I haven't seen many reviews of the Sortie, everything i have read talks about how well the bike descends but not a lot of reviews on how it climbs? Also, does the Sortie suffer from Brake Jack?
I am in the market for a 5" travel bike and keeping my options open, i almost have my mind set on a Santa Cruz Nickel but would like to hear your thoughts on this bike.
I have a 4" Sortie 3 (I like the steeper geometry, but I hate that it's heavier than the newer frames) and it climbs (even with pro-pedal off) better than any other FS bike I've ridden, except maybe a Cannondale Scalpel.
One group I ride with hits a particular set of trails once a week, and we switch bikes every 15 minutes or so. It's nice because we're all about the same size, and it gives us all a chance to see what our bikes do well, and what other people's bikes do well (it's a great way to compare tires, too!).
Point being: everyone tries to get my Sortie or my buddy's GT Marathon for the biggest climbs, and the Specialized, Cannondale, Trek, and Haro rigs are considered consolation prizes.
I own a Mission III. I love how it climbs. Demo'd a Sortie III and it climbed even better. I guess its the slightly steeper HA and shorter wheelbase. Either bike, with propedal off climbs better than most FS bikes I've ever ridden.
I own a 4" Sortie 3 thats been heavily upgraded. It weighs in at 24lbs and climbs like nothing else. Flip on the pro-pedal and fly up the hill. Light wheels and a light double crank help knock the weight down from stock. I've replaced the wheels with American Classic MTB350 tubeless wheels at 1458grams, using tubeless Maxxis Larsens, stronglight oxale double crank, carbon bars and seatpost and others. Its a great platform to build on. And it still descends like a trailbike.
I ride with other friends, all on all nice FS designs, My Sortie climbs amazingly smooth and I like it more than other designs I've owned or tried. It does not have "brake jack" I love the bike. You will really like it. Smooth and fast!
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