I'm a older, rather serious east coast rider who is looking for advice on a light weight bike that I can use for masters racing and crushing my young punk friends.
Most of my riding is DC/ western MD & PA area trails, almost exclusively single track, consisting mostly of roots, logs, roots, short steeps, roots, baby heads, roots, mud and roots. My biggest technical advantage is on the downhills, so I want enough suspension to let me push the envelope. On the other hand, I want the lightest, best climbing bike that works; because, at my age, I need all the help that I can get on the uphills. I'm 6', 190lbs and apparently "ride heavy", because I tend break bikes and components at a way too frequent intervals. I don't do any jumps to speak of, but I do hop logs, gullies, and momentum slowing rough patches. The lighter the bike I'm on, the more time that I spend in the air.
The bike that I'm looking to replace is a Tomac Revolver. I dearly loved that the way it rode; but, since I broke that frame, I'm looking for something a bit more durable. For benchmark purposes, that bike weighed in somewhere under 30 lbs (5.6lb frame) and had 4" of travel. It had a 70 degree head angle, 44" wheel base, and was a bit on the stretched out side (24.25" top tube that I rode with a 110 stem).
I'm looking for a frameset, since I've got the rest of the bike sitting in a parts box in the basement. I'm willing spend into the boutique range, but my ceiling is about 2K. I've spotted clearance deals on '05 Racer X, Maverick ML-7.3 and Truth, plus an '04 El Saltamontes. Motolite, Flux, Salsa El Santo, FXR, 5spot, etc. are also in the running.
My questions are these: Since I want something that will hold up, should I be looking more in 5-6" travel range? How much climbing ability and turning quickness do I give up by doing so? I've been hesitant to look at more all mountain types, because there's generally a dollar premium to do so, and it would necessitate picking up a new fork. But extra bucks are worth it if means a more reliable ride. On the other hand, how durable are the 4" travel bikes of the caliber of what I've been considering?
Any help/advice offered would be appreciated.
- Ron
Most of my riding is DC/ western MD & PA area trails, almost exclusively single track, consisting mostly of roots, logs, roots, short steeps, roots, baby heads, roots, mud and roots. My biggest technical advantage is on the downhills, so I want enough suspension to let me push the envelope. On the other hand, I want the lightest, best climbing bike that works; because, at my age, I need all the help that I can get on the uphills. I'm 6', 190lbs and apparently "ride heavy", because I tend break bikes and components at a way too frequent intervals. I don't do any jumps to speak of, but I do hop logs, gullies, and momentum slowing rough patches. The lighter the bike I'm on, the more time that I spend in the air.
The bike that I'm looking to replace is a Tomac Revolver. I dearly loved that the way it rode; but, since I broke that frame, I'm looking for something a bit more durable. For benchmark purposes, that bike weighed in somewhere under 30 lbs (5.6lb frame) and had 4" of travel. It had a 70 degree head angle, 44" wheel base, and was a bit on the stretched out side (24.25" top tube that I rode with a 110 stem).
I'm looking for a frameset, since I've got the rest of the bike sitting in a parts box in the basement. I'm willing spend into the boutique range, but my ceiling is about 2K. I've spotted clearance deals on '05 Racer X, Maverick ML-7.3 and Truth, plus an '04 El Saltamontes. Motolite, Flux, Salsa El Santo, FXR, 5spot, etc. are also in the running.
My questions are these: Since I want something that will hold up, should I be looking more in 5-6" travel range? How much climbing ability and turning quickness do I give up by doing so? I've been hesitant to look at more all mountain types, because there's generally a dollar premium to do so, and it would necessitate picking up a new fork. But extra bucks are worth it if means a more reliable ride. On the other hand, how durable are the 4" travel bikes of the caliber of what I've been considering?
Any help/advice offered would be appreciated.
- Ron
