My current bike - Trek 9900 Pro Issue "top shelf" components 19 lbs. (1996) I used to race but I now just enjoy riding a few days a week, UNFORTUNATELY the XC race position + hard tail is becoming very wearing on my back (broke it 27 years ago, now it's getting more sensitive the older I get). A few months ago I rented an Intense Spyder FRO and a Yeti AS-Rslc for the day and I couldn't believe the difference from my Trek (at least it felt very different), it seemed like I was sitting more "upright" than my hard tail and was much easier to climb even though it weighed 6lbs more. The awesome thing is that my back didn't hurt much even at hour 5, on an insane climbing / technical / long ride. After comparing geometry specs to my Trek vs. Yeti & Intense, they aren't much different... now I'm somewhat confused... it seemed like it had to have been more than just the cushy suspension that kept my back from hurting so much. I'm selling my Trek this week and am now in the market for a FS Bike
2007-03-27 14:47:22 · 3 answers · asked by kelli p 2 in Sports ➔ Cycling
Nice budget... You have a lot of options. Botht eh Spyder and yeti are very good. For that money, I would also look at a Titus Racer-X (probably you could go titanium and custom sized), Ventana El Saltamontes, Turner Flux, Ellsworth probably has some good options too, but I don't know much about that line.
It's not only about geometry, but I'm finding that having two bikes similar geometry, but one is a FS and the other a HT, because of sag, when you're riding they will feel different.
Also, try to get a adjustable travel fork (right now, most companies offer different options for this), this will help you also on climbs since you can lower the front of the bike on climbs, and raise it for flats and descends.
Also, pay attention to the wheelsets, since not only weight saving is important, the hub is also very much so. Depending on how you build the bike, you can go for Industry-9 hubs, or Chris King, or Hadley rear hub with 79 or more engagement points. Current Shimano (except for 07 XTR), mavic and most standard hubs have 18 engagement points, or close to it. Hope has 24 on the Pro II hub, or 36 on the Bulb. This makes differences when you're climbing, or have to restart a climb at the middle of it.
I don't think you'll get a 19 lbs reachable target, but probably somewhere around 23-25 lbs. But I might be wrong on this. On weight, put attention on tires that are light and have low rolling resistance, and rims too.
2007-03-27 14:59:38 · answer #1 · answered by Roberto 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Women have a Femur/Pelvis joint further forward than a man does - thus, a womens performance is GREATLY increased by bringing her more upright +5* ~ +10* or more. The other way around this equation is that women put 15~20% greater load on their lower back riding a bike than a man does!
About the bikes... The Main Pivot placement is the key to pedaling performance. Main Pivot too low and you get bob.. Too high and the suspension wants to top out too much!
For us here in the States I can tell you that the new Hi Fi from Gary Fisher is the hottest bike going...
http://www.gohifi.com
We've sold our complete inventory of them in 2 months!
Felt Virtue is an awesome bike as well as the Hi Fi... It has a link to the rocker that ties everything together... This thig works amazingly well - even with all your weight off the saddle, it STILL gave a very lively suspension action - I actually just got to test one this past weekend... I was impressed!
http://www.feltracing.com/products/product.asp?pid=30&catid=18,23,32
VPP(Virtual Pivot Point) bikes have a fluctuating leverage ration that makes the shock REALLY REALLY hard to tune, especially with todays platform shocks... You either have no small bump comliance or too much small bump comliance and the shock bottoms out.
Less Pivots - Less Pain in the butt - Fisher = always single pivot...
Fuel EX9 is my pick though - Trek has the most winningest team in North America!
2007-03-27 16:19:23 · answer #2 · answered by bigringtravis 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
$5 grand----thats a spectacular amount!!! I suggest you get a grip on a Rocky Mountain ETSX- 70---it received rave reviews from MTBA ( Mountain Bike Action magazine)---or if you want real bitchin ( er, pardon my French) kits get an Intense 5.5 ( Cambria Bike Outfitters---www.cambriabikes.com), a Santa Cruz Bullitt ( Adrenaline Bikes.com Find a good size and TEST DRIVE before you buy!
2007-03-27 16:43:09 · answer #3 · answered by hummerhead2002 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