Your statement that the Commencal Meta AM was a bit more capable than you were, paired with your mention that you wanted a bike that you could ride to your local mini DH tracks, indicate that one of the new-school short-travel trail bike which have recently captured the attention of the press may not be the right choice for you. The bikes you mentioned are absolutely fun to ride - and underneath accomplished riders who may have honed their skillsets on longer travel "enduro/AM" type bikes, they can be ridden at impressive speeds down DH tracks. To do so, however, those riders must be able to compensate for minimal suspension and reduced capabilities. The fact that you are still honing your skills leads me to suggest sticking with your Commencal and switching to faster-rolling rubber, like a Maxxis Minion DHF up front and a semi-slick SS in the rear. Fitness is easier to obtain than technical descending skill, so harden up your legs and use the Meta's extra suspension travel and more capable handling as a cushion while you work on your DH game. The second option: buying a better pedaling bike that shares the same technical performance, would be too pricey to fall into your current budget, because lightness and efficiency usually come wrapped in carbon. That said, the Specialized Enduro 29, Ibis Mojo HD3, and Intense Tracer T275c are all sharp-pedaling and very capable AM/trailbikes. - RC |
Yes, that 15mm thru-axle should be able to handle the occasional 6' to 7' drop without any problems (that is, assuming you're touching down smoothly, and not 50/50 casing landings - when that happens it doesn't matter what size axle you have). This question will inevitably cause plenty of comments about how the 20mm thru-axle shouldn't have gone away, and while that may be true, 15mm axles have taken over. They've proven to be able to handle everything that today's riders are dishing out, and I'd be willing to bet that in a back-to-back test most riders wouldn't be able to notice the difference between a 15mm versus 20mm thru-axle. If you still think you want something beefier than that 34, the Fox 36 would be the logical suggestion, especially since it's available in a version that can be converted to a 20mm axle. - Mike Kazimer |
Tire plugs are a simple affair and I have used them multiple times with great success over the last couple of years. Some kits come with an auger and inserter like the Sahmurai S.W.O.R.D kit that handily doubles as bar end plugs. How does it work? Clean out the hole with the auger, thread the sticky rubber plug into the inserter and push it into the hole in your tire (some kits also come with a rubber glue to help with sealing). Gently pull out the inserter and voila, the tire should be fixed, or at least the hole should be small enough for the tubeless sealant to finish off the job. Use a Co2 cartridge to inflate quickly or a pump to save creating waste, finally remove the excess plug with a sharp blade. Leov's kit appears to be similar to this RavX repair kit and also it's worth checking out Richard Cunningham's review of the Dynaplug Micro Pro kit. - Paul Aston |
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That is some f#cking truth right there! Lets face it, most of us can probably afford to be in a little better shape than we currently are and I most definitely include myself in that group. When it comes down to it, having fun going downhill, off jumps or drop, and railing corners is what this is all about. Just last night I let a co-worker borrow my bike after only riding a 100mm xc bike with a blown fork. This guy is a dirtbiker, or should I say was, he's now officially hooked on MTB. Going fast downhill is what makes mountain biking fun and worth the uphill effort. He literally looked at me and said, "I get it now!". So I say suck it up, pedal that beast up and it will be worth it!
good things I keep my bikes! I just yank one off the wall and tell the industry to go f off...I ride what I want, not what you tell me to ride...
I'm enjoying the 140mm less aggressive bike much much more... I am not the biggest fan of climbing, but in Switzerland, the ups are as big as the downs, so it's a must. Climbing on the lesser travel bike is night and day different.
My own experience of moving from full on 160mm bikes to a bit less suspension has been a very good one but judging by what everyone else has said on the topic I think it very much depends on what bike you're going from and to. A poorer short travel bike will likely have the same short comings as a long travel bike and some of the best long travel bikes may well have the same advantages as a shorter travel bike. And it can be difficult to quantify our own skill level and also the level of the trails we ride so it's seems a cop out to say it but maybe the best thing you can do is get some demos and see what suits you best. And then buy a Vitus
Enjoy what ya ride and ride it like you stole that biotch!
Double negative, so it is a thing?
On my Process, the aggressive geometry makes it really fun - but the relatively short travel limits what a not-so-skilled rider can do with it. I've seen people take that bike down way bigger drops than I'm comfortable with, and go way faster than me on pretty rough terrain - if I wanted to follow those people, I'd need to either seriously up my skills (and my comfort level), or I'd need a bunch of extra forgiveness from the bike. So in that way, RC's reasoning makes sense - for a young person, a bit of extra fitness to ride up is a lot easier to come by than the money to buy a new-ish (and expensive) bike, so the trade would leave him with something that would suck for most of the riding he does.
@Waki, 120 rear suspension should be as stiff as possible, try to set it up like a hard tail. That way you are less likely to bottom out.
I went from that mid-travel 29er to another, more playful and more aggressive one. My skills have improved, and I'm going faster than I did on my old Reign back then - but am doing so in more control. All around, it's more fun - not just on technical/steep terrain, but in rolling/flowing terrain as well. I'm having a lot of fun riding this way.
Here's the thing, though - it's not just for developing skill levels that the smaller, less capable bike may be more fun. My bike has reasonably aggressive geometry. The only things a more capable bike would get me is way more monster trucking ability through rockgardens (we don't really have a lot of those around here...), and the ability to absorb bigger hits (I prefer rolling to hucking, and big drops or doubles are really not my thing given that I'm middle-aged, self-employed, and MTB is may secondary sport and I'd like to stay uninjured for my main one). But that works because I have lots of terrain around here (Bellingham) that is optimal for that sort of riding. If I lived in Squamish? Hell yeah, I'd probably trade in my Process 111 for a 153 or something similarly capable.
that said.. I ride an aluminum stumpy albeit a 2016.. I usually have the lamest bike on our group rides, but guess what? I am not slower than the guys on the carbon nomads, just have a little more in the bank..
Lastly, I bet I can squeeze out 1/2 a pound with a good shit.
You can't own a measurement, but you can own a design of a 15 mm axle.
Have a party on the way down.
When the plugs were in place, I suspect that they'd have probably stayed forever, but I removed them and patched the tire, just to be sure. Probably 90% user error on the installation, and I'll keep them in my pack, but I am not totally convinced.
Yeah, it's "too much bike" for most of what I ride, but it's nice to be back at work in one piece on Monday morning after a less-than-perfect stage, and the new rubber changed the ride a lot.
More bikes is very key.
shorter travel AM/Trail/Enduro/Freeride/Whathaveyou bikes have been around forever.
For a 1000 you could get an amazing hardtail frame and fork which will play to your fitness an DEFINITELY build your trail skill
It's cause the frame is weaker?