Old bighit?

dhutch

Im posting this in the noob section as although ive dont a fair bit of biking im new to fuss-suss and down hill moving from a rockhopper.

I have a week in Morzine (alps) booked and have just found out a colleague at work has got a bighit for sale, circa 2005 vintage, been to morzine a few times but relativly lightly used, and garaged for the last two years. Plenty of upgrades including Shivers front forks, decent rear shock (apprently) double wall rims, etc. Mine, with a bike bag and some armour that might even fit, for £500.

Not quite sure what frame size it is ashe is maybe 5ft 10 and im more like 6ft2 but I can ask.

Just wondering how an older bike would compair to say a simular price spent on a 2008/09 sort of age bike?
And any info specific to the bighit, or any other bike options for that sort of money.

Im not quite sure about going so downhill focused, rather than something more all mountain like a pitch, but i will be keeping the rockhopper I think so dont need anything with super pedal efficeny.


Daniel

cycleclinic

If he is 5ft 10 and you 6ft2 then it is unlikely the bike will be a good fit. My wife is only two inches shorter than me but fits perfectly on a 17" Orange P7, I take a 19" with a totaly different stem to make it right for me.

supersonic

thecycleclinic wrote:

If he is 5ft 10 and you 6ft2 then it is unlikely the bike will be a good fit. My wife is only two inches shorter than me but fits perfectly on a 17" Orange P7, I take a 19" with a totaly different stem to make it right for me.

Is impossible to say unless he can try it. Frame size and your height is a very, very general correlation, especially when there are so many other measurements on a frame.

dhutch

Some advice on what the fit of a full-suss should be would be useful but in the main im wondering is (assuming the size is ok) a 2004 big hit a sensible thing to buy for £500 and take to morzine? What should i look out for?

Im told the stanchion on the shivers need to be in good condition, anything else?

How much has the technology in a downhill bike changed in the last half decade?


Daniel

Dirtrider

I had a 2004 big hit and they are good bikes.

It depends on the condition of the bike, if its a shed, leave it

cooldad

Ride it first.

styxd

As long as its all in good working order, for £500 its sounds great (especially if you get the armour and bike bag)

But

Make sure it is working properly! The last thing you want is to get out to morzine and find the brakes a shite or the shocks blown etc. etc.

If you didnt want to keep it, you could sell it on for around £500 when you got back. Marzocchi shivers are decent forks and fetch an alrite amount of money on ebay.

Jedi

it will have a 24" rear wheel. the size difference aint much between med/large at all. i have one for couple of years. great bikes.

felix.london

Spent the whole of last season in the Alps with my 2006 'hopper. Good fun, rode most of my local DH tracks with no problems at all. Although getting a DH bike for this season

Are you gonna ride lots of DH in the UK too? If not maybe just rent a bike once your over here?

bluechair84

BigHit - one scary heavy mutha! I was forced to rent one in Fort William when I crashed and wrote off my forks. Stopping distances were long, cornering was hard and manualing over rocks was impossible (for me). The Big hit required such different technique that I got no joy from it what-so-ever. I'd recommend the bike you're used to! 500 quid seems good, but also, if it is a heavy beast, will your baggage allowance let you take it (don't forget to take into account the weight of the bag)?
My advice would be; if you were a DHer anyway then it would seem like a decent purchase. But if your skills are more based around an XC bike, something like the Pitch might serve you better. Could you really take advantage of the weight and travel - or would it just be a constant unfamiliar hinderance? Why not test ride it at a local DH track and see what it feels like (as others have suggested to solve the sizing query).

dhutch

styxd wrote:

As long as its all in good working order, for £500 its sounds great (especially if you get the armour and bike bag)

But, Make sure it is working properly! The last thing you want is to get out to morzine and find the brakes a shite or the shocks blown etc. etc.

bluechair84 wrote:

BigHit - one scary heavy mutha!

My advice would be; if you were a DHer anyway then it would seem like a decent purchase. But if your skills are more based around an XC bike, something like the Pitch might serve you better. Could you really take advantage of the weight and travel - or would it just be a constant unfamiliar hinderance? Why not test ride it at a local DH track and see what it feels like (as others have suggested to solve the sizing query).

