Thread: WWMD for 5.5 inches?

Now that I've got your attention...

I'm upgrading from a Pitch that I built up for heavy duty trail/AM. My bike park days are pretty much done, so I am looking for a fun trail bike that can take a bit of a beating.

Most of my riding is in the company of large pointy rocks, roots, etc with some flowy stuff mixed in here and there. Lots of short (but sometimes steep) up and down. Im currently a sit and spin climber (because I love the traction it provides) on more prolonged technical ascents - only getting out of the saddle when body english is needed to get the bike up and over large boulders and other obstacles. I (used to) love charging through rock gardens at a high rate of speed and in general trying to bring many of the cornering skills I was developing at the bike park to the trail. Assuming I'm not a total head case from my accident this fall, Ill probably still enjoy doing that when given the opportunity but aside from a 3-4 foot drop (max) here and there I will stay decidedly planted to the ground.

I love my pitch (w a Lyrik) on this terrain, its tons of fun and I really never feel all that out of place, but my gear addiction and desire to see how a lighter slightly more nimble rig will impact my riding are pushing me to try something new.

I've narrowed it to these <160mm rides and I am looking for feedback from people who have ridden them in the terrain and style I've described.

• Pivot 5.7
• Ibis Mojo HD140 or SL
• Specialized SJ FSR EVO
• Giant Reign 1
• Yeti ASR 5
• Banshee Spitfire

If I have glaringly left something off this list - please throw it out there, but not if its some super exotic rig I will never be able to fondle or ride up here in Boston. I'm all for the little guys but at the same time I can't afford to take that blind risk.

At the same time please don't turn this into a carbon vs. aluminum or DW vs. Horst vs. Maestro vs. Whatever pissing contest. Im ok with "plastic" bikes and I only care about the suspension tech in the context of how it behaves in the terrain/style that I like to ride.

Yeah the EVO is nice but ...

Yeti ASR 5. That's what you want.

I'd definitely consider the new 5 Spot.

I've held off posting a gushing review for fear of being labeled a kool-aid drinking homer, but this thing is fucking badass. </predictable response>

Also, it's got the DW link and isn't a plastic POS.

The Mojo would be sweet. I would add a Turner 5 Spot to the list though.

Originally Posted by gravitylover

Yeah the EVO is nice but ...

Yeti ASR 5. That's what you want.

X2 this was my first choice last year but I ended up going with the Pitch to save a little cash. Test rode it a few times and really liked the geometry and weight. All three times I rode it on the peaks trail here in CO which sounds pretty similar to what you ride. (rocks, roots, some flow) I'm a sit and spinner as well and felt I could really climb well on this bike and the downhill was still really good. If you have the $$ you could also go carbon which I hear is nice.

Originally Posted by gravitylover

Yeah the EVO is nice but ...

Yeti ASR 5. That's what you want.

Consider it added - was looking at that and the 575 and just found an LBS with Yeti in stock.

Originally Posted by bagtagley

I'd definitely consider the new 5 Spot.

I've held off posting a gushing review for fear of being labeled a kool-aid drinking homer, but this thing is fucking badass. </predictable response>

Also, it's got the DW link and isn't a plastic POS.

Originally Posted by cpj.slc

The Mojo would be sweet. I would add a Turner 5 Spot to the list though.

I had looked at the 5 spot, but no way to test ride up here. Nearest dealer is 100m away and I doubt they stock it.

Yeah, I don't know why they stopped sending the demo tour east. They came by here 2 years ago, and that demo sold me on the Spot. Probably too costly, though Pivot will be back over here this year.

Really like my mach 5 for things around here. DW link is money for those short steep climbs. No real noticeable bob climbing. My only complaint is that the rear travel feels less than what it actually is. Not as plush as some other 5 in frames. I definitely feel some bigger hits. I hear the the mach 5.7 fixes a lot of that, but also bobs a bit more when pedaling uphill.

Originally Posted by skibumnh

Consider it added - was looking at that and the 575 and just found an LBS with Yeti in stock.

The 575 is an older design and from what I have heard is a little more sluggish on the uphill. Still a great design and great ride but the ASR 5 is designed to be a little better climber. I think you will find that the 575 is more similar to your Pitch, but I am no expert, just a guy who geeked out buying a yeti until I realized I couldn't justify it. Love my pitch though.

