Downhill mountain bikes

[Jesser04]

I am thinking about getting into it but I don't know much about it. Is anyone on here into it? There is quite a few bikes on ksl I want to make sure I get a good one the first time. Any advise would be great thanks!

 

[Skylinerider]

Get some quality armor, a full face helmet, and a good chiropractor.

 

[chadschoon]

I have a cannondale perp I'm thinking about selling. It's a great downhill bike. Pm me if your interested. I can post a pic also if you'd like

 

[Rot Box]

Here's mine. It's a model T compared to todays bikes, but it is still a ton of fun

My only advise is don't go cheap. Buy a bike made by a reputable brand with quality components. What is your price range? There are a few that are under 1k on KSL that would be pretty nice for a beginner.

Here is one of the bikes that I would own if money wasn't an issue

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=6441610&cat=191&lpid=2

 

[Jesser04]

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=6441610&cat=191&lpid=2[/url]

That is one of the ones I'm looking at but it's a little more than I want to spend. Hopfully I can get one for about 700.00

 

[benjy]

My sister dated a pretty serious downhill guy at one time. He had broke something like 63 bones throughout his career

 

[Tacoma]

You're not going to get a decent downhill bike for 7 bills.

You may want to reconsider anyway== a lot of people THINK they want to go whipping down the hill at Mach 5, until they do, then they find out that 45mph down a mountain is f***ing fast, and it hurts real bad when you crash-- and you WILL crash.

You might cruise Ebay for older bikes-- there are some perfectly workable bikes out there that just aren't the new hawtness anymore. I got my Ellsworth for about half the price, which is still about triple what I would (could!!) pay these days. It gets the job done just fine, without any new shiny parts. Bikes are retarded expensive these days.

Karpiels are big pigs but work really well once you get them tuned right. Cannondale has a number of models through the years that work great downhill, going back to at least '96. Santa Cruz Bullits are decent, kind of a simple design but they work. Specialized has a bunch of Big Hit models and Demo bikes that have a good suspension design and lots of R&D. Trek has a couple good ones.... Rock Mountain Slayers or RM6 or RM9's are a TON of fun, they were my second choice behind the Ellsworth.

But you're gonna have to spend a little coin.

 

[NoTrax]

You need to spend mucho dollars to enjoy this sport... to start

 

[Tacoma]

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=6466526&cat=&lpid=1

SWEET deal

and here's a $700 Norco, good company out of Canada, and this is a great deal for the money: http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=218&ad=6563388&cat=&lpid=1

I think you'll be really happy with the Norco if it fits you.

 

[Jesser04]

I'm 5'11" and about 200 would a med fit?

 

[Tacoma]

Maybe. Depends on the bike and how you like it to fit. I'm about 6', and Ellsworth's medium is right on the edge of being too small. Specialized mediums are way too small for me... but you ride downhill bikes a little differently