GT XCR Is Too heavy....help me....

Anonymous

Ok so I've got the GT Agressor XCR from H'fords last year (the 08) model.. and now I am finding its a bit too heavy for me and a little chunky, so I find myself using too much energy than I should which means people get away from me easier and I can't spend as long on the trail or DH sections. (yes it's a hard tail not meant for DH but you can ride a megane around a race track can't you...joke).

So I am looking to upgrade in a few months which means months and months of stats and components and frames and what have you.....

HELP ME I AM MELTING ALREADY.,
What I am looking for is a FS bike which is fairly light (big ask I dont have carbon frame money) that can handle uphill reallly well and is set up not as clumsily as the GT.
Also somethign that is great DH, I am 14st so the rear shock will take a beating.

I don't care about how it looks, just would like a great machine that is set up well and delivers a great ride both on trails, DH and also the good old tarmac.

My budget will be MAX £1400.

Help please?

Feel free to take the P**s if you like...

peace

GmanUK101

supersonic

Light for XC, strong for DH - not sure for 1400 you will get this! Depends what you mean by DH, I take it you won't be doing 15ft drops.

The XCR was well specced, but heavy - strong though. New tyres may drop some weight for you.

You could get a bike like a Pitch, but won't only be any lighter than your current bike. To get under 30lbs, and have longer travel you really need to splash the cash!

This is worth a look:

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.p ... Suspension

About 30lbs, 6 inch travel, but fairly steep geo for XC. Won't be as good as a pitch over the downs, but better on normal trails. Of course a test would be good.

Anonymous

supersonic wrote:

Light for XC, strong for DH - not sure for 1400 you will get this! Depends what you mean by DH, I take it you won't be doing 15ft drop

no 15ft drops for this one! not yet anyway

that bike looks ace.! any ideas on where to test these things?

supersonic

Testing can be problematic, especially a full test. But seeing the bike in the flesh is a good start.

KnightofCydonia

cannondales prophets have the adjustable geometry. Not sure if that'd be of any use for you but they range from 1100-1500 from what i've seen. Not had the pleasure to see any however.

The Northern Monkey

You find the GT xcr heavy? you've obviously never ridden a heavy ful suss/ dont have the strength to throw a bike around (no offence).

I was riding my XCR round Glentress, up, down, freeride park with no problems. I was surprised at how light the bike was considering the spec and strong frame.

Anonymous

bigbenj_08 wrote:

You find the GT xcr heavy? you've obviously never ridden a heavy ful suss/ dont have the strength to throw a bike around (no offence).

well obviously I've never ridden a heavy full sus, hence this post for help m8. this is why I was asking people for help on looking for something lighter. thanks for your reply. if you've got any advice please feel free to ad it's most welcome.

Daz555

If you are happy to stick with a hardtail, you could just spring for a lighter wheel + tyre setup.

Saving a little bit of weight on the bits of your bike that spin makes your bike feel so much lighter and nimble.

Anonymous

Daz555 wrote:

If you are happy to stick with a hardtail, you could just spring for a lighter wheel + tyre setup.

ahh so like supersonic said as well.. different tyres? perhaps new wheels also...that makes sense.

cheers for the tips..mucho appreciato.

G

The Northern Monkey

GmanUK101 wrote:

bigbenj_08 wrote:

You find the GT xcr heavy? you've obviously never ridden a heavy ful suss/ dont have the strength to throw a bike around (no offence).

well obviously I've never ridden a heavy full sus, hence this post for help m8. this is why I was asking people for help on looking for something lighter. thanks for your reply. if you've got any advice please feel free to ad it's most welcome.

What I was trying to say was your not going to find a full sus much lighter (if at all) than the XCR without spending quite a bit.
As the old saying goes... Lightweight, Cheap, Strong... choose 2.
As said in other posts, maybe an upgraded wheelset would suit you better?

Anonymous

bigbenj_08 wrote:

GmanUK101 wrote:

bigbenj_08 wrote:

You find the GT xcr heavy? you've obviously never ridden a heavy ful suss/ dont have the strength to throw a bike around (no offence).

well obviously I've never ridden a heavy full sus, hence this post for help m8. this is why I was asking people for help on looking for something lighter. thanks for your reply. if you've got any advice please feel free to ad it's most welcome.

What I was trying to say was your not going to find a full sus much lighter (if at all) than the XCR without spending quite a bit.
As the old saying goes... Lightweight, Cheap, Strong... choose 2.
As said in other posts, maybe an upgraded wheelset would suit you better?

nice one,, I just re-read my post, appologies if I may have come accross a tad heavy handed... I mean no bicep or quad measurements on here, that's for the roadies.

I get what you mean though,, cheers man,

G

pdid

Personally I think you'd be better served if you spent a bit of time on your fitness.

A new susser isn't going to be much (if any) lighter than your hardtail, and it won't make you a better rider. I recently bought a meta 5, it weighs a good 7lb more than my hardtail but it hasn't made me any slower. I have a half decent base of fitness, play footy once a week, mtb once a week and have a fairly active job.

Fitness is what you need to work on.

Anonymous

pdid wrote:

Personally I think you'd be better served if you spent a bit of time on your fitness.

A new susser isn't going to be much (if any) lighter than your hardtail, and it won't make you a better rider. I recently bought a meta 5, it weighs a good 7lb more than my hardtail but it hasn't made me any slower. I have a half decent base of fitness, play footy once a week, mtb once a week and have a fairly active job.

Fitness is what you need to work on.

I think the topic has gone off subject a little.

I will look at supersonics advice and his posts in the buying guide.,

Fitness is not the key here for me....

pdid

Sorry, didn`t mean to offend. It`s just thats the way it came across reading your first paragraph.