Manic episodes with DH....

[ellbiddy]

I went to diablo the first time a couple weeks back and I loved it...a lot. I got super pumped and started looking for a DH bike. So I find a awesome deal on a bike that's a good drive off, have all the gear on ready or on the way. Just super stoked to get into it. So I get up this morning to drive out and WHAMO the "wtf are you doing light" starts blinking....so I start thinking about if dropping over a grand on a bike I'm going to use like 10-20 times a year is worth it. And then starts the...the only place I can really use it is Diablo which is like an hour and a half away which costs me gas+time wasted driving+lift ticket. So slowly I began getting bummed out, called the guy and put it off for a few days. I really wish there were some good places to ride DH at in central jersey but it's pretty damn flat. I'd take anything like 45-50 minutes away.

I have a ton of bikes already and I really love each one and use each one frequently, but this one seems to be one I wouldn't use as much but would costs as much if not more than some of of my other bikes. I tried to equate it to skiing, but since I ski a hell of a lot more than I plan to DH (8-10 times a month) it seems to be a lot more worth it for me to drop the money on gas + driving time. It's such a dedicated machine that I just feel like getting a DH bike is like getting a car than can only drive 900 mph, cool, but just not practical to have in my situation.

Maybe a freeride bike is a good compromise so that I could at least take it to do some DJ stuff locally? Not sure how they hold up at Diablo, but those trails aren't too intense so I'd imagine it being okay. At least jenson has an awesome RMA policy and just gobble up returns if that's the route I choose, I'm still torn How did you guys justify the cost, especially if you live way the hell out of the way from like Diablo? Maybe there are some secret trails I don't know about.

 

[mattybfat]

Look if your biten by the bug of dhing but not fully committed then just keep renting until you really sell your soul to the dh side. Also when I started to get into it there was only plattekill 3.5 hrs. away every weekend.yikes! You will buy a dh rig if not now,later. Buy USED there are so many out there barely used. main thing is get to the mt now and rent and have fun.

 

[ellbiddy]

Yeah I might head up and rent for this last weekend now. That bike I was going to pick up was used. Really good parts for the price, just can't commit 100% it's the end of the season anyway so I'll have plenty of time to churn this over.

 

[FFT]

There are hike a bike trails at CR and Skyline. Shop around, sixseven got a killer deal on a big bike. I drive twice as far and still get 20+ days, man up!!

 

[ellbiddy]

Hah, I guess that's the attitude I need to get. I've been looking for deals but the folks on pinkbike are a headache to deal with sometimes and buying a bike that I've never seen or ridden is hard to stomach. I've been scouring craigslist, ebay, and pinkbike for local stuff.

 

[FFT]

Whats your budget?

 

[ellbiddy]

Around 1k I could push to 1200 for a super sweet deal

 

[FFT]

Around 1k I could push to 1200 for a super sweet deal

Size?

 

[ellbiddy]

I ride a 19.5" frame so I usually go with large, but occasionally I'll ride something smaller so I can flick it around. The large ironhorse 7.5's at diablo fit pretty well. I had the seat up a bit higher than most of the guys there, but I think it's just the XC roots peeking through :mad2:

 

[TJYeti]

does diablo or ridetopia sell their rental bikes at the end of the season? maybe that's an option.there's plenty of good deals on ebay but i'd buy something that's close enough that you could go see before bidding.replacing a beat wheelset or fork is money that could have gone into a new bike.with the season over next week,why not just start saving as much as you can for the spring.if you decide not to buy ,you've still got a nice pile of $$$.

 

[ellbiddy]

It's not an issue of what I can afford, it's an issue of what I want to spend. I don't want to go drop 3 grand on a Sunday and then have it sit 340/356 days of the year.

 

[jbogner]

It's an hour and fifteen minutes for us in the city, and some of our guys are out there both days every weekend. I've managed to get 8 days in this year despite racing XC, promoting races and building trails- it's a long season from May-November (much longer than the snow season!).

