[Lickqid]

i've got some cash now, and I just raced my first Dh race and fell in love, but had some problems.

1. no chainguide, i kept dropping chains
2. the Gemini with the travis 150 feels much too "not slack" to be comfortable for DH
3. vanilla R is terrible, not to mention I can't set it up worth sh*t

I'd really like to get into DH more, and have come into some cash, and am now looking too upgrade my stuff.

I'll be going to college where there will be DJs, one DH course, and a ton of trails/fr stunts etc.

the way I see it I could buy a HT and work on my skills, and save up for a good DH frame (i could put my travis on the new HT). I could sell the travis and get a new fork and a new rear shock for my gemini. or I could sell the whole gemini and get a nice DH bike. what would you guys do?

 

[fred.r]

How much will you be working with if you sell the whole Gemini?
If you're into racing I'd say get a DH bike and start saving for a DJ/hardtail. That way you would have your true favorite bike, and slowly make your way towards a more versitiel trail friendly DJer. It's way easer to save $600-$1,000 for a DJer than $2,000 + for a DH bike.
That's kinda what I doing, and to be honest it's not horrible tring to keep up with my buddies when we hit the trails, and if they want to go to the DJ spot, I still bring my Demo but pack a camera and amuse myself with that while they hit jumps.

 

[Lickqid]

well if i sold the Gemini I'd be working with what I got for that, and around a grand to 1200 in other funds.

 

[fred.r]

well if i sold the Gemini I'd be working with what I got for that, and around a grand to 1200 in other funds.

What I was asking is how much do you expect to get from the Gemini?
Are you adding that to the $1200? I think that's what you are saying...
Anyways, if your adding it, for sure buy a DH bike, when's the next time you will have that kinda money to spend freely?
Just my .02

 

[Lickqid]

true, is it that hard to jump an 8 inch travel DH bike? what I mean is is it possible,

 

[fred.r]

true, is it that hard to jump an 8 inch travel DH bike? what I mean is is it possible,

It's totally possible...

But a hardtail is a whole diff. story, way better.
But I jump my DH bike all the time, but only on not super steap take off, more gap style jumps, the kind you see on DH runs.

 

[SHIVER ME TIMBERS]

maybe sell the bike and get a whole new bike or just replace the fork and get a chain guide

 

[Lickqid]

maybe sell the bike and get a whole new bike or just replace the fork and get a chain guide

yea, probably going to part out the bike. I'll keep the brakes and rear derailleur for now.

another question, this might seem stupid as I'm a mechanical noob, is it possible for me to completely ditch a front derailleur even if I keep running two rings up front?

 

[Err]

yea, probably going to part out the bike. I'll keep the brakes and rear derailleur for now.

another question, this might seem stupid as I'm a mechanical noob, is it possible for me to completely ditch a front derailleur even if I keep running two rings up front?

Yes but it's a PITA. I was just trying to do this and there is a setup made by eNVY called the Double-e2 that is designed to allow you to run 2 chainrings and manually shift. The drawback is you do not up with a tensioner and, more significantly, you can not access all of your rear gears from each front ring. Your best bet is to run a FD with an E-13 DRS or run a single ring up front with a ring small enough for climbing. After fighting with the dual ring setup on my Nicolai I ditched it for a single 32t with a Gamut P20 guide. I did some XC trails (with 1300g DH tires) with a fair amount of climbing last week only to find that climbing isn't really all that hard even on a 40+ lb rig with 32t up front and a 11-34 in the rear. Long story short, single ring or run a FD.

 

[Err]

Oh, and I think a Gemini is a pretty capable rig with the right shock and fork. Maybe you just need to change your setup to a more DH orientation. I've not seen the geo specs on that bike but if you want to hunt them down and post them I'm sure a few of us can help make sense of what you would end up with if you decided to throw a few upgrades at it.

 

[Lickqid]

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/geo-2.html

there are the specs for an 04 gemini 900 like mine,

 

[Err]

http://www.cannondale.com/bikes/04/geo-2.html

there are the specs for an 04 gemini 900 like mine,

Well, I haven't had time to find the A to C height on your 150 mm travis but I imagine that it's about 500mm. If this is wrong by much then it throws the rest of my numbers out the window...

The Gemini is spec'ed to have a 14.5" high BB and a 67 deg HT angle with a 530 mm A to C fork. If you are running closer to 500 mm then your HT angle will be closer to the neighborhood of 68 deg (good for trail riding not DH racing) and your BB will be down closer to 14". I really think that getting a taller fork on there would do a world of good for DH, however a 200mm 888 at 585 A to C is going to be too much. A 66 at 170mm is prob going to be the call for best geo from a HT angle perspective. I also noticed that the leverage ratio is nice and low at around 2.4:1 even in the longest travel setting which means that with the right properly tuned shock on the rear you should see a pretty compliant and responsive ride. Furthermore, the 17.25" chainstays are going to tend to be more on the stable side however not quite a much as the real stretched out DH rigs up around 17.5". I could probably write a couple of pages of opinion on this but It seems like with a chainguide, the right fork and shock and a good set of tires you'd prob be set to do pretty well in DH. Just depends though. Are you comfortable on the bike? Hows the TT lenght? Is the reach to the cockpit comfortable? So many factors here but the basic geometry to make a descent DH bike is there.

 

[Lickqid]

its was my first bike, which sucks, because where I live I don't really get to demo any good Dh rigs, do I don't know what a great feel would be like. But i definitely know that i dont really like the feel of the bike now, I liked the feel much more with the dorado. Another thing, I think one of my main problems with the feel is the way I have to lean so far forward when i pedal standing up, if that makes any sense.

 

[Err]

How long is your stem? I have a rather short torso so I always struggle with this too. I see that the TT length is 23.6 inches effective, 21.9 inches actual on a medium frame. Not terribly long but with the wrong stem it could be a problem. Getting the right stem length and bar height is critical for a good feel and what worked well with the much taller Dorado understandably feels low with the Travis and quite possibly adds to the stretched out over-the-bars feel that you describe. If you're running a 70 mm stem a switch to a 50 mm or even a 35 mm stem could do worlds of good. Also setting your seat a little more forward on the rails may help a bit.

 

[Lickqid]

i'm running a FSA FR 200 stem, but I can't find a number for it

 

[Err]

well that stem comes in 50, 70, 90, and 105 mm lengths so it's entirely possible that it's a bit long. How tall are you? Measure the stem carefully from the center of the headset top cap (try to align with the very center of the bolt that goes through the top cap) to the center of the bar clamp area.