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I've always been a 1 bike guy until this year, because I finally gave up on trying to find "that one bike for everything".
So, this year I've managed to collect a new IH Sunday, SC Nomad as well as a new RFX.
I ride in Santa Cruz and Nisene Marks, Demo etc, mostly bayarea stuff. Most of it is fast swoopy corners, take a look at Steve Peat in Decline a few months back with his foot out in front of his handlebar and his grip dragging in the dirt. I hit that turn almost every time I ride. Some of the other stuff I ride is in Tahoe, which varies from Sandy/Rocky to Sandy/Bermed.
I think the way you ride and what terrain you ride is obviously the biggest factor for geo. With that being said, and a few solid rides between all three bikes, I think in terms of DH I'm the fastest on the Sunday, second is the Nomad, third is the RFX. The reverse is true for climbing, however, I'm running taller gears on the RFX so in some situations it takes more power to granny up some ridiculous climb, but whatever.
The new RFX is way better than my old 6Pack. It doesn't flex nearly as much, it pedals just as neutral and the suspension feels a lot smoother, it's also quite a bit lighter. The BB is way,way too tall for the terrain I ride. I'm going to throw a 7.5X2.0 shock on it to see if I can make it faster on the downhills, but right now I'm still quite a bit faster on my Nomad through the corners. I also feel for some reason that the 72* seat angle is too far forward. I don't seem to need to be that leaned forward when I'm riding, and for some reason it feels like I'm squishing my spine when I'm seated. The nomad has a 70* Seat angle and this feels much more natural to me. I also hate the cable routing on the RFX. I sweat too much and HAVE to run full housing.
One thing I do like about the RFX geo out of the box is that it is really intuitive. The bike rides very even and predictable. I don't have to do anything special to make it turn and it drifts corners in a very smooth way. To make the Nomad drift turns you have to be very aggressive, and basically ride it like a DH bike, compressing the rear suspension through each turn. I'm guessing this is because it has a longer wheelbase.
Why does any of this matter? Well, on the thread about the baby-highline, there was a lot of talk about why would anyone need anything other than the RFX and some other talk about what geo people like.
I guess I would say that the Nomad is pretty close in terms of geo to what a Mini-DH bike would feel like to me. Maybe I would like a slightly lower BB and a slacker head-tube. The RFX feels like a big XC bike in comparison, and that is what I'm using it for now. When you are going FAST and drifting both wheels from corner to corner, you need a low BB. I run about 40% sag on the Nomad and I can push the bike into corners almost as fast as the Sunday. If Turner were to create something in between the Highline and the RFX it should focus on being a small-travel DHR. 6.5 inches of travel, realtively low BB, shortish TT. Weight should come in around 34lbs with single-ply 2.5 tires or DH casing 2.35 tires. This should not be a bike that people want to pedal all day long. This should be a bike for fast and smooth trails and should corner like an absolute madman. I think the Highline and the RFX pretty much cover every other area.
I've raced a bunch of local "DH" races this year, and placed on the podium for most of them. Problem is that I've won just as many on my Nomad as I have on my Sunday. Isn't the Sunday supposed to be the "race" bike? How come I can win a DH race on a trailbike? The DH races are less gnarly these days, and they focus more on pedaling and cornering than gnar-gnar big stuff. Think about the Sea Otter DH. Nobody is being fooled into thinking that that course is a DH course. What I would want is a bike that pedals and sprints like the RFX, has the nice supple suspension of the RFX, weighs as much as my RFX and jumps like an RFX but corners like my Sunday. ZOOOOM!
Oh yeah, and bring back ISCG tabs on the BB.
So, this year I've managed to collect a new IH Sunday, SC Nomad as well as a new RFX.
I ride in Santa Cruz and Nisene Marks, Demo etc, mostly bayarea stuff. Most of it is fast swoopy corners, take a look at Steve Peat in Decline a few months back with his foot out in front of his handlebar and his grip dragging in the dirt. I hit that turn almost every time I ride. Some of the other stuff I ride is in Tahoe, which varies from Sandy/Rocky to Sandy/Bermed.
I think the way you ride and what terrain you ride is obviously the biggest factor for geo. With that being said, and a few solid rides between all three bikes, I think in terms of DH I'm the fastest on the Sunday, second is the Nomad, third is the RFX. The reverse is true for climbing, however, I'm running taller gears on the RFX so in some situations it takes more power to granny up some ridiculous climb, but whatever.
The new RFX is way better than my old 6Pack. It doesn't flex nearly as much, it pedals just as neutral and the suspension feels a lot smoother, it's also quite a bit lighter. The BB is way,way too tall for the terrain I ride. I'm going to throw a 7.5X2.0 shock on it to see if I can make it faster on the downhills, but right now I'm still quite a bit faster on my Nomad through the corners. I also feel for some reason that the 72* seat angle is too far forward. I don't seem to need to be that leaned forward when I'm riding, and for some reason it feels like I'm squishing my spine when I'm seated. The nomad has a 70* Seat angle and this feels much more natural to me. I also hate the cable routing on the RFX. I sweat too much and HAVE to run full housing.
One thing I do like about the RFX geo out of the box is that it is really intuitive. The bike rides very even and predictable. I don't have to do anything special to make it turn and it drifts corners in a very smooth way. To make the Nomad drift turns you have to be very aggressive, and basically ride it like a DH bike, compressing the rear suspension through each turn. I'm guessing this is because it has a longer wheelbase.
Why does any of this matter? Well, on the thread about the baby-highline, there was a lot of talk about why would anyone need anything other than the RFX and some other talk about what geo people like.
I guess I would say that the Nomad is pretty close in terms of geo to what a Mini-DH bike would feel like to me. Maybe I would like a slightly lower BB and a slacker head-tube. The RFX feels like a big XC bike in comparison, and that is what I'm using it for now. When you are going FAST and drifting both wheels from corner to corner, you need a low BB. I run about 40% sag on the Nomad and I can push the bike into corners almost as fast as the Sunday. If Turner were to create something in between the Highline and the RFX it should focus on being a small-travel DHR. 6.5 inches of travel, realtively low BB, shortish TT. Weight should come in around 34lbs with single-ply 2.5 tires or DH casing 2.35 tires. This should not be a bike that people want to pedal all day long. This should be a bike for fast and smooth trails and should corner like an absolute madman. I think the Highline and the RFX pretty much cover every other area.
I've raced a bunch of local "DH" races this year, and placed on the podium for most of them. Problem is that I've won just as many on my Nomad as I have on my Sunday. Isn't the Sunday supposed to be the "race" bike? How come I can win a DH race on a trailbike? The DH races are less gnarly these days, and they focus more on pedaling and cornering than gnar-gnar big stuff. Think about the Sea Otter DH. Nobody is being fooled into thinking that that course is a DH course. What I would want is a bike that pedals and sprints like the RFX, has the nice supple suspension of the RFX, weighs as much as my RFX and jumps like an RFX but corners like my Sunday. ZOOOOM!
Oh yeah, and bring back ISCG tabs on the BB.
