what bike would be best for me
punctureboy
Posts: 217
i currently ride a spec hopper disc 08, but i'm thinking about getting a full suss. the 2 bikes i'm looking at are the cannondale prophet 2, and the lappierre zesty 314.
i ride xc and enjoy looong rides but also try to get to trail centres or at least challenging routes a few times a month to keep myself learning. i'm 6'4" and weigh 18 stone, and hope to not just be rolling drop offs by the summer.
are either of these bikes good/ necessary for my needs? is the zesty worth the extra outlay? i want something strong enough and with enough travel to cope with my weight, but i dont want to overdo the travel for my style of riding.
by the way i hate the styling of the prophet, god knows what they were thinking!
i ride xc and enjoy looong rides but also try to get to trail centres or at least challenging routes a few times a month to keep myself learning. i'm 6'4" and weigh 18 stone, and hope to not just be rolling drop offs by the summer.
are either of these bikes good/ necessary for my needs? is the zesty worth the extra outlay? i want something strong enough and with enough travel to cope with my weight, but i dont want to overdo the travel for my style of riding.
by the way i hate the styling of the prophet, god knows what they were thinking!
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Comments
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Take alook at the Orang 5 or Orange Blood and the Trek Remedy 8 or 9
Santa Cruz Heckler0 -
most of those are way above what i want to pay. i was initially wanted the prophet, then wondered if it would be worth paying out the extra for the lappierre. i would certainly consider the orange 5 although it would be the basic model in my price range. is this still well specced?0
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Hi punctureboy I've looked at both the bikes you've mentioned and ridden one here's my 2p worth. Just for reference I'm 5'7'' and about 15 stone with all my riding kit, I mostly ride local welsh trail centres (afan/GC) and a regular 10mile xc ride from my back door.
Looked at the Prophet 1 nice spec, but I too don't like the styling. Haven't ridden one as my lbs didn't have a medium and they are not sure when they will be back in stock. Weight wise I think it was just over the 30lb mark.
I rode the zesty 314 at this weekends Demo day. Looks really nice and is light and looks like it will take a beating, tyres didn't give me much confidence (race kings) in the wet, but it climbed really well. Descended okay (better trail orientated tyres would have improved this).
The rear shock doesn't have propedal, but i don't think it really needed it, very little peddle bob on the climbs. The guys on the tent set the shock up quite firm and I used all the travel on the 45 min bast round the course. The 140 Fox's on the front felt nice and plush but I had ridden two 160mm travel bikes before this one and preferred the extra 20mm on the downs.
I'm looking for something that I can hammer on the downs and still comfortably pedal back up (eg Trek Remedy which I tried and was amazed by how well it climbed for a 160mm travel bike).
If your mostly going to do xc long rides with a few trail centres thrown in i would definately recommend demoing a zesty and getting the shock and fork set to your riding weight by the shop before you take it out. The only major change might be the tyres for wet muddy rides. (Theres a review of the zesty in this months wmb).
A few others that might be worth looking at: Cube ams 125 K18 or XT amazing kit for the prices, also Cube Stereo K18.0 -
Don't take this the wrong way, I'm just wondering if something like the Zesty is going to like hammering off drop-offs if you are 18 stone? (this is purely in a 'will the bike be up for it' sort of way). I don't know, but maybe somebody will have a point of view on this who'd be in the know?
I know its going to handle swooping over trails add day long but lets say that you soon start belting over rocky stuff, roots, jumps,drops and things with the odd tumble here and there and start enjoying slightly tougher trails?
It makes me wonder if a more agressive bike like the Remedy 8 might be more 'up for it' (admittedly its more relaxed geometry but Id ride one all day long) and they're practically 30lb in weight which isn't far off 26lb especially if you're a strong guy who's gonna weigh 250lb in the noody plus clothes and kit? I mean an 18 stone excitable rugby player up for hammering it I reckon could break a Zesty. (another thought would be last years Enduro Expert which seem to be going for about £1500 if you can still find one or the Remedy 8 from last year, the orange one with the Lyric fork, thats been seen at just a tiny bit more.)0 -
thanks for your comments guys. the remedy 8 2008 looks decent. it is a bit heavier but would i notice much difference at my size? by the way i'm not a complete lard arse, i'm pretty stocky built with my 6'4" frame!
am i really going to wreck a zesty though? i dont think i'll ever take on anything over 2-3 ft and i've jumped off walls about this height on my 'hopper. the worst i've had is a couple of snapped spokes hitting the trail centres hard, which a stronger back wheel has sorted. surely any decent rear suss would eliminate this.
i dont plan to do any hardcore downhilling i just want something to cope with the worst a trail centre cross country run can throw at me. dont forget i will be doing longer rides as well. plus i love to leave people in my dust on the ups!
i'm not dismissing the remedy, i just would prefer to have something lighter if it can cope.0 -
On the Trek web site the frame looks tough
The Orange 5 frame is built much stronger than its designed for
so can be ridden hard
Normally people who buy the basic package use the upgrade option
list to change the Forks to a Fox, a must change really.
But a sound frame you can upgrade through time.
Best to get to test all bikes and re-test them again & again until your
happy.0 -
at the mo i think i'm going to test ride a zesty and an orange 5. this is not a desperate purchase but i'm getting impatient as usual lol! having to force myself to not just rush out and buy the first thing i see0
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I would say try and ride all three (orange, lapierre and trek) and don't be put off by the suggested weights on websites/reviews. After riding the Remedy then straight onto the zesty at Afan I didn't notice any difference between the two climbing. Even though there is about 3-4lbs difference between them.
Let us know how you get on.0