirt jumps. A dedicated DH bike is way faster on decent trails. That said, I rarely ride my DH bike because it's a pain in the ass to get to the top of the hill, so if you want a bike for just hooning about in the woods, then a 5-6" travel 'trail' bike is the best compromise IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted December 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 okay ive been looking around now. 2007 Commencal Supreme Mini DH Specialized Big Hit Orange DH these are the ones ive come across in my price range for now. are any of these suitable or good for a base bike to be worked on? component wise what am i looking for. cranks, bb, forks, wheels etc. and are any of these frames worth playing with? i dont think im after a dedicated dh bike, more of a freeride bike i think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali C Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 I would avoid the big hit personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krisboats Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 i dont think im after a dedicated dh bike, more of a freeride bike i think If you're not after a dedicated DH bike then i would go for the orange. The big hit is quite the downhill machine and the other is incomplete and has fairly crappy/mismatched forks on. The orange should be a fun ride and looks to be great value for the price. I'd be hitting him up with a message ASAP as i'd imagine we're not the only ones looking at it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted December 30, 2011 Report Share Posted December 30, 2011 Yeah, the big hit is not a good deal. That Orange looks really nice for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle-livesey Posted December 31, 2011 Report Share Posted December 31, 2011 I have a cannondale prophet ash. The previous owner decided that he wanted more of a free ride bike so it's got bigger forks and wheel sets and a few other bits but the good thing about this bike it has two locations for the rear shock a free ride and a xc setting i assume this changes the head angle only had it in xc since I've had it but I does feel very planted at low and high speeds. I've been Riding to work on it and for a bike with fat tyres and a fair bit of travel it's not hard work to climb hills but more than capable of bombing down em hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted January 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2012 ive gone for the commencal. i like how it looks, and i intend to replace forks and brakes asap anyways, for frame wise i think its what i want. cheers for the help guys. ill let you know how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusevelt Posted January 3, 2012 Report Share Posted January 3, 2012 Sounds like you need a bike setup like Akrigg's Hill in Spain video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomm Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 I've ridden a lot of those trails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkeyseemonkeydo Posted January 4, 2012 Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 ive gone for the commencal. i like how it looks, and i intend to replace forks and brakes asap anyways, for frame wise i think its what i want. I think you're mad for not going for the Orange Ash... Though it wouldn't surprise me if the Orange was sold within hours of being posted up anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted January 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2012 that video was f**king crazy. loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrus Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 i would reckon mend getting something like a vpfree or a bottle rocket as a slope style spec ! then theres no end to what you can do its a all round bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash-Kennard Posted January 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2012 i bought the commencal in the end, managed to sort out the gears, it had a front 7 speed sram shifter, a rear shimano 9 speed road derallier and a sram 8 speed read cassette ive also sourced and fitted a nice hope front brake, need a 203 rotor though anyone got a 203 rotor going cheap? got a new tyre on there too. need to sort out a back brake then im ready for the trails ill stick pics up when its done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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