Enduro or DH bike for bike park and downhill and bike parks

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Enduro or DH bike for bike park and downhill and bike parks
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flag gustavo000
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 at 11:12 Quote
Hey!

I currently own a marin rift zone with 150/120 travel which im happy with for trail riding. How ever I have recently gotten into bike parks and downhill riding and I feel it works okay for jump trails but not really that well for tech dh trails. Im there for looking to get a new (or used) bike thats better suited for this type of riding. I mainly want it to work well for downhill hence why I post in the dh forum. Im either looking to get a full on DH bike (looking at YT tues 2019 29) and keep my current bike for trail riding OR get an enduro type bike (looking at commencal meta 29 2021 or yt capra 29 2021) so that i can use it for trail riding locally and sell my current bike. I see some people that use their enduro bikes for bike park and think its fun or even funner than a DH bike. How ever I dont really want to compromise too much on the dh abilities of the bike.

What would you do? Im leaning towards getting a secondhand YT tues but its so hard to decide. If the listed enduro bikes work just as well for dh then i might aswell just get one of them and sell the marin.

Im 6,6 so want a big bike with alot of reach and 29 wheels

cheers
flag Loki87
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 at 11:58 Quote
If you plan on riding park on a regular basis, get a park bike or downhill bike.
The single biggest argument for me is, that i don´t want my everyday bike be put through all the punishment a park day dishes out. This is a thing many people underestimate. You´re hammering a bike that is at best a compromise through breaking bumps, rocks and jumps with a frequency that you will only accumulate over the course of multiple days when climbing with your own power.
A downhill or park bike is very specifically tailored towards coping with this punishment. Double crown forks, simple, strong and light drivetrain components, strong wheels, proper tires, no compromise suspension and more suspension travel etc. are things that will help a bike endure all the above mentioned things for longer.
You also get the benefit of not having to ride a clapped out bike at the park AND on the trails. At worst your park bike is in a somehwat desolate condition, but the trailbike will be pristine most of the time.
Also, downhill bikes are fun.Period.
MANY of the people i have seen make the claim that their enduro bike is more than capable enough had regressed pretty heavily after one or two seasons. They start making excuses ("if only i had a dh bike, i´d totally hit that"), they start avoiding certain features or trails and so on. Yes, some guys can utitlize the added nimbleness of a shorter travel bike, but it´s really up to you to determine if that is something that fits you and your riding style.
And honestly, if a snappy park ride is what you´re after, just don´t buy a 29er racebike. There are quite a few dedicated park machines out there which were designed for the sole purpose of providing a fun but capable platform for park shredding. I think something like a Commencal Furious would be a perfect fit alongside your trail bike and those two would definitely make for a more fun staple of bikes than a Enduro could ever be.
flag gustavo000
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 at 12:07 Quote
Loki87 wrote:
If you plan on riding park on a regular basis, get a park bike or downhill bike.
The single biggest argument for me is, that i don´t want my everyday bike be put through all the punishment a park day dishes out. This is a thing many people underestimate. You´re hammering a bike that is at best a compromise through breaking bumps, rocks and jumps with a frequency that you will only accumulate over the course of multiple days when climbing with your own power.
A downhill or park bike is very specifically tailored towards coping with this punishment. Double crown forks, simple, strong and light drivetrain components, strong wheels, proper tires, no compromise suspension and more suspension travel etc. are things that will help a bike endure all the above mentioned things for longer.
You also get the benefit of not having to ride a clapped out bike at the park AND on the trails. At worst your park bike is in a somehwat desolate condition, but the trailbike will be pristine most of the time.
Also, downhill bikes are fun.Period.
MANY of the people i have seen make the claim that their enduro bike is more than capable enough had regressed pretty heavily after one or two seasons. They start making excuses ("if only i had a dh bike, i´d totally hit that"), they start avoiding certain features or trails and so on. Yes, some guys can utitlize the added nimbleness of a shorter travel bike, but it´s really up to you to determine if that is something that fits you and your riding style.
And honestly, if a snappy park ride is what you´re after, just don´t buy a 29er racebike. There are quite a few dedicated park machines out there which were designed for the sole purpose of providing a fun but capable platform for park shredding. I think something like a Commencal Furious would be a perfect fit alongside your trail bike and those two would definitely make for a more fun staple of bikes than a Enduro could ever be.

