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2.6K views 31 replies 12 participants last post by  RideTheEast  
#1 ·
Looking for options to consider on a long(er) travel bike for dedicated park use. Right now Im on a Status 160 S3. Fork is pushed out to 170mm, and I pulled a travel shim in the shock so Im about 166mm in the back.

In New England, so think Thunder, Killington, Highland & Loon, mostly blue / black tech and flow. No big jump lines...yet.

Considerations -
  • Park only
  • Mullet
  • 170+ front and rear
  • Relatively short wheelbase
  • Shorter chainstays
  • Double Crown Capable preferred, otherwise least a 180mm 38 / Zeb
  • Bonus - Downtube storage. I NEED somewhere to stash at least an inhaler (dakine enduro strap for now). Room for co2, plugs, tool, ID, is nice too

Top two right now are the new Status 2 with a 180mm Boxxer up front, or a Transition Patrol with a Cascade and Boxxer.

Building a Patrol into a 180/180 bike is tempting feels like I'm trying to turn it into something it wasn't intended to be, plus the frameset is due for a refresh in the next year or two. The Status feels like a more "natural" option, given that Im riding one now, and its designed as a 170/180 bike.

What other bikes should I consider, or not, and why? Is there a reason I barely see a Slash at the park?
 
#6 ·
RideTheEast said:
Looking for options to consider on a long(er) travel bike for dedicated park use. Right now Im on a Status 160 S3. Fork is pushed out to 170mm, and I pulled a travel shim in the shock so Im about 166mm in the back.

In New England, so think Thunder, Killington, Highland & Loon, mostly blue / black tech and flow. No big jump lines...yet.

Considerations -
  • Park only
  • Mullet
  • 170+ front and rear
  • Relatively short wheelbase
  • Shorter chainstays
  • Double Crown Capable preferred, otherwise least a 180mm 38 / Zeb
  • Bonus - Downtube storage. I NEED somewhere to stash at least an inhaler (dakine enduro strap for now). Room for co2, plugs, tool, ID, is nice too

Top two right now are the new Status 2 with a 180mm Boxxer up front, or a Transition Patrol with a Cascade and Boxxer.

Building a Patrol into a 180/180 bike is tempting feels like I'm trying to turn it into something it wasn't intended to be, plus the frameset is due for a refresh in the next year or two. The Status feels like a more "natural" option, given that Im riding one now, and its designed as a 170/180 bike.

What other bikes should I consider, or not, and why? Is there a reason I barely see a Slash at the park?
Click to expand...
Why do you want short chainstays and short wheelbase at the bike park? That is a recipe for twitchy at speed. The very opposite to what a park bike should be. Short chainstay short bike is good to tight tech and slope style trick. But not fast bike park chunk. Why not go all in on a long stable fast chunk munching park bike?

I would second the call for slayer or spindrift. The slayer is by no means short/short theses days. But it would be an epic park bike. Spindrift was on the top of my list until i discovered it had a tall seat tube and short dropper insertion which meant i couldn't get low enough and could only run a 150 dropper... that was a deal breaker to me.
If i was going full park the new slayer would be at the top of my list. But its expensive as hell and not well represented in NZ.

My requirement wasn't full time bike park. I have to pedal my bike up the hill locally so i need to build it part park part pedallable. I do a fair chunk of tight steep hike a bike so full long wb isnt ideal for me either. My latest build almost fits your breif with a little tweaking.

I'd been high pivot curious for a while and ended up with a Deviate mullet Claymore. Officially 165mm travel via a 230x60 rear shock, I threw my push coil in at 230x65 and snuck the bike to 170mm and slapped a 180mm zeb on the front and booya, playful not super heavy 170/180mm enduro freeride bike.

The cool thing about high pivot is that the chainstay grows as you sink into the travel as the back wheel arcs back and over the obstacle. That means you can have a shorter chainstay bike that as you speed up in the chunk and as it sinks into its travel it becomes more stable. It the bike park the Claymore rocks at high speed and it is also a blast in the tech. The downside is they are a bit heavier build than 4 bar and don't pedal quite as well uphill.


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#7 ·
plummet said:
Why do you want short chainstays and short wheelbase at the bike park? That is a recipe for twitchy at speed. The very opposite to what a park bike should be. Short chainstay short bike is good to tight tech and slope style trick. But not fast bike park chunk. Why not go all in on a long stable fast chunk munching park bike?
Click to expand...
Relatively short...I do like how maneuverable the status is in the tight stuff. A Session or V10 is ~50mm longer, and maybe i just need to spend more time on one, but they feel like I'm trying to turn the titanic in some of the tight corners, and it fouls me up. Otherwise Im not disagreeing.