Originally Posted by shredgnar

The 575 is an older design and from what I have heard is a little more sluggish on the uphill. Still a great design and great ride but the ASR 5 is designed to be a little better climber. I think you will find that the 575 is more similar to your Pitch, but I am no expert, just a guy who geeked out buying a yeti until I realized I couldn't justify it. Love my pitch though.

Sounds spot on with what I've been reading about the two - interested in trying both just for the hell of it but that carbon asr-5 looks sick.

I'm starting to narrow down my choices for something pretty similar, and the ASR-5 and Mojo HD are high on my list. Three others I would add based solely on examining specs: Banshee Spitfire, Knolly Endorphin SL, Transition Bandit.

Knolly and Transition are brand new models so availability as well as reviews are sorta non-existent at the moment.

My dilemma is that I have exactly 0 chance of demo'ing any of the bikes on my list anywhere remotely close to home. I'm seriously considering adding to my build budget a flight to somewhere to demo bikes for a weekend.

You read my mind, was just going to ask about the Banshee Spitfire - I found a shop in MA that might be able to get from from the rep for me to Demo.

I can't comment on the Spitfire specifically, but I just got a Banshee Rune as a placeholder for the new RFX. I have been really happy with the Banshee. I think their mini-link design feels really similar to DW link, so it pedals great, but also feels really plush. I was a bit worried about going from a Turner (old RFX) to a bike built in Taiwan, but the quality of the bike seems really good and there was some really good thinking that went into the design. I would buy another Banshee for sure.

I ride very much in the style that you do, with the exception of 'flowy' riding, of which there is very little where I ride. What we do have, in abundance, is steep rock faces and pointy rocks littering the trails. I am principally a sit and spin climber also, although the new ride is changing that a little.

For reference, I'm a pretty big guy, riding on the west coast, and coming of a coil equipped SC Nomad. I switched to the Mojo HD, although mine is in the 160mm configuration, and I have not had opportunity to ride it in 140. Before I bought the HD, and rode the SL extensively, in a couple of different configurations.

I found the front end of the Mojo SL a bit flexy, but I do think that was primarily as a result of the 32mm fork on that bike. I swapped that fork out for my 36 Van, and found it much better. I found the bike a bit 'odd' with the 160mm on the front, however. One of my riding partners ended up buying the SL and loves it (we did swap out the ridiculously long stem for a 70mm, and set of wider (685mm) bars). He is a bit lighter and less aggressive on the downhill than I am, so lighter/less aggressive riders may find the front end of the SL just fine.

I absolutely love my HD in the 160mm configuration. I run it with a 36 TALAS, and it is a lot of fun. It pedals very efficiently, and I find myself out of the saddle on climbs more because it doesn't incur the sag penalty my Nomad did. That being said, it is definitely not as plush as my Nomad. It surprises me that the uphill traction, is at least as good as the Nomad, however, and arguably quite a lot better. But that might just be the pedal efficiency differences between DW/VPP (and I think both have their strengths, just for the record).

I ride here frequently, and had the HD with me for a Whistler trip, where I ran it on a number of the very steep trails in the valley (I didn't run it in the park), which it handled with aplomb.

I highly recommend the HD, I like it a lot, and I have had great experiences dealing with Hans at Ibis.

There really isn't a bad one in the bunch you are looking at, IMHO. I tried a Spitfire, and liked it for railing corners and (smallish) jumps, but found the BB height a bit challenging for pedaling in the rocks.

... and back to the ASR 5. For as relaxed a bike as it is it accelerates like a stuck pig, was predictable in every situation I put it through and is one of only two bikes that left me giggling when I was done. The other one was the EVO after two lift served high speed rippers at Keystone but since that's not the type of riding you want this new bike for forget I just said that.

I'm getting a newer turner 5 spot pretty soon here. I've had the benefit pedaling one around though. They's bitchin.

Not sure where exactly in MA you are but sounds like around Boston, but I'm in Danbury, CT. Could try and get you on my Spitfire for a test ride. It's a size small though. Someplace like Nam or down on the cape maybe?

I went from a Pitch with a Lyrik 160mm (which was a damn fine fun and fine ride) to a Corsair Marque. Short travel, slack, low, but a bust in terms of reliability and it was a pig in the weight department.

Now on the Spitfire with the same Lyrik, and the bike is super fun in the same type of terrain you've got, assuming stuff around MA and NH.

Taking it out to Moab next week. Only changes for the trip beefing up my tires to some DH meats and a shorter stem.