Best 29er AM full suspension frames Hammerhead Thumper, Stumpjumper Kona Satori.

PB Forum :: All Mountain, Enduro & Cross-Country
Best 29er AM full suspension frames Hammerhead Thumper, Stumpjumper Kona Satori.
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Posted: Jun 26, 2014 at 8:44 Quote
markg1150 wrote:
Do you still do it with the X fusion fork option aswell?

Sure do http://www.switchbackbikes.com/hammerhead-thumper/frame-fork I am also source Revelations and Pikes

Posted: Jun 26, 2014 at 8:50 Quote
oopps...double post

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Posted: Jun 26, 2014 at 8:51 Quote
As I said earlier - Scott has been amazing to deal with - very interesting to hear the how my Thumper was born though!

I rode it today for the first time! Genuinely very, very impressed. It was only around Sherwood Pines which is pretty flat and needs lots of pedal power. Certainly nothing steep or rocky but it is twisty, bumpy and rooty and I do a fair bit of off piste tight singletrack trails through the trees. I’ve also got an Anthem 29er (2nd in MBUK trailbike of the year 2013) which is perfect for the Pines and I certainly didn’t buy the Thumper for this type of riding so I wasn’t expecting to be blown away - I love my Anthem and it's a tough act to follow for fast pedally riding.

The first thing I noticed was the accuracy of the steering and the lateral stiffness through the whole bike which makes the handling really predictable. Also, although not quite as pedal efficient as my Anthem, it pedalled much, much more efficiently than I expected and I would happily ride this for XC if I only owned the one bike. My mate has a Stumpjumper 29er which is a weapon downhill and on big rocks etc but it bobs a fair bit when hard on the pedals which is pretty much what I was expecting from the Thumper. However, it was great - even out of the seat on short climbs on trail mode the very small amount of bob wasn’t an issue. The back end feels soooooo plush too and I know this bike will rip dowhill! I couldn’t test it for this though as there’s nothing there that even troubles the Anthem so that will have to wait until the weekend. The plushness to the back end and the whole stiff solid feel through the bike makes me think I am going to be extremely impressed with this new beast. Accurate steering and efficient pedalling from a bike I bought as an Enduro machine - big unexpected bonuses! Peak District or Wharncliff Woods this weekend - decision time again.

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Posted: Jun 26, 2014 at 11:03 Quote
switchbackbikes wrote:
bkm303 wrote:
Thanks for the detailed reply, Scott. Very cool to get that peek into how the industry works. Pretty cool that Kona let Caribou make a variation on the Satori design; if it was my company we'd have had them sign an NDA right at the start Razz Care to comment on how common it is for things like that to happen between brands and mfrs in the bike industry?

Heck yeah! Our whole brand philosophy is letting you "Behind The Curtain"

They actually do have NDAs where they can't offer up the exact same frame. An alignment like the Caribou/Kona alignment is common....they both are very important to each other and have great relationships in place.

They work together on a couple of models to work out some things like the Satori/IBEX29 (that's Caribou's model name for the frame) situation.

The "off-the-shelf" or "china-knock-off" deal is light years away from an "open-model" scenario. I have actually been working on a Blog Post about the differences.....maybe this will motivate me to get it done sooner than later Smile

Happy to answer other questions anyone may think of

Thanks, Scott

I would love to see that blog post. I've looked at the Chinese carbon frames and wheels from ICAN and Carbonal a bunch of times. They seem to be on the more legit side of the Chinese spectrum (letting you customize finish, dropouts, BBs, etc), but you also hear about some of the straight up counterfeits and things like that too.

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Posted: Jun 27, 2014 at 9:56 Quote
Taking the Thumper to the toughest trails I know in the Peak district tomorrow including Jacobs Ladder back climb and descent. Incredibly steep and rocky climbs and descents - the best place I know to test out a bike. I've broken into a big smile just typing it.

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Posted: Jul 6, 2014 at 23:23 Quote
I've already posted this on an MTBR thread but as I said I'd give a first decent ride report on here, here it is again.

I rode in the Peaks at the weekend - a 4 hour loop which included Jacobs Ladder Descent as well as Cave Dale. The photos below don't do it justice but there's some incredibly steep, incredibly rocky sections out there - tricky riding and very tough on any bike.

The Thumper blew me away. It climbed superbly with the back end just soaking everything up so I could just sit down and efficiently pedal away.

Downhill - I've never experienced anything like it. So stable, so plush, yet somehow so accurate to steer and keep on line. I usually feel like I'm slightly out of control down these sections and getting pinged about by the rocks. On the Thumper I had so much confidence the bike would go exactly where I wanted and would just squash everything in it's path - I was looking further ahead, riding much more relaxed , going faster, and most importantly, absolutely loving it!! The pictures below really don't do the terrain justice - you'll have to believe me, it's steep, loose and rocky!

Unsecure image, only https images allowed: http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/blueandwhiteblade/Hammerhead%20Thumper/IMG_3190_zpsada1f418.jpgUnsecure image, only https images allowed: http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/blueandwhiteblade/Hammerhead%20Thumper/IMG_3192_zps0741e897.jpgUnsecure image, only https images allowed: http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y446/blueandwhiteblade/Hammerhead%20Thumper/IMG_3196_zps4f7f3684.jpg
I've also ridden it at a twisty, rooty trail centre at Sherwood Forest. Much, much more pedal efficient than I expected and the handling is just awesome. The lateral stiffness through the whole bike makes the steering so accurate and predictable. Not barge like at all - I wouldn't need this to turn any faster than it does. Loads of grip and feel from both ends too.

If I'd paid the same £1800 ish ($3000 ish) on a new frame as a couple of my friends have with their Santa Cruz', if it turned up with the same high quality construction and finish as the Thumper and rode as well also, I would be extremely happy!

Anyone considering options between a 27.5 or 29er...........

I competed in a UK Gravity enduro even in Wales the weekend before this. The bikes need to be fast downhill in all situations - including plenty of tight twisty stuff, some timed sections have a reasonable amount of pedaling involved also, and then you have an approx 40 minute climb back to the top of the hill for the next timed section down. A great all round test of a bike and rider. The top 3 riders in the Elite class were all on 29ers. Says a lot more to me than what the magazines and bike companies are wanting us all to believe.

Posted: Aug 7, 2014 at 0:52 Quote
Here's my Thumper, nearly there, the only thing holding it back is me? Looking forward to getting out on it, kindly supplied by Scott at Switchback and shipped across the pond. Full XT set up, just got to finish the wheels, I'm broken anyway so no rush.
photo

Posted: Oct 21, 2014 at 13:41 Quote
Downhillstooscary wrote:
Here's my Thumper, nearly there, the only thing holding it back is me? Looking forward to getting out on it, kindly supplied by Scott at Switchback and shipped across the pond. Full XT set up, just got to finish the wheels, I'm broken anyway so no rush.
photo

How's your Thumper treating you?

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