Decisions

Dobelerone

Can anyone help i am upgrading to a full suss and have 2 bikes in mind,Specialized FSR XC Expert or a Cannondale Prophet 2 but have been put off the Prophet by friends regarding the spares and parts that are supposed to be hard to source,most people are advising that the Specialized parts are standardised and very easy to get hold of whereas the Cannondale parts are specific to Cannondale and difficult to obtain,any ideas anyone? :?

supersonic

Two different bikes really. The prophert is heavier, has a more travel and a beefier thru axle fork. Do you need all that for your riding?

Dobelerone

Thanks Supersonic,I live near the lake district so most of my riding is done round there North face,Lawson Park,i ride a hardrock at the moment and find it hard to keep up with my mates on the downhills on their full sussers,i realise it is a bit heavier,not much,but as i said i was really impressed with the Spesh,are the forks capable of big downhills? but my main concern was the parts issue

supersonic

Depends how you define downhills, but the Tora on the FSR will be fine for modest rocks and well landed smallish jumps and drops.

The prophet has preety standard parts looking at the spec! Easily swapped, changed.

Dobelerone

Thanks again,the fork on the Fsr is a Recon,i'm presuming this is a step above the Tora's and able to handle bigger stuff. regarding jumps etc,its nothing too extreme,as yet,so i'm assuming the Prophet is more angled towards downhill than xc?

supersonic

Recon is the next model up, lighter, but paradoxically the Tora's steel upper legs makes them a bit stiffer and stronger. Still a good fork.

The fork on the prophet has reinforced aluminium uppers and crown, more travel and a stiffer bolt thru axle so designed for heavier riding. Not DH, but certainly rougher conditions.

Dobelerone

Thanks for the info,but still can't decide,i'll probably see how the Prophet rides on tuesday,i suppose its 6 of one,half a dozen of the other,i'm leaning towards the spesh purely cos of weight issues though i suppose a couple of pounds is not much considering the amount of riding i do(mainly weekends).I've had a couple of specializeds with no major problems but really like the look of the Prophet as its a bit different

supersonic

Test is best!

Dobelerone

ok mate,thanks for all the help and i'll post in the future about my choice and how it performs,cheers.

supersonic

Cool, good luck!

Dobelerone

Tested a Cube 100 ams today very impressed but did feel quite stiff on the back end and only 4" of travel,due to test Fsr xc Pro on friday and the Prophet tomorrow,still very confused :?

Dobelerone

after riding the Prophet 2 today i have to say it felt much better than the cube,a lot more give front and back and a much more comfortable riding position,D-Day tomorrow after i've ridden the Spesh

Dobelerone

well went to ride the Spesh today and that was game over,nothing came close to it,but tried the top of the range Pro instead of the Expert,a couple of hundred quid more but a little better kit. The only trouble is the guy in the LBS had just sold his last one in a medium,now i'm sweating to see if he can source me one,keep your fingers crossed.I do like the cyclescheme but every year there is a shortfall of bikes around this time.Come on please find me a nice little Spesh.

Chaz.Harding

Good choice.

There's a million threads about the Specialized bikes on here (search!!).

I'm sure Sheepsteeth would approve (he has 5 Specialized bikes!!)

I've had 3, and they've all been awesome. Keep us updated, and pics when you get it! 8)

Dobelerone

Excellent news Biketreks at Ambleside have managed to source me the bike,can't praise this shop enough,very helpful and great communication,highly reccomended for anyone wanting info,purchasing and advice on bikes etc.Just got to wait for my cycle to work voucher to come through WHOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dobelerone

Rode the bike for the first time this weekend,absolutely over the moon with the choice,a lot less hammer on the body than a hardtail.