Thank you for the response. Yeah i understand what youre saying ive noticed my bike has taken a beating from just the few trips to parks ive done so far. Currently broken the rear deralluer and hanger so dont have a bike atm.

So youre saying get a 27.5? Im more keen on a 29 simply because im a bit taller. But it might not be a agile in turns etc

I got 495 reach now and honestly feels a bit small and the 29 wheels do feel kinda hard to turn sometimes
flag Loki87
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 at 12:20 Quote
Honestly, regarding the 29 vs 27.5 question i don´t dare make a judgement. I´m probably the most average sized guy ever and i simply cannot tell how being taller may change the experience a 29er provides. It certainly is also dependant on the trails you hit the most and what downside you´re more inclined to put up with. Would you rather drag around a potentially more cumbersome 29er on jumptrails or rather miss out on some of the potentiall smoothness a 29er provides on rougher tracks. Also, simple physics tells us that a 29er will inevitably be a less strong wheel than a smaller one, so while i personally am not opposed to the idea of a 29er, i also know that i currently put my wheels through hell by casing a lot of jumps while learning to send bigger jumps and i´m not ok with replacing rims every few weeks. I want my bike to be strong so i can ride more and a 27.5 lends itself more to that.
In the end, you can´t have your cake and eat it.
Also, the wheelsize is not the only factor. Since the bike industry likes to jump on bandwagons, pretty much all the 29er downhill bikes are rather extreme in their focus on racing performance. So what i originally meant by saying don´t buy a 29er racebike was that those 29ers are pure bred racebikes for the most part and it is reflected in more than their wheelsize. Their geometry, and suspension layout to some degree, will make them great at going fast on certain tracks, but definitely be inferior to something like a Furious when it comes to certain types of jumps and jumptrails.
The difference won´t be impossible to handle, but something to think about for sure, especially since you already seem to like the idea of a more snappy park bike.
flag gustavo000
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 at 12:49 Quote
It seems like manufacturers sometimes make 29 for taller people in sizing of the frame aswell. And the 27.5 for shorter for example https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-US/bikes/v10

and the 2021 furious wont be available until december Madder

great input though thank you
flag DHhack
Posted: Aug 13, 2020 at 16:27 Quote
Two bikes. Spread the maintenance out.
flag tommybarber123
Posted: Aug 14, 2020 at 9:25 Quote
gustavo000 wrote:
Hey!

I currently own a marin rift zone with 150/120 travel which im happy with for trail riding. How ever I have recently gotten into bike parks and downhill riding and I feel it works okay for jump trails but not really that well for tech dh trails. Im there for looking to get a new (or used) bike thats better suited for this type of riding. I mainly want it to work well for downhill hence why I post in the dh forum. Im either looking to get a full on DH bike (looking at YT tues 2019 29) and keep my current bike for trail riding OR get an enduro type bike (looking at commencal meta 29 2021 or yt capra 29 2021) so that i can use it for trail riding locally and sell my current bike. I see some people that use their enduro bikes for bike park and think its fun or even funner than a DH bike. How ever I dont really want to compromise too much on the dh abilities of the bike.

What would you do? Im leaning towards getting a secondhand YT tues but its so hard to decide. If the listed enduro bikes work just as well for dh then i might aswell just get one of them and sell the marin.

