Hi, i have never owned a DH bike but have been a long time XC racer on hardtails, 4'' full suspensions, and 29er's. I know my fit perfectly for a XC racing bike. I am tall (6'3') with a proportionally longer torso and arms. likewise I always like my bikes with a really long reach, and I am fanatical about the correct fit so with whatever bike i am on I make sure I get it dialed so they all fit very very much the same.
DH racing, something I would like to get into, seems to be an entirely different creature when sizing the bike. Does effective TT length even matter because, most of the time, you arent even sitting down? I get incredible deals on bikes so I am thinking about getting a really nice DH bike, either the specialized DEMO or the giant GLORY? looking at the geometry of the largest Demo, it has an eff. TT that is a good bit shorter than the largest model of the Glory(demo=592mm, glory=645mm). But wheelbase on the Demo is actually longer than the Glory(demo=1213mm, glory=1186mm), and chainstay length is shorter on the Demo than on the Glory(demo=421mm, glory=444mm)....so maybe those numbers are what I should be looking at to determine how the bike will make me feel in terms of "stretched out" on the bike. I know headtube angles are important as well so here they are, Demo 8=65, Glory DH=65.5, Glory 0=67. I listed both the Glory DH and 0, but most likely I am only looking at the Glory 0 because of my budget.
Also, the models I am looking at are for the Spec. it would be the Demo 8, the one with the Boxxer, and for the Giant it'd be the Glory 0, which has a MARZ single crown fork. They are both essentially the same price (MSRP $3800). I just don't have the dough to get anything more expensive.
I am leaning toward the Demo 8 because it has the BoXXer double crown fork and just be an overall beefier bike than the glory 0 but as I stated above I am completely new to choosing a DH bike so I am hoping for some help here. I am limited to a specialized or a giant because I work at a shop (thats what we sell). I never help customers buy DH bikes because we dont stock them and i've never had a customer come in looking for one and we aren't in the most mountainous part of the country. If I get a big DH rig I will most def give it a go racing(or crazy riding) on some crazy terrain. Snowshoe, WV will be one place I will take it for sure, along with a few other east coast spots, and probably an out west trip.
thanks for the help ya'll.
DH racing, something I would like to get into, seems to be an entirely different creature when sizing the bike. Does effective TT length even matter because, most of the time, you arent even sitting down? I get incredible deals on bikes so I am thinking about getting a really nice DH bike, either the specialized DEMO or the giant GLORY? looking at the geometry of the largest Demo, it has an eff. TT that is a good bit shorter than the largest model of the Glory(demo=592mm, glory=645mm). But wheelbase on the Demo is actually longer than the Glory(demo=1213mm, glory=1186mm), and chainstay length is shorter on the Demo than on the Glory(demo=421mm, glory=444mm)....so maybe those numbers are what I should be looking at to determine how the bike will make me feel in terms of "stretched out" on the bike. I know headtube angles are important as well so here they are, Demo 8=65, Glory DH=65.5, Glory 0=67. I listed both the Glory DH and 0, but most likely I am only looking at the Glory 0 because of my budget.
Also, the models I am looking at are for the Spec. it would be the Demo 8, the one with the Boxxer, and for the Giant it'd be the Glory 0, which has a MARZ single crown fork. They are both essentially the same price (MSRP $3800). I just don't have the dough to get anything more expensive.
I am leaning toward the Demo 8 because it has the BoXXer double crown fork and just be an overall beefier bike than the glory 0 but as I stated above I am completely new to choosing a DH bike so I am hoping for some help here. I am limited to a specialized or a giant because I work at a shop (thats what we sell). I never help customers buy DH bikes because we dont stock them and i've never had a customer come in looking for one and we aren't in the most mountainous part of the country. If I get a big DH rig I will most def give it a go racing(or crazy riding) on some crazy terrain. Snowshoe, WV will be one place I will take it for sure, along with a few other east coast spots, and probably an out west trip.
thanks for the help ya'll.