It’s a shoot out…. In the blue corner is a 05 Super Moto setup with 7”s of travel front and back. In the Green corner is a 04 La Bruja setup with 6”s front and back.
The controls and drivetrains of these two bikes are set up vary similar. Sram twist shifters, derailleurs & chains, Juicy 7 brakes, FSA cranks, Marzocchi Forks, Fox rear shocks, and Kenda Tires. Both fit into the dream bike category for me and can easily plaster a grin ear to ear on my face the moment the trail turns technical or hitting the lip of the first jump/obstacle. But where is the fun in that, we’re here to compare the two.
The Super Moto is built up a little heavier with a 66light eta and fox dhx4.0 coil and is perfectly balanced. Although this bike is marketed as a swiss army knife, I can not see building it in any other fashion. Why ride it as a 6 incher when 7 inches is only one pivot hole away. In this trim the SM contours to the terrain and small roots, rocks, ruts, etc disappear as the rear suspension tracks the ground effortlessly. It’s kinda funny that I can feel the 66 working to keep up with the smoothness of the rear triangle. The SM excels at speed and is super stable on the ground and in the air. With its high bottom bracket it makes clearing east coast obstacles and riding skinnies a breeze. However, the seatmast is very tall and the effective toptube length is .5” shorter than claimed. This would not be to bad but I am on the limit between a medium and large frame and do feel a bit cramped on it especially when the ground points up. If it weren’t for the eta I would not be comfortable for long climbs which this bike does very well for its size even being a bit short for me. This is my #1 pic for shuttle trips, stunts and rides when we’re all on our heavy hitters.
The La Bruja popped up right after I had done a ride on the SM that included a 3 hour climb before the well awaited decent. Well I always wanted to try one and who am I to justify another bike purchase. So it arrived with a 5th element coil shock where the reservoir would contact the frame before full compression. This was removed before the frame was built up and replaced with a DHXair. In order to differentiate it from the SM, originally built with a Pike and lighter wheelset and was more of a trail bike that could take a hit or two. In this setup the bike could be flicked around with ease and could easily contend climbs with friends on 4-5” bikes and launch forward the moment the trail went down. It also handled the short up – down – up – down trails very well. But the rear suspension did not track as well at speed as my 5” bike or SM and suffered from lots of shock wallow, the witch also begged for slacker angles and to be ridden more aggressively so changes were made. Now with a stronger/bigger wheelset and a 6” Z1eta the front track so smooth it scares me; railing corners at speeds that I never thought possible it just boosting my confidence and is helping me to push my personal limits. The rear is holding its own but is definitely working hard to keep up with the front. It has been a hard search but a brand new vanilla rc pp just showed up yesterday so I can’t wait to try the witch the way it was designed to be. As it is this is my pic for fun rides getting a bit nuts and will be my weapon for Super D this season.
So what would you change or suggest? Anyone with a dhx-c on their witch?
The controls and drivetrains of these two bikes are set up vary similar. Sram twist shifters, derailleurs & chains, Juicy 7 brakes, FSA cranks, Marzocchi Forks, Fox rear shocks, and Kenda Tires. Both fit into the dream bike category for me and can easily plaster a grin ear to ear on my face the moment the trail turns technical or hitting the lip of the first jump/obstacle. But where is the fun in that, we’re here to compare the two.
The Super Moto is built up a little heavier with a 66light eta and fox dhx4.0 coil and is perfectly balanced. Although this bike is marketed as a swiss army knife, I can not see building it in any other fashion. Why ride it as a 6 incher when 7 inches is only one pivot hole away. In this trim the SM contours to the terrain and small roots, rocks, ruts, etc disappear as the rear suspension tracks the ground effortlessly. It’s kinda funny that I can feel the 66 working to keep up with the smoothness of the rear triangle. The SM excels at speed and is super stable on the ground and in the air. With its high bottom bracket it makes clearing east coast obstacles and riding skinnies a breeze. However, the seatmast is very tall and the effective toptube length is .5” shorter than claimed. This would not be to bad but I am on the limit between a medium and large frame and do feel a bit cramped on it especially when the ground points up. If it weren’t for the eta I would not be comfortable for long climbs which this bike does very well for its size even being a bit short for me. This is my #1 pic for shuttle trips, stunts and rides when we’re all on our heavy hitters.
The La Bruja popped up right after I had done a ride on the SM that included a 3 hour climb before the well awaited decent. Well I always wanted to try one and who am I to justify another bike purchase. So it arrived with a 5th element coil shock where the reservoir would contact the frame before full compression. This was removed before the frame was built up and replaced with a DHXair. In order to differentiate it from the SM, originally built with a Pike and lighter wheelset and was more of a trail bike that could take a hit or two. In this setup the bike could be flicked around with ease and could easily contend climbs with friends on 4-5” bikes and launch forward the moment the trail went down. It also handled the short up – down – up – down trails very well. But the rear suspension did not track as well at speed as my 5” bike or SM and suffered from lots of shock wallow, the witch also begged for slacker angles and to be ridden more aggressively so changes were made. Now with a stronger/bigger wheelset and a 6” Z1eta the front track so smooth it scares me; railing corners at speeds that I never thought possible it just boosting my confidence and is helping me to push my personal limits. The rear is holding its own but is definitely working hard to keep up with the front. It has been a hard search but a brand new vanilla rc pp just showed up yesterday so I can’t wait to try the witch the way it was designed to be. As it is this is my pic for fun rides getting a bit nuts and will be my weapon for Super D this season.
So what would you change or suggest? Anyone with a dhx-c on their witch?
