[mnigro]

Hey all,
I’m considering the Spitfire as an all rounder trail bike. The ability to run my 12x142 & 26” wheels until they need to be re-laced is FANTASTIC. And the price...yeah.

I don’t need a long travel AM machine but I’m pretty heavy on the pedals so I appreciate the pedigree of the Spitfire.

The feedback I’m looking for is about how this bike climbs. Having owned a number of frames I have high expectations of a trail bike’s climbing behavior. For reference, some bikes I’ve owned are Motolite, Nomad v1, El Guapo, and most recently a Yeti ASR5. Climbing with the Nomad wasn’t too bad, was just heavy and the Motolite was OK but the EL G had a lot of squat. The Yeti was great!

I don’t expect a XC machine but how does this bike climb? I am fine to sit and spin or get out of the saddle to clear tech, I just hate when you get that mushy, energy sapping feeling.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[JonJones]

I'll say the following. Having ridden the Rune, and owning a Prime they are excellent climbers, both in tech and on smoother grinds.

I've a couple of mates who have owned them and they're swear by the climbing ability. As long as you have it set up well you'll not be upset with it.

And my Prime is a monster, very little carbon / weight savings and it's easily the best climbing bike I've owned. Including a 9.9 Fuel Ex.

Wait for other comments but they're the goods.

 

[mnigro]

Thanks JJ.

 

[Samos]

Hi,
Owning a 2013 Spitfire I will order a new frame next week. It will be again a Spitfire. The last iteration with all the little tweaks that make it more of a 650b bike than it was (Keith from Banshee wrote it here).

In my mind and my experience, the Spitfire is a good climber. Pretty on the heavy side but a good climber. As with all full-sus, you need to have your suspensions setter correctly.

 

[GrannyJenkins]

I went from an Ibis HD3 to a Spitfire with a coil. The Ibis was lighter and pedaled noticeably better, but the Spitfire still pedals well. I've done similar length/elevation days on the Spitfire and Ibis and didn't notice any additional fatigue.

 

[mnigro]

Good feedback GF. Do you think an air shock would make climbing better?

 

[GrannyJenkins]

I tried it with a really high spring rate spring and it did climb better as it kept it higher in travel so seat angle and head angle steeper. I have an X2 which will fit but haven't tried it yet (and haven't felt the need).

Be aware the BB is quite low -this was a big plus for me - but I know some people don't like it when doing rocky climbs.

Another thing I forgot to mention is I don't bother using the climb switch on the coil.

I'm similar to you and can't stand mushy bikes, and I'm happy with the Spitfire.