Im 6,6 so want a big bike with alot of reach and 29 wheels

cheers



Hi mate I've got a transition tr500 team spec LARGE for sale?
flag tommybarber123
Posted: Aug 14, 2020 at 9:25 Quote
Hi mate I've got a transition tr500 team spec LARGE for sale?
flag Poachninja
O+
Posted: Aug 14, 2020 at 9:42 Quote
I was thinking about going the one bike route, especially since my pedal bike is a park capable V4 Nomad. Then last week I took both bikes up to Silver Star and did the same trails back to back, switching between the nomad and my dual crown, a C7 Norco Aurum. It is true that I can handle any trail on the Nomad but it is noticeably more effort and noticeably more jarring in the bumps. I was always left a bit more beat at the end of the run on my nomad than on my Aurum. I could ride faster with more confidence, especially in the janky double black tech lines on the dual crown as well. In sum, the downhill bike was just more fun and fun is the point of mtb to me. You definitely don’t NEED a downhill bike in this day of the amazingly capable enduro bikes, but if you can afford to have 2 bikes, it’s a damn fine luxury.
flag Loki87
Posted: Aug 16, 2020 at 9:12 Quote
Poachninja wrote:
... it’s a damn fine luxury.
This.
The whole sport is a luxury and it seems like the OP can afford 2 bikes without a problem.
I totally get the one bike route for a lot of people who have limited time, funds or even motivation to progress or go ride a park often enough. There´s a lot of reasons why you can be perfectly content with one capable enduro bike.
For anyone serious about riding downhill or park though, having more than one bike does offer a lot of advantages.

It´s like taking your SUV offroading. Yeah, it might be capable of doing it and having an AC is nice, but that 20 year old land Rover or Jeep sure as hell is more fun and more reliable and you don´t have to walk to work on monday because of a broken axle on your daily driver.

As the Commencal is unavailable how about a new Gambler? Apparently it´s rather firm and offers a lively ride but is still a full on downhill bike. Also very flexible with wheelsizes and everything, so you can even mix things up with a mullet if you end up disliking the full 29er.
flag DHhack
Posted: Aug 16, 2020 at 10:32 Quote
A lot of local riders have consolidated to the Specialized Enduro or Santa Cruz Megatower. Speed wise it’s probably just as fast for me in the gnarliest tracks and a bit faster on the flow trails. It’s more punishing though and I feel like if I was to do that I’d want a different wheel and tire set for bike park days. I can think of two different guys that did this and they both are always complaining about and working on their bikes. They both are way above average fast as well as riding a lot. It can be done, but it isn’t cheap.
flag Bnito
Posted: Aug 17, 2020 at 23:40 Quote
I had to make this same decision early this year.

I went with 1 bike route, picked a propain spindrift with 180mm travel back and rear. ( have changed the rear shock stroke from 60 to 65mm and has now 195mm travel rear).

It is capable at bike parks and i can do rides on local trail with it aswell. I've spent the summer at bikepark, 2-3 rides a week. Haven't done any trail riding since spring.

The thing is, i feel like i now have a bike that isn't 100% downhill and then again isn't a proper trail machine either. I've began to question whether i should've gone the 2 bike route, get a proper dh rig and a proper trail rig. Now i have a compromise that works but still i'm having second thoughts.

Also park riding is always way harder on your bike. Mine is only half a year old, but has got plenty of tear and wear on it already. Though proper dh bike wears aswell..

My spindrifts weight in park mode close to 17kg, but i can drop it down by 2.5kg for winter trail riding.

But point is, a compromise is a compromise. You need weight in are you satisfied with 90% bike for the intended use or not.
flag Allen1638
Posted: Oct 11, 2021 at 15:14 Quote
Bnito wrote:
I had to make this same decision early this year.

I went with 1 bike route, picked a propain spindrift with 180mm travel back and rear. ( have changed the rear shock stroke from 60 to 65mm and has now 195mm travel rear).

It is capable at bike parks and i can do rides on local trail with it aswell. I've spent the summer at bikepark, 2-3 rides a week. Haven't done any trail riding since spring.

The thing is, i feel like i now have a bike that isn't 100% downhill and then again isn't a proper trail machine either. I've began to question whether i should've gone the 2 bike route, get a proper dh rig and a proper trail rig. Now i have a compromise that works but still i'm having second thoughts.

Also park riding is always way harder on your bike. Mine is only half a year old, but has got plenty of tear and wear on it already. Though proper dh bike wears aswell..

My spindrifts weight in park mode close to 17kg, but i can drop it down by 2.5kg for winter trail riding.

But point is, a compromise is a compromise. You need weight in are you satisfied with 90% bike for the intended use or not.

