[02Slayer]

I'm going on my second season with my 2002 Slayer, and I'm still loving every ride. Back when I was looking at bikes, I demoed a ETS-X (no 30-50-70 back then) and thought it rode sweetly, esp. on climbs. I was swayed away from it and toward the Slayer due to my size ( 6 foot 1 and 210 lbs) and riding style. The shop said with me on it the ETS wouldn't hold up to the very technical and rocky terrain around (Lynn Woods, MA), with the occaisional 2-3 foot drops I used to do. With the Slayer, I now ride way faster, more confidently, almost always try the tougher lines going up or down, pull off stuff I used to be scared of, and have picked the drops up to the 4-5 foot range, and try jumps now and again. No regrets. So I ask you ETS folks, was it good advice, or can the ETS take the punishment of a determined hyperactive clydesdale, 5 ft drops to flat granite, and some good natured bashing?

 

[Johnny Hair Boy]

good question

I have a pimped out etsx bike and weigh 180 pounds and would not feel comfortable dropping it off 4-5 foot drops unless there was a nice transition landing. the bike is great in rock gardens but I think the slayer is better for the big stuff.I heard a rummor that RM is brining out a more freeridish version of the bike soon. Just hear say at this point though.

 

[02Slayer]

Sounds Good to me

I have a pimped out etsx bike and weigh 180 pounds and would not feel comfortable dropping it off 4-5 foot drops unless there was a nice transition landing. the bike is great in rock gardens but I think the slayer is better for the big stuff.I heard a rummor that RM is brining out a more freeridish version of the bike soon. Just hear say at this point though.

Sounds like a great idea, but where would it fit in I wonder? I know they just reorganized their lineup, with ETS joining the crew, Edge becoming the Slayer 30 etc. so maybe in between the Slayer & Switch, or alternative to Slayer. A beefed up ETS would be a serious bike though.
One other selling point for me was the design of the Slayer. It seemed to be the most double-triangle, tried and true bicycle frame design out there, to me anyway. Then again, my friends and I debate how much is great design, and how much is just getting used a good design and maximizing it's capabilities.
There is actually an ETS-X 30 for sale locally, at a really good price left over from last year. I have been seriously temped to pick it up and start working the super lightweight style mods on it. After my cranking my 31 pound Slayer around for the last 1 1/2 years, I'd probably be able to climb trees on that rig.

 

[Johnny Hair Boy]

go for it

If you have been climbing hills on your slayer you will fly up them on an etsx. Mine is specked with crossmax xl wheels and sram drivtrain and it rides like like a bike that is 2 pound lighter then it actually is.

 

[02Slayer]

How light?

If you have been climbing hills on your slayer you will fly up them on an etsx. Mine is specked with crossmax xl wheels and sram drivtrain and it rides like like a bike that is 2 pound lighter then it actually is.

Do you know the weight of your ETSX? Just curious, as I've read some pretty crazy postings about flyweight ETSXs.

 

[Johnny Hair Boy]

Not a feather wheight

Here are the details fox talus fork ,race face dues stem and cranks ,easton monkylite xc carbon bars, crosmax xl wheels, roll-x tires with stans, time carbon pedals,x-9 shifters ,xo der, holowpin chian,9.0 casset,stock seat and post,shimano 555 disk brake(or should I say boat ancors), It wheighs just over 26 pounds but like I said it feels like a 24 pound bike.

 

[02Slayer]

Dat's Light to me

Maybe not a featherweight but trim for sure.

 

[02Slayer]

ETS riders; Your 2 cents

Any other opinions about the ETS - Slayer comparison?

 

[Managuense]

The ETSX is a great trail bike, plenty capable of plowing through rock gardens. That being said, I would say no way to doing any drop over 3 feet, especially at your weight. If you want to do 4-5 foot drops buy a freeride bke and do it right. Why risk it on a $2500+ bike?

On a side note i have, or had, an original 2002 etsx70, large, I think 19". I weigh 185 and it broke on a climb. I don't do ANY drops. As for the wiehgt, I think it was 27-28lbs. Last I heard it was shipped out to B.C. and is scheduled for replacement.

In a perfect world I would have a lightweigh hardtail, an ETSX70, and a freeride bike. Think of the ETSX as a bridge between the other two bikes, a compromise, that in no way is capable of what the two other bikes can do.

Hope this helps.

