Prototype enduro bike's galore!

CitizenLee

I really like it! I think it's the carbon one too.

These are the first Megas I've liked since the 2012 models.

lawman

CitizenLee wrote:

I really like it! I think it's the carbon one too.

These are the first Megas I've liked since the 2012 models.

Can't remember where I saw them but I've seen better pics of the green bike and it's not carbon. Tbf I be surprised if they did carbon at all, I know they do a carbon bar but I don't think carbon frames would fit with their brand ideology somehow. I'd love to be proved wrong though!

benpinnick

If you like the green you're gonna love the new Bird Aeris

lawman

Bird should be teasing their new FS frame today according to a comment I saw on Facebook, so keep an eye out for that!

benpinnick

Bold colours and simple graphics is very 2015 ... I hope.

CitizenLee

lawman wrote:

CitizenLee wrote:

I really like it! I think it's the carbon one too.

These are the first Megas I've liked since the 2012 models.

Can't remember where I saw them but I've seen better pics of the green bike and it's not carbon. Tbf I be surprised if they did carbon at all, I know they do a carbon bar but I don't think carbon frames would fit with their brand ideology somehow. I'd love to be proved wrong though!

Pretty sure it's been confirmed already that they're doing a carbon Mega and that the green one was a prototype (or at least the one ridden by Greg Callaghan is). Could be wrong though, but I guess we'll see soon enough.

rgasuk

They look very nice indeed

lawman

benpinnick wrote:

If you like the green you're gonna love the new Bird Aeris

We know it's coming so why not just spill the beans now! :P

benpinnick

All will be revealed by Friday!

ej2320

Those Nukeproofs actually look really good

Raw with blue decals.. Yes please

Angus Young

ej2320 wrote:

Those Nukeproofs actually look really good

Raw with blue decals.. Yes please

Mmm... they seem to have lost their distinct identity and now look just like any other bike. You could always pick a NP out at the briefest glance, not so much now.

felix.london

CitizenLee wrote:

lawman wrote:

CitizenLee wrote:

I really like it! I think it's the carbon one too.

These are the first Megas I've liked since the 2012 models.

Can't remember where I saw them but I've seen better pics of the green bike and it's not carbon. Tbf I be surprised if they did carbon at all, I know they do a carbon bar but I don't think carbon frames would fit with their brand ideology somehow. I'd love to be proved wrong though!

Pretty sure it's been confirmed already that they're doing a carbon Mega and that the green one was a prototype (or at least the one ridden by Greg Callaghan is). Could be wrong though, but I guess we'll see soon enough.

You can see the welds on that green one.

CitizenLee

felix.london wrote:

You can see the welds on that green one.

Haha, well spotted! I was just reporting what I read elsewhere. One of the guys that frequents the NukeProof thread on Pinkbike said the bright green mega is a carbon prototype and that he worked on the preproduction 3d printed frame. I suppose it doesn't have to be that one though. As I said, won't be long until we know for sure.

ej2320

Angus Young wrote:

ej2320 wrote:

Those Nukeproofs actually look really good

Raw with blue decals.. Yes please

Mmm... they seem to have lost their distinct identity and now look just like any other bike. You could always pick a NP out at the briefest glance, not so much now.

I suppose seeing a massive bright yellow bike monster trucking it's way towards you was the nukeproof identity, but a lot of people didn't like the styling

ej2320

Not enduro.. but I think this looks really really nice. Although it does remind me of the new Lapierre slightly

rockmonkeysc

ej2320 wrote:

Not enduro.. but I think this looks really really nice. Although it does remind me of the new Lapierre slightly

That's a bit of a high rise bar on there. I quite like the Pulse, mostly because it feels EXACTLY like a Scalp to ride. I can jump on my mates Pulse and other than him running slightly more low speed compression at the back it feels identical to my bike.
Im not convinced by 650b DH bikes. They don't seem overly popular with riders. Most interviews with racers I have read suggest it's no faster but they have them because that's the way things are going. The few racers I know who have them aren't impressed but have to ride what sponsors give them.

lawman

RockmonkeySC wrote:

Im not convinced by 650b DH bikes. They don't seem overly popular with riders. Most interviews with racers I have read suggest it's no faster but they have them because that's the way things are going. The few racers I know who have them aren't impressed but have to ride what sponsors give them.

