Flux vs. Intense Spider 2

[myitch]

Here's another one to compare....

Both are close in claimed weight. The Spider with an inch more travel. I've always shied away from VPP's but this new one felt pretty good, at least in the parking lot. Right now, I'm leaning towards the Spider with it's ability to switch from 4.5-5, same weight, stable platform.

I've got an RFX, and although it's not a DWL, it's still a great Turner frame. It might be nice to try something different.

Any of you have some real world experience on the two bikes?

[rku615]

Don't forget to factor in customer service & maintenance in your consideration. Coming from a Santa Cruz Blur XC, I can see the merits of bushing vs. crunchy bearings. As you would already know, Turners are almost 'zero' maintenance.... I always had to pull out pivots to grease and having to keep spare bearings and of course a bearing puller.

[myitch]

yeah, CS at Turner is top notch no doubt. And i do love the ride of my RFX. Just wanted to hear some experiences out there.

i guess too the spider 2 is pretty new and not many out there. i'll just have to try it for myself.

[moosehead]

a tnt flux might be the most fun, fast, and reliable bike i've owned over the years. the 100 to 120 adjust fork works extremely well. if you're considering the dwl version, from all accounts it feels like more than 4" (pun intended). have you tested the dwl flux? would be interested in your ride comparison to the spyder.

[kosmo]

Not exactly apples to apples -- but close -- my wife came off an Intense Spider (the original 85 mm version) onto a DW Flux, and it absolutely transformed her riding and confidence. She is an avid rider, but no tech expert, and not a bike nut like most of us ding a lings on mtbr (me included), so when she babbles about how the Flux just flows through chunky, rocky, rooty sections compared to her Spider nearly bucking her off, then stalling, it really means something.

She says that when she used to see a chunky section like that -- we're not talking huge here -- she would slow down and figure out where the best place to get off the bike was. Now she speeds up, because it seems that faster is smoother. It is really fun to watch.

Hope that helps a bit!