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Worth havin a DH or FR bike?  

17 members have voted

  1. 1. Sort of bike for riding in JHB

    • Downhill bike (8 Inch)
      1
    • Freeride bike(7 inch)
      7
    • Trail/All mountain bike(5inch and up)
      11


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Posted

Yep. True dat. I;m thinking of getting an AM bike for my next ride. Maybe a Da Bomb Cherry Bomb with a Lyrik on the front. Looks pretty. ANd goes, by the sounds of things.

Yes, that's a great choice. You can't go wrong with that. You'll be able to ride just about everything. You can always upgrade things like shocks later on too. Something with a high volume canister, piggy back. Maybe later look into a Cane Creek double with Ti spring. The Lyric forks will be a dream on that rig.

 

Don't worry about weight either. Build it strong, be sensible. If the bike feels heavy then do some gym ;) but ja, leka bike that man. Go for it.

Posted

just get a rockshox reverb dropper post for your AM bike. If your AM bike has 6 inches of travel front and back and a short stem it can probably do most of the DH trails in the country, so unless you want a specific DH bike as a 2nd bike then stick with the AM bike.

 

Mini Hijack:

 

What about the KS 950i? (5" drop) I bought a Crank Brothers Joplin 3 and am going to be upgrading to the KS in December.

Guest Omega Man
Posted

Mini Hijack:

 

What about the KS 950i? (5" drop) I bought a Crank Brothers Joplin 3 and am going to be upgrading to the KS in December.

I think all dropper posts are a bit of a ball-ache. Having said that I'm not so patiently waiting for my Joplin 3.

Posted

Mini Hijack:

 

What about the KS 950i? (5" drop) I bought a Crank Brothers Joplin 3 and am going to be upgrading to the KS in December.

KS is a awesome seatpost cant say if better than others but I love mine :wub:

Posted (edited)

AM bike, with drop-post. Cant go wrong. Can always upgrade the fork to 180mm or 160mm (depending on what the frame is warranteed up to) and go really berzerk. then if u serious enough, get a DH sled. Two bikes is really the ideal though, if not a must.

 

edit: added the 160mm and warrantee bit. Thanks Banna.

Edited by Jarek Wysocki
Posted

AM bike, with drop-post. Cant go wrong. Can always upgrade the fork to 180mm and go really berzerk. then if u serious enough, get a DH sled. Two bikes is really the ideal though, if not a must.

 

Jarek are these 6 inch travel bikes not specifically designed to take only up to 160mm travel forks? I guess what I'm asking is, won't you be buggering up the geometry completely by slapping a 180mm fork on? Also what about the warranty on the frame? I guess there's extra stress on the frame when you chuck a taller than normal fork on? Sorry for the stupid questions! :blink:

Posted (edited)

fair point Banna, and not at all a stupid question especially when it comes to the warrantee: some bikes can handle the upgrade to 180mm, but best to consult the users guide. In general however, the limitation is 160mm as you've pointed out.

 

The giant AC for instance, was warranteed up to 160mm, but many many young riders ran dual crown forks, and that frame just lapped it up. But of course, the risk is your own.

 

The bike section in question is the head tube, and whether it can handle the additional stress due to a slacker head angle when going with a longer travel fork. So some buyers advice: if going for a 2nd handle AM frame, ask if the owner ran a longer travel fork, and check the headtube welds, all of them. While it's never an indication that the owner did run a longer travel fork, it's generally good advice especially if the owner is an aggressive rider.

Edited by Jarek Wysocki
Posted

fair point Banna, and not at all a stupid question especially when it comes to the warrantee: some bikes can handle the upgrade to 180mm, but best to consult the users guide. In general however, the limitation is 160mm as you've pointed out.

 

The giant AC for instance, was warranteed up to 160mm, but many many young riders ran dual crown forks, and that frame just lapped it up. But of course, the risk is your own.

 

The bike section in question is the head tube, and whether it can handle the additional stress due to a slacker head angle when going with a longer travel fork. So some buyers advice: if going for a 2nd handle AM frame, ask if the owner ran a longer travel fork, and check the headtube welds, all of them. While it's never an indication that the owner did run a longer travel fork, it's generally good advice especially if the owner is an aggressive rider.

 

Thx. The reason I was asking, is because I've ordered a 160mm fork for my Intense, and I was actually toying with the idea of going the 180mm route, but then decided against it. Mainly because I'm worried about buggering up the frame, but also because AM bikes you still need to be able to pedal uphill and with the 180mm you will probably suffer quite a bit as the head angle will be much slacker?

Posted

Mini Hijack:

 

What about the KS 950i? (5" drop) I bought a Crank Brothers Joplin 3 and am going to be upgrading to the KS in December.

 

NO dude ..... go Reverb or nothing - its the ONLY one that actually works properly.

Posted

oh ya .... if you want to put a longer (travel - adjustable) fork on your bike to make it a bit slacker, but also be able to climb with - Message Drongo on here cus hes got a Boxxer Ride for sale! CHEAP! (i think)

Posted

NO dude ..... go Reverb or nothing - its the ONLY one that actually works properly.

Have to disagree here. My friends reverb been replaced twice my KS still going strong

Posted

Have to disagree here. My friends reverb been replaced twice my KS still going strong

EISH ... really??? HMMM ... i stand corrected! :blink: :blush: Hows your KS for lateral play?

Posted

The only issue I have with my Joplin is the the fact that there is a bit of movement if you grab the seat and twist it. (Not a lot though) and the fact that when it is down and you lift the bike by the seat it moves up freely. What is the Reverb or the KS like regarding these issues?

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