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Can you make a light dh bike with 6-7" travel starting with all mountain frame?

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Can you make a light dh bike with 6-7" travel starting with all mountain frame?
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flag Spicy-Mike
Posted: Nov 25, 2012 at 23:23 Quote
I love to make spec lists!

Fox Van 36 170mm (180mm), or Totem, or Boxxer Dual Crowns, lowered travel / Axle-to-Crown Height.
Fox DHX 5.0 or Fox DHX RC4 or Cane Creek Double Barrel
Saint Brakes M810 & Up.
203mm Rotor Front, 180mm Rotor Back.
Spank Spike Wheelset (Super Light) or unrealistically, Enve Wheelset lmao.
Single Chainring or Dual
Gear Ratios for Climbing
The rest is all whatever.


imo the best setup you could go Big Grin
If I could get another build going, it would be just like that. Super mini-DH Build but emphasis on pure agility.
flag hardandfast
Posted: Nov 26, 2012 at 6:46 Quote
Is the fox van 180 any lighter? My frieds cannondale perp has the totem and i love it but i would like to go with less weight if possible and the totem is pretty burly
flag Spicy-Mike
Posted: Nov 26, 2012 at 18:57 Quote
Out of my head, the Fox is indeed lighter and pretty burly too. 36mm Stanchions vs. 40mm stanchions won't make too much of a difference. Use to ride with the Fox Van 36 RC2 FiT and that was stiff.

Fox Van 36 180mm, 5.9lbs (Coil)
vs.
RS Totem, 6.3lbs (Coil)
flag hardandfast
Posted: Nov 26, 2012 at 19:28 Quote
Awesome sorry to go all over the place with the questions im just loving the help. Ive got one more question. What do you guys think the price difference would be in building from frame up with mid-top line components? Good fox fork, maybe saint drivetrain or truvativ descendant, and sram x0 maybe some shimano zee components?
flag hardandfast
Posted: Nov 26, 2012 at 19:29 Quote
Building using transition tr250 frame or buying a tr250?
flag Spicy-Mike
Posted: Nov 26, 2012 at 20:39 Quote
Idk, what the T250 comes with, but imo, the most important parts that really dictate a frame's ride are:

Forks-> Rear Shock -> Brakes -> Wheelset -> Cockpit -> Drivetrain.

Imo, Fork simply dictates whether you get to ride hard or where you ride. So that's important, plus a) it's the main staple of a frame, b) costs a lot more, so investing in a good one is key.

Rear shock is same as the Fork.

Brakes are huge obviously. As fast as you would go, you need to stop. Especially you being much bigger you'll need good brakes. Although I am not as tall as you, I'm not the lightest person @ 180-200lbs depending. The cheapest or mid-level brakes will NOT cut the job.

Wheelset imo is a big place to gain a lot of benefits since any weight dropped at the wheels means a much more lighter bike than say just losing weight on a stem or rear shock. Since wheels are directly contacting the ground and also since they rotate, losing weight here will allow you to get up to speeds quicker/slower and what not. Less weight = less rotational weight. Also, getting alright wheels are perfectly fine, I recommend Azonic Outlaws since they are super super durable, look good, need little maintenance, and designed well. They aren't the lightest, but for the money they are unbeatable. Like forks, wheels can be a big investment. Cheaper wheels will just provide heartache in the long run in the form of maintenance. So, I would atleast get something in the Azonic Outlaw level or higher.

Cockpit is self explanatory. If you aren't comfortable and not getting the most out of what your body needs or out of handling for that matter then biking = no fun. Like you said, getting the right sized frame, plus wide handlebars (assuming) are all little things that stack up to provide you a better experience. Don't underestimate this part. Lowering my bars, making them wider, and getting a shorter stem made worlds of difference. But also, seat height, reach, crank length, etc are all part of the picture.

Drivetrain to me is important but the highest level of parts aren't needed. Obviously you need a drivetrain that works well to even move your bike. But I believe once you get decent/mid-level parts that bike will perform just as well as any other higher end drivetrain except for the difference in weight. It seems once past a certain price point, the only thing that changes is the weight or maybe going up to a 10 speed, etc.


Overall, it's up to you. I'm only providing my own assessment on the priority of parts. A lot of thing can be bought used that are also in excellent condition, just have to do the right research and buy from the right people (detailed inspection, enough pics, good communication, etc). Not to mention, you can get top line components for a lot cheaper and still have them in great condition. I would say buying from Mid-High on Fork/Rear Shock, then getting mid-level all around will provide you an excellent bike.