Im very interested in high-pivot for all the reasons you listed, which is why the Slash piqued my interest, but like what you did with the Claymore
 
#14 · (Edited)
With high-pivot being mentioned, I'd say take a look at the Trek Slash.

Image

Here's one in red, because red has been proven scientifically to be the fastest color...​

It looks to meet most of your considerations

  • Park only (that's up to you)
  • Mullet âś”
  • 170+ front and rear âś”
  • Relatively short wheelbase âś”
  • Shorter chainstays âś” 430ish mm
  • Double Crown Capable preferred, otherwise least a 180mm 38 / Zeb * maybe...
  • Bonus - Downtube storage. I NEED somewhere to stash at least an inhaler (dakine enduro strap for now). Room for co2, plugs, tool, ID, is nice too âś”
*From Trek FAQ for the Slash
"They will fit, but we haven’t tested them, so we cannot recommend a dual crown fork on Slash at this time. However, you can put a 190mm single-crown fork on there, and that’s pretty close, and has a better turning radius."
 
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#18 ·
The Propain Spindrift seems like a good match I must say. The mullet version uses shorter chainstays too afaik. Maybe the Canyon Torque?

The Kavenz VHP18 could work as well. If you use the 0mm dropouts, it's got pretty darn short chainstays. That only works when its setup as a mullet though.

Oh, and the Transition TR11 fits normal boost hubs, but its chainstays are a bit longer (445mm in the short IIRC).
 
#20 ·
Nat said:
f this bike will be for park only then how about a DH bike? They’re made specifically for that purpose.
Click to expand...
Fair question. First off, the Status is a beast. I ride it hard (as I can being 45 and the most intermediate rider ever) and it takes everything I can throw at it. I enjoy how nimble and maneuverable it is, but Im looking for something with a little more margin of error. As I mentioned earlier, and maybe its my limited ride time, but a full on DH bike like a V10 or Session feels like im driving a boat, and I don't see myself ever riding the super steep, super chunk, fast enough to truly reap the benefits of a bike like that (ie, overbiked). But, I could be completely wrong here too.

Either way, that leads me to looking for something with more travel and a stiffer front end, without sacrificing (too much of) the playfulness I enjoy with the status.
 
#26 ·
OK, Update time. Just ordered a new 180/180 Propain Spindrift CF5 MX in Candy Red. I was leaning hard into the Delirium for a while, but no ETA on new framesets, or colors, and my daughter just got a used Spesh Enduro, so wheel compatibility became a real consideration.

Little nervous about the Direct to Consumer, and not having a LBS rep if things don't go so well, but I do most of my own maintenance anyway. What I REALLY like was being able to select from a variety of components, especially the forks and shocks. The upcharges don't completely make sense - eg base Zeb fork is included, and a Fox Factory 38 is a $650 upcharge, but the upcharge from the base Super Deluxe Ult to a Fox DHX2 (with spring) is $685 - really close to MSRP. Went with the DT Swiss EX1700 wheelset, mainly bc I figure a 350 is easier to get parts for than Crank Bros, and everyone knows straight pull spokes are cooler.

I selected base DB8 brakes to swap the mavens off my status, and going to Hope Evo 155 cranks sooner than later.

Here is the render based on my selections:

Image
 
#27 ·
Very Nice!.. I wanted a spindrift but the seat tube height was high and dropper insertion depth was to shallow for my spec. I wouldn't have been able to get the seat low enough for my liking. Otherwise i would have bought one.

Since I last posted on this thread I have added a Trek session to my stable and started dh racing again (its been 20 years since i raced dh). The dh bike performs the dh duties at the bike park and when I want to go for more enduro style riding jump on the deviate. The pole is being decommission as i got damaged in a head on with a car two weeks ago and that will be replace with a Crestline 180mm e bike.

So i'll have 170/180 enduro, 180/180 E and 200/200 dh..... Oh fark yeah!

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#30 ·
Update -

Zero Regrets on the Propain Spindrift CF5. I have 10 park days (Mtn Creek / Thunder), about 50 miles of trail riding on it so far, and its been perfect. All dressed out with alloy rims, 150mm Fox dropper, Cushcore Pro's, Maven brakes, 160mm E-Thirteen Alloy cranks (30t), it weighs 14.6kg / 32.2lbs. It rides plush when I need it, and poppy when I want it, but the biggest surprise is how well it pedals. Its at least as good my alloy gen 5 Fuel EX, and weighs the same, plus its fun to show up to my local group ride on a 180mm monster truck.
 
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