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DownHill bike for trail riding???

44K views 69 replies 55 participants last post by  jasonjm 
#1 ·
Whats up guys i ride a hardtail mainly on xc trails and recently found krazy DH trails. i'v heard many people say dont use DH bikes for trail riding, y is this? id like 2 do both types of riding but with 1 bike.

Thanks
Anto
 
#3 ·
redspotff is quite correct. You need a bike with about 6.5 inches of travel that can do the XC thing or the mild DH thing. There are many bikes on the market that could fit this niche, such as the the SC Nomad, Nicolai Helius FR, Tuner RFX, Foes FXR etc. I have one of these bikes and with a couple of specific wheelsets, you really can have two bikes in one (IMO), dependant on how you build it.

Although you will never beat a XC bike for XC and a DH bike for DH.
 
#6 ·
The Reign X(0-1-2) is an option too. I own a X1 and bought it exactly for that reason. I wanted to ride the trails around the city but I also wanted to go with my friends ripping the shuttled mountain like Bromon or Mont-Saint-Anne. Man, that bike is really a do it all and so far, for my level, it does it without forcing me to sacrifice any fun.
 
#7 ·
i was in your boat as well. i like going downhill but i cant afford to pay for lifts and shuttles all the time. so i gotta pedal up. im a college student as well so i can only really have one bike based on my budget. i got the kona coilair with the magic link. if you are into weird suspension design gadget kind of stuff check it out. it was cheap and does everything so i like it. if i had all the money in the world i'd go for a SC nomad for an AM bike.

if you are looking for a category of bikes... you're probably going for the All mountain part of the spectrum.
 
#57 ·
re



Hello sorry for the dumb question!
I am newbie fan of mountain bike rides. I used to ride BMX back then in the 90s but I am getting older and trying to exercise my self so mountain bike rides are cool and good cardio exercise.

I had this same question about use a downhill bike for tiral ridding and found this interesting topic.

I see lot of diferent opinions so I am assuming only a self experience will determinate what is best or if this is a great idea.

So my dumb question is What exactly a MTB Police is?

My country you dont have to worry about police but thieves yes for sure!

I am not from the States so this is probably a new concept to me..
 
#9 ·
nightnerd said:
The Reign X(0-1-2) is an option too. I own a X1 and bought it exactly for that reason. I wanted to ride the trails around the city but I also wanted to go with my friends ripping the shuttled mountain like Bromon or Mont-Saint-Anne. Man, that bike is really a do it all and so far, for my level, it does it without forcing me to sacrifice any fun.
Agreed. The Reign X is a great option for this. Some other good options in this category:
Santa Cruz Nomad
Specialized SX Trail
Knolly Delerium-T

--Ben
 
#12 ·
The slacker geometry and wheelbase of a full on downhill bike puts it at a disadvantage. It's just not a comfortable and effecient riding position. I have taken out my Foes Fly with full race setup(boxxer WC, durace cassette, dual plys) for trail rides and done quite well keeping up with the others(partially due to its 36lb weight, sub 36 with singleplys), but when you stand up to do a climb and try to weight the front tire with bars in your lap it's not as great as a trail bike. The lengthy 45+ wheelbase makes turning tight technical corners more difficult.

I'm a big fan of the Foes FXR. Incredibly capable bike. Three of us local guys own Foes Fly's and love them for DH racing. However, since 2 of us got the FXR's it's been the bike of choice for everything. Trail riding, shuttling, even downhill racing. The bike pedals great with the Curnutt XTD coil or air or the DHX air. The geometry is adjustable via a rod end at the end of the shock to lower the bb and slacken the ht. However none of us have changed the geometry settings. Using a adjustable travel fork(we've got a 36 talas and a lyric u-turn) makes it absolutely amazing.
One of the guys actually sold his nomad to buy the FXR.
 
#13 ·
Ya people will talk you need this bike for that etc BS all day long.

if your strong and you set your mind to it, You can actually ride a DH bike uphill and for trail riding.

You just will sacrifice some speed for climbing and it will not be as fun on the climbs.

DH bike has different geometery and is usually much heavier.

SO when your climbing steep hill the front wheel will flop around easily. Again just gotta be stronger and use more balance. I have done it as well as many others.

A majority of these people aren't able to push themselves physically to the point to be strong enough to ride DH bike uphill so they will say it cannot be done.

or the classic BS line. "You need a DH bike to ride this trail"

Although 15 years ago the same trail was ridden by fully rigid mtb's.

Usually an excuse by people that don't got the skills.

Yes a DH bike will be more fun and way faster.

