[sparticus113]

Sadly, as a poor college student, I can only afford one bike. I like the longer travel of the pitch, as you can take it more places. I want to do a few XC races on it, I am not terribly fast, but enjoy being competitive. So my question to all of the pitch riders out there, do you race XC on it? Is it too much of a bike for XC in your opinion? Also, I looked through the threads and the search button, but how much does a stock pitch weigh (size medium preferred) Thanks once again for the help.

And if it matters I will be racing the front range of the Rockies, as I am a student at Colorado State University, so Fort Collins and Colorado Springs are my two hometowns.

 

[PB Matrix]

Of course you can, just train as much as you can on the flats and ascents, as that is where the light bike dudes will pass you

 

[sparticus113]

This might be a dumb question, but looking at the specs of the rear shock, i couldn't figure something out. Is there a lockout or a "pro pedal" type of position, or is it open all the time. I did see the rebound adjustment, but nothing else. Thank you once again.

 

[sixate]

No lockout or pro pedal on that X Fusion shock.

 

[Lambdamaster]

the fox RP2 on the pro does have propedal

what about something like a covert?

 

[sparticus113]

I am mainly looking at Specialized because CSU's team is sponsored by them, so we have some help for pricing. I am taking other bikes into consideration, but having a good discount makes their bikes extremely competitive for pricing. I am also taking suggestions of what to look at. It will be my only mountain bike, so it will be raced a fair amount, but I do enjoy technical routes, and small drops.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Lambdamaster]

small drops? maybe a stumpy fsr will do it for you

120mm rear travel, 140mm fork. It's probably a lot more suitable for racing than the pitch

maybe a FSRxc if you're on a budget

 

[BuckshotJones]

I'll second the stumpy. It'll handle some drops and still rock the XC trails!

 

[sparticus113]

So the stumpy can take 2-4 foot drops? I am about 150 with cycling gear, so I won't put as much stress on it. I just was not sure that the stumpy could take it. And I wasn't sure, because for virtually the same price stumpy at 2500) I could get an epic, so I know i couldn't treat it as rough, but would be a lot better for racing. Sorry for all the newb questions. I have been out of the mountain bike market for six years.

 

[Lambdamaster]

Im sure the stumpy can take 4ft with your weight provided you setup the suspension (maybe a wheelset upgrade wouldn't be a bad idea if you want to go aggressive with it).
I don't think the epic will like 4 ft though..the stumpy is a trail bike and the epic is a xc racer. 2ft sure but I don't know about 4...

also, this thread may hold some useful information/opinions for you if you haven't seen it already
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=528261

 

[sparticus113]

Well, I would probably adjust my line so I wouldn't hit the drops on the epic. I guess I am more willing to change what I ride because of my wallet. I guess the end point is to get out and ride, and regardless enjoy it!

So this might be a really dumb question, but could you build a stronger wheelset than the stock stumpy ones, yet still have them be lighter. This is obviously a goal to keep as cheap as possible at that point, but what would a wheel set like that run?

 

[Lambdamaster]

I'm sure you can, but I'd guess it would run north of $400.. how far north I have no idea :lol:
I'm not very familiar with wheels. you can also consider having a heavy duty wheelset for recreational use to do drops, etc and a lightweight wheelset with a tubeless setup for racing since I'm guessing the xc races will not involve 2+ ft drops. that may end up being cheaper than a really good set and you'll have the benefit of two wheelsets (in case one gets taco'ed, etc)

 

[06whitetaco]

I have an 08 SJ and have raced once on it. I guess everything is a give and take. The SJ will handle drops between 2 and 4 feet,but anything over that unless it has a nice landing is going to bottom out the schock. SJ is between the epic and pitch. Epic strickly XC racing in mind and Pitch all mnt. Decide what makes more sense to you. Are you going to be racing a lot epic would be my choice then, or do you want a bike that will kill the down hills and be able to take bigger drops and jumps on. That being said you can jump and take drops on any bike you want, many of us have done it on BMX bikes as kids. I can tell you from expierience that when i raced my SJ compaired to the true race bikes the seating is more relaxed and I killed them on anything technical. Down side is my SJ is probably about 5 lbs heavier and not as efficent, although the brain shock does help. These are just my personal observations. Hope it helps. Ben

 

[sparticus113]

Thank you very much 06whitetaco and Lambdamaster
Your input is appreciated. I guess as I save up my money (and pay off a road bike) I will have to go take a look at more of the trails I ride and analyze what I want to do. Thank you once again to everyone who contributed.

 

[sixate]

So this might be a really dumb question, but could you build a stronger wheelset than the stock stumpy ones, yet still have them be lighter. This is obviously a goal to keep as cheap as possible at that point, but what would a wheel set like that run?

First, the Stumpy can handle 2 - 4 foot drops no problem. I do that on my bike and I'm 6'8" 235lbs. I did upgrade my wheelset to be able to handle that. You can get a Mavic/Hope Pro II set from Chainreaction cycles for way under $400. Bicycle Wheel Warehouse is another good place to look. Yes, a stronger wheelset can be lighter than stock, and at your size you can go much lighter than me. The stock wheels that come on the Stumpy suck.

 

[Rock Climber]

Do you have the option to demo any of the bikes? Specialized has a trailer they drive around to different demo's. That's how I decided which one to buy. I tested an Epic an SJ and a Pitch on local trails I was familiar with. After that it was an easy decision for me.

http://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/SBCDemoPages.jsp?pageName=demoWest

Looks like they will be in winter park for crankworx at the end of July. I have only skied there so I can't tell you if they have any trails that would be a good test for the epic, but you could definitely see how the J does on some rougher terrain

Might not be a bad idea to get a hold of somebody to see which bikes they are bringing.

 

[Boxer]

Another thought is I know that my LBS has demo bikes so you can ride the Epic and then the Stumpy to see what fits your riding area and style.
Then you can make a better judgement call on the one bike for you.
My 2 cents is that the Stumpy is a better choise for one bike to ride, race and have fun with. The Epic is just more for XC stuff and 2' drops is about is, plus the Stumpy is way more stable once you push the top speed on the downhills.
Enjoy.