But you're right about sinking a bunch of money into a bike. If you're just a casual DH/Freerider, you may not see a return on your investment until the second or third year of ownership (versus the cost of renting). Buying used is a decent way to get into it, and a freeride bike (7" travel) with two rings is a great option. I've got a dual ring setup on my Uzzi, and it lets me pedal when some of the guys are pushing up. The XCer in me HATES to push my bike, even when it's clocking 44 lbs with lead weights for wheels (ie DH casing wire bead sticky rubber tires and DH tubes)...

 

[sixseven]

I bought my bike from FFT, 800 and he included a helmet, armor and a ton of good advice. Diablo season pass was 259, I will get in 3 days of riding this season on it.
Total of what I have spent so far is less than a third of what I spent on my XC bike. You can do it on the cheap. And if you ski 8-10 times a month I would be pretty confident that you would be using the DH bike a lot.

I think Diablo is selling off the Iron Horse rentals, they are switching to Jamis.
Probably some good deals...
Btw, FFT rides a Sunday. Those are sweet. I like the 7 point too.

 

[warcricket]

my next bike will most likely be an fr hardtail that i can take to the ski lifts but also throw around the dj trails and urban stuff.

compromise, but hardtails are cool.

 

[phathucker]

XC vs. DH

dude just buy a triple crown fork or a 66 and put it on your xc bike. Then when seasons over take it off and put single crown back on. You dont really need 8 inches of rear travel in the rear.

Or there are bikes that can do both. Like the specialized enduro or the jamis parker, both of those bike are light(as in not as heavy as a full dh bike) but still have like 180mm of travel. The devinci frantik, Lucky seven, i think the rocky mountain has a bike that has adjustable 3 4 or 6 inches of rear travel.

 

[ellbiddy]

Well we'll see how it goes next sunday, I'm still all in for the trip but I'll probably just rent and use my own gear since the shit they give you is gross. There's no real rush since next weekend is the last weekend for the season. My problem with just throwing a super long travel fork on my XC bike is that the geometry will be way hairy, the head tube angle is too steep and even on steep descents (diablo-esque) at some of the gnarly hike-a-bike sections at Round Valley I felt really off balance because of the bike geometry (the fork seemed too "long" and had me up too high). I compensated by dropping my stem some on the bike but really don't want to beat it up at Diablo. I'll have all winter to try and convince myself to get a new bike ;p. At least this time I'll have some normal gear and I can enjoy the slopes without dropping a ton of money heh

Edit: And yeah, I'm probably going to get a beefy freeride bike instead of dedicated DH racer unless I get a good deal on the latter. I'm always keeping my eyes peeled for good deals. Maybe I'll rent a sunday next weekend just to diversify my bike experience. Hopefully it'll take over me like skiing did and I'll end up going twice a week during the season

 

[NJMX835]

Well, next year you also may have freeriding at Blue Mountain in PA, which is 1.5 hours from you, no closer, but at least you'll have variety

I say go for it, sometimes more is lost by indecision than bad decision.

 

[THATmanMANNY]

DUDE, man up.

Say you ride FR/DH a couple more times that's $200 bucks more gone. Say you go to more epic places to ride up north too. That's another couple hundred. At least if you got the bike, you have resell value and take only a couple more hundred dollar hit instead of being on this teeter totter. I don't think a FR bike would even benefit anywhere around here anyways. You already got a nice FS. If you're not gonna use the FR bike much around here i'd doubt you get to use the DH bike much around here. So just get the DH bike so you can go SOOOPER fast and go to other resorts to ride and you know it can take on anything!

I got mine (used & cheap$) last year and just ridden it once and hopefully twice by this weekend, but I'm glad I have it. One of these days I'll just hike-a-bike sourlands and mess around all over that. And I can't wait to paint it powder pink and throw some white and black on it!

 

[FFT]

dude just buy a triple crown fork or a 66 and put it on your xc bike. Then when seasons over take it off and put single crown back on. You dont really need 8 inches of rear travel in the rear.

Why didnt I think of that? Then when the headtube snaps off and you get done paying the hospital bills you can replace your XC bike and buy a DH bike. and some teeth.

 

[ellbiddy]

Why didnt I think of that? Then when the headtube snaps off and you get done paying the hospital bills you can replace your XC bike and buy a DH bike. and some teeth.

Couldn't help myself :rofl:

I think the rim has a flat spot from railing his face....