downhill/freeride

burgess87

hi guys its my first post on here,
basically few friends are into downhill free ride and have full suspension bikes not hardcore cause they have only been doin it for 8 or so months. what it is is that I'm used to hard tail frames and personally feel i can control the bike a lot better but thats prob just cause I'm not used to full s, so i kinda wanna stick to hard tail for a little while and get a feel for the free ride and downhill side cause I'm not gonna be coin massive jumps or drops as yet so kinda just want some direction on what frame to get and should i go for quite a big travel on the front forks.
thanks

YeehaaMcgee

define "downhill freeride".
It would appear that most people's definition of DH/freeride is actually just normal trail riding.

burgess87

I'm fairly new to this type of riding usually a road rider but looking for some more adrenaline haha. my friends go to a downhill sort of circuit point a to b and to the top again c the course has drops and jumps and rock carpets so i guess downhill if that sounds right I'm not to sure.

YeehaaMcgee

Ride back to the top?

1mancity2

DH is rough and the drops are usually 3ft or more and jumps can range vastly but a small one would be 3ft high and 15ft long, Freeride is bigger drops and northshore type stuff with the jumps being more designed for tricks.

and you won't usually ride back up.

burgess87

Ah right that explains a lot then erm I would say its not dh then cause the drops aren't that big prob 2 foot at best and the jumps are minimal really but enough for a beginner lets say. But you certainly can't ride back up where I go. Just been up today with friends and was on both fs and ht bikes the fa felt safe and easier but the ht I got more of a rush and felt like I could cope with it if that makes sense

nicklouse

What were the bikes?

As for example a fully could be a 100mm XC race bike or a 300mm free ride monster or anything inbetween.

burgess87

They Were both konas one was a stinky full suspension 2008 model and the other one was a chute. I been looking at a ragley mmmbop what do you know of them any good or what

1mancity2

Stinky is a FR/DH bike so will eat small drops and jumps, mmmbop will cope easily with 2ft drops etc.

burgess87

Ah right cool sounds like I will go for the mmmbop then. Spotted some 160mm forks on the Internet do you reckon they are right one to get and also can you recommend some good wheels as I wanna spend a bit of extra cash on the wheels and that. I'm building my bike up by the way

nicklouse

i would not put 160mm forks on a ragley mmmbop. 140mm yes.

1mancity2

nicklouse wrote:

i would not put 160mm forks on a ragley mmmbop. 140mm yes.

+1

Rock shok Revs, and look at superstar for wheels

burgess87

Just out of curiosity why not 160 shox for what reason.

1mancity2

burgess87 wrote:

Just out of curiosity why not 160 shox for what reason.

Too long, handling will be poor, the frame is best suited to a 140mm fork.

rockmonkeysc

mmmbop will cope easily with 2ft drops etc.

My grans shopping bike will cope with 2 foot drops. A Mmmbop will be fine on 10 foot drops if you land them right.

It's not just jumps that make a DH track. Some of the ugliest DH trails I have done haven't really had any jumps.
Mmmbop isn't great for DH, it's a really harsh ride and likely to crack. I started out with a On One 456 Summer Season with 160mm Rockshox Domains, some used DH wheels and good solid components. I rode 8 foot drops on it, loads of jumps, did plenty of uplift days with it, raced it, and did a couple sessions with a freeride legend at the local quarry. It was more fun than the full suspension Giant Reign X I replaced it with! The 456SS frame is absolutely solid, I couldn't break the bugger.
Only problem with starting out on a hardtail is there is less room for error, get your line wrong & you can end up in a world of pain. In two years I fractured 2 ribs, fractured a wrist, dislocated a shoulder, broke a collar bone and separated a shoulder, broke a couple fingers as well as on every ride lots of cuts & bruises. So much fun though
Have a look for a used 456 Summer Season, DMR Trailstar or Cotic BFe

burgess87

Thanks for the input there that kinda helps I wasn't sure about the mmmbop just heard good things about it but it's an aluminium frame isn't it I think ha so that what was putting me off. What sort of forks can you get on the Cotic bfe or max you can get away with.

angry_bird

160mm on a BFe if you wanted to

Also, long travel hardtails are lots of fun.

