Got Any DH Questions? Ask Them Here

PB Forum :: Downhill
Got Any DH Questions? Ask Them Here
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flag Thepureface
Posted: Nov 15, 2019 at 4:39 Quote
bikerboywill wrote:
Everyone should buy a chain checking tool. They’re super cheap and will save you money in the long run on the cost of replacement drivetrains.

Also 30t on a dh bike is way too small. I ran a 36 on my 2012 demo and it was fine.

Ya that tool makes it look super easy.. my chain is 6 seasons old im sure its due.

Also why would I stop pedalling at a certain speed, especially if theres room to go
Faster
flag yzedf
Posted: Nov 15, 2019 at 12:54 Quote
Single crown bike for 15-20 days at the downhill park per year? I’m contemplating moving from trail bike and dh bike to a new geometry enduro bike. Not really a quiver killer, I’m just getting tired of maintaining two different bikes. I’d probably run two wheel and tire sets if needed, I’m pretty rough on rear wheels.

At the speeds I ride, a dh bike is probably overkill. But I do like the longer wheelbase and more centered feeling on the big bike compared to my trail bike.
flag ajax-ripper
Posted: Nov 15, 2019 at 12:55 Quote
yzedf wrote:
Single crown bike for 15-20 days at the downhill park per year? I’m contemplating moving from trail bike and dh bike to a new geometry enduro bike. Not really a quiver killer, I’m just getting tired of maintaining two different bikes. I’d probably run two wheel and tire sets if needed, I’m pretty rough on rear wheels.

At the speeds I ride, a dh bike is probably overkill. But I do like the longer wheelbase and more centered feeling on the big bike compared to my trail bike.
Be prepared to do a lot more service on your daily.
flag Loki87
Posted: Nov 15, 2019 at 14:15 Quote
ajax-ripper wrote:
yzedf wrote:
Single crown bike for 15-20 days at the downhill park per year? I’m contemplating moving from trail bike and dh bike to a new geometry enduro bike. Not really a quiver killer, I’m just getting tired of maintaining two different bikes. I’d probably run two wheel and tire sets if needed, I’m pretty rough on rear wheels.

At the speeds I ride, a dh bike is probably overkill. But I do like the longer wheelbase and more centered feeling on the big bike compared to my trail bike.
Be prepared to do a lot more service on your daily.

This. I´ve seen enduro style bikes get killed in shorter timeframes.
Of course, if you´re doing mostly flow trails, that´s another story, but if we´re talking proper tracks i highly doubt you can cut down on maintenance time that way. You´ll just end up doing double maintenance on one bike and that´s not even factoring in the added time you need for the frequent wheel changes (which arguably isn´t too much, but still).
flag yzedf
Posted: Nov 15, 2019 at 17:17 Quote
Loki87 wrote:
ajax-ripper wrote:
yzedf wrote:
Single crown bike for 15-20 days at the downhill park per year? I’m contemplating moving from trail bike and dh bike to a new geometry enduro bike. Not really a quiver killer, I’m just getting tired of maintaining two different bikes. I’d probably run two wheel and tire sets if needed, I’m pretty rough on rear wheels.

At the speeds I ride, a dh bike is probably overkill. But I do like the longer wheelbase and more centered feeling on the big bike compared to my trail bike.
Be prepared to do a lot more service on your daily.

This. I´ve seen enduro style bikes get killed in shorter timeframes.
Of course, if you´re doing mostly flow trails, that´s another story, but if we´re talking proper tracks i highly doubt you can cut down on maintenance time that way. You´ll just end up doing double maintenance on one bike and that´s not even factoring in the added time you need for the frequent wheel changes (which arguably isn´t too much, but still).

Killed as in broken frame? I’m not concerned with maintenance stuff as it’s all fairly basic until it gets to suspension rebuilds, but there’s a tuner in the next town for that. Aim is to get 3 years out of a bike, like I do now.

Live in New England so not big vertical, but also very little flow trails.
flag spaceofades
O+
Posted: Nov 15, 2019 at 18:00 Quote
yzedf wrote:
Loki87 wrote:
ajax-ripper wrote:

Be prepared to do a lot more service on your daily.

This. I´ve seen enduro style bikes get killed in shorter timeframes.
Of course, if you´re doing mostly flow trails, that´s another story, but if we´re talking proper tracks i highly doubt you can cut down on maintenance time that way. You´ll just end up doing double maintenance on one bike and that´s not even factoring in the added time you need for the frequent wheel changes (which arguably isn´t too much, but still).

Killed as in broken frame? I’m not concerned with maintenance stuff as it’s all fairly basic until it gets to suspension rebuilds, but there’s a tuner in the next town for that. Aim is to get 3 years out of a bike, like I do now.

