The Amusement Bike Park

TimBay said:
So, is this idea crazy?

I buy the lesser $2100 Trance. Same frame, common components and Fox DPS. I live with the Marzocchi fork. I buy DT Swiss with new XT Hubs, SLX 12spd Group, SLX 4pot brakes all for $1200. I sell the SX group, Stock Wheels, and 400 brakes for like $500 and I'm at the $2900 price point with a better build of components except the Fox 34 might be slightly better than the Marzocchi Z2 both with the same Grip Damper. Better wheels and brakes with same groupset.
(And I talk @Tim into helping me put it all together :banana: ) I've generally been looking at lesser builds with upgrading vs higher builds for a while.
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The Marzochi Fork shouldn't be much different from a Fox 34 Rhythm. As you said they have the same damper. It's a decent fork. You are right on to stay away from SX or NX Eagle cassettes as they are heavy as balls. I have no opinion on new Shimano 12 speed stuff as I haven't ridden or seen it. Hell, I don't even know the weight on the cassette but I would definitely look into that before dropping a pile of money on it. I would suggest getting DT wheels that have at least a 350 hub or better (star ratchet). I am not a fan of 360 or 370 hubs with pawls. Aluminum rims are more than fine. Get something close to 30mm internal width.
 
mtbiker87 said:
I'd ditch the Dps for at least the dpx2, if not something completely different, but I like the way you are thinking. Two things I'd consider though. One....is there really a market for take off SX stuff ? Two. .....the big companies get big discounts from suppliers. To me, the biggest advantage of getting a complete, is getting a cheaper price for good suspension, as it is probably, aside from wheels maybe, the most expensive aftermarket upgrade. That new Marzo sounds like its worth keeping, but if I'm spending as much money on a bike, as I did for my car, i want some buff ass suspension right from the start ! At this point, I'd almost think buying a frame only option wouldnt be so far off. Me ? At that price point I'd be buying that ripmo af from Jenson and calling it done.
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I'm with you on this one. I think my next MTB is going to be a frame only that I build up. My first bike was a complete bike that I never really liked at the time. Looking back it was actually a lot better than I thought at the time. I sold that and bought another complete bike that I have upgraded nearly every component on.

Thinking and analyzing all this stuff is fun but it's also a huge mental drain. I have been super busy the last 2 months and barely have time to ride a few times a week let alone worry about parts/upgrades and I can honestly say I am enjoying my bike more than ever. I just grab it and ride. There is definitely something to be said for just buying the best bike you can, whatever that is, and just ride it. We really do worry about a lot of stuff that doesn't matter very much. If it's got 2 wheels and pedals go and ride it.
 
TimBay said:
Blog time:

JORBA Fest was awesome! Thanks to JORBA for the fest and all of their great work making New Jersey a truly special place to ride.

Big thanks to @Mr.Moto and @serviceguy for leading the way all day. It was great to meet and ride with Leo.

Thanks to them and everyone else for hanging around as I got bikes to demo and doing shorter loops with me. I wish I had a little more time to ride with @Mtbdog and @BPaze , but I was kind of on my way out as they were getting started. It was cool to briefly meet Brett.

On to the demos. Wow was this an eye opening learning experience. I can really see why people recommend demoing bikes before you buy them. I rode 4 bikes that all had different feels. In talking with one of the guys from Hilltop (I'm terrible with names), he helped explain to me how the geometry and design of the rear suspension really determined how a bike will ride, not so much the components on it. Up until that point, I didn't really understand this. His analogy was great: you can soup up a Miata with the same specs as a Porche, but when you drive a Porche, you immediately know the difference and why it's better.

The bikes in order of appearance:

Giant Trance Advanced Pro 2: I liked this one the best, I think. Definitely the best fit, I just felt really comfortable and connected to the bike. I also felt like it had the least bob in suspension. I could feel the rear suspension when I wanted to, but it was stiff and supportive when pedaling. I'm pretty sure this is the bike I purchase this spring.

Cannondale Habbit 2: Worst bike of the day, in my opinion. Just tons of bob when pedalling and climbing. It really felt sluggish compared to the others.

Salsa Horsethief: Not bad. This one was spec'd in the range I would actually purchase (aluminum, with a Recon Fork and NX group). The only problem was that it was a medium and the seat was too low, which made the climbing and pedaling crappy. I shoulda adjusted it better. Even with that, it did feel pretty stable pedalling and was overall fun to ride.

