21/22 Bikes That Make Your Shorts Tighter.

[bagtagley]

The 34 isn't a stiff fork. I wouldn't want to run a 32mm fork on a bike that wants so badly to be pushed hard.

[eldereldo]

IDK what that is, but it's sexy af.

Now that I have a new-to-me car, I guess it's time to save up for and/or finance a new bike.
Shit, there's always Trek. My LBS is down the alley and they are a client of mine and I thiers. Very symbiotic. Fuel EX looks nice. Do you really have to use their proprietary stem though?

New Giant Trance X

[SchralphMacchio]

I’m pretty excited about the Sid being on a 35mm wide platform. Would love to demo it on something like a Sniper - highly progressively tuned VPP or DW short link bike.

[alpinevibes]

What do you weigh?

6’ 165. No upper body. I try to descend fast but I don’t catch air or push things too much.


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[simple]

A 34 will be great for you. Step cast shaves weight but loses stiffness. Sid 35 is the hotness but only worth it if the bike comes with it.

[El Chupacabra]

Doesn't the step cast also use a different damper? Like from the 32? I seem to remember it having something internal downsized as part of saving weight.

[Tailwind]

I have a 34 Step Cast on my Mach 4 Sl.

I am actually pretty happy with it. The previous 34's were horrible... this one for this application seems solid.

I can also say that I really like the 'downcountry' style of bike. It makes a lot of terrain more fun and honestly in Colorado short travel bikes can ride every trail no problem.

[smmokan]

I can also say that I really like the 'downcountry' style of bike. It makes a lot of terrain more fun and honestly in Colorado short travel bikes can ride every trail no problem.

Sure, you can get down them no problem... but there are a lot of trails around here that are way more fun with more travel (White Ranch, Left Hand, Bobcat Ridge, etc). I personally prefer a 130'ish trail bike with a 140/150 fork that climbs well and has modern geometry.

[jamal]

My 34 SC seems to work well enough, but I haven't ridden many other forks and especially not beefier ones. If I keep the bike (a 2020 Hei Hei CR since we're talking about "downcountry" bikes), it'll probably get swapped to a fit 4 damper so I can have a low speed compression adjuster.

As far as the Hei Hei goes, I generally like it, and checked all the boxes for what i was looking for, but I'm not in love with it. Mostly because I do a lot of climbing and riding on pretty mellow and smooth trails, and race, so I like really fast and light bikes. When I stand up and pedal on the old hardtail, it fuckin goes. This one, not so much. Maybe all it needs are faster tires and a little bit of a diet. As it is I'd never line up at an xc race with it. Short of racing xc i suppose you could consider it pretty light and fast, but whenever I'm riding up my nearest trail I spend a lot of time wondering how it'd be on a scalpel.

When you get it on a rougher and steeper descent, it is pretty fantastic. Well, right up until you hit something big since it's still a 120mm bike. But I do need to go out and ride it on better trails to really take advantage of what it can do. I was doing this absurd distance/climbing challenge thing in july and august and that meant a lot of repetition on the home trails. Now I have time to actually get out and go different places.

Still working on the fit and suspension setup a bit but I'm getting closer. Changed the volume spacer in the shock, swapped bars and stem today, and will probably swap the cranks out at some point. The descendants and steel ring are absurdly heavy. Kind of annoying they put that shit on an "XC" bike.

[mr_pretzel]

New norco «shore» looks awesome.
High pivot horse link? Sign me up, guess I dont need the nomad v5 to come out after all

[Kopi_Red]

I have a 34 Step Cast on my Mach 4 Sl.

I am actually pretty happy with it. The previous 34's were horrible... this one for this application seems solid.

I can also say that I really like the 'downcountry' style of bike. It makes a lot of terrain more fun and honestly in Colorado short travel bikes can ride every trail no problem.

I have the same bike and it's awesome on my every day trails. The Mach 4 SL is a rocketship of a bike. It surges forward when putting the power down while seated and it provides the right amount of traction when you get out of the saddle on tough climbs. I love that bike.

I like to run my suspension fairly open and my only gripe is that the Step Cast 34 I have on the bike definitely lacks midstroke support. In order to not blow through the travel I have to run quite a bit of compression and with the fit4 damper it means the small bump compliance suffers a bit.

But that being said the small bump on the SC 34 is still WAY better than the Pike I was running on my GG Pistola. I ran the Pike fully open and the midstroke support was awesome but it would rattle my hands/arms to pieces while riding through chatter and chunk. I replaced the Pike with a Mezzer Pro. I'm looking forward to riding the new fork when I finally recover from my most recent injury (broken arm/wrist).

[smartyiak]

...When I stand up and pedal on the old hardtail, it fuckin goes. This one, not so much. Maybe all it needs are faster tires and a little bit of a diet...
.

Lockout?


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[ticketchecker]

Ha!

Does a 5010 fit that description?

I rode a Salsa Rustler last year, and that thing was pretty sweet. I don't know what you call that, but it's 150-130mm, like a Hightower gen1 I guess. So what is a Hightower? Not really an Enduro and certainly not an XC.