1mancity2

burgess87 wrote:

Ah right that explains a lot then erm I would say its not dh then cause the drops aren't that big prob 2 foot at best and the jumps are minimal really but enough for a beginner lets say. But you certainly can't ride back up where I go. Just been up today with friends and was on both fs and ht bikes the fa felt safe and easier but the ht I got more of a rush and felt like I could cope with it if that makes sense

Thats why I said 2ft drops..

burgess87

1mancity2 yeah Mate I know I'm just thinking long term really cause I ain't planning on moving to a fs and with the mmmbop being aluminium not hundred percent it will hold up for long I mean Im bound to fall off and it only takes one fall and snap the frames gone. Cotic is steel isn't it not sure haven't really read up on them and steel is easier to repair and a lot tougher isn't it so long term not sure on the mmmbop

cooldad

Bollocks, absolute bollocks. Steel is no tougher than aluminium. Depends on the type of steel/aluminium, the design, the build etc.
I think you will find DH bikes are mainly alumium.
I bet most people on here have crashed and their frames are fine.

bennett_346

Well, while we're on the subject i've broken more steel frames than i have aluminium frames...

burgess87

Suppose so valid point but from what I have read and heard off ppl is that frame of the bike in question mmmbop is aluminium and is not as strong as the other bike Cotic which is made of steel so in this case steel is stronger

YeehaaMcgee

People talk a lot of nonsense.

burgess87

Who, why haha

cooldad

YeehaaMcgee wrote:

People talk a lot of nonsense.

Ah but these are ppl, and ppl are always right.

1mancity2

My jump bike is steel, and my Reign is Ally, the Reign takes more abuse than the steel bike, any bike no matter what material can be cracked.

styxd

Bollocks, absolute bollocks. Steel is no tougher than aluminium. Depends on the type of steel/aluminium, the design, the build etc.
I think you will find DH bikes are mainly alumium.

Yes, steel is definitely tougher than aluminium. I dont know why you're mentioning downhill bikes, they've usually got 8 inches of travel and fat tyres and are ridden downhill by over weight mincers.

BMX is surely the ultimate test of toughness, and guess what? They're all made from steel

1mancity2

styxd wrote:

[BMX is surely the ultimate test of toughness, and guess what? They're all made from steel

and rigid, and hurt like hell when you come off (which I do regular)

cooldad

styxd wrote:

Bollocks, absolute bollocks. Steel is no tougher than aluminium. Depends on the type of steel/aluminium, the design, the build etc.
I think you will find DH bikes are mainly alumium.

Yes, steel is definitely tougher than aluminium. I dont know why you're mentioning downhill bikes, they've usually got 8 inches of travel and fat tyres and are ridden downhill by over weight mincers.

BMX is surely the ultimate test of toughness, and guess what? They're all made from steel

Because he said this

burgess87 wrote:

1mancity2 yeah Mate I know I'm just thinking long term really cause I ain't planning on moving to a fs and with the mmmbop being aluminium not hundred percent it will hold up for long I mean Im bound to fall off and it only takes one fall and snap the frames gone. Cotic is steel isn't it not sure haven't really read up on them and steel is easier to repair and a lot tougher isn't it so long term not sure on the mmmbop

Which is bollocks.

styxd

You've got a point!

rockmonkeysc

Aluminium works well on DH full sus bikes because the frame doesn't get the same shock loads that a hardtail gets, aluminium doesn't cope as well as steel with repeated shock loadings. Also a welded (repaired) aluminium frame will never be as strong as before but you can TIG weld a steel frame as many times as you want.
This is why most long travel (160mm+) hardtails are steel.
It does take a lot to snap most aluminium frames and any frame will snap if you abuse it enough.