It was the best of times, it was the worst of times... oh wait that's another story.
If you really want to see how it all happened there's no better place than the MTBR Archives the "What Bike to Buy" and "General" forums have the most info.
It was a gas. All the hype, hoopla, and Homer hating... and even better was how some of the bigger haters became Homers.
I found it an exciting experence because the Spot was coming out at the same time I was making my first FS purchase...in fact it was my first botique purchase too. After a year of deliberating (and saving) I ordered the Spot, sight unseen, even before the first frames shipped. I was on board so early b/c the XCE just got retired and after a lot of personal soul searching I decided to get a Turner instead of my other choice (which initially, I really wanted much more). I was reading every post and article I could find on both bikes and in the end Turner won out based entirely on user and dealer feedback. (CS played a very big role in my decision)
It was the whole "who needs 5 inches or travel to trailride??" debate. Those luddites have now graduated to the "who needs 7 inches to trailride??" debate.
Not to brag, but go to Product Review; 2003 Full Suspension; then check out the first review. Could be the first 5 Spot review on MTBR. I ordered the frame in February or March '03 based on the recomendation of a riding buddy. I kept blowing out the main pivot bearings on my Superlight and just didn't like it's handling. My friend, who goes 220+ bought an XCE and couldn't believe how solid & durable it was. Anyway, long story short, I order the 5 Spot frame and built it just before a Memorial Day weekend trip to Crested Butte. Still ride the same frame, just about every component has been replaced, wait, every component except the stem and saddle has been replaced! (my wife thinks the saddle is a little knarly & should be tossed but you know how that goes). Still love the bike, maybe someday I'll donate it to the Smithsonian.
what was it like?
a 5" RFX with a lighter front triangle.
I was an early adopter of the 5" trailbike (considered a "freeride" bike at the time) phenomenon and picked up 2000 RFX. It took me about 5 years to get a real 5 Spot.
Yeah my buddy rides one of the early 5Spots (Romic Coil, Vanilla R 125mm, the standard config for the Spot early on)
Funny thing is I could have so easily been on a Spot long ago but for an accident that put me off the bike for 3months and really outta action seriously for 6months, 3 of us looked at getting Spots at once during the days when there was only the board of what bike to get and 5spots, Hecklers ruled that board contraversy and all.
Anyways only Mudgy stayed the course, Momentus got a Heckler and I ended up on urghh an E arghh easy dudes, I came full circle in the end, though my time on the other brand was a good one, however now I've found peace
The Origonal Spot is still so good (HL) where giving it a make over, my hold up for the RFX has been due in part to all the boys wanting to take advantgage of my box coming over so they thought they share ,y air freight space and fill her up with parts and as usual not all parts were available, the good news is its being realesed by customs and hopefully will arrive to me 2morrow fingers crossed I'm so excited
So me with my RFX oops back to the old Spot
Mudgy with a new set of King hubs, going to be laced to some DT 5.1 rims, new Atlas AM cranks, full XO tranny, med cage carby rear XO shifters, and my DHXc off my RFX, darn means I need a shock asap ccdb to replace her, Marz AM 1 06, so the old 5Spot will be recharged ready to meet my TNT model head on we might have to give her a new paint jobby at some time too..
This is what rulz about the Spot shes a classic add some new 501s and shes as good as new again the perfect trail/am bike, I know I'm gonna love the RFX but the Spot will still get plenty of treatment and hopefully shell be around as long as Mudgys only needing a wee make over at best a few years from now..
At the time I was an MTBR member but never came to the forums, I had found this site to check the reviews. (Funny how I never bother with them any more) I knew nothing of any boutique brands save Titus (I was from AZ and had seen a few in person) Wanted a Racer-X, was waiting for the 100mm version but thought I should look around. I was reading all the mags and checking reviews on line. I remember that all of a sudden everyone had reviews on the 5-spot. My first thought was who needs a 5¨ travel trailbike, then I started reading all the reviews. It was kinda funny as a lot of times reviewers give high praise to a bike, find nothing wrong with it, say its great (you know their ads are paying for the mag type thing) but not for the Spot. One Brit mag gave it a 10 out of 10 first time EVER. Even MBA that loves everything - they made no mention of it 'cornering on rails' or any of their canned phrases. They said something like it was a super fun bike to ride and that if it was the future of mtb they wanted to be younger. Cheezy (sorry no reference intended) to be sure but you could tell it was something different even to the mag guys.
From then on I was looking to get on a Turner, if I wasnt in Europe I would have bought a Spot right then...
It was the whole "who needs 5 inches or travel to trailride??" debate. Those luddites have now graduated to the "who needs 7 inches to trailride??" debate.
Yup, I was thinking the slack headtube, the long wheelbase, the mushy/heavy coil suspension might work well for those out West or at least in the mountains. But total overkill for my tight zippy rolly East coast singletrack. Three years pass, suspension drastically improves (RP3, PUSH, etc) and hey whadaya know...it works for me too.
Homebrew,
Back in the days when you were Metroid, one of the big debates on the "What Bike To Buy" page was Hammerhead 100-X v. 5-Spot. Funny how things change.
It was the whole "who needs 5 inches or travel to trailride??" debate. Those luddites have now graduated to the "who needs 7 inches to trailride??" debate.
