spec pitch pro V malt 4

accrington guy

I have narrowed my new bike down the two mentioned, spec. pitch pro V malt 4...
but I dont know which one to go for..I like both bikes, both have had/gotten good write ups, both have good equipment, with the option of upgrades on the malt 4..I like the pitch pro cos it looks that little bit different...I am looking to get into off road/trail riding 100% this year so would I better with the pitch pro?
but would the malt 4 be more practical all round or would the specialized be ok for all rounder stuff too?
I know folk who have malts and rockhoppers and they both talk a good case for each bike!

help me out guys as I am looking to go between now and well now to have a look/get one..etc..

all info very much appreciated

littleandy0410

Both superb machines, so it really comes down to the old "Hardtail vs. Full Sus" debate.

I like Full sus, as it allows me to be lazy when I start getting tired. Stay sat down and be less picky about the lines taken.

But I fully understand the hardtail argument too. I'd love to have both, but with a road bike in the garage too, SWMBO wouldn't be impressed if I bought a HT.

stumpyjon

If you want a full susser might be worth looking at something a little less burly than the pitch. It's tagged as an All Mountain entry level bike (and good value it is too), if you're not sure whether you want to go hardtail or full suss I'd tend to look more towards an XC orientated full susser with 4 to 5 inches of travel.

I'd echo littleandy's comments about liking full suss, I've got a hardtail and full suss, love both of them but if I had to make the choice it would be the hardtail that went first.

accrington guy

cheers for the replys guys...what about the giant anthem V the two mentioned?

Chaka Ping

Where are you going to be riding?

I'd say the Pitch might be a bit overkill as an all-rounder unless you're doing all your riding on actual mountains.

You might want to look at a bike with 120mm to 130mm travel at both ends - Giant Trance X, Specialized Stumpjumper, Trek Fuel EX are the usual suspects. The new Boardman full-susser looks great too.

smackmypitchupǃ

I bought my Pitch cos I weigh 15st. I saw it as a slightly fatter Stumpjumper for a light Clyde. Plus it's brown. I like brown.

dave_hill

SmackMyPitchUp! wrote:

Plus it's brown. I like brown.

:shock:

dave_hill

accrington guy wrote:

cheers for the replys guys...what about the giant anthem V the two mentioned?

If you're going to look at Giants, I'd say that the Trance (or even Trance X) is a better bet than the Anthem for all round use.

The Anthem is a bit too "focused" for everyday use - it's designed as a lightweight trail bike or enduro racer and consequently is specced as such.

The Trance on the other hand has longer travel and slightly slacker geometry which makes it easier to get on with for all-day use and the Trance X takes this a half-step further with 5 and a bit inches of travel and correspondingly higher spec. In fact, given the somewhat ambiguous nature of the Reign, a number of reviewers have actually questioned whether Trance X makes Reign redundant.

Because of the size of the company, Giants tend to be killer value for money, but be aware that the Maestro bikes (Anthem, Trance/X, Reign/X and Faith) do have a tendency to short toptubes. To counter this Giant fits very long stems to these bikes which can make them feel twitchy.

I'd agree with the others that a Pitch might be a bit overkill for general usage - they're long and low and not the lightest bike in the world. Havign said that it would give you more scope if you decide to up the ante a bit or wanted to have a week in the Alps.

smackmypitchupǃ

no longer than a Gary Fisher...... or a Stumpy...

I saw the 2008 Reign 1 or O nearly half price recently on Paul's Cycles.

donnie murdo

You can't really compare a Malt4 with a Pitch other than say one is a hardtail and one is FS.

Decide on where you are going to be riding and the type of terrain you will be mainly using (Glentress type trail centre or local bridleways and paths?) and what sort of distances you are going to do and at what speed. This should help narrow down the type of bike that you need and then you can look at models and budgets. There is no quick fix do it all bike and as everyone is different people prefer different types of bikes.

dave_hill

SmackMyPitchUp! wrote:

no longer than a Gary Fisher...... or a Stumpy...

Fisher Hi-Fi (Medium) - 1097mm wheelbase

Specialized Stumjumper FSR (Medium) - 1121mm wheelbase

Specialized Pitch Pro (Medium) - 1160mm wheelbase

The Pitch is the longest of the lot! And 39mm can make a heck of a difference to the way a bike rides. Even a medium Enduro is shorter than the equivalent Pitch and a medium SX Trail is only 7mm longer!

smackmypitchupǃ

Longest in wheelbase ok, and yes it did feel strange to me at first.. like a limo.. but top tube length of Gary Fisher Genesis and Specialized almost same.

supersonic

The slacker head angle and longer fork is the reason why the wheelbase is greater.

grumsta

You can get a Pitch Pro for 939 quid from Dales cycles at the mo with their 20 percent off code - need to do it before 9am tomorrow though.