and hello Eire... isn't the bullit is more of an enduro? (or is this just in my head??!?!) on the subject of santa cruz, if someone fancied buying me a V10 i wouldn't say no!!! I have the coilair and love it but just riding the dh bikes made me realise i'd prefer something a bit bigger (i'm 1m 59 and a half, but yes, i want a big bike!).
hello MrMeta.... i love commencal bikes (prettiness factor of course), but never tried one - maybe i'll see if i can at some point - in lenzerheide maybe? i think that weekend is already booked for me to be up there but will have to make myself a list of bikes to test!
I love my Meta 5 I'm rubbish on a bike and it instantly makes you feel confident (probably not a good thing!). Got to admit though I've not really ridden much else to compare!
It looks like Commencal make a Supreme 24" ...
oops! missed that bit of the post! My bad!!
The Bullit can be built as an enduro or a downhill bike. It will take dual crown forks and had tabs for chain guides etc.
I personally don't go for the whole downhill bike thing. I've ridden the Santa Cruz V-10 and the Scott Gambler and a few other full DH bikes last year and didn't like them at all. For me they take the fun and challenge out of riding. The technical sections largely seem to disappear and you just blast through what would usually be fun technical sections without thinking. Both my girlfriend and I much preferred the Bullit to the V-10 as it was lighter and you could move it around underneath you easier, the geometry allowed you to pedal easier too when the trail needed it.
I guess its horses for courses along with personal preference. I get bored riding the same trail all day, so when I go to lift territory I usually end up just using the lifts to gain some hieght and then ride away from the lifts and ride more natural trails. This will mean some climbing too so I need a bike that still pedals well. I'm going to get a second bigger bike for those lift days, but I will keep it as a very long travel enduro. I'll probably get the Intense Uzzi VP with 190mm travel on the back and put a Totem up front. My main reason for this is because the lift days are trashing my Intense 5.5 and I want to keep that for tours where there is a lot of climbing to be done, and still have something that I can abuse a bit more when I use the lifts.
thanks guys! i see exactly what you mean about blasting through the technical parts!!! for me, i learnt on my coilair (and love it) but now want a little more speed and a little more travel. i think my riding style is changing slowly from freeride to dh. i will definitely try the bullit and see what i think though. i suppose i also have the addd problem that i can't ever really test a bike properly as they are set up for taller, heavier people.... keep testing i suppose!
definitely makes sense what you say about getting that second bike - i'm seriously thinking about keeping my kona for those days when the bike parks are shut and i have some pedalling to do - i really can't see myself biking uphill for very long on a bike weighing 20 kilos!
i'll let you all know which bike i go for after Lenzerheide!!!! (and will also let you know if there will be a coilair on the market too!)
I'm in the same situation. I went to Filzbach and although the meta dealt with it well, I don't want to either: 1. wreck it or 2. build it up and and not be able to use it for climbing...
If you want to look at some new bikes you should try to get to the Eurobike exhibition in Friedrichshafen at the beginning of September. Here you get to see nearly all manufacturers new bikes for 2010.
As I'm also pretty small, so I also don't have a chance to try out many small frame bikes. I've tried a new Specialized SX Trail (with a small frame) and that I liked a lot as it had lots of standover room. Could be an option for you Swisschick although the travel is only 160mm.
Thanks for that PeteC. I think testing is the only way for me.... if not I'll just have to get myself a cheapish second hand frame and build something up myself. but that is the last option i think!
I was at Eurobike last year and it's pretty impressive - just need enough time to get round it all!
i've seen an add for a FELT d8.5 dh bike which seems ok priced. Does anyone know much about these bikes? i can't seem to find much out.... uff...
Local knowledge required!
I'm heading to Flims this weekend (very excited) and am looking for recommendations for routes. I'll be doing one route with the girlfriend so it can't be too techincal but don't want it to be too boring (for a rough idea of level, if anybody of you know XC route at Cwmcarn in Wales, she's ridden that)...then I was thinking of sneaking off quickly and finding a DH/Freeride trail.
Am i being too ambitious!? I haven't been there before so don't the area at all! i had a good look on the site ( http://www.flims.com/en/biking/routes.html ), and a lot of the routes seem to be fireroad with not really any single track...
Ta for the help!!
The tour along the Rhineschluct is really nice and not too technical. There is also a trail that is very nice to get from Flims down to the river. I suggest head to Illanz and then ride along the gorge on the opposite side of the river towards Reichenau as far as Valendas. From there you need to climb up and away from the river and drop back towards Reichenau. In Reichenau you can put the bikes on the back of a bus to get back up to Flims.
Eire, sorry for the late reply! Thanks for the tip...my girlfriend ended up spotting Lake Cauma, so after doing a bit of route 246 (mostly, if not all fireroad), we ended up sunbathing and swimming!! ha ha!
Think I'll be heading back to the area though to try out the freeride routes or maybe even Lenzerheide, although I'm not entirely sure where I need to go for that one...
Finally.....I was just wondering if anybody knows of a Commencal dealer in or near Zurich? I think I need to replace the bearings in my swimgarm as a lot of "play" has developed and its not something I fancy doing myself with limited skills!
Ta!
Mr Meta -
Biroma ( www.biroma.ch ) is a bike shop in Zurich that stocks Commencal. They have two shops: one near Binz train station and one near the University/ETH. The addresses are given on their website.
Hi All,
I've finally got everything sorted, insurance, cycling gear etc...
My Iron Horse is now sitting in my room collecting dust, anyone in the Geneva area up for some riding before the summer is over...?
Is anybody up for riding this weekend?
I would prefer Sunday.
Being situated in Zug I don't mind taking the train/car somewhere - for instance Einsiedlen?
I am for sure riding both days this weekend. I will probably limit the lift usage and do tours that will involve at least some climbing but still as much trails as possible.
At the moment I'm thinking one day in Graubunden and one day somewhere in Central Switzerland depending on weather.
Great
The weather seems best on Sunday in GR. Did you have an area there in mind already? Otherwise I wouldn't mind trying out one of the routes described in a thread in this forum.
You are right that the weather looks better in GR on Sunday, but I don't think it will be so bad that it won't be fun to ride on Saturday either.
As for route unless someone has some suggestions I will tailor that somewhat to those coming, but there will be climbing without the use of lifts for sure. (that is not totally dismissing the use of lifts from time to time though! )
A couple of other forum members were in touch with me earlier in the week about going riding this weekend so I will see what they want to do too.
Unfortunately I have to work on Saturday but I'm up for a mountain bike ride on Sunday.
I don't mind where really but my preference would be for some enduro type of riding with some nice downhill sections.
Let me know what the plans are....
So....my Meta is out of action whilst I get some bearings sent here...
I'm hoping to head to Lenzerheide this weekend and the 2 shops I know of there have all their bikes reserved already. Does anybody know of any shops that rent DH/Freeride bikes in Zurich so I can take them out to the Lenzerheide area (or even better any hire places in Lenzerheide other than activ-sport and pesko)?
Ta!
I may be going to the Davos area on one of the days this weekend, Its not Lenzerheide, but at the cablecar station in Klosters there is a bike hire place I don't know the name of it though. There are a few hire places at this link in Davos/Klosters too if your interested.