DH Technique

[kpdemello]

Looking for tips on riding techy DH runs on a heavy DH bike with a big, heavy fork - a 2007 Specialized SX trail with a Marzocchi Junior T, which weighs about half a ton.

Compared to my all mountain bike, it is a lot harder to maneuver the SX through some of the tighter, twistier, techier DH runs. I have done the same runs on my all mountain bike (Bronson V2) and it is definitely easier to pick a line and make precise moves. With the DH bike, I can plow right over the same tech, but it's much harder to pick a more precise line. I believe this is because the front end of the DH bike weighs so much more, and it's a slightly slacker head angle, so I have a hard time putting that front wheel where I want it to go. It feels like the bike is fighting me.

What tips can you give me to improve my bike handling on the DH bike?

[EricTheDood]

Best tip I can give you is to ditch the SX Trail and just use the Bronson or a rental bike.

Although '07 era bikes aren't quite the tanks they had in the late 90s and early 2000s, they were still heavy with old geometry, 26 inch wheels, and a narrow cockpit. Even if the bike were mint, I'd find it difficult to go back to it from a V2 Bronson.

[DOCRIGID]

I own and ride a 07 sxtrail regularly for lift access stuff only. Its a great park bike, and for the time was ahead of the game as far as geometry. It's not your bronson and will ride differently, you just need more time riding it to get better at it.

[kpdemello]

Yeah I was going to say that the geometry is really not that much different from my Bronson. The biggest difference is a slightly higher bottom bracket. HTA is actually slacker and top tube is just as long.

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[kpdemello]

Well after this weekend I think I've decided to sell the SX. Bronson is just so capable even on some of the gnarly downhill trails at Killington that doesn't really make sense to keep both.

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