Thread: Still a Free-ride JONG (Bike Advice)

So I'm sorta at a loss on what I want to get for a DH/freeride bike, and selection near me isn't easy to come by. I've been going to Highland (in NH) more and more this year and plan on picking up a season pass next year. I've been riding my 2010 enduro there and it feels great 90% of the time, but I don't want to keep on beating on it.

The shop I wanna buy from has 2011 RM Flatlines, 2011 Kona Operators (FR and DH) and a 2011 GT Rukus 2.7.0. I rode my friend's 2010 Giant Faith for a few runs and it felt really good on the trails at Highland. I'm leaning more towards a bike like that and not a full blown DH race bike, and the Rukus just looks freaking weird with the I-Drive stuff.

A friend of mine is selling his barely used Bottlerocket frame, and I'm slightly interested in it, but the really short travel is keeping me from going for it; 150mm seems too short in my mind. I think it could work for most of the trails there, but anything bumpy and I'm picturing that bike not being all that fun, or am I completely wrong here?

I'm not opposed to ordering a bike, I'd just like to ride one first before blindly buying something. I'd like to buy from this shop because its pretty much my go-to for everything and they've helped me out a ton; they've got Kona's, Pivots, Rocky Mountain, Commencal and GT. Anyone have any advice? I'm looking to spend $2500-$2800, and I could go higher if something really felt great.

look for a scott voltage fr, i've been riding one for the past couple years and it fucking rocks. got to ride it at highland last year, and don't think i'd want anything else except on the full on DH trails, which are still totally rideable, just not quite as smooth. adjustable travel from 150-180mm, feels great in the air, and they have some great prices on completes, i think you can get the fr 20 (midlevel build) for around 2.5k.

Will your shop set you up with some Demos to try out? As much as I am not a Kona fan, the operator that I parking lot tested felt really good.

I haven't ridden a Ruckus but I have taken a couple runs on a Fury and that was a really fun bike, I was pretty amazed at how well it pedals, the i-Drive seems to do what it claims. I know GT has or is planning on coming out with an aluminum fury that would probably be close to your budget.

where is that bad ass demo that moog was selling a little while back? would be SO perfect and was completely tits.

http://www.ridemonkey.com/classifieds/cat-2/ad-19393/ - a few good deals in there. the sx II would be pretty ideal.

supporting shops is great, but right now is game on for buying top of the line one year old rides. you'll get way more value out of a slightly used rig.

Of the bikes your shop carries, the pivots are the hotness, although they might not be workable with your budget.

Kona's are a decent bike for the money. They don't really do anything well, but they don't totally suck either, and they're cheap. I don't think they ride particularly nicely, but they have pretty neutral geometry, and they tend to hold up well.

Yeah I rode everything they had in stock around on the street and they all felt more or less good. The flatlines felt like they'd be overkill for what I'm looking for, and the kona's seemed alright but the mechanic was saying he didn't like their long wheelbase? The numbers looked pretty close, but I'll trust someone else's opinion on most of this stuff before I trust my own.

I'm a little leery of buying a rental bike online. The thought of someone signing a damage waiver and beating the piss out of it and the rental shop guys not being able to see something scares me a bit.

Originally Posted by toast2266

Of the bikes your shop carries, the pivots are the hotness, although they might not be workable with your budget.

Kona's are a decent bike for the money. They don't really do anything well, but they don't totally suck either, and they're cheap. I don't think they ride particularly nicely, but they have pretty neutral geometry, and they tend to hold up well.

That's sorta what I've been thinking about the kona. If I absolutely hate it, I could swap the frame out for something else. What bike for a pivot?

No one has anything to say about the bottlerocket? I'm guessing I should just remove it from my list?

Originally Posted by Anospa

Yeah I rode everything they had in stock around on the street and they all felt more or less good. The flatlines felt like they'd be overkill for what I'm looking for, and the kona's seemed alright but the mechanic was saying he didn't like their long wheelbase? The numbers looked pretty close, but I'll trust someone else's opinion on most of this stuff before I trust my own.

I'm a little leery of buying a rental bike online. The thought of someone signing a damage waiver and beating the piss out of it and the rental shop guys not being able to see something scares me a bit.

I haven't ridden a flatline, but I used to have an RM9. That thing was a pig of a bike that sucked on pretty much everything that wasn't super steep. My sense is that the flatline isn't quite as bad, but is still a heavy piggish bike.

The kona's wheelbase is pretty long, but it lends itself to stability (at the cost of some maneuverability). Some people like it, some don't. You're probably not going to figure out if you like it or not until you've spent some time on the bike.

For your first FR/DH bike, I wouldn't get too wrapped up in things like WB length. Buy a bike that's going to be durable and hopefully low maintenance. Ride the piss out of it and have fun. After a season or two you will be ready for something new and you'll have a better idea of what kind of things you do/don't like in a bike.

bottlerocket would be awesome on hellion/NE style but definitely overmatched on the DH trails, i'd skip it. definitely a sick bike though.

my bad, I can't read.

