Rapidé Tigre Hardtail Frame

[BrandonH]

  On 11/22/2023 at 2:54 PM, dasilvarsa said:

6 months ago We Tested a Rapid with a 120mm Fork 29er Wheels  and It's very Light up Front.

The Specialized Fuse Comp 130mm Fork 29er Wheels Was Just Perfect.

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By that do you mean the 130mm fork from the Spez worked well on the Rapide vs a 120mm?

[dasilvarsa]

  On 11/22/2023 at 3:33 PM, BrandonH said:

By that do you mean the 130mm fork from the Spez worked well on the Rapide vs a 120mm?

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No The Whole Bike Was Much Better. No Fork swapping was Done. 

[BrandonH]

  On 11/22/2023 at 3:47 PM, dasilvarsa said:

No The Whole Bike Was Much Better. No Fork swapping was Done. 

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Oh I see, in what sort of riding?

[Chadvdw67]

  On 11/22/2023 at 7:00 PM, BrandonH said:

Oh I see, in what sort of riding?

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To be fair, take that "Test and review" with a pinch of salt, he is extremely biased towards more XC type bikes and tyres etc, never really has anything good to say about anything other than Merida and Maxxis Ikons 

[TheoG]

I dont enjoy the rough tech stuff as much as you guys, but for me the Fox 34 120mm I have on mine work very well, for my type of riding anyway ....

[Super Sywurm]

I am waiting patiently on more details from @Kiwi regarding the Rapide TI frame.

[BrandonH]

  On 11/22/2023 at 2:54 PM, dasilvarsa said:

6 months ago We Tested a Rapid with a 120mm Fork 29er Wheels  and It's very Light up Front.

The Specialized Fuse Comp 130mm Fork 29er Wheels Was Just Perfect.

Expand  

My only issue with the Spez is that pedal to front wheel ratio is too small. 😉

[LuckyLuke]

I am happy with my Rapide, running a 100mm fork and some race kings on 30id rims, I would say a 120mm fork would be perfect, for my local trails which is short ups and downs with some flow, sometimes you need to sprint to keep some speed where the race kings are nice and light and have enough grip, for the local xco's loops i would just put a 2.35 on front for jumps, drops and some more grip. Coming from a carbon hardtail with a 120mm fork for marathon racing which I don't  do anymore, the rapide is much more relaxed and much softer springy ride. No internal cable fiddling, easy to service as I live in Ladismith and have to do everything myself. It's  just so much fun and good looking bike which I can just hop on and not worry about chips and cracks and not taking the jump because I might break something... love the thick 800mm bars and short stem....it just works for my do it all bike

[dasilvarsa]

  On 11/23/2023 at 9:54 AM, BrandonH said:

My only issue with the Spez is that pedal to front wheel ratio is too small. 😉

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Have you Heard about Center of Gravity.

The Spez is Just About the Perfect Hardtail for Riding Trails (not for Downhill Racing)

Years and Years of Research and Development and Market Leadership.

No Chinese Design. 

[Nic Brigando]

I've been running my tigre on a 130mm for the better part of the last 2 years, and I think that is the sweet spot. Ridden 2 munga grits, a few marathon races, and a few enduros, and 130mm seems to sit nicely. 140mm is just a bit too slack, and 120mm is a bit short for some of the bigger trail features.

Side note, this is not an XC bike - if you compare it side-by-side to a bike meant to climb, it'll lose. It is also not a downhill bike - if you compare it side-by-side, it will lose.  It is not a marathon bike, nor is it an enduro bike. It is a steel bike, meant to be comfortable and fun, not fast. Jack of all trades, master of none. But that's the beauty of it.

[BrandonH]

  On 11/23/2023 at 11:48 AM, Nic Brigando said:

I've been running my tigre on a 130mm for the better part of the last 2 years, and I think that is the sweet spot. Ridden 2 munga grits, a few marathon races, and a few enduros, and 130mm seems to sit nicely. 140mm is just a bit too slack, and 120mm is a bit short for some of the bigger trail features.

Side note, this is not an XC bike - if you compare it side-by-side to a bike meant to climb, it'll lose. It is also not a downhill bike - if you compare it side-by-side, it will lose.  It is not a marathon bike, nor is it an enduro bike. It is a steel bike, meant to be comfortable and fun, not fast. Jack of all trades, master of none. But that's the beauty of it.

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100% hit the nail on the head there, can't wait to take her out on the trail. For someone who needs a do it all bike, i think it will fit the bill perfectly.

[BrandonH]

  On 11/23/2023 at 11:33 AM, dasilvarsa said:

Have you Heard about Center of Gravity.

The Spez is Just About the Perfect Hardtail for Riding Trails (not for Downhill Racing)

Years and Years of Research and Development and Market Leadership.

