I was interested in a Cannondale Gemini....
Its a *****in frame! ***** to climb but it made the downhills to easy.

Anywayz that bike is too much for me....
So im looking at:
5spot
Kona Coiler
Intense SL
Intense SLX

Any opinions.

I weigh 170 and im 5'8

Thanks

My gemini without any of the cannondale headset spacers,
vanilla front and rear and light wheels weighs 30 1/2lbs
and climbs quite well. Goes down purty good too.

you don't say where you ride, how you ride i.e. your riding style and just about the whole enchilada needed to comment on a bike for you? DH/FR/trail only, mixture? Wet muddy riding?
Help us out.

Jim

Sorry guys....
I live in orange county so do alot of 20 mile ride where ill climb for ever and then go down for ever.

But on occasion ill hit up big bear and mammoth for some light freeriding/downhill.

Im just wondering if its better to get a beefy long travel frame then get lighter components
or
get a lighter weight frame with a nice fork and beefier componets.

Get what im saying?
Oh ya 95% of my riding is dry and dusty.

OK, since most of your riding requires climbing and technical handling, no point in saying get a 42lb Bullit and pedal harder.

I'd look at a Heckler (5th coil or Romic), Ventana has some nice bikes that are right up your alley, Titus or Hammerhead based on the LocoMoto frame, to name but a few.

IMHO a 5-6" trail bike is the answer, and I say this as my Bullit has worn me out trying to trail ride it, I just bought an Enduro for trails, and I'll use the Bullit at Whistler and the like.

There's no 1 perfect bike just yet, but we are all looking for it. MBA hints at the new VPP Free from Santa Cruz as a trial bike, I don't buy that at all, and in the latest issue, a 34+ lb Foes was a good all round trail bike. *Crapola* I say. Just my .02

Good luck, Jim

Since you suggest a heckler, how does that compare to a 5 spot

Both 5inches of travel right?

I think these frames will better suit me, so what else compares to em?

OK, since most of your riding requires climbing and technical handling, no point in saying get a 42lb Bullit and pedal harder.

I'd look at a Heckler (5th coil or Romic), Ventana has some nice bikes that are right up your alley, Titus or Hammerhead based on the LocoMoto frame, to name but a few.

IMHO a 5-6" trail bike is the answer, and I say this as my Bullit has worn me out trying to trail ride it, I just bought an Enduro for trails, and I'll use the Bullit at Whistler and the like.

There's no 1 perfect bike just yet, but we are all looking for it. MBA hints at the new VPP Free from Santa Cruz as a trial bike, I don't buy that at all, and in the latest issue, a 34+ lb Foes was a good all round trail bike. *Crapola* I say. Just my .02

Good luck, Jim

Jim,
after using your Bullit and the Enduro, what would you consider the maximum weight for a trail? Does your Bullit have a platform shock?

I'm kind of in the same position as KamikazeBikr in that I want a bike to ride locally on the killer Santa Cruz single track, but still be able to take some hits (up to 4' to flat).

I've added about 2lbs to my current bike (C'dale Jekyll) with bigger tires and rims, and didn't notice much difference besides better handling.

I have been thinking of going up to a 35lb bike, do you think that would be a total drag on uphills?

Other frames to consider:
Azonic Saber (5-6")
Giant AC (5.5-6.5")
Ventana El Chamuco (6")
Ellsworth Joker (5-7" I think)

:confused:
-dooner

I think the Enduro is 29#, and it seems light to me. I don't think it would last 2-3 seasons of 4' drops to flat...trannys maybe. Yes I have a 5th on the Bullit, but it's the DH tires and rolling resistance that makes it hard to pedal. (well for me, and don't forget I'm 57 and an old phart)

If you know Downieville, rode it there last year and it was way too much bike for the trails there. Esp. at 40lb+

Good all-rounders? Heckler and Ventana and Titus and Hammerhead and DeVinci Banzai and Balfa 2 step. As I'm in Canada, I don't often see, nor know anything about, Azonic. Jokers I see broken, but hard use at Whistler will break any bike.

Sorry, all I can say is it took me 2 years and 2 bikes to arrive at the right mix for me, and everyone's different. Keep borrowing buddys' bikes and keep trying what you can.