Wow, I had no idea there was such a "debate" raging a few years ago! I ordered a Ventana Salty at that time with 5" rockers (coming off a Scalpel) and had no idea I was so "cutting edge" I looked at the 5-spot, but they were backordered, and the Salty/5-Spot are, by all accounts, of very similiar performance. All I knew is that on the Salty, I was leaving my brother behind on the descents and rough stuff (he was still stuck on a Scalpel, but bought a Salty too after a ride on mine). It seemed like at the time, there weren't alot of great 5" bikes available from the big manufacturers, but the boutique guys all had something nice (Salty/X5, 5-Spot, Switchblade, 5.5) to choose from. Back then, even the Salty's marketing was noted as "suitable for 6" rockers and heavy-duty use", whereas now, it has been relegated to "4-inch XC bike" by the marketing people at Ventana.
They were hard to get, and if I remember correctly Turner was back-ordered almost instantly. I remember that I ordered one from Larry M and then after about 2 months cancelled the order in favor of a Ventana X-5 because I tired of waiting for Turner.
Should have waited though. I never liked the X-5 much, sold it after 1 season.
It was the whole "who needs 5 inches or travel to trailride??" debate. Those luddites have now graduated to the "who needs 7 inches to trailride??" debate.
Meanwhile many of the top DH racers have gone from 8"-9" standard to 7" standard for those who are at the vanguard... with weights dropping below 40 lbs. Kovarik even ran a single crown at Schladming last year!
Now Gonz, I remember many fawning posts of you professing your X-5 love (nothing wrong with that, Ventana makes a great bike).
I suppose some cat named "Gonz" did love his X-5, but I never loved mine as much as I love my 2 Turners. I loved it more than a hardtail. More than a 40-lbs freeride sled. But not close to the love for the 5-Spot or 6-Pack.
When you see that "Gonz" character tell him hello for me, and ask him what he rides now.
I suppose some cat named "Gonz" did love his X-5, but I never loved mine as much as I love my 2 Turners. I loved it more than a hardtail. More than a 40-lbs freeride sled. But not close to the love for the 5-Spot or 6-Pack.
When you see that "Gonz" character tell him hello for me, and ask him what he rides now.
This I understand but you did say "never liked it much", vs. "liked it, but not as much as my Turners".
And I'm sure the board itself does miss me. I only post here about every 2 months, and I only joined in March of this year. Every time I log on, the window pops onto a message that says I haven't visited for a while and I should consider offering some advice or posting a product review. So I guess the board does miss me.
I doubt any people in this Turner forum care about my posts one way or another, any more than they care about the posts of any occasional visitor. I am sure Dave Turner misses the fact that I don't buy frames yearly any more, but he can blame himself for that, since his bikes have made me stop lusting for other stuff.
The earth was still cooling, having formed only a few years prior. It was completely dark and Dave said..... "let there be bikes" and.... oh wait, I think I have that mixed up with another story.
I was one of the early adopters of the Spot. At the time, the Blur was all the rage at the time. It was the bike to have. Then it all changed.
I was set to buy a Blur, but the owner of my LBS told me that I had to try the Spot. They Showed me the Horst Link and how it made braking better (issue for another thread) and how the Blur tended to lock up. Another selling point was that the Spot could use a 5" fork... The Blur... not so much.
I was so happy that I bought the Spot. My buddy bought one, too, and for a while I never saw another on the trails. The trails were clogged with Santa Cruz bikes... mostly Blurs and Hecklers.
Fast forward... Now almost half the bikes I see (on the local trails) are Turners. Oh well. It was great while it lasted.
The ride hasn't changed, though. It's still wonderful
Was it a big hit right away? Did it take time to get the word out? Was the acclaim immediate?
I was pumping them hard around here, many gave me shoit about me bragging about a bike riding so good, they also said things like it wont be able to ride as good as my Titus, Specialized etc....many of those peeps are on Turners now of course as already mentioned. Hmmmm.
I was pumping them hard around here, many gave me shoit about me bragging about a bike riding so good, they also said things like it wont be able to ride as good as my Titus, Specialized etc....many of those peeps are on Turners now of course as already mentioned. Hmmmm.
Remember this ad?
The pic looks like an RFX?? No taco, solid rockers. Also, check out the cable routing along the side of the TT.
I was wondering what the Spot did differently back then, as opposed to other 5" travel bikes. My memory might be short, but I thought there were a ton of other companies making 5" travel trailbikes, Titus, for one.
I was wondering what the Spot did differently back then, as opposed to other 5" travel bikes. My memory might be short, but I thought there were a ton of other companies making 5" travel trailbikes, Titus, for one.
Titus had the Switchblade. Big knock on that bike was the inability to use a coil shock due to a falling rate linkage as memory serves me.
The Titus Quasimoto, which by today's "all-mtn/trailride" standard would be a killer bike, was considered "overbuilt" by many for general trailriding in its day, much like the original RFX.
Ventana didn't have a bike yet in the 5" category. They had the 4" El Salty and the more FR'ish Bruja but the X-5 hadn't been released.
Ellsworth had the Id, 'nuff said, and Truths were breaking left & right at that time.
The pic looks like an RFX?? No taco, solid rockers. Also, check out the cable routing along the side of the TT.
The bike in the picture was made for me by DT, a pre 5 Spot with some RFX blood in it, not totally a RFX, nor a 5 Spot. It was close enough to a 5 Spot to be one though. That was the 2nd. of 2 prototypes DT had made for me. For the picture to make the magazines in a timely mannor, i had not quite yet recieved my red 2003 5 Spot, so the polished beauty you see was used. I sold it once I got the red 5 Spot, I believe Dougal over in New Zealand still has the one pictured.
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Originally Posted by blackagness
