Rize for XC

lordbachus · Mar 12, 2009

I am looking for a bike to do it all...
I can only place 1 bike in my appartment.

My concern about the Rize is that it will be to plush to challenge me to ride even harder in my crosscountry rides, where speed is the only thing that matters.

I bet it will do superb on marathons and all day tours..

I don't worry that much that it will not sattisfy me on my decents and downhill adventures, i am not the greatest daredevil outthere, but i guess i will be confident enough to do the downhill tracks i want..

But is this bike fast enough to compete with my friends on their epics, scalpels and rushes.

Bubba74 · Mar 12, 2009

The Rize can be built very light. With an RP23 rear shock and PBR lefty, you can essentially lock out shocks, making it like a hardtail. I can't imagine that not being fast on very smooth trails.

Dan Gerous · Mar 12, 2009

I ride a heavier, longer less efficient travel, flexier Prophet and can outclimb my Scalpel and hardtail riding friends just fine (the motor is the most important part), I even raced the bike last year. The Rize would be even better than a Prophet so I think it would be a great choice. You can always adjust the suspension accordingly for XC rides and keep it plusher on other rides (that's what I did on my Prophet, now I keep it plusher pretty much all the time since I also have dedicated race bike, a Scalpel).

ziscwg · Mar 12, 2009

Yeah, what Dan G. said. Except I still race my Prophet. I'm poor, but my wife is not

.

You can do well on the Rize. Read Joe Freil's book on how to train. And, you can flip open your suspension on a downhill section and smoke your buddies:cornut: You can't do that on a hardtail.

squads · Mar 13, 2009

If you ride any technical terrain then you will thank yourself for the extra BB height of a Rize. Today I destroyed my 2nd set of pedals in 2 years thanks to the horrible beating they take from the low BB [on my Rush]. This set was a $100 pair of Candy SL's, so I guess its to use something other than egg beaters.

The FSA cranks have held up pretty darn well at least, but they have some serious battle scars.

rvmdmechanic · Mar 13, 2009

yeah. the rize is superb, it's lighter than a rush stock (much to the dismay of one of my rush loving friends) (and of course, depending on models), more travel, and propedal / RLC fork is a winner. i have the PBR lefty but would prefer the RLC carbon since being able to have a lockout with blowoff would be a nice race advantage. The rp2/rp23 is a great shock and lets you ride however you like - I would definitely race my rize, even with heavy tubeless tires and mallet pedals, and love it for the local DH trails too, small drops included.

The bike for sure wants you to pedal faster, no worries.

Hotel12 · Mar 13, 2009

by the way does w/o lefty rize models come with with max lite?

traffic002 · Mar 13, 2009

One of the riders in our group ride went from a Prophet to a Scalpel since he wanted to do some racing.

It's funny. He's having a terrible time keeping up on the rides now. We don't have massive descents or anything. But lots of technical terrain.

Whereas he could easily ride along on the Propeht which soaked up everything, he was getting beat up and having difficulty in places.

I just got a Rush myself from a HT. I can say that I will be faster overall on the Rush as soon as I get more used to the bike. What's amazing is that after a hard 2hr ride, I don't feel as beat up. Sometimes when I'm just exhausted, I can sit on the saddle and just pedal and steer. Whereas you just can't do that on a HT.

I did hit the ground a couple times with my pedals. So I guess I'll have to watch out for that.

There's a saying that I've been hearing more of lately. Comfort is the new speed. If you aren't fatigued from working the bike (like a HT) or getting beat up by the hard hits on rougher terrain, you can conserve your energy to riding faster.

adiokyro · Mar 13, 2009

just ordered one for xterra

i get major paralysis by analysis--especially looking at mtbr too often: omg if i get an all mountain bike ill NEVER be able to xc on it!!!!!! marketing is so powerfull, but also true mtn bikes are diversified widely into specialties. that being said, i bought a rize carbon two that i will primarily race shorter course xterra/tinley dirt tris on, and will be my only bike. my previous two rides being a sc superlight and kona kikapu deluxe xc fs. I bought the rize cuz its very fast AND i am very aggresive on downs, like to take hits, etc--even tho im an endurance guy--im also 190pds. on my 20billionth post on what bike to buy (racer x or motolite----5-spot or flux----rize 2 or modded 3--somone wizely pointed out that no matter wat i picked, id end up with a well engineered/fun to ride bike---i got the rize cuz it felt the most fun to me when demo-ing n:thumbsup: thats wat im in it for!!

Rize for XC

lordbachus

Bubba74

Dan Gerous

ziscwg

squads

rvmdmechanic

Hotel12

traffic002

adiokyro

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