Stupak Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 Hey everyone - I hope you guys can give some insight.I ride a Santa Cruz Tallboy 3 C X01 Eagle with Maxxis Ardent Race and Maxxis Minion DHF (~12.5kg). Absolutely fantastic and perfect trail bike which I purchased about 8 months ago when I started to cycle and only bike i use/have. Since then I have surprised myself and began placing quite well in MTB races. (top 5 in smaller races, and +-10 in much larger races). Stats/seeding wise, i'm about 6% behind the winner in the bigger races. I love my bike, but what sort of gain can one realistically expect, if any, when changing to an XC orientated bike when racing like the Scott Spark RC 900 World Cup, or S-Works Epic compared to the Tallboy? Is my Tallboy doing the job fine and I simply need to get fitter, or would changing to one of the XC bikes when racing make a noticeable difference over my Tallboy?
arendoog Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 Don,t buy a bike yet .Try and borrow or hire one .It also depends on the terrain of the day .I also have a Tallboy and it is still my best all-round bike .Less weight does not always make you faster .It helps thou .Rather get your fitness to a point that you know your equipment is holding you back and then decide
Allrounder Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 ^^ I agree, keep your bike and up your skills and fitness.
dave303e Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 I remember when my 120k bike wasn't good enough...
Stupak Posted June 25, 2018 Author Posted June 25, 2018 ^^ I agree, keep your bike and up your skills and fitness. Don,t buy a bike yet .Try and borrow or hire one .It also depends on the terrain of the day .I also have a Tallboy and it is still my best all-round bike .Less weight does not always make you faster .It helps thou .Rather get your fitness to a point that you know your equipment is holding you back and then decide Makes complete sense especially that I feel i'm not near a peak fitness point yet. Thinking of maybe changing my front tire in the meantime, I didn't realize my DHF weights almost 1300g alone.
Stupak Posted June 25, 2018 Author Posted June 25, 2018 I remember when my 120k bike wasn't good enough...I get the sarcasm - I know it is an absolutely fantastic bike, and i'm extremely lucky to have it - there should be nothing to complain about, but its not built for XC / Marathon racing ? But them i'm looking at something like the Nissan TrailSeeker, or Magalies Monster - I'm averaging around 1.5kph slower than the winner. So obviously fitness is no.1 priority, but marginal gains here can make a difference?
Grease_Monkey Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 I'd say your bike is perfectly fine, just change that DHF for something more XC oriented! The DHF is heavy, and rolls slow - and remember - weight on wheels is the place where it is felt most. Maybe try something like Ikon or Aspen rear and Ardent race front. Not gonna be massively grippy, but it's rolling resistance and weight you wanna minimize when racing. That being said, I have a friend who is in a similar position as you - top 5 or top 10 at Trailseekers, podiums at some of the bigger ultra endurance races. He is on a Spez Camber, and is now looking to change over to an Epic because he is at the point where he feels that the bike is holding him back a bit. He says he can feel the biggest difference when it comes to climbs - the stiffness of the bike and how power is transfered. Yes, you have the rolls royce of bikes at the moment, but it's not an out and out race bike. There is a reason why you don't see trail bikes at world cup XCO races, it's a case of horses for courses. Whatever you do, the bike you choose probably won't hold you back that much or give you that much of an advantage - but if you are serious about XC, it makes sense to have an XC bike.
Wet Ears Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 I have often wondered the same thing ie how much speed can one buy and I was personally of the view that it was not much - assuming you are not comparing a Bomber to a Tallboy! Interestingly though I was at a braai on Sat and one of the guys told me that when packing his S-Works Camber for Sani he noticed a crack on the rear triangle - long story short a bike shop loaned his a Camber Comp and he said it was chalk and cheese - felt like he was going backwards up hills on the Comp. That said could all be in the mind as didn't ask him about comparable times.
Stupak Posted June 25, 2018 Author Posted June 25, 2018 Thanks - I'll give that a go and def change out the DHF. I'm going to try get an XC orientated test bike and give it a go on my usual route to see if I can feel or see a difference, or whether its just in the head. I use an XL frame so its been a bit tricky so far as the people I ride with all use smaller frames or trail bikes.
Wet Ears Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 Personal anecdote - my Garmin had me as being 10 mins faster over 55kms on my old R8k Rocky Mountain (with R100 plastic flat pedals) than on my Tallboy 3 - I blame the Garmin!
Sparki 1 Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 Hey everyone - I hope you guys can give some insight. I ride a Santa Cruz Tallboy 3 C X01 Eagle with Maxxis Ardent Race and Maxxis Minion DHF (~12.5kg). Absolutely fantastic and perfect trail bike which I purchased about 8 months ago when I started to cycle and only bike i use/have. Since then I have surprised myself and began placing quite well in MTB races. (top 5 in smaller races, and +-10 in much larger races). Stats/seeding wise, i'm about 6% behind the winner in the bigger races. I love my bike, but what sort of gain can one realistically expect, if any, when changing to an XC orientated bike when racing like the Scott Spark RC 900 World Cup, or S-Works Epic compared to the Tallboy? Is my Tallboy doing the job fine and I simply need to get fitter, or would changing to one of the XC bikes when racing make a noticeable difference over my Tallboy?with stats like that after 8 months I say get the XC bike for sure. After all, you can afford it.
V12man Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 Spend your money on a good coach and training program first... The Tallboy won't hold you back in a race if you run XC style tires - especially if you are a big lad - if you are a 60kg snake and top fit it might hold you back a tiny bit - until you have a high speed tech decent - then the TB will help you.
Patchelicious Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 Spend your money on a good coach and training program first... The Tallboy won't hold you back in a race if you run XC style tires - especially if you are a big lad - if you are a 60kg snake and top fit it might hold you back a tiny bit - until you have a high speed tech decent - then the TB will help you.Agreed. Being an XL will dilute the effect of an XC bike. Lower hanging fruit would be skill course, fitness and XC tyres. BUT if this is an attempt at a justification for WANTING a new bike, then we must be honest about it
Fat Boab Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 . BUT if this is an attempt at a justification for WANTING a new bike, then we must be honest about it One of those difficult and rapidly terminated discussions with a riding mate....."Cos I want it." End of discussion!
SwissVan Posted June 25, 2018 Posted June 25, 2018 Thanks - I'll give that a go and def change out the DHF. I'm going to try get an XC orientated test bike and give it a go on my usual route to see if I can feel or see a difference, or whether its just in the head. I use an XL frame so its been a bit tricky so far as the people I ride with all use smaller frames or trail bikes.Try the Blur...Test rode one a few weeks ago, if it was not for the 1x gearing i would buy one tomorrow. If you are used to 1x then no problems.... and then you have a Blur and Tall boy, maybe they will make little SC babies together ????
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