 

[02Slayer]

Looks like I got good advice

Thank you Managuense for the input. Perhaps if I had opted for the ETS I would have evolved into more of an XC type and not have even tried getting into bigger stuff if it had not been for the Slayer. Not a freeride bike for sure, but I think it has handled everything so far very competently. Not sure what you may think of the Slayer, if you even considered it when you looked at your ETS. But here's another question - what freeride bike would you choose to compliment your ETS?

 

[Managuense]

I have hopped on a slayer briefly in the shop, felt a little too beefy for my needs. From an ETSX owner's p.o.v i think your shop did you a big favor in steering you away from an ETSX.

As for a freeride bike, I haven't put much thought into it. First I would need some more disposible income. But if, and when, I would buy one I would decide based on observation. What I see around here are a lot of Stinkees and Intense Uzzis(forget the model, the longer travel one). There are a few groups around here that do some pretty amazing stunts. I suppose it is probably a function of rider skill and well built bikes that allow them to make it look so easy. Those two bikes would be at the top of my list.

 

[02Slayer]

Freeride

M wife & I travelled to Chicago to visit her grandmother, and decided to try and go biking at a place we had seen in a magazine. We met up with some guys from a group called Team Sally, an unofficial bunch of freeride enthusiasts. I guess living on the flats of America's heartland started to get to them, and they began building Northshore style stunts. The evolution of the risk and danger proceeded quickly, and when we got there in April, they were launching 12-13 foot drops from ladder bridges they had built up in the trees, elaborately networked by an impressive assortment of other creative structures (including a really cool corkscrew ramp going around a huge old oak tree). They let us borrow some bikes for the day and ride around (a Giant AC1 and Stinky DeLux). We pretty much stayed on the tamer/beginner stuff, but after riding those cushy freeride machines, I now understand a little bit better how they get up the guts to launch that crazy stuff. You don't have to stick every landing, the bike can definitely save your a$$ in a pinch, not to take away from these guys though. They have really built up some skills. What really got me was the hardtail part of their crew. They were doing just about everything the full suss. guys were doing, and I was impressed, if not amazed.

 

[Phat_Head]

the shop definitely steered you in the right direction. the slayer is definitely more able to take the agressive stuff. you might consider getting a platform shock on the slayer. that would greatly increase it's performance on climbs. having ridden both, i don't think there is that much difference in climbing ability when you have the ETSX in the longest travel setting versus the slayer. since i wouldn't really adjust the travel, the slayer just made more sense to me.

 

[Johnny Hair Boy]

ets climbing

Actually I cant tell the difrence in climbing ability in the etsx from the 3 and 4.5 inch setings even in the long setting it out climbs most short travel bikes.

 

[02Slayer]

Pushed Slayer

I have thought about getting the Float RL pushed on the Slayer. I like the way it climbs, but I am a believer of it being a lot about the rider, and some about the bike, to a certain extent. I really believe 90% of biking is mental.

 

[Phat_Head]

here's the thing about a pushed slayer. it climbs better but the Push'ed shock works a ton better on the descents. it is amzing how much better my slayer tracks on the descents. i don't think most people even think about that aspect of the shock work.

 

[<sL4yEr>RuLz]

Pushed?

I have thought about getting the Float RL pushed on the Slayer. I like the way it climbs, but I am a believer of it being a lot about the rider, and some about the bike, to a certain extent. I really believe 90% of biking is mental.

Help me out here and explain this "pushed" concept for me, would you?

 

[Phat_Head]

Help me out here and explain this "pushed" concept for me, would you?

Push industries is a company that will rebuild revalve any fox shock with platform shock technology.
http://www.pushindustries.com/

 

[<sL4yEr>RuLz]

Phat_Head,
This actually works? One thing i've wanted to do is increase the rear travel on my '02 Slayer. I thinking that "pushing" my Fox RL wouldn't do this correct? It sounds like it only adds "dampening" or "lock-out" or "platform" stability to the shock?

Funny thing with my RL is that I hardly ever use the "RL". Only on long, non-tech trails will I find myself using this option.

 

[Phat_Head]

Phat_Head,
This actually works? One thing i've wanted to do is increase the rear travel on my '02 Slayer. I thinking that "pushing" my Fox RL wouldn't do this correct? It sounds like it only adds "dampening" or "lock-out" or "platform" stability to the shock?

Funny thing with my RL is that I hardly ever use the "RL". Only on long, non-tech trails will I find myself using this option.

it will not increase the travel, but it will definitelyoncrease the performance of your bike. if you have never serviced your shock, you should anyway. the charge for rebuilding the shock is around $90. for $50 more you can add platform technology. you will lose the lock-out but you don't use it anyway. it is just amazing how much better my bike rides now as compared to before i got the shock work.