Also I'd drop over to Passion and get hold of Finch Platte, Johnny Freeride and the like, they hang out in the Bay area and points north, and know your terrain way better than me, and the right bike maybe. I know FP nearly burned his C-dale at the stake for repeated problems, now he's on an Enduro.

good luck, Jim

i rode a giant ac with the swinger and it climbed amazingly well. even though the bike weighed in at over 30lbs you just didn't feel that weight on the climb. my suggestion is to get a bike like that and have 2 sets of wheels. one built up strong with dh tires for the dh runs and one lighter weight set that you run normally. that would be the optimum setup if i were to have only 1 bike.

lighter tires/wheels?

i rode a giant ac with the swinger and it climbed amazingly well. even though the bike weighed in at over 30lbs you just didn't feel that weight on the climb. my suggestion is to get a bike like that and have 2 sets of wheels. one built up strong with dh tires for the dh runs and one lighter weight set that you run normally. that would be the optimum setup if i were to have only 1 bike.

Yeah, the AC or Saber look good with adustable rear travel. Do you know what the frame and shock weight is for the AC? The Saber is 8.2lbs I think.

Do you know the weight of the AC that you rode? I think the AC1 is something like 36lbs stock.

no massage...

the ac frame with shock is pretty close to the sabers weight. i think it might be closer to 9lbs though. that ac i rode was in the low 30's. we basicly put a set of cross country wheels and tires on it. it really is amazing how much mroe you can feel the extra weight in the tires as opposed to the frame itself. i normally ride a rocky edge. i have heavy gazzoladi's on it. even though my bike is lighter than the ac overall, the ac was much quicker on the climbs.

The angle your seat has you over the pedals is the most important factor to easy long climbs.

If you like your Gemini and everyone seems too for DH riding, you might consider a fork that drops in height a couple inches for your climbing sections. That steepens the frame, lowers the BB for better climbing energy efficiencies a lot easier than leaning your shoulders way forward and pulling on the bars or standing to climb.

Of course a lighter framed bike will climb a little faster, but the difference is only a few seconds or minutes on most climbs under the same rider. Lighter low rolling resistance tires help a whole lot too, especially on smoother climbs.

I rode with a guy on the Kona Coiler. Nice smooth pedaling low bob bike with a platform Propedal Vanilla RC. But it was as heavy as a Gemini. The 5-Spot or Uzzi SL (if you can find a used one) would be lighter but more fragile. The SLX may be a little heavier than the Gemini but just as strong and even smoother pedaling and braking.

- ray

I rode with a guy on the Kona Coiler. Nice smooth pedaling low bob bike with a platform Propedal Vanilla RC. But it was as heavy as a Gemini. The 5-Spot or Uzzi SL (if you can find a used one) would be lighter but more fragile. The SLX may be a little heavier than the Gemini but just as strong and even smoother pedaling and braking.


Hey, how does your buddy like is Kona Coiler??
Could that frame be fitted with an air shock? Would that lighten it up and improve climbing, pedalling?

Does the coiler compare to the 5spot?

Thanks

Sorry I didn’t see your post earlier. I don’t get the “un-seen” bolding system with this new forum format yet it doesn’t seem to bold all the new postings I haven’t seen.

The guy was riding a rental Coiler in Moab. The Coiler is not as refined in engineering and a Turner 5 Spot. Thicker tubes, more freeride built than the 5 Spot. An air shock would only drop a half pound or so and reduce the ride quality without reducing bob much. Your Gemini is a slightly better pedaling bike with the same shock in my opinion. The Coiler is in the same class of quality weight and use. The 5 Spot is almost XC race light with air shock, with a more climbing steep seat tube rider position but with a relaxed head tube and fork angle for stability at speed and down steeps.

If you are interested in a lower cost, light weight 5.25 inch travel air shock bike, look at a used Titus Switchblade and get a long travel link and shock. The SB is designed for air (use a platform air shock Either Ava Propedal or Manitou Swinger-3 with the 5.25 link).

- ray

i own an 02 enduro and it climbs great and goes downhill pretty well too. i romp on it pretty hard but as jim implied i would not want to do 5' drops on it too often. but for an all around agressive xc bike, i think it kicks ass. especially given the relatively cheap price. ps- i too live in southern california so the terrain we ride is similar i'm sure