ns soda vs transition blindside

delcol

this is kinda a follow up to my thread a few weeks ago for a replacement for my demo.. (i new i would regreat selling the demo)
i did not manage to get a canyon torque as i could not afford it at the time and now they sold and wont be available in time for my trip to whistler, same with the yt tues it's sold out now.

so i have been looking at others and see the transition blindside,, and the ns soda fr..

so am after a few opinions both are very simlar bikes angles travel etc..

what would you go for and why.. ?

only thing putting me off the ns is the rear shock it's either a monarch plus r or a rocco tst.

leaflite

Im assuming that you were refering to the standard canyon torque(non frx, with the air shock)?
First impressions are that both seem very heavy compared to the canyon(the ns is 2-3kg heavier!) so if you plan on riding up any hills I would look elsewhere. To me, the canyon looks more "enduro" but the ns and blindside look more "pocket/single crown dh"
I think that the blindside seems closest to the torque due to the 2x10 etc, but has a heavier frame and worse spec. The soda looks burlier and will probably be better at dh tracks etc-just look at those 40mm stanchions! The 1x10 drivetrain is also probably best for going downhill.

The monarch plus rc3 gets excellent reviews, but im not sure about the R model.

The Northern Monkey

I'm waiting to try a Soda at my LBS... hopefully have them in soon.

One comment the owner said was that the soda builds out the box are heavy, although the frames are reasonable.
They have loads of adjustability which would be nice.

lawman

A soda would make a great frame only build, might be abit more, but a decent, light build would be more than doable if you spec it right

delcol

oooops should of been little bit clearer.. i asumed ppl would remeber my thread the other week about the canyon and the tues...

ok i am after a decent replacement for my demo 7 2 which i stupidly sold i knew i should'nt of sold it but being unemployed my hand were tied,, plus i never in a million years would of thought i would be doing whistler this year. ( untill the opportunity came my way but thats another story)
so i am after another play bike for the bike park so pref a single crown 180mm trav bike.. i was going to buy the canyon torque frx dropzone 8 as its amazing value for what you get ccdb shock and vanila rc2 kashimas.. but i could not get the money in time had to beg borrow and steal well not steal but you get the picture.
the transition would be a complete build as i seen a couple of last years bike on offer that i may be able to stretch to will mean borrowing a little more money though..
if i go for the ns it will be frame only and i will spec it as best i can with deals from the usual suspects ebay and friends in bike shops...
like i said oooop top my only concern with the ns is the shock options the rocco tst is typical marzocc crap from what i read leaks knocks and blows up...
and the other option is the monarch airshock.. now i aint a big fan on air shocks (i replaced the rp23 on my butcher with an elka stage 5 the rp23 never been ridden) and the monarch shock is only the r version so its basic..
would prefare it to have a fox dhx coil shock or simlar..
the only pedaling will be from the chalet to the lift..
so i would be running it with one ring up front and more than likly 9spd at the rear.

leaflite

You could always flog the marzocchi/rs and swap it for your preferred rear shock. As you dont plan on riding it up any hills, weight isnt critical so I would probably try and organise a demo and see which one rides best.

delcol

wish i could demo them to make up my mind. but there's no shops round here that either to demo..

really dont know which one to go for oth have there good points and bad points..

jairaj

transition have a demo fleet that dealer can loan bikes from. do you have a transition dealer nearby? I think there is also a transition demo day at forest of dean coming up soon.

delcol

not sure were my nearest transition dealer is with out checking on their website.. forest of dean is tad to far for me to demo a bike i ooooooooooooooooooopp north..

leaflite

Not sure if you are sorted now, but just spotted these on pauls cycles:
http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s1p3503
http://paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s1p2789