wilbuick

Well, I never expected Mike to give a positive review of the Taniwha because he has seemed to be highly critical of gearboxes in the past. So when you take that into consideration I didn't think the review was that bad. The problem is that people expect a gearbox to function the same or better than a derailleur. There are always compromises with these sorts of things. I've owned one for over a year now and brought it for the low maintenance and suspension performance and in that regard it's been pretty good. I'm the sort of person who doesn't mind trading a bit of weight and a gripshifter for the best preforming suspension I can get my hands on. The bike is perfectly suited to the rough tracks that we have around here. It's very confidence inspiring and has got me out of trouble more times than I can count. I've built my bike up pretty heavy because I don't like it when things break. Would it be nice if it was a little lighter? Sure. But I prefer reliability. There is nothing stopping you building one up light though. There are a few Taniwha's around where I live now and I've seen some pretty light builds if you care about the weight. I wouldn't let the weight argument put you off buying one. Now onto the gearbox. The gearbox isn't perfect - but neither is a derailleur. Would it benefit from more points of engagement? Yep - but you can offset that by using an Onyx rear hub and then you just get used to it. Would I prefer a trigger shifter? Yes probably - but the gripshift isn't that bad at all. Can't shift under load? Well you get used to that too. I actually find it easier to change gears while climbing steep hills with the gearbox. Being able to shift without pedaling is pretty good too. I've ridden one of these antiquated Santa Cruz bikes since owning a Taniwha and the shifting just seems clunky. You need to remember that the pinion gearbox will improve over time and as long as the mounting standard doesn't change you can swap out the gearbox with a newer version - just like you can swap out your derailleur now. Whether you buy one or not depends on what sort of trails you ride and what sort of rider you are I suppose. If you are anal retentive about weight probably not. If you mostly ride smooth easy tracks then probably not. But if you ride proper tracks and want the best descending bike you can get then you should seriously consider it.

Those trails are amazing. Anyone who loves singletrack should ride there at least once. I spent a month camping there in a tent a year and a half ago and went riding every day. From memory a lot of the hiking trails are banned to bikes between July and September. The start of September is a good time to go with the lifts still running and you won't get into trouble for riding all the good singletracks. Otherwise You can always hike-and-bike like I did last October.