Some of the suggestions for AM bikes will be very fun bikes to ride yet not as performance orientated as a pure DH bike. Yet very close and way more fun to climb with.

Goes both ways:
A XC bike isn't made for DH but it can be ridden on krazy Dh trails. You just wont be as fast as a pure DH bike. Depending on your weight and riding style, also may flat or break some parts

IF your not racing you may not need (or even want) a DH bike.

I needed a DH bike for racing and wanted to get fitter for racing so I rode the DH bike on all the trail rides. (because I also couldnt afford another bike)

Eventually I could keep up on the DH bike. And when I got a XC bike I was much faster.

Choose what is going to be the most fun for you. Time for some research and test rides
 
#16 ·
Sure why not! Most DH bikes don't weigh much more than a Wally World bike would anyway. If you don't care about speed (up the hills) or pedalling efficiency then throw a granny gear on your DH bike and go for it, like someone else has said the worst it will do is make you fitter.
Then off course if you really get to enjoy this whole "AM" riding thing more than pure DH well you can get a bike that will be ok for both DH and XC but not great at either.
Different people have different ideas of what riding is all about so if doing XC on a DH bike makes riding fun for you then go for it and don't worry about what others think.
 
#17 ·
I would go for a 4X bike. Like an Ibis Mojo. Light enough for xc and can be used for hard riding. Or a blur, morewoods 4x bike etc. I ride a 4x hardtail and have ridden trails where mates have been on vp frees and stinky's. Its not as coumfortable but its do able and very fun.
If youve got less travel your doing more of the work, your bike will bumping and drifting whilst you just keep control, stay loose and let your suspension and tyres find grip. I would go for a 4x bike.
 
#18 ·
sometimes i ride my xc hardtail and sometimes i ride my 8" dh bike on the same rocky trails that require alot of uphill pedaling.

the uphills are more fun on the xc.

the downhills are more fun on the dh.


a " in between" bike will only be semi-fun on both. had one and dumped it. just my "2 cents".
 
#19 ·
MaxBS said:
I would go for a 4X bike. Like an Ibis Mojo. Light enough for xc and can be used for hard riding. Or a blur, morewoods 4x bike etc. I ride a 4x hardtail and have ridden trails where mates have been on vp frees and stinky's. Its not as coumfortable but its do able and very fun.
If youve got less travel your doing more of the work, your bike will bumping and drifting whilst you just keep control, stay loose and let your suspension and tyres find grip. I would go for a 4x bike.
I agree w/ the recommendation for a 4x bike - my sx rules on descents, and doesn't climb too badly either. But not all 4x bikes have similar geo - some are as steep as xc bikes, so they won't descend as easily. And the Mojo is a xc/ trail bike - it's not a 4x bike. Lopes' has a longer fork and shorter shock (or maybe just run w/ a lot of sag) to make it lower and slacker.
 
#20 ·
I love my Canfield Balance, enough travel to handle anything short of full DH racing but it climbs too. Just look up "Mini DH", there are options now for doing what you describe. The 4X bike would also be cool if you're a fairly smooth rider. I have a Yeti DJ and while it isn't exactly the best thing for climbing it gets it done and is a blast on the DH (and of course, jumping).
 
#22 ·
Another do it all type bike you might want to look into is the GT sanction, quite similar to the nomad or reign x, with a little less travel but still has the slack angles. I have one and it just rips the dh (although not as good as a DH bike obviously) as well as going up at a semi decent pace.
 
#23 ·
While riding trails on a dh bike may make you a better climber, riding Krazy dhs on a hardtail, or trailbike will make yoiu a better dher:thumbsup: I'll give way more props to somone that can rip on a 5" bike than some one that can mange crank, or in most cases push a downhill bike up the mountain.
 
#24 ·
My SS gets trail workouts and DH beatings and laps it all up along with everythign in between, this is an age old dilemma which i've posted on many times, but its about personal choice, the SS sits in the FR end of the do-it-all spectrum, with climbing being ok, because of the relative lightness of the bike, but the high front end, slack angles and amount of travel makes it more difficult, not impossible by any means though.

I did a lot of DH uplift over the summer, with a bunch of LBS sponsered riders, a few of them used to be nationals racers, and were doing pretty damn good on the circuit.

The fastest of the lot, a guy called Wellsy, rode a Giant VT2 for the last few days and was still faster than anyone else! That bike can climb very well too!!!

My point being that you need to get a bike that suits what you do most of the time, you'll get used to it whatever you ride, as long as its set up right, and you'll be a better rider for it! I started on an Orange 5 doing DH, and changed after a year to get the SS, but riding the Orange made me a better rider and progressed me well onto the SS!!
 
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