Live in New England so not big vertical, but also very little flow trails.
Your bearings are going to be feeling the pain. Suspension intervals will be a bit tighter, just because of how much time you'll be getting in on the bike. In all reality, it'll probably be fine. Just be prepared to do bbs, pivots, and headset a bit more often.
flag Loki87
Posted: Nov 15, 2019 at 18:29 Quote
spaceofades wrote:
yzedf wrote:
Loki87 wrote:


This. I´ve seen enduro style bikes get killed in shorter timeframes.
Of course, if you´re doing mostly flow trails, that´s another story, but if we´re talking proper tracks i highly doubt you can cut down on maintenance time that way. You´ll just end up doing double maintenance on one bike and that´s not even factoring in the added time you need for the frequent wheel changes (which arguably isn´t too much, but still).

Killed as in broken frame? I’m not concerned with maintenance stuff as it’s all fairly basic until it gets to suspension rebuilds, but there’s a tuner in the next town for that. Aim is to get 3 years out of a bike, like I do now.

Live in New England so not big vertical, but also very little flow trails.
Your bearings are going to be feeling the pain. Suspension intervals will be a bit tighter, just because of how much time you'll be getting in on the bike. In all reality, it'll probably be fine. Just be prepared to do bbs, pivots, and headset a bit more often.

Mostly shot bearings, fork shafts and stuff like that. Just expect a lot of creaking and trying to fix it. Lighter frames might not be able to withstand the stresses and develop cracks, depending on your usage, but the heavy hitters on the market should be fine.
Personally i think you´d be getting the worst of both worlds. A bike that´s constantly creaky, heavier than your trailbike, less confidence inspiring than the dh and in the end you´d have to spend quite a bit of money to build one of those jack of all trades super enduros to a level where it can withstand the abuse and deliver performance to reach both specialist bikes.
In the end, it´s not a clear cut decision though. You might end up liking to not have to switch bikes all the time and therefore get more comfortable riding the bike or whatever. It can certainly be done, but i prefer to stick to specialist bikes and keep them around for a while. That way i can get them perfectly dialed and don´t have to deal with premature wear due to more spread out usage hours among them.
Probably just comes down to which option seems more appealing to you. It´s hard to give a 100% true real world answer.
flag chriskneeland
O+
Posted: Nov 16, 2019 at 3:16 Quote
ajax-ripper wrote:
yzedf wrote:
Single crown bike for 15-20 days at the downhill park per year? I’m contemplating moving from trail bike and dh bike to a new geometry enduro bike. Not really a quiver killer, I’m just getting tired of maintaining two different bikes. I’d probably run two wheel and tire sets if needed, I’m pretty rough on rear wheels.

At the speeds I ride, a dh bike is probably overkill. But I do like the longer wheelbase and more centered feeling on the big bike compared to my trail bike.
Be prepared to do a lot more service on your daily.

Yup. DH'ing beats the shit out of bikes, and no matter how stout enduro bikes are becoming, they're just not built for the abuse. You're just going to double the maintenance on your enduro bike and not have something to ride while it's down.
flag deli-hustler
Posted: Nov 16, 2019 at 4:20 Quote
chriskneeland wrote:
ajax-ripper wrote:
yzedf wrote:
Single crown bike for 15-20 days at the downhill park per year? I’m contemplating moving from trail bike and dh bike to a new geometry enduro bike. Not really a quiver killer, I’m just getting tired of maintaining two different bikes. I’d probably run two wheel and tire sets if needed, I’m pretty rough on rear wheels.

At the speeds I ride, a dh bike is probably overkill. But I do like the longer wheelbase and more centered feeling on the big bike compared to my trail bike.
Be prepared to do a lot more service on your daily.

Yup. DH'ing beats the shit out of bikes, and no matter how stout enduro bikes are becoming, they're just not built for the abuse. You're just going to double the maintenance on your enduro bike and not have something to ride while it's down.
I'd like to point something out here, I've been trail riding, enduro racing, downhill racing and done 3 two week trips to the Alps on my Rose Soul Fire, which is the same bike Antoine Bizet rode at the 2017 Rampage.
flag chriskneeland
O+
Posted: Nov 16, 2019 at 8:28 Quote
deli-hustler wrote:
chriskneeland wrote:
ajax-ripper wrote:

Be prepared to do a lot more service on your daily.

Yup. DH'ing beats the shit out of bikes, and no matter how stout enduro bikes are becoming, they're just not built for the abuse. You're just going to double the maintenance on your enduro bike and not have something to ride while it's down.
I'd like to point something out here, I've been trail riding, enduro racing, downhill racing and done 3 two week trips to the Alps on my Rose Soul Fire, which is the same bike Antoine Bizet rode at the 2017 Rampage.