A Good fox Fork (Doesn't have to have Kashima, just SKF Seals, heard these make a big difference) = Good.
RC4 seems like a standard. Can handle big stuff. = Good.
Saint is excellent, so is Truvativ, your pick. Whatever is a better deal.
Brakes I would recommend Saints 1290359x over and over. Super powerful and doesn't use DOT Fluid, instead uses Hydraulic Mineral Oil which doesn't corrode, absorb moisture, etc. Very easy maintenance, tons of power. Or the newer Zee's with cooling fins are a good choice.
flag dylangreen91
Posted: Nov 26, 2012 at 23:25 Quote
I ride an Intense SS2 built up like a mini DH bike but with a 11-34 cassette. On rides where I'm going to be pedaling a lot, i just turn up the LSC on my rear shock and fork and BAM, I'm riding a trail bike tup
flag hardandfast
Posted: Nov 27, 2012 at 4:48 Quote
Spicy-mike: thanks for the help i really didnt know how little difference the drivetrain made at higher levels so i would have wasted money there. And i cant believe i didnt realize how much a lighter set of wheels would help. And dylanger9: id like to stick with a single ring im thinkin 10 spd
flag dylangreen91
Posted: Nov 27, 2012 at 11:51 Quote
I am running a single ring up front. 11/34 cassette with a 36t chainring
flag hardandfast
Posted: Nov 27, 2012 at 12:51 Quote
Oh ok im not too familiar with all the terms on the cassettes and drivetrain yet i didnt know what that meant
flag Spicy-Mike
Posted: Nov 27, 2012 at 15:01 Quote
I think you'll probably run singlering, which just means 1 ring in the front. It's good for simplicity of maintenance and setup. Some people do run 2x chainrings in the front which gives them more gear ratios, but imo, a single chainring + standard 11-34t Cassette will do just fine for any terrain.

The lower number (measured in how many Teeth are on the ring, i.e. 34T, 38T, 32T) the front Chainring the easier it'll be able to pedal uphill, but you do lose some "maximum speed" but that's all negligible. I mean, how many times during DH do you truly get to hit your last high gear and be going so fast it feels like it is in first gear.

32T-34T is good lower size for climbing + decent speed. This will give you the most climb power + decent maximum speed.
36T-38T is DH standard. For people who don't have to climb, they obviously don't need a smaller gear and only need to go as fast as they can. Like I said, kinda hard to truly get full speed during DH as there are always parts you'll have to slow down, etc.

Cassette, 11-34T seems to be the standard cassette range. Will provide you a widerange of gear ratios. This is the one you'll probably need.

For me, with my previous AM-Mini-DH rig, I was running 34T Front + 11-34T Cassette, climbed very well and always had great speed when I needed it.

Now, I'm moving to a 32T since my bike is a bit heavier and harder to climb, so it'll make things easier. Still using 11-34T. Before I swapped out the Chainring, I had a 38T which was suchhhhh a bitch to climb. Terrible. First gear felt like I was pedaling with 100lbs of weight strapped to the cranks.

For what you need, I would recommend a 32T or a 34T front, and a standard 11-34T Cassette. The great thing about Single Chainrings is that you can swap them out very easily. All Single Chainrings are pretty universal and share the same BCD (Bolt Circle Diameter) and therefore you usually don't have to worry about fitting unless your crank has a 5 bolt pattern instead of the "normal" 4 bolt pattern. Not to mention, the setup is much easier. Put on cranks, slap on chainring, get the chain-line right, put chain on, and tighten it all up.
flag hardandfast
Posted: Nov 28, 2012 at 9:56 Quote
What do you guys think about getting a large intense uzzi frame 2012 with the fox dhx 4.0 coil shock on rear and going with a totem fork in front. Definitely wanna do the 150mm rear spacers too to get some fat tires on it.
flag hardandfast
Posted: Nov 28, 2012 at 9:56 Quote
2013 frame not 2012.
flag Spicy-Mike
Posted: Nov 28, 2012 at 10:44 Quote
Intense Uzzi is definitely a good bike. However, I am going to say this carefully...

Intense bikes have had many problems with their bikes cracking. Most of it is resolved, but I just checked the internet and some recent year models' rear triangles are failing. Good chance your bike won't have a problem, but just out of consideration and future "trouble".

Personally, I don't know how the 2013 frames are, but in my experience, manufacturers that ever had a huge problem with cracks/failures, I just try to stay away. Then again, 2013 could be an amazing year too!
flag Spicy-Mike
Posted: Nov 28, 2012 at 10:46 Quote
hardandfast wrote:
What do you guys think about getting a large intense uzzi frame 2012 with the fox dhx 4.0 coil shock on rear and going with a totem fork in front. Definitely wanna do the 150mm rear spacers too to get some fat tires on it.

Good combo! Totem + DHX will do great. Burly as hell.

 


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