But are they riding the same bikes designed around bigger wheels or using a completely different brand and bigger wheels? Of the 650b bikes I've ridden I've been pretty impressed by most of them, they still feel nimble and playful but you can notice a slight increase in rollover and they do seem to hold speed better. In DH terms I'd say the extra rollover is a bonus, especially when the courses get blown out and huge holes start to appear. Perhaps they aren't as good on the tighter tracks or as playful on bike park style runs, but the aim of most DH rigs these days is to get from top to bottom fast as possible and if it wasn't advantage at WC level they wouldn't be bothering.

supersonic

In DH terms I'd say the extra rollover is a bonus,

But then, of course, why not a 29er? Or maybe this is the holy grail? Would be pretty amazing to me to find that after 30 years of MTbing we were half an inch out ;-)

CitizenLee

supersonic wrote:

Would be pretty amazing to me to find that after 30 years of MTbing we were half an inch out ;-)

Haha, the whole wheel size debate summed up in one sentence

lawman

supersonic wrote:

In DH terms I'd say the extra rollover is a bonus,

But then, of course, why not a 29er? Or maybe this is the holy grail? Would be pretty amazing to me to find that after 30 years of MTbing we were half an inch out ;-)

Compromise innit If DH races were in a straight line than maybe a 29er DH bike would work, but the wheelbase and bar height would be insane and it just wouldn't work imo it's been tried and it didn't catch on.

Tbh I don't get the wheelsize debate or the hate against 650b, if the bike rides well and you enjoy riding it it makes feck all difference what size wheels it has. I've ridden a few great 650b bikes, I've ridden great 26" bikes and I've ridden some decent 29ers. Despite what people think consumers have so much choice these days it's pretty mind boggling. The only reason I can see people getting pissed off with the whole wheelsize is the spares debate, which I kinda get, but would something like that stop me buying a bike I liked with different sized wheel? Hell no

rockmonkeysc

The people I know who race 650b DH bikes are expert lever racers so a lot faster than most people. They don't think they are any faster on the rough stuff but more hard work in switchbacks and not as good in tech stuff. They are all on the 650b model of what they were riding last year.
Personally I can't tell the difference between 650b and 26" on DH bikes.
My DH bike cost me a lot of money so I won't be changing it any time soon and I have a pile of spare 26" Mavic EX721 rims (8 of them, long story) if I do manage to break my frame then I'm just upgrading to a Devinci Wilson 26" frame.

Trek tested 29er DH bikes a couple years ago. Apparently there was a lot of potty mouth language from Gwinn when asked what he thought.

felix.london

Did someone say Devinci?...

CitizenLee

I used to have a Rebok shellsuit in those colours.

rockmonkeysc

I want one of those and a 26" Wilson, both in carbon.
The Wilson is the best DH bike I have ever ridden.

Dick Scruttock

I will get my mate to ask a real pro what he thinks of his 650b downhill when he sees him. He is pretty qualified to say what he thinks and he does not mince his words.

Lewis A

supersonic wrote:

In DH terms I'd say the extra rollover is a bonus,

But then, of course, why not a 29er?

For half of the World Cup tracks this year you could probably be competitive on a 29" am bike. Didn't Graves come 3rd at the world champs last year on an sb95?

lawman

Lewis A wrote:

supersonic wrote:

In DH terms I'd say the extra rollover is a bonus,

But then, of course, why not a 29er?

For half of the World Cup tracks this year you could probably be competitive on a 29" am bike. Didn't Graves come 3rd at the world champs last year on an sb95?

He ran an SB66, so 26" wheels, Mitch Ropelato ran an Enduro 29er but crashed in finals having qualified 2nd. Aside from South Africa which is a pedal fest, I wouldn't want to run anything other than a full on DH for any of them. Sure the courses aren't as wild as they used to be, like champery, schladming and Val di sol, but they're still pretty damn gnarly.

Lewis A

I reckon I could survive the Leogang track, which probably means it's pretty easy...

rockmonkeysc

Leogang is just a bike park track.

lawman

Lewis A wrote:

I reckon I could survive the Leogang track, which probably means it's pretty easy...

In sure you could "survive" it, but that doesn't make it easy or ideally suited to a 29er! :roll: the way I see it is the top guys want to win and winning races and championships helps to sell bikes, so it's in the interest of the manufacturers to give their riders the fastest and best bikes possible and if they happen to be 650b then so be it as far as I'm concerned.