How your bike feels from one to another, what is the biggest contribution?

daztrek

Hello.

I have been riding mountain bikes for years, had a handful of bikes over that time but never given that much thought as to why one bike feels so different from another. For a while, I was fixated on the weight of a bike but now I'm questioning things a bit based on my recent experiences.

I build my first bike from used parts recently in which the frame was a Marin mount vision 5.8 with xtr throughout.

The first ride it felt like it was super fast, just took off, but felt too light on the front, my wheel would lift too easy. Looked into that and got a longer stem and it was a bit better, but felt very sensitive on steering and a little sketchy on descents. It was 29lb by the time I added bits but it still felt nippy and playful.

My son got a Specialized Enduro expert, but he don't like it. After riding it myself I had to agree with him that it feels like it's holding back, does not feel nimble, or playful and despite it being lighter than my bike it feels much heavier when riding it. We checked his wheels, tires and breaks for obvious things as to why it feels like its holding back but could not find a thing wrong. The good thing was his bike felt like it could go over anything and don't feel sketchy on descents.

Looking for that happy medium for myself, after some research it seems the head tube angle for a steep or slackness was the key to all this. I brought a White 146, which again has 26" wheels. It had very similar frame to my Marin as its the same designer but was carbon and had a slacker head tube at 66 degrees as aposed to the 69 degrees on my Marin frame. Great! I thought, this would mean I can feel that stability on the front, yet get it a little lighter and still have a playful bike.

After building this bike taking all components off my Marin bike apart from forks which I have gone from Rockshox Revelation 150mm 32 forks to Pikes 35mm 160mm forks. The new build was only a few grams lighter.

I got on this new build and guess what I felt. It felt dead, the bike felt sluggish, had no nippy acceleration, and got no lift the front wheel off the ground when trying. Marin builds felt fast, nimble, and playful, this bike feels dead, only words I can say. Feels harder work on flats not tried hills yet, feels like it drags.

It kinda feels similar to my son's Specialized enduro. Other than a slack head tube what on earth can I do to get that playful, nimble light feeling back?

Thanks,

Dan

MattFalle

Why don't you just put everything back on the 5.8, sell everything else and spend the proceeds on ho 'n' blow,?

mully79

Basically, modern bikes are fast as hell when gravity assisted. You’re probably just riding too slow to enjoy modern geometry. If you want to feel fast and scared while riding at a snails pace buy a 90’s rigid MTB with vee brakes (or a gravel bike)

whyamihere

I generally feel that a lot of people are significantly overbiked. Unless the main aim is to go as fast as possible, you have the most fun when you're approaching the edge of your abilities. Riding many trails on something which a few years ago would have been classified as a downhill bike takes a lot of the edge off.

I've ridden longer travel, more 'capable' bikes, and got the same feeling. They feel a bit dead because you're so isolated from the trail. I sold my longer travel bike and either ride a hardtail or a short travel (110mm rear, 120mm front) full suspension, generally with smaller, lower rolling resistance tyres. Can people on 160mm+ bikes go faster than me downhill? Probably. But I question whether they enjoy the whole ride as much.