5010 and HT are probably more in the trail bike bucket. I’m wagon wheel curious so the 5010 is out. Haven’t ruled out a TB4, hoping to rent one at KT before snow flies. Heavy frame tho

I think around 120mm is where the downcountry unicorns live. Or DC/XC as pinkbike calls them.

Ripley seems like a no brainer but something about the lines of that frame don’t send me.

[alpinevibes]

Thanks dudes for the Step Cast feedback. As much as my mind tells me I’m a racer (I’m not), I think acceoting a few extra hundred grams with a 34 Factory is the way. I’m coming from a 130 Lyrik on my 5010, so travel will by enough for my taste, just with increased quality.

Izzo Pro Race at $5300 and 26.5lbs with X01, DT Carbon Wheels, Fox34 Factory and DPS Factory w/ lockout seems to cover my basis for a fun, agile western slope bike with uphill capability.


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[Tailwind]

Not to sound like an old retro grouch (I’m not) but I grew up near White Ranch and would ride over there on my rigid 26 inch trek with cantilever brakes. I got my ass kicked, but I kept going back and it was fun.

Modern bikes do make trails like that a better experience but there is a point where I like having to be alert on descents and pick a line. I rode trail and enduro bikes for a lot of years and still really like them. But Line choice doesn’t matter on modern big bikes and can make brutal trails feel smooth.

That being said, easy doesn’t always equal fun. There are times where I take my gravel bike out on rocky singletrack. It’s not more of less fun than my Mach 4, it just invites me to look at the trail differently.

Also with the Front Range being what it is... you really can’t press big bikes with how many people are on the trails. Riding my Gravel bike when trails are busier keeps me from hurting some random hiker and is more fun than coasting at 70 of possible speed on my old Switchblade. The overbiked overconfident people that want to see how fast they can press their new Yeti aren’t helping with trail conflict.

Sure, you can get down them no problem... but there are a lot of trails around here that are way more fun with more travel (White Ranch, Left Hand, Bobcat Ridge, etc). I personally prefer a 130'ish trail bike with a 140/150 fork that climbs well and has modern geometry.

[smartyiak]

Sure, you can get down them no problem... but there are a lot of trails around here that are way more fun with more travel (White Ranch, Left Hand, Bobcat Ridge, etc). I personally prefer a 130'ish trail bike with a 140/150 fork that climbs well and has modern geometry.

I'm only here for the Druid review!

Izzo Pro Race at $5300 and 26.5lbs with X01, DT Carbon Wheels, Fox34 Factory and DPS Factory w/ lockout seems to cover my basis for a fun, agile western slope bike with uphill capability.
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Such a solid build. The only mistake is not offering it in seafoam! Keep us updated.

[smmokan]

I'm only here for the Druid review!

Heh... it just depends on how quickly I get all the parts. I'm hoping to have it built up in 2-3 weeks. Just ordered the new CC Helm II yesterday, and they seem to be shipping pretty quickly these days. I'm traveling for work the next two weekends, but after that I've got a string of Moab and Brevard trips so hopefully it'll be done by then. I'll strip another bike to get it built for Brevard, if I have to!

[skaredshtles]

Thanks dudes for the Step Cast feedback. As much as my mind tells me I’m a racer (I’m not), I think acceoting a few extra hundred grams with a 34 Factory is the way. I’m coming from a 130 Lyrik on my 5010, so travel will by enough for my taste, just with increased quality.

Well, aren't *you* the optimist?

I hope your 34 actually *is* a quality improvement, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

[alpinevibes]

Well, aren't *you* the optimist?

I hope your 34 actually *is* a quality improvement, but I wouldn't hold my breath...

These are the things I have to tell myself to escape the endless purgatory of Tech Talk contemplation and hand wringing.

It’s not Red, but it’s newer and more expensive, so it MUST be better???


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[bagtagley]

I was thinking 32 when av said Step Cast. I have a 34 Factory on my XC bike (120/130, low and slack...hey, I think I invented downcountry! ). It seems I'm one of the few people that's actually pretty happy with the damping and overall performance. But, it has its limitations and is definitely not what I'd call stiff making it pretty easy to overwhelm.

[alpinevibes]

I’m coming from a 130 Lyrik on my 5010, so travel will by enough for my taste, just with increased quality.

Early morning error... my 2016 5010 has a 130mm SEKTOR RL Gold on it, not the Lyrik. So maybe that will elevate my hopes/dreams of a better feeling fork??



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[bagtagley]

I think it'll be fine. I wasn't trying to discourage, just set expectations which will be much different coming off a Sektor vs Lyrik.

[alpinevibes]

I think it'll be fine. I wasn't trying to discourage, just set expectations which will be much different coming off a Sektor vs Lyrik.

With you 100%


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[XtrPickels]

I said fuck it, and pulled the trigger on a lightly-used Forbidden Druid frame off PB this weekend. It'll take me some time to build it up given the current component supply chain situation, but I'm planning on going Cane Creek suspension (DB Inline Coil, Helm II), I-9 wheels, and XT drivetrain.

Heads Up that my I-9 build is now approaching 10 weeks (if you're getting a new set).

[skaredshtles]

<snip> But, it has its limitations and is definitely not what I'd call stiff making it pretty easy to overwhelm.

Yup. Noodly, *very* poor small-bump performance, and CSU creaking. I couldn't live with all that...