Mountain Bike Reviews Forum banner

Flatline vs Demo 8

2K views 7 replies 7 participants last post by  Gruntled 
#1 ·
Alright, most of you guys have probably seen my Demo. I built it at the end of last summer and am happy with it. From the few wekends I got in on it, it seemed to perform very well, and I am pretty happy with it. It's pretty damn fast.

Now, heres the dilemma. Someone wants to buy it from me. If I were to sell it, I would order in a 2009 Rocky Flatline Pro (With all the new Saint goodies) from the shop I work at at an employee purchase price. I haven't had that much ride time on the Flatline yet, so I'm not quite sure what to do.

Here's what I like about my Demo: It is light. Under 40lbs. Even with all the Saint parts and air sprung 888, the Flatline will still be over 40lbs. I love how the Demo feels almost like a trailbike, it's fun and quick turn-to turn. Nice and flickable. I don't know how much this has to do with geometry (Demo and Flatline are very similar as far as geo is concerned), but I can't imagine the flatline being as flickable.

So how does the Flatline compare? I'm very tempted considering all of those new Saint parts (Crankset, Brakes, Drivetrain, Hubs, everything is the new Saint) and the 888WC, but I'm not quite sure if it's a good trade. If anyone's ridden both and has anything to say, it would be much appriciated.

Heres my Demo:

 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
Why not keep your demo, if you like, why sell it for something else that you are not quite sure of? It sounds like you are more interested in the Flatlines components, not so much the frame, why now sell the parts you dont want, and refresh the bike with the parts you do want all at once or a little bit at a time?

If you work at a shop, you can get EP on the fork, and maybe some of those components also......even though I have found that chainreaction cycles over in the UK have most of the saint stuff at and sometimes below dealer cost.
 
#4 ·
With all the parts the Flatline comes with, you could get on it for a bit and see what you think... Then maybe off the frame. One of the key differences between these bikes are the stays. The Demo's are sub-17 and Flatlines measure out to 17.5... It may not seem like a lot, but it makes a difference in turning ability.

I'm on a Flatline right now. I wouldn't call it flickable. (At all.) It's long, low and slack with a hefty weight. It takes all my muscle to toss it around... Saying that though, I love it. I call it SKD (smashkilldestroy) Here's the most "flick" I can get;



Sorry I can't compare to the Demo...
 
#5 ·
dowst said:
Alright, most of you guys have probably seen my Demo. I built it at the end of last summer and am happy with it. From the few wekends I got in on it, it seemed to perform very well, and I am pretty happy with it. It's pretty damn fast.

Now, heres the dilemma. Someone wants to buy it from me. If I were to sell it, I would order in a 2009 Rocky Flatline Pro (With all the new Saint goodies) from the shop I work at at an employee purchase price. I haven't had that much ride time on the Flatline yet, so I'm not quite sure what to do.

Here's what I like about my Demo: It is light. Under 40lbs. Even with all the Saint parts and air sprung 888, the Flatline will still be over 40lbs. I love how the Demo feels almost like a trailbike, it's fun and quick turn-to turn. Nice and flickable. I don't know how much this has to do with geometry (Demo and Flatline are very similar as far as geo is concerned), but I can't imagine the flatline being as flickable.

So how does the Flatline compare? I'm very tempted considering all of those new Saint parts (Crankset, Brakes, Drivetrain, Hubs, everything is the new Saint) and the 888WC, but I'm not quite sure if it's a good trade. If anyone's ridden both and has anything to say, it would be much appriciated.

Heres my Demo:

Nice Demo! I wish I had one just like it. In fact, the Demo is on my list of potential DH bikes to buy for precisely the reasons you state when describing why you like yours. The Flatline is not...(that's not to say it's a bad bike, all the reviews I've read seem to agree that it is a very GOOD DH bike...but it seems to live on the speed side of the equation, as opposed to the quick-yet-FR-capable side....)

Small thread-jack: how do you like that Ardent up front? Is it as "scary" to rail as some have stated?
 
#7 ·
Iceman2058 said:
Nice Demo! I wish I had one just like it. In fact, the Demo is on my list of potential DH bikes to buy for precisely the reasons you state when describing why you like yours. The Flatline is not...(that's not to say it's a bad bike, all the reviews I've read seem to agree that it is a very GOOD DH bike...but it seems to live on the speed side of the equation, as opposed to the quick-yet-FR-capable side....)

Small thread-jack: how do you like that Ardent up front? Is it as "scary" to rail as some have stated?
It's looking like I'll probably keep it. I don't think I can go from a 38lb bike to a 46lb bike, especially when I still ride a lot of local mountain hiking trails/freeride that requires lots of pedaling and pushing.

The Ardent takes some getting used to. When you compare it to the likes of a DHF or DH16, the point at which you are really putting pressure on the turning knobs of the tire is much lower; you really have to lean it over. Once it grabs though, it's not going anywhere. It's scary at first because if you're not used to leaning the bike over so far, it seems like the tire doesn't grip very well because you're relying on the middle knobs instead of the side knobs.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top