My son is 15 this year ..heads to the trails most weekend but runs a Cube Analogue 29er and is hankering after a downhill bike now as he is struggling with jumps and turns on his hardtail ..so not a subject I am really familiar with so any advice of what he should be looking at ...he has shortlisted a Nukeproof Scalp and a Scott Voltage ..any thoughts on these or suggestions on other bikes I could look at .....
hey well i cant really advise on these bikes as im more in to my old school bike 90's to early 2000's but i can say that 29" wheels arnt designed for jumping and nither are downhill bikes unless you doing big freeride stuff. stick to 26" or even 24" which are even stronger. unless hes a big lad he might find a full on dh rig a bit on the heavy and cumbersome side. i would be looking more freeride/all mountain or short travel full suser's, maybe 6" travel all round which will be more than enough for anything this country has to offer. i personally ride a 96 gt lts with 4" travel alround and i hit downhill tracks, jumps and drops ect with no problems. the 3 i would go for if i was buying are: orange patriot rocky mountain switch santa cruz bullit just make sure he has a good test ride and make sure he feels comfertable, the amount of bikes ive bought because ive always wanted one but i couldnt get on with it and ended up selling it one a few months later. hope this helps a bit
No1tosh pretty much hit the nail on the head. For jumping/free ride I'd recommend a 24" or 26" wheel not a 29er which are more designed for trails. Full suspension DH bikes are, whilst being heavily designed to cope with the stresses of dh riding, quite heavy. I'd look at a well specced 14-15" framed hardtail, with a good quality fork. DMR, Santa Cruz, specialized, all good brands to look into. If you do want to stick with a full suspension then I'd recommend sticking with a Santa cruz although without knowing budget it would be hard to recommend.
Something like this http://www.jejamescycles.co.uk/specialized-p3-jump-bike-id85585.html
^^^ that's a jump bike for street . parks and light dirt tracks..no use for his needs on the terrain he covers and the heights he jumps ... budget is £2500 so looking at weekend, even that budget is small in this world but will defo get him started
[QUOTE=The Flying Banana;760793]^^^ that's a jump bike for street . parks and light dirt tracks..no use for his needs on the terrain he covers and the heights he jumps ... budget is £2500 so looking at weekend, even that budget is small in this world but will defo get him started[/QUOTE] Apologies, saw "jumps and turns" and thought he was slalom/track riding. the nukeproof is well spec'd for the money f he can put up with a 2014 model this seems a lot of bike for the money http://www.singletrackbikes.co.uk/m1b50s1p38590/Nukeproof_Scalp_Race_Bike_2014/
[QUOTE=The Flying Banana;760678]My son is 15 this year ..heads to the trails most weekend but runs a Cube Analogue 29er and is hankering after a downhill bike now as he is struggling with jumps and turns on his hardtail ..so not a subject I am really familiar with so any advice of what he should be looking at ...he has shortlisted a Nukeproof Scalp and a Scott Voltage ..any thoughts on these or suggestions on other bikes I could look at .....[/QUOTE] If your looking for a good budget (well there not that cheap really) but nothing like as expensive as say scott, or the more expensive brands,where your basically paying for the name or the fact there hand built. I have a 2008 kona stinky, which is a 6inch all round travel free ride bike. They are well built, not the lightest on the market but, if it's downhilling he's mainly into, u want something with a bit of weight to it. Kona also make a more expensive pure downhill bike, with maybe 8 inch travel. But with pure downhill bikes u are basically limited to downhill. Where as a free ride bike u can use for doing a bit of whatever u want. Even cross country. Obviously it's a bit more hard work than a cross country bike, but not to bad. I've used mine on large dirt jumps and it works well. I know proper dirt jumpers use hard tails. but if I'm honest I like to have some rear suspension. So if u get it wrong it's a lot more forgiving. Ive had a few moments on big jumps that if I hadn't had the 6 inch travel. I'd have probably been going to the hospital. So as the other guys have said. I recommend a free ride bike as there a great all rounder. And definitely recommend kona. My kona cost me £1200 but it was on special offer as I bought it at the end of the year. Just before the 2009 bike came out. So they where going cheap. That's a tip for u if u want a bargain. I think there around £1500 new. Hope thats informative Just thought id ad. I've used the kona all over the place for years. It's been to the south of France. Done the World Cup track a fort William, and the only thing that I've had to replace was the de railer. And that's because I binned it quite badly. Where as I have mates with some really fancy expensive bikes. which things seem to be constantly breaking on.
If u want to spend all your money. Check out orange and commencal (I think that's how it's spelt) both make really nice free ride and DH bikes. Some of my mates have them, but they arnt cheap.
Ive got a old marin b17 been a brilliant bike but if I were to upgrade I do like the look of the orange patriot
Like I said I would go for a second hand orange patriot, Rocky mountain switch or Santa Cruz bullit. Beforey gt lts I had a Rocky mountainswitch and it was one of the best bikes ive riden, and ive riden a lot when I was a bike mechanic. Them Canadian guys do some of the biggest freeride jumps ect with 6" travel. Like said above konas are brill for the money. If it was me I would spend £1000 tops second hand which will give you plenty to up grade any bits service ect... But thats me. Bikes are a bloody mine feild these days, thats why I stick with old stuff lol