pathfinder said:
I am seriously considering buying a Giant NRS 2, but I just got a Supergo catalog and am now considering a Hollowpoint instead, partly because of the parts group, but is it chunky? The terrain around here is steep, so there's lots of climbing.
I came off an NRS2, which I purchased in an attempt to find something "more efficient" than my Fisher Joshua 'Y' bike. Despite the shining reviews of the dw-link's climbing prowess, I was concerned that I would be in for an adjustment period getting used to the 5" travel bike. Sitting on the bike the first time, feeling it sag over an inch and a half underneath me, I was sure I had made a mistake.
But on my very first climb, a moderate 2 mile fireroad of an average 7% grade, I knew I picked the right bike. Despite the sag and the long travel, the shock held fast underneath me, the pedaling was s-m-o-o-o-o-t-h over smaller terrain imperfections, and the pedaling was fluid and kickless on larger compressions.
This is all with a dirt-simple air damped, non-platform Cane Creek AD-12. The '04 stock bikes are coming with somewhat more sophisticated dampers, with platform valving on some. I insist the bikes don't need the SPV bells-and-whistles, and it looks as if Iron Horse concurs somewhat due to the fairly low platform thresholds the shocks are to be set at.
My only advice for climbing on this bike is to keep the front end low. To me, a 4" fork with a healthy inch of sag feels perfect, but the bike begins to feel "choppered out" once you get much above this. An adjustable travel 4-5" fork might be the best of both worlds. I get some decent vertical on my rides, and never feel like the bike is dragging me down even after a couple hours in the saddle.
Weight-wise, my naked medium frame weighed in at 6.25 pounds, very much capable of a light build if you want to put the effort in to it.
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<img src="http://gallery.consumerreview.com/webcrossing/images/naestep(3).jpg">