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Jumps+Trail riding uphill+inexpensive

2K views 21 replies 21 participants last post by  Saladin 
#1 ·
I just recently bought a Trek X-Calibur 7 hardtail. I love it! The only problem is I feel it is too nice and would take a hard beating if I took it through the downhill trail. I live near a place where I trail ride uphill about 4 miles where the downhill trail is at the top. I would love to build a bike that can take me up hill and take the beating given by the downhill trail. I want to build it so I can learn the dynamics of the bike. Does anyone know what type of bike I would need? I am a college student so I cannot afford $2000 worth of parts. I simply need something functional to take me uphill+something I can thrash around on downhill. Thanks
 
#3 ·
I'm no expert so take this with a grain of salt but I would offer a few pieces of advice.

1. Your hardtail is probably more durable than you think and can probably take a downhill beating pretty well... You won't have as much traction as a FS and your body will take more of a beating but I seriously doubt you would do any damage to the bike unless you're doing 3ft + drops.
2. To build a bike at that price is going to require patience and a lot of scouring the Internet for deals - classifieds, unsold models of older parts, etc. Definitely possible though.
3. You may want to consider buying just a new frame and moving all the parts you currently have over. This will get you different geometry and full suspension plus you'll need to take apart and put back together your current bike. Just make sure that the frame you get is compatible with your current parts. Things to check include bottom bracket, headset, and fork travel length.


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#14 ·
If you're saying you're too nervous to scratch your new bike, I completely understand it. It's like when you buy a new car and you're so worried about that first dent. But the bike is just like the car - once you get the first scratch you'll forget all about it. All of my bikes have chewed up pedals, rock chips, etc. No point in having a bike if you're not going to ride it!

As far as a hard tail on a down hill trail you'll definitely be fine. I bring my own bikes to lift assisted parks and I only ride hardtails.
 
#15 ·
... the first scratch you'll forget all about it..
So this Summer got a smoking deal on a new Remedy 9 29er.... first ride out ended up like road kill in a rock garden bike on top of me 1 foot still stuck to the clipless pedal and some great scratches on the the shiny polished frame (luckily missed boogering up the Kashima coating on my fork...phew). If its shiny, in perfect condition and has no dents or scratches your simply not doing it right or trying hard enough....lol.

Scratches and scars are like tattoos, they just have better stories.
 
#5 ·
If you're basically looking for a whole bike upgrade, buying used is gonna be your best bang for the buck vs building up from scratch, particularly if you don't have much experience working on bikes. They're not rocket science, but it can be a PIA getting all the parts together and making sure every thing will play nice together.
 
#6 ·
XC bikes are fine, just ride within your means. I take the same size jumps on a DH run as I do on level trail. If you think you are going to run her hard, spend a few hundred on upgrades to DH rims and tires. I installed a GEAX DHEA on my rear wheel (EX729 rim), and beat the piss out of it on some black diamond without a single complaint, weekend before last. 380Lbs of fat ass on my Cannondale F5. No complaints from the frame, either.
 
#10 ·
Yeah, like the others have said your bike can take much more of a beating than you think.

I had a Gary Fisher Opie for 8 or 9 years and beat the crap out of it. Me and my friends built a decent sized table top jump out of plywood and 2x4's and that jump (and a few others) broke before my bike did. Heck, I barely even maintained that Opie, the only love it ever got was when my buddy destroyed the rear derailleur because he ran into it with the peg on his bmx bike. The RD got replaced and the bike got a tune up, other than that and the occasional chain clean/lube it never had any maintenance. I has on it almost every day too.
 
#12 ·
I have an xcal 7 and rode it on my local DH trail for 2 days. It has a lot of 3ft drop offs. I was nervous that I was going to destroy the bike. I weigh about 175lbs. Anyhow the only issue I had was the drive side crank bolt ended up working itself loose. For all I know that bolt was never torque to spec, but I definitely noticed that it was loose just days after my DH riding.

I think as long as your under 200lbs, that the bike will be just fine.



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#13 · (Edited)
I rode my Stumpjumper Comp hard tail downhill in Mammoth during the summer of '13. I beat that thing for 3 straight days for a total of about 150 miles while weighing about 250lbs. It did not even skip a beat. My body was in a lot worse shape than my bike. This summer my two boys put in 3 days at Mammoth on their hardtail Hardrocks. It is just a bike, go for it!
 
#16 ·
ummmmmmmm


that bike will take all the beating you can give it, if you stay upright and are doing it via pedaling....and don't outright intentionally wreck or slam into something

proper maintenance is key, but the bike is not gonna bust
 
#19 ·
I have hit plenty of 3' drop offs and jumps on my hardtail (RockHopper). Never had an issue of any kind. At speed on a full DH run it gets a little loose but I am more worried about coming off the bike (again) than damaging the bike. As stated above your hardtail will most likely take more punishment than your body will.
 
#21 ·
I hit purposefully a course with 8 to 10 knee to waist high jumps twice per week on my salsa el mariachi 3 hardtail. One fun feature at the top has an up to knee drop (depending on how fast you go off of it) to very slight down slope, and then into a couple of jumps.

I know I would probably like not having as much feedback on the landings less, if I was trying it on a full suspension bike, because the course is too small. We need a real jump park in Chattanooga, TN for mountain bikes. Our wallets can take the maintenance. I think...

I ride a 20 inch wheel diamondback venom (riser seatpost aftermarket, aftermarket beach cruiser riser bars for better fit as I am 5 foot 10 and 217 lbs atm) with no front brakes and very little rear brakes on a gravel with rocks trail near my house, greenway farms quarry trail, that seems kind of small for my salsa bike, and wouldn't you know the poor braking and the size of the wheels and the single speed. That really fixes that trail up nice to be fun again.
 
#22 ·
+1 for the "you already have a good enough bike" advice.

I have a comparable bike ('14 Hardrock) with which I have hit plenty of 4-5 foot jumps/dropoffs/etc and it handles everything just fine. The riding year and bottoming out the fork countless times has taken its toll, but the rest of the bike is still in tip top shape, save for some drivetrain tuning needed.

If you want to learn about the bike dynamics, the best way is going to be to beat up that Trek and maintain it. Then apply that $2,000 to a bike on which you customize the dynamics for your riding style, not possibly blowing it on learning them.
 
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