Anyone do Downhill here ?

I used to race dh a few years ago on a yeti and an orange. I've ridden a few cubes since then and their imo hardtails are brilliant and I couldnt find anything at all to fault them on, but I don't like any of their full sussers, they just feel 'wrong' and I could never figure out just what it was. If I were you I would get a saracen myst to start on if you want to buy new, they're cheap for a dh bike at about £1200 and everyone I've spoke to that ride them love them, even people that have ridden much more exotic and expensive stuff. If you're wanting second hand go for something with a decent frame like an orange, intense, cove or a kona. Make sure there's decent kit on it too, or you will be constantly spending money as stuff breaks. You looking for single crown or double crown forks? What sort of suspension travel? What sort of suspension on the frame, coil or air?

How much are you actually looking to spend?

 

Its definately got all the right bits on it, although I'd change the tyres to maxxis minion front, high roller back. Any specific reason you want coil and not air.

This is going to be the base for my new setup once the e36 and landy are done; Commencal VIP Supreme 8 Frameset 2011 | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com + Marzocchi 888 RC3 Evo Ti V.2 Forks 2012 | Buy Online | ChainReactionCycles.com

 

I used to do all kinds of bike riding, I used to have a Norco, they are real good but not cheap. Been so long though dude I couldn't tell you what to go for but you can't really go wrong with big names, maybe ask the guys at your local bike shop? If its a good one they will keep you right

 

NEVER askadvice from your lbs, they will try and sell you the most expensive stuff they can rather that actually listening to what you actually want. And norcos are amazing bikes to ride, they just seem to float over anything, they seem to have got the geo just right on all their frames.

 

Have a look at a few AM bikes then, most will let you adjust the sus mounts to slacken/tighten the geo a bit. As long as its not real hardcore stuff then an AM ride will usually be alright. Get something without front gearing, 200mm brake rotors and decent brakes, oversize bars (trust me if the bars snap it will hurt more than normal on a dh run) I've actually split a troy lee helmet (tested to the same standards as mx helmets) in half by hitting a tree when my bars snapped, get lock on grips as well.

 

.jack. I've just noticed your in Bromsgrove! I'm not sure if I may know who you are or have come across you before in the local riding scene. But I've always been into anything bikes. What do you generally ride nowadays? I'm mostly into trail riding and a bit of road training. I have a Giant DH Team that hasn't been used in years that I would like to get back out to ride! I was looking to sell it but 2nd hand DH rigs never fetch anywhere near what you pay for them and couldn’t justify it. I just can't find any local mates that ride DH anymore??? Also random question as you seem pretty knowledgeable, how are you on setting full sus suspension?lol It's on boxxers with a swinger rear? I’ve never felt it’s been right since I had it.

 

Hi there, I ride a GT also, all be it a bit upgraded. But i've found that running a hardtail is good practice for bike control, so all those extra bumps are worth it, trust me Cube bikes are good, i think there a bit underrated, but they really need good maintanance. I'd say there reasonably priced also

 

I had an orange patriot years ago , That was the closest to a down hill bike i ever got and it was amazing even if it did weigh as much as a small house. I found myself driving places with it in the boot quite a lot though which kind of defeats the object of bike riding , A decent hard tail set up should be good for most light to medium down hill and the ride there !

 

Go on southerndownhill.com forum. loads of 2nd hand stuff on there.

 

Used to race downhill, did it all my life until I was about 21 then just stopped randomly....think it was the cost of things and was really into my cars also at the time!! Was spending hundereds every month just replacing bits that had broke.....wheels, cranks, bent rotors, bars, blown shocks etc.....it all breaks quickly!!

Would love to buy another downhill bike now but they arent cheap and I know i would get really into it again then the costs start rolling in......

As for cube, never looked at a lot they do.... tbf I would go second hand (but within 2 seasons use max) and get yourself a better bike for your money!! Brand new pre built bikes arent built to withstand one decent run down a track (unless your spending 4k+)

 

Pinkbike.com is also a good place to look for secondhand stuff (as this is totally the way to go) but be prepared to be fucked around by kids who don't know what the fuck they want.

I wouldn't even considering buying a brand new DH bike again, I bought a 2011 Kona Operator at the end of last year and replaced nearly everything on it.

I tend to look at the simpler single pivot full sus bikes. Mainly coz it's less to go wrong and less bearings to replace (which you'll need to do)

Don't know much about Cube, didn't even know they did DH rigs?

 

well i have keen of riding but there are more people over there and a lot off in bikes , so this is recommended don't try to this at that place.

 

What?

 

Whats your name mate? Do you by any chance live on perryfields, Im guessing by your username you've got an s15 and Ive seen one parked up there a fair bit. And Im not riding anything except a road bike to work and back at the moment as I sold alot of my bikes (2 bmxs, 2 dh rigs, 3 road bikes, a mod trials bike, a track bike (velodrome), a lovely 50s cruiser that I restored and a few contraptions I dreamt up), although I've still got 2 road bikes in bits, a custom xc hardtail frame and another mod trials frame that I'm going to rebuild as and when I get the chance.
Yeah I can set full sussers up properly, you would have to find out the factory settings or tell me the model of fork and shock, and then go from there to fine tune it.

 

I would look into a all mountain/light free ride bike rather than full on dh machine. I've done ludlow, aston hill, kinver, ribbs, hopton, cannock all on a 6 inch travel bike without probs and kept up with all the guys on full dh bikes. The only time I've been glad of a full dh bike is race runs , fort william, ae forest, the big gap jumps when it doesn't go to plan and some of the bone shaking welsh tracks

I would look into a
Giant reign or reign X
Specialized enduro
Commencal 6.1/2/3

They can all do dh,xc, big jumps, laugh in the woods and none of them are mega money.

 

Build up a decent jump/park hardtail with 5" single clamp forks, hydro brakes, strong cranks and bars. Riding that will teach you more about riding DH than a DH bike will, trust me. Unless you want to ride Fort William / Les Gets / Morzine type stuff on a regular basis I wouldnt bother. Plus you can actually do normal bike stuff with a hardtail, like riding to work or dirt jumping etc.