Probably a poor form spam for a buddy but check out Sad Santos's Demo 7 here on the board. It will come in under your budget, it's set up tits, weighs in at about 38-39 lbs and is a ripper. I've ridden it and it's sweet. Plus, if you like the Enduro suspension, the Demo is just burlier. For the record, I used to ride an Enduro SL and Demo 7.

There's no reason to spend $3k unless you know what you want.

Bottlerockets are nice flicky bikes but more oriented towards jumping than going fast on DH trails.

Originally Posted by dfinn

For your first FR/DH bike, I wouldn't get too wrapped up in things like WB length. Buy a bike that's going to be durable and hopefully low maintenance. Ride the piss out of it and have fun. After a season or two you will be ready for something new and you'll have a better idea of what kind of things you do/don't like in a bike.

Like my bullit (thinking of selling).

If you don't have a season pass at the highlands, look at the "find your ride" deal. You can demo the rukus and get a lift ticket (and proteciton if you don't have it) for $99...there are a ton of 5 dollar off coupons floating around, check with your local shop... $94 isn't awful to ride for a day and demo a bike.

I thought about doing the find your ride deal, but not very interested in the bikes they've got. Like you said though, it'd be a good chance to check the rukus out.

I'd be riding Hellion and NE style 90% of the time, and after talking to a few of my friends the bottlerocket is sounding more and more attractive. Apparently its last year's model, so its only 140mm travel? I'm having a hard time finding an archive on transition's website.

Conudrum, my friend has a '08 demo and likes it a lot, but doesn't like it for highland; one run on my other friend Faith and he was stoked on it. That Bullit is more along the lines of what I'm picturing: single crown, bit steeper/smaller than a full on dh bike.

If I go for the bottlerocket, I'm thinking a Totem or a Lyrik at 170mm, an affordable set of wheels and whatever else I can find for a good price to finish it off. I did some quick googling, and it looks like other people have done similar setups, so hopefully I'm not following other people's stupid ideas haha!

No offense to those who have posted but I'd go a totally different way than this.

Let me first get a few details correct...

1) You are looking for a bike to be pedaled down the hill first and foremost correct? (this isn't a trail bike)
2) Your budget is about 2K?

Assuming that is the criteria I would look for something like a 2006+ Turner DHR in good shape. Those things were built to last, have great geometry, equally as playful as a lot of the bikes you posted above and can often be had for a great deal.

Other bikes to look at are the Specialized Demo (7 and 8), Giant Faith (even the older model that looks kind of funky) and even the Ironhorse Sunday (in good shape) is a very (very) worthy ride.

All those bikes can be had for a good deal, were built to last and perform brilliantly.

Yeah, I guess I didn't outright say that, but this will be for 100% gravity assisted riding; my Enduro is for anything else.

if you're riding hellion/NE, BR will be fun, i dunno it's always fun to have something bigger though, just encourages you to try new shit and all. definitely even stuff on those trails i wou;dnt want to hit on a 140 bike.

Bottlerockets are sort of cool and all, but buying a 140mm travel bike for gravity only riding seems wrong. Maybe as a quiver bike, but not as your only lift served ride.

Go bigger. JeffreyJim's DHR suggestion is a good one.

I'd sell you my Intense M3 if you're interested, it's pretty spec-ed out.

Sram X.O shifter and RD
Ti Spring
Boxxer WC (not the latest generation)
Mavic 823's on CK hubs (150mm rear)
Michelin DH 32 tires (plenty of tread left)
e.13 direct mount stem.
Saint brakes with XT levers(older saint variety).
shimano dura-ace cassette

Thats the stuff I can remember off the top of my head. I'll even deliver the bike within a reasonable distance of Boston or NYC. Basically I haven't ridden the bike at all this past summer/season so it's been sitting in my uncle's basement. I'm not in a rush to sell it but for a decent offer I'd let it go. Fork is in primo condition.

DON'T get the bottle rocket. It would be silly to get that for downhilling. In my opinion of course.

Yeah, gotta agree that a BR is the wrong bike for Highland. Sure, it would be rad on the jumpy stuff but you're effectively limiting yourself to only those trails (a 140 air sprung bike would not be that rad on Threshold or the new DH trail they built for the Pro GRT). Get a big bike.

Checking in...

I slept on it and came up with more or less the same thoughts on the BR; it'd be real fun for the jumpy trails, but it would be only good there and I'd want my Enduro for anything else. The whole point of getting a second bike is to not need nor want the Enduro when I'm there.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, something squishier it is!

pm sent.

I got screwed out of riding today due to a bunch of crap, but called around to a few shops on the way home in traffic. Found a place that's got sx's in stock, so I'm gonna try and get over there sometime this week.

Sidenote, has anyone ever bought a bike from the trestle park demo sale? I sent the guy there an email asking if they got warranties and all that, people I know who've bought demo bikes from shops around here have gotten one. It'd give me some peace of mind ordering something I haven't seen in person.