No Chinese Design. 

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But in all seriousness, i was just kidding based on the previous pedal to front wheel chats on this forum haha

[Jewbacca]

My 2c, as somebody who has ridden some stuff on a few rowdy hardtails for a long time...

I have an old NINER ROS9 frame.

It has less extreme geo and I run it with a 120mm fork.

It has successfully clean run Plumber with features and most other 'gnarly' trails in the Western Cape many times.

I looked at the Rapide when it was first released and the STA was worryingly 'old school' slack.

Some of the slacked out proper HT trail bikes are pushing the 80' effective STA with fork in the sag.

I think a steel bike will generally have better ride characteristics to an Alu bike (like the fuse) although the specially designed for compliance Banshee Paradox seems to be ticking a lot of the boxes with those who ride hardtails.

There is a reason many 'trail' oriented companies release their rowdy hardtail in Steel.

  On 11/23/2023 at 11:33 AM, dasilvarsa said:

Have you Heard about Center of Gravity.

The Spez is Just About the Perfect Hardtail for Riding Trails (not for Downhill Racing)

Years and Years of Research and Development and Market Leadership.

No Chinese Design. 

Expand  

So while the Spez might feel nice, I'd suggest there are far better trail hardtails out there.

The Starling Roost looks rad too.

Having ridden one of those Fuse's I'd suggest it is average at best when compared to a 'proper trail hardtail', even my ROS9 feels better and it's old.

The Grimm Doughnut experiment was quite interesting and neither proved nor disproved the theory of diminishing returns and extreme bike geo

Our trails simply aren't very steep, so more bikes are suitable.

 

[Chadvdw67]

  On 11/23/2023 at 12:28 PM, Jewbacca said:

My 2c, as somebody who has ridden some stuff on a few rowdy hardtails for a long time...

I have an old NINER ROS9 frame.

It has less extreme geo and I run it with a 120mm fork.

It has successfully clean run Plumber with features and most other 'gnarly' trails in the Western Cape many times.

I looked at the Rapide when it was first released and the STA was worryingly 'old school' slack.

Some of the slacked out proper HT trail bikes are pushing the 80' effective STA with fork in the sag.

I think a steel bike will generally have better ride characteristics to an Alu bike (like the fuse) although the specially designed for compliance Banshee Paradox seems to be ticking a lot of the boxes with those who ride hardtails.

There is a reason many 'trail' oriented companies release their rowdy hardtail in Steel.

So while the Spez might feel nice, I'd suggest there are far better trail hardtails out there.

The Starling Roost looks rad too.

Having ridden one of those Fuse's I'd suggest it is average at best when compared to a 'proper trail hardtail', even my ROS9 feels better and it's old.

The Grimm Doughnut experiment was quite interesting and neither proved nor disproved the theory of diminishing returns and extreme bike geo

Our trails simply aren't very steep, so more bikes are suitable.

 

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Are Specialized frames not made by Merida? Can you see the bias yet????

Edited November 23, 2023 by Chadvdw67

[dasilvarsa]

  On 11/23/2023 at 1:54 PM, Chadvdw67 said:

Are Specialized frames not made by Merida? Can you see the bias yet????

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Manufactured but not Designed.

Specialized Sells the Best, Most wanted Bikes across the Range. 

[dasilvarsa]

  On 11/23/2023 at 12:28 PM, Jewbacca said:

My 2c, as somebody who has ridden some stuff on a few rowdy hardtails for a long time...

I have an old NINER ROS9 frame.

It has less extreme geo and I run it with a 120mm fork.

It has successfully clean run Plumber with features and most other 'gnarly' trails in the Western Cape many times.

I looked at the Rapide when it was first released and the STA was worryingly 'old school' slack.

Some of the slacked out proper HT trail bikes are pushing the 80' effective STA with fork in the sag.

I think a steel bike will generally have better ride characteristics to an Alu bike (like the fuse) although the specially designed for compliance Banshee Paradox seems to be ticking a lot of the boxes with those who ride hardtails.

There is a reason many 'trail' oriented companies release their rowdy hardtail in Steel.

So while the Spez might feel nice, I'd suggest there are far better trail hardtails out there.

The Starling Roost looks rad too.

Having ridden one of those Fuse's I'd suggest it is average at best when compared to a 'proper trail hardtail', even my ROS9 feels better and it's old.

The Grimm Doughnut experiment was quite interesting and neither proved nor disproved the theory of diminishing returns and extreme bike geo

Our trails simply aren't very steep, so more bikes are suitable.

 

Expand  

I know that "You're the Man" and nobody else Knows nuffin about bikes. In the World.

After All you're the Only one who Rode the Argus on a Kids BMX. In the world.

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by dasilvarsa