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Pyga Pascoe 140 opinions


Alouette3

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Posted

So I've taken some notice of the Pyga Pascoe 140 recently. Looks like a great bike with decent spec, but what do I need to know about it.

 

Screw the marketing hype and jargon, how does it actually fair on the trail. I ride XC and all mountain style. Can climb a fair bit, but do it all for the down hill. Love techie single track, but also some flow jumps and drops, though nothing massive at the moment. 

 

I'm still on a 26in trail shredding machine, Giant Trance upgraded with a Revelation 150mm  up front and a bunch of other things. But think I'll be due an upgrade one of these days, you know the itch and all.

 

 

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Posted

As above, it's a great upgrade over the Trance. It's a bombproof bike and can handle everything you will throw at it. In fact, it won Ezel Enduro last year with Keira on board, so that should say a lot.

 

FWIW, I own a Pascoe and am very happy with it. I run a 160mm up front. I ride enduro style, so that involves a lot of climbing too. 

 

I think PYGA still have some frames lying around at good prices, so maybe contact them to see what they have. 

Posted

There are also some great deals that come up on the second hand market. Most kitted with Pikes, dropper etc so no need to upgrade.

 

The statement "dated geometry" seem to be the buzz words these days. I ask as this is often very much based on published numbers and spec and not always on how it feels out on the trail.

Posted

I moved from a Pyga 120 to the Pascoe and it feels a lot different when you ride it. More planted and slacker for sure. Maybe if you rode a "modern" geo bike (like a Slakline or Hyrax) you might feel a difference, but then you looking at an R80-100k bike vs a 2-3 year old Pascoe. 

Posted

There are also some great deals that come up on the second hand market. Most kitted with Pikes, dropper etc so no need to upgrade.

 

The statement "dated geometry" seem to be the buzz words these days. I ask as this is often very much based on published numbers and spec and not always on how it feels out on the trail.

Compared to your trance, it'll be longer and slacker. That's already a good thing, but geo has moved on further still. 

 

Got a mate who went from an Altitude to the Pascoe, and the difference is night and day. I suspect you;ll have the same experience. Just remember to get the right size!

Posted

Didn't Grant Usher ride one to victory in the Solo Cat at Joburg to sea?

 

It's a super capable bike. The floating pivot deadened things out a bit for me and I didn't feel there was enough pop because of it, but it is super planted and loves it when things get wild.

 

Do it

Posted

I'm bang on the middle of a Medium and Large @178cm. Tend towards the medium frames in the past, just feel more confident in it.

 

I'd upsize if I were you. 

 

Depending on the length of the seat tube, you could still get away with a 150mm dropper. 

Posted

So I've taken some notice of the Pyga Pascoe 140 recently. Looks like a great bike with decent spec, but what do I need to know about it.

 

Screw the marketing hype and jargon, how does it actually fair on the trail. I ride XC and all mountain style. Can climb a fair bit, but do it all for the down hill. Love techie single track, but also some flow jumps and drops, though nothing massive at the moment. 

 

I'm still on a 26in trail shredding machine, Giant Trance upgraded with a Revelation 150mm  up front and a bunch of other things. But think I'll be due an upgrade one of these days, you know the itch and all.

 

I've had one for a couple of years and have had a lot of fun on it. It's really robust and would be able to handle stuff far more technical than I can ride. 

 

The best way I can explain it is as follows: I have a couple of riding mates who ride full sus 29er XC bikes and we are all of very similar ability on technical trails and ito fitness. Once I got my pascoe I could leave them behind on technical descents, especially if it was tight and rocky.  The upper canaries trails in jonkershoek come to mind. We all used to get to descend those trails at similar speeds, but my first time down there on a pascoe was a flippin biblical experience. I had time to sit back in the shade for a few minutes and catch my breath while waiting for them. Nothing to do with my ability, just the right tool for the job.

 

Some things to note:

I've ridden some bikes that feel like you are floating over rocks, the pascoe is not like that. It lets you know that you are ridding over rough terrain, but I like that level of feedback.  

 

It's fairly hefty and I battle to keep up with said friends once we have to go back up the hills. The smaller wheel size, heavier bike and 150mm travel make climbing a bit less efficient. It might not sound like a big deal, but to me its the difference between being able to chat on a climb and not. This is important (to me) on social rides. Maybe I should get rid of my XC friends. 

 

Also, I'm 184cm and have always ridden size "large" as an adult. However the Large pascoe has always felt a tiny bit small for me. Most of the time that's great, it feels like you can throw it around. But I do get the occasional OTB feeling when things get hairy. 

Posted

Well worth it and you can get great, great prices on them at the moment. 67 degree head angle and 430 chain stays are still pretty handy for most situations. My evil has steeper HA in the high setting and same CS and I'm looking at a Norco sight that carries the same but with a longer wheelbase and lower BB that probably settles it but these are 29'rs and that rollover takes a lot in it's stride. 

You can go slacker and longer and the rest, heck you can get enduro machines with DH numbers but I think 66 through to 67 is a great range for all round trail bike and I've not had too many issues when the trails drop and the riding gets steep. I've had slacker and longer recently but felt it lost alot of the pop and agility for most of my riding against the feeling on one or two trails at the upper end of things . I guess it's a bit of trade off and depends on the trails you ride mostly. 

I had a trance before moving to Transition Bandit with similar numbers, again 29r but wow it was great day when I rolled into my usual trails.   

Posted

I'm bang on the middle of a Medium and Large @178cm. Tend towards the medium frames in the past, just feel more confident in it.

I'm also 178cm and I have the medium 

Posted

Great do it all bike.

 

My mate JP is selling a PIMPED Pascoe at a very good price. In the correct color (black). The only reason he's selling is because he wants a single do it all bike. He's buying a Pivot Phoenix. I'm 90% sure he'd let you have a test ride. Its a large. Take "dated geometry" comments from whence they come.

 

Btw. He's 176 and it's a large

Posted

I'm bang on the middle of a Medium and Large @178cm. Tend towards the medium frames in the past, just feel more confident in it.

 

Looking at the geo, your reach on the large will be 455mm vs the medium's 434mm, which is still pretty darn good. A longer reach generally means more stability over the rough stuff and when it gets fast, which is why I generally recommend bikes that have "modern" geo. 

 

Where you may come unstuck on the large is with the 480mm seat tube. If you're tall enough in the leg to be able to fit a 150mm dropper in there, then I'd go for that. If you're short in the leg department, then the medium would likely be a better fit for you, and the 434mm reach, whilst short compared to "modern" new geo bikes, is far longer than your 26" trance. The medium also has a slightly longer top tube than the medium 26" trance, at 600mm vs 585mm. 

 

I'd still veer towards the large, honestly, but the medium would be a much better fit for you than the medium trance you're on.  

Posted

I rode a 66.5 HTA bike for a couple of years. I think that HTA was perfect for a do it all bike. The front wheel weights up nicely and not as much body movement required to corner as a result, unlike the uber slack and long bikes we have now. The Pascoe is relatively heavy I hear, but that's not a major issue IMO. 

Posted

Large. No doubt about it.

hahahaha 

 

I'm 175 and I ride a small on some bikes!

 

Modern geo really suits my primate body.... legs of an ant and the body and arms of an NBA all star, or more appropriately, the figure of an Orangutan...

 

If you can fit a decent dropper post on, definitely size up. 

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