Can't decide

vodkarob
vodkarob Posts: 29
edited December 2007 in MTB buying advice
Hi.Im trying to decide between 3 bikes that i like,but don't know what one to get.Was just wondering what people thought of each bike? I will be doing freeride and some riding about.First up is a kona coilair 08 model.Second is a kona stinky 08 model.Last is a commencal supreme mini dh.I know the commencal is a dh but im hopping it would be ok.Any views on these bikes would be great.cheers

Comments

  • dave_hill
    dave_hill Posts: 3,877
    You need to look at what you expect to get out of these bikes and what type of riding you'll be doing.

    The CoilAir is aimed at the long-travel All-Mountain to light freeride market. The layout of the bike and the air shock point to a bike that's trying to be all things to all men. What reviews I've seen of it haven't been exactly full of praise. Or full of anything come to that.

    The Stinky is more of a full-on freeride bike - it's built with a short cockpit, long travel suspension and heavy duty cycle parts designed for big drops and general bike-park shenanigans.

    The Commencal is a bit of an odd-ball. Is it a downhill bike? Is it a freeride weapon? I think it does exactly what it says on the tin. It's not a full-on downhiller in the mould of something like an Orange 224 or a Santa Cruz V10. But is it nimble enough for freeriding? Who knows...?
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  • zero303
    zero303 Posts: 1,162
    What do you class as freeride? If you're just planning on popping over tabletops and doing some small-med drop-offs you won't need that hardcore a bike and it will be surprisingly good on the trails.

    If you plan on huge jumps a massive drop offs you'll need a much harder bike which unfortunately won't be as much fun on the trails.

    The Stinky falls into the latter - it's rock hard and heavy - it's hard-core freeride and would even work nicely for UK DHing...

    If you're more in the first category, try looking at the Spesh Pitch. It's a pretty hardcore AM bike and will quite happily do some freeride work but makes for a surprisingly good trail bike if the Bike Radar owners who have already bought them are right!

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