Its certainly my intention to ensure its in good working order, as although the price is good if it is (and i expect from whats said, it is) the cost of servicing the forks/shock alone wipe all of that out. But the bonus is its local to visit, and I may even be able to trial it for a weekend at stainburn.

Clearly the rockhopper (beautiful bike, fwiw) is a much lighter bike, and I do really like it for that, and I am a little worried i will find the bighit huge and heavy. However on the flipside, I will be keeping the rockhopper, and would have time between now and morzine (august) to get used to it on the local trails. I would then expect to swap between the RH and the BH depending where im going and with whom, but only time will tell.


Daniel

Northwind

bluechair84 wrote:

BigHit - one scary heavy mutha! I was forced to rent one in Fort William when I crashed and wrote off my forks. Stopping distances were long, cornering was hard and manualing over rocks was impossible (for me). The Big hit required such different technique that I got no joy from it what-so-ever.

To be fair, the Offbeat bighits were always incredibly screwed, which didn't help.

bluechair84

Maybe, seemed fine upon inspection. The Juicy 3s were probably never going to stop that beast anyway, so saying 'long stopping distances' is certainly more the fault of the crap spec!

dhutch

Just thought I would post and update as I did in the end buy the bike.

Cracking purchase, not looked back in the slightest, had a few weekends on it in the UK to get the rough feel of it before flying its 21kg bulk out to the land of uplifts, where is did my properly proud. Totally bomb proof, having done nothing other than change the perished tubes and tyres and rear shifter cable before going I did nothing all week and didnt need to. Bonus.

Rode it a bit in the UK since, and am going out to the alps again this year. Planning to change the still barely used but now quite old El Caminos for some Shimano Zee's for a bit more power, as because my mate needed some brakes for his girlfriends bike but thats it. In the mean time my mate with Pitch snapped the rear link and had to hire a Scott at £100 a day, gutted, if replaced under warranted, he now has a new Kona Entourage, which if nothing else, means I often get to ride the pitch when were in the UK!

I've even convinced my mate to buy one for for himself.


Daniel

bennett_346

bluechair84 wrote:

Maybe, seemed fine upon inspection. The Juicy 3s were probably never going to stop that beast anyway, so saying 'long stopping distances' is certainly more the fault of the crap spec!

Well there's your problem. They're shit!

Big hit itself is an OK bike, and a good deal if it fits and all works for £500.

bluechair84

Yup, certainly is, and clearly the OP loves it!

Yacoby

felix.london wrote:

Spent the whole of last season in the Alps with my 2006 'hopper.

OT: The issue I found with riding hardtails (on DH tracks) was that they took so much more out of me. I suppose if I were fitter though...

welshkev

bluechair84 wrote:

BigHit - one scary heavy mutha! I was forced to rent one in Fort William when I crashed and wrote off my forks. Stopping distances were long, cornering was hard and manualing over rocks was impossible (for me). The Big hit required such different technique that I got no joy from it what-so-ever. ).

I have a 2010 big hit. I love mine

bluechair84

You're probably a better rider than me then I couldn't handle the damn thing!

nicklouse

welshkev wrote:

I have a 2010 big hit. I love mine

would not call that an old one.

the old one had a 24" rear wheel.

Twelly

After reading this, I immediately visited the bay to see if I could also buy a Big Hit for £500 and found this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Specialized-B ... 2c6e529240

Made me lol

bennett_346

Special Needs Big Sh*t

Northwind

Some people deserve the terrible price they're going to get for their auction stuff :shock: But that doesn't look bad at all other than the daft cosmetics, it'll probably do someone great as a cheap downhill basher... I'd wonder how well he's looked after it mind.

cooldad

Perfect commuter bike.

Twelly

It has now gone on my watch list.

I've always wanted a 'DH commuting bike'

On a serious note, strip the shite off and it could be a bargain!

Twelly

Tempted to ask if it has pannier mounts

welshkev

nicklouse wrote:

welshkev wrote:

I have a 2010 big hit. I love mine

would not call that an old one.

the old one had a 24" rear wheel.

well, it's 3 year old yeah mine is the newer frame that looks more like the status