If you're doing all that, and don't have miles of maintenance, then you're doing it wrong.
flag deli-hustler
Posted: Nov 16, 2019 at 8:50 Quote
chriskneeland wrote:
deli-hustler wrote:
chriskneeland wrote:


Yup. DH'ing beats the shit out of bikes, and no matter how stout enduro bikes are becoming, they're just not built for the abuse. You're just going to double the maintenance on your enduro bike and not have something to ride while it's down.
I'd like to point something out here, I've been trail riding, enduro racing, downhill racing and done 3 two week trips to the Alps on my Rose Soul Fire, which is the same bike Antoine Bizet rode at the 2017 Rampage.

If you're doing all that, and don't have miles of maintenance, then you're doing it wrong.
The thing is bomb proof, I changed the tyres and that's about it. It's going to be get a rest now as I've got myself an ebike.
flag Loki87
Posted: Nov 16, 2019 at 10:20 Quote
deli-hustler wrote:
chriskneeland wrote:
deli-hustler wrote:

I'd like to point something out here, I've been trail riding, enduro racing, downhill racing and done 3 two week trips to the Alps on my Rose Soul Fire, which is the same bike Antoine Bizet rode at the 2017 Rampage.

If you're doing all that, and don't have miles of maintenance, then you're doing it wrong.
The thing is bomb proof, I changed the tyres and that's about it. It's going to be get a rest now as I've got myself an ebike.

There certainly are bikes that can handle the abuse. There´s also riders who just don´t trash stuff while others go through spares and/or frames like candy.
There´s a lot of factors going into it. Little things like the soil in your area. If it´s really sandy, that might kill things faster. Lots of rain? Stuff´s gone faster etc.
Also some are more sensitive to these things than others. I got on peoples bikes that rattled like a sack of screws and when i pointed it out to them, they were completely oblivious to the fact their bike was absolutely trashed.
In the end, it´s all just anecdotal advice we can give.
One can only go by hard facts like that a bike that compromises will have to give something up somewhere. There´s no way around it. It may however end up not mattering in the end. One can also chose to ignore that fact for various reasons and not be wrong, like is the case with the Soulfire. Again, there´s a lot of factors going into it. I would maybe go the same route if i was one to buy a new bike each season, but that´s not my philosophy and for my buying habits, multiple bikes make more sense.
flag yzedf
Posted: Nov 16, 2019 at 11:55 Quote
Loki87 wrote:
deli-hustler wrote:
chriskneeland wrote:


If you're doing all that, and don't have miles of maintenance, then you're doing it wrong.
The thing is bomb proof, I changed the tyres and that's about it. It's going to be get a rest now as I've got myself an ebike.

There certainly are bikes that can handle the abuse. There´s also riders who just don´t trash stuff while others go through spares and/or frames like candy.
There´s a lot of factors going into it. Little things like the soil in your area. If it´s really sandy, that might kill things faster. Lots of rain? Stuff´s gone faster etc.
Also some are more sensitive to these things than others. I got on peoples bikes that rattled like a sack of screws and when i pointed it out to them, they were completely oblivious to the fact their bike was absolutely trashed.
In the end, it´s all just anecdotal advice we can give.
One can only go by hard facts like that a bike that compromises will have to give something up somewhere. There´s no way around it. It may however end up not mattering in the end. One can also chose to ignore that fact for various reasons and not be wrong, like is the case with the Soulfire. Again, there´s a lot of factors going into it. I would maybe go the same route if i was one to buy a new bike each season, but that´s not my philosophy and for my buying habits, multiple bikes make more sense.

Makes sense for my buying habits too lol
flag bikerboywill
Posted: Nov 17, 2019 at 2:00 Quote
I’m pretty sure fast enduro racers are putting their bikes through dh levels of stress everytime they ride. As long as you have decent suspension and wheels you’ll be good to go. I find my enduro bike more fun in the bike park anyway.

Oh and why would you kill frame bearings quicker on an enduro bike than a dh bike? You think they use weaker enduro specific bearings that can’t take dh riding? If an enduro frame has larger bearings than a dh frame, the enduro frame will last longer.
flag spaceofades
O+
Posted: Nov 17, 2019 at 8:18 Quote
bikerboywill wrote:
I’m pretty sure fast enduro racers are putting their bikes through dh levels of stress everytime they ride. As long as you have decent suspension and wheels you’ll be good to go. I find my enduro bike more fun in the bike park anyway.

Oh and why would you kill frame bearings quicker on an enduro bike than a dh bike? You think they use weaker enduro specific bearings that can’t take dh riding? If an enduro frame has larger bearings than a dh frame, the enduro frame will last longer.
usually smaller bearings, less travel so harsher impacts, more flexation and uneven wear.

 


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