Specialized Stumpjumper (27.5): This was the only 27.5 I rode. The Hilltop guy was a 27.5 advocate, so he talked me into giving this a spin. I could see what people say about it being a little more playful. The bike was way too small and I only took it for a quick lap, but I'm curious to give this another try. I can see why these are one of the most popular bikes.

So, I'm heavily leaning toward the trance. I really, really liked the way it felt while pedaling. It felt like a pretty perfect fit for me in size. I also think it has the best specs per price. They really made an affordable bike.

I'm hoping to possibly find another demo event, but we'll see. I might also try to get get a demo from Hilltop as they do both Specialized and Giant. This was such a great experience being able to feel the difference in these bikes.
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The new Trance is sick, especially for the coin. Giant usually has the biggest bang for the buck of all the brands.
 
TimBay said:
Felt like seeing what the cart would look like if I tried to build up a bike. Not really sure how compatible all this stuff is, but just figured I'd throw some together for rough pricing. $4168 with some of the cheapest stuff i could find.

@serviceguy what is the difference in the wheels you were running? All I know is hubs, engagement, and inner rim width seem to be factors...that and aluminum vs carbon. What should I be looking for in wheels?
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by a capable lesser bike and swap out the parts that you like and hold onto them, soon you'll have enough parts to make a bike minus the frame. Then you buy the frame you want and move over the parts you like. I'm moving over my drive train to my new bike once I have a fork and as things wear I'll upgrade/replace and get the ragley running again.
 
Tim said:
I'm with you on this one. I think my next MTB is going to be a frame only that I build up. My first bike was a complete bike that I never really liked at the time. Looking back it was actually a lot better than I thought at the time. I sold that and bought another complete bike that I have upgraded nearly every component on.

Thinking and analyzing all this stuff is fun but it's also a huge mental drain. I have been super busy the last 2 months and barely have time to ride a few times a week let alone worry about parts/upgrades and I can honestly say I am enjoying my bike more than ever. I just grab it and ride. There is definitely something to be said for just buying the best bike you can, whatever that is, and just ride it. We really do worry about a lot of stuff that doesn't matter very much. If it's got 2 wheels and pedals go and ride it.
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This ^
I fixate on what I need next or what I am missing that is why I have been staying off mtbnj a little bit.
 
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jimvreeland said:
The new Trance is sick, especially for the coin. Giant usually has the biggest bang for the buck of all the brands.
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Solid input from a pro/shopkeep. So a big question I have is:
A. Find a demo of the advanced pro 2 I rode for a good deal this spring.
B. Buy the $2900 version and just ride it out.
C. Buy the budget $2100 version, upgrade it right away with better wheels, same slx 12 spd, and better slx brakes, only sacrificing the fork (marzocchi vs fox 34) for around the same $3k price tag.

I'm leaning toward A with B as a backup plan, but C seems like a possible way to get the best build per dollar.
 
not getting better wheels, brakes, etc for $800 - what is the drive train on plan B?

i'm going to jettison my sram level tlms soon. no likey cause no contact/bite adjustment.
 
Patrick said:
not getting better wheels, brakes, etc for $800 - what is the drive train on plan B?

i'm going to jettison my sram level tlms soon. no likey cause no contact/bite adjustment.
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Comes stock with sx and had intro level 400 shimano brakes. The wheels are giant brand 25mm inner with giant hubs. No idea how those hubs are.

Was also thinking, I live with the SX and buy a better wheel with dt350 that I can change to xd or microspline when the time comes. I'm not super worried about weight. I've got 40-50 lbs on my gut that I should shred since that's weighing me down more than anything.
 
serviceguy said:
You guys need to come up north more, @TimBay seemed to enjoy greatly!
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I really liked the trails there. I could ride that switchback section all day, which I did. Kinda wish I went out with Frank and Brett , though it was fun to try out the super stumpy. Also wish I had adjusted the seatpost on the horsethief. I did kinda lime how it felt, but the poor pedaling position was annoying.
 
TimBay said:
New plan. When I'm ready, I'm just gonna give @jimvreeland my money and ride whatever he gives me. Easy peasy.
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i've been doing this for a number of years now. my twist is not to actually research anything, just ask jim and go with it.
 
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