I’m looking at the spindrift (upgrading rear and front suspension similar to yours) as a Dh oriented bike. How does it feel compared to a proper DH bike? The reason I’m looking at this instead of a true DH is because the park I would be riding most only has a few trails that would really push a proper DH bike. Thanks.
flag Bnito
Posted: Oct 12, 2021 at 0:25 Quote
Allen1638 wrote:
Bnito wrote:
I had to make this same decision early this year.

I went with 1 bike route, picked a propain spindrift with 180mm travel back and rear. ( have changed the rear shock stroke from 60 to 65mm and has now 195mm travel rear).

It is capable at bike parks and i can do rides on local trail with it aswell. I've spent the summer at bikepark, 2-3 rides a week. Haven't done any trail riding since spring.

The thing is, i feel like i now have a bike that isn't 100% downhill and then again isn't a proper trail machine either. I've began to question whether i should've gone the 2 bike route, get a proper dh rig and a proper trail rig. Now i have a compromise that works but still i'm having second thoughts.

Also park riding is always way harder on your bike. Mine is only half a year old, but has got plenty of tear and wear on it already. Though proper dh bike wears aswell..

My spindrifts weight in park mode close to 17kg, but i can drop it down by 2.5kg for winter trail riding.

But point is, a compromise is a compromise. You need weight in are you satisfied with 90% bike for the intended use or not.

I’m looking at the spindrift (upgrading rear and front suspension similar to yours) as a Dh oriented bike. How does it feel compared to a proper DH bike? The reason I’m looking at this instead of a true DH is because the park I would be riding most only has a few trails that would really push a proper DH bike. Thanks.

Funny thing is, i've never ridden a dh bike.I've meant to borrow my friends dh rigs, but never managed to do so. Maybe that says something about spindrift capabilties, lol....

But anyways, i've actually ordered the new propain rage 2022 in mullet config. i will be selling the spindrift and after all will go with the 2 bike route and get a shorter travel trail bike to pair with the dh bike. Proper tool for each job.

A long travel enduro bike is just kinda numb in trail riding, needs massive skill and energy to pop of from smaller trail features or more speed/downhill...
flag Allen1638
Posted: Oct 12, 2021 at 9:18 Quote
Bnito wrote:
Allen1638 wrote:
Bnito wrote:
I had to make this same decision early this year.

I went with 1 bike route, picked a propain spindrift with 180mm travel back and rear. ( have changed the rear shock stroke from 60 to 65mm and has now 195mm travel rear).

It is capable at bike parks and i can do rides on local trail with it aswell. I've spent the summer at bikepark, 2-3 rides a week. Haven't done any trail riding since spring.

The thing is, i feel like i now have a bike that isn't 100% downhill and then again isn't a proper trail machine either. I've began to question whether i should've gone the 2 bike route, get a proper dh rig and a proper trail rig. Now i have a compromise that works but still i'm having second thoughts.

Also park riding is always way harder on your bike. Mine is only half a year old, but has got plenty of tear and wear on it already. Though proper dh bike wears aswell..

My spindrifts weight in park mode close to 17kg, but i can drop it down by 2.5kg for winter trail riding.

But point is, a compromise is a compromise. You need weight in are you satisfied with 90% bike for the intended use or not.

I’m looking at the spindrift (upgrading rear and front suspension similar to yours) as a Dh oriented bike. How does it feel compared to a proper DH bike? The reason I’m looking at this instead of a true DH is because the park I would be riding most only has a few trails that would really push a proper DH bike. Thanks.

Funny thing is, i've never ridden a dh bike.I've meant to borrow my friends dh rigs, but never managed to do so. Maybe that says something about spindrift capabilties, lol....

But anyways, i've actually ordered the new propain rage 2022 in mullet config. i will be selling the spindrift and after all will go with the 2 bike route and get a shorter travel trail bike to pair with the dh bike. Proper tool for each job.

A long travel enduro bike is just kinda numb in trail riding, needs massive skill and energy to pop of from smaller trail features or more speed/downhill...

I plan on going with the 2 bike set up and having a proper Dh bike as well. Thanks for the help.
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