Downhill bikes

DodgeT

OK, so, winding back a bit. The main contenders seem to be;

canyon torque, approx 5 weeks wait, £1670 ish, 17.5ish KG (inc pedals)
yt tues, approx 7wks wait, £1500 ish, 19KG (inc pedals)
yt tues 2.0, approx 7wks wait, £2k, 17 KG (inc pedals)
norco aurum 2, approx 2wks wait, £2k, 18KG (inc pedals)
nukeproof scalp, approx 1wk wait, £2030, 19.5KG (inc pedals)

Bearing in mind what I've said before about not racing / doing massive stuff, just weekend warrior type DH person, am I honestly going to see any/much difference in any of the above bikes, apart from some being shinier/lighter than others.
For places like Stile Cop, Antur Stiniog, Cwm Carn etc. i'm sure they'd all cope just fine.

Is approx 2kg weight difference going to matter?

I was swinging towards the basic tues as they were showing stock, but just gone back on and showing 7wks (5 +2 for delivery) wait so that's scuppered that plan.


Edit to add - just had a good chat with one of the guys at YT. He's basically advised me that the basic Tues is the one to go for (after I explained a bit about my riding etc.). Reckon's that they are great bikes unless your pretty much a racer/expert, then the 2.0 would be better.
Muchos thanks to the guy as he's saved me £500 and i'll be placing my order soon.
Only downside is that they will definately not be available sooner than about 6 wks
But another plus is that apparently they are sticking some better cranksets on the basic tues, which will bring the weight down a tad.

felix.london

Having just done my first season of DH (on a proper bike) this is what I've learnt

#1 - My bike weighs in at 16.6kg and I wouldn't want it much heavier than that. I'd say 17.5kg would be max. for me

#2 - Same with any MTB - get the best forks you can afford

#3 - Brakes are your friends, again better to spend some extra and have a good set imo

I think I could get on just fine with any bike that meets these 3 criteria. The rest of it imo is less important and just down to personal preference

bluechair84

I've an older Torque, the 170mm version as was in a similar predicament to you a year ago. I had a nice hardtail and a 150mm trail bike. I ended up beefing up the Moment to become a more competent DH bike; wheels, forks, tyres and shock. Whilst I was learning to ride DH properly I became concerned that all my shit riding was going to knacker a perfectly capable trail frame. So the HT was sold off, the moment was rebuilt as a trail bike once more and I bought a Torque frame.
The few things I can tell you, AM bikes like the Enduro are all very capable and new forks, wheels, tyres will make a competent odd DH run bike. I'm not faster through the corners on the Torque than I was on the Moment, I just get away with poorly judge landings better. I'm 5'10" and feel my Torque is a tad too big for DH so should have picked up a small. I'm also making a few changes to try and make it more DH friendly but I doubt the addition of some old boxxers will transform it, so I'll probably swap it out next year for a DH specific frame. As it is currently built, it makes a great big hitting all rounder, I can ride it and pedal it anywhere so it isn't limited to DH runs.

felix.london

DodgeT wrote:

Edit to add - just had a good chat with one of the guys at YT. He's basically advised me that the basic Tues is the one to go for (after I explained a bit about my riding etc.). Reckon's that they are great bikes unless your pretty much a racer/expert, then the 2.0 would be better.
Muchos thanks to the guy as he's saved me £500 and i'll be placing my order soon.
Only downside is that they will definitely not be available sooner than about 6 wks
But another plus is that apparently they are sticking some better cranksets on the basic tues, which will bring the weight down a tad.

Hmm, fair enough - it's a lot of money but personally I'd say the £475 is worth is just for the 2kg weight saving, the better, more adjustable fork and the far superior brakes - basically the 3 things in my 'list of important stuff' - that's not even counting the superior shock...but hey - you get what you pay for I guess and let's face it £1500 odd is pretty amazing for brand new DH bike

DodgeT

@ bluechair - similar kind of thinking then, wanting a "proper" Dh bike to give the extra confidence too as they are designed for going down....

@ felix - you make some valid points, however our riding will be completely different. You have lift accessed routes available to you daily/weekly and probably get a lot of time riding, so hopefully know what your doing.
I'm going to be riding a few spots, every other week or so and just want to be able to have fun.
Again the argument for the extra £500 for the 2.0 is probably valid, however, if I get into that game, you could then say, ah, but for another £500 and so on....

End of the day i'm going to go with the basic tues. £1500 for a brand new DH bike is insane. It's got some great reviews. Hell, the guy could of sold me the 2.0, they're both on the same lead time so it's not like he had anything to gain by selling me the cheaper but old stock tues, as its not old stock, they're coming from the new batch.
His words were something like " the tues you can get on, ride and have a lot of fun and go fast easily. The 2.0 is more geared for the advanced rider" That does it for me

felix.london

Fair play to ya!

Anyway - your bike will arrive mid-October so at least pushing the extra 2kg up your local hill will keep you warm

Seriously though - it does sound like an amazing bike for the price so I'm sure you wont be disappointed...fun will be had either way which is what it's all about - and this way you've got an extra monkey in your pocket...happy days

DodgeT

Ordered Roughly £1560 delivered. Going to be a long few weeks..


Quantity Product Product.Nr. Single price Total price
1.00 xTues, large 20121003 1.899,00 EUR* 1.899,00 EUR*

Subtotal: 1.899,00 EUR*
Shipping & Packaging Bikes EU: 64,80 EUR*
VAT. 19%: 313,55 EUR*
Total: 1.963,80 EUR

Proutster

DodgeT wrote:

Ordered Roughly £1560 delivered. Going to be a long few weeks..

Good man!!

You'll soon be flying down the Macc Forest DH tracks, just remember to get some Wet Screams or Swampthings ordered for the 6 months from when it arrives until the forest starts to dry out a bit.....

felix.london

DodgeT wrote:

Ordered Roughly £1560 delivered. Going to be a long few weeks..

Nice work!

bluechair84

Best get some pictures up when it gets there!

DodgeT

Got a mail today saying it'll be despatched wk 40

Then just got a CRC mail and the scalp is now £1799.... and i'm off to Antur Stiniog next saturday.... and the scalp is in stock... and I hate waiting....

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ilovedirt

Haha, typical. I'd have the YT over a scalp anyway.