Rockshox 2014

DCR00

RockmonkeySC wrote:

To be fast you need to be very fit (XC racers and roadies won't believe that though).

Amen to this. I considered myself to be relatively fit and strong until i spent a day at Antur. Within 3-4 runs my lower back and calves were on fire, and the next day i was in a lot of pain. Hard on the body piloting a bike at speed over that sort of terrain, and nothing at all like trail riding.

And i dont even race... :shock:

rockmonkeysc

DCR00 wrote:

RockmonkeySC wrote:

To be fast you need to be very fit (XC racers and roadies won't believe that though).

Amen to this. I considered myself to be relatively fit and strong until i spent a day at Antur. Within 3-4 runs my lower back and calves were on fire, and the next day i was in a lot of pain. Hard on the body piloting a bike at speed over that sort of terrain, and nothing at all like trail riding.

And i dont even race... :shock:

That's not the worst bit, relaxing really helps. Sprinting on a DH bike is hard work and if you want to be fast you need to be sprinting at every possible opportunity.

DCR00

I need to work on that. Still have death grip on the bars....

rockmonkeysc

Relax and let the bike move around. You will be faster and won't get as tired. i find that having one finger covering the brake stops me tensing up.

gt-arrowhead

RockmonkeySC wrote:

GT-Arrowhead wrote:

Northwind wrote:

Yah, I'm barely faster on a dh bike than on my trailbike, the limiting factor's the pilot

Im pretty surprised to hear that trial bikes are really good on DH tracks. Isnt the geometry on the frames different?

I have no clue AT ALL about geometry but ive read about people saying that if you put the wrong fork on it ruins the geometry or if you use a bike with the wrong geometry it handles shoot and all the rest of it. I dont know what they are talking about tbh LOL.

It depends what you call a downhill track. The forest of dean downhill trails are really tame and just as easy on a trail bike as a downhill bike. A lot of UK DH tracks like that are pretty tame. Ride something like Super Tavi or Egypt at Gawton or some of the big Welsh tracks (not Cwmcarn!) or Fort William and you will then understand why you need a DH bike. The speed you can carry through the really tech stuff on a DH bike is far higher than most people can manage on a trail bike.
DH bikes are a lot of fun to ride, you can get up some ridiculous speeds through really rocky & rooty trails and they soak up big drops and jumps really well and you can be as aggressive as you want with them. But they are very expensive, you regularly break expensive parts like chain devices and wheels and suspension needs really looking after and it's unlikely that you frame will last more than three or four years of hard racing.
Racing is huge fun but the difference between a fast weekend rider who just does uplifts and a competitive racer is quite surprising. Before I started racing I was keeping up with the fast riders on uplift days and it's taken me two years of racing and regular training to even get mid field results. To be fast you need to be very fit (XC racers and roadies won't believe that though).

I noticed the huge amount of speed people were carrying down huge flights of steps in that video i mentioned earlier, the one where they cycle on a street DH track in chile. It was most definitely the one thing that i noticed to be the most noticeable. I dont know what bike he was on though as he didnt mention it anywhere or see the whole thing in the video since it was an onboard. Judging by the cockpit only though it looked to be very very expensive. The fork has huge too, so definitely must have cost a fortune.

Ive noticed that DH bikes and parts are really expensive in general as appose to trail bikes. As others said its the same with most bike types but DH has stood out in terms of price for me. And as you said, will be massively expensive to keep them going.

Fitness will definitely be a limiting factor for me. I dont think ill do too bad once i start training and getting out on the tracks and stuff though.

gt-arrowhead

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Relax and let the bike move around. You will be faster and won't get as tired. i find that having one finger covering the brake stops me tensing up.

Thats a really good point. I do let my bike do that, especially since its rigid. I pull up ever so slightly when going over a small bumb or anything of that sort rather than sitting down on it and letting it find its own way over. Definitely makes you faster. And i always find it doesnt sound so harsh on the bike.

pesky_jones

Does anybody know when these will be on sale? specfically the pike? bfe3 in gritstone with the pike would be awesome

jairaj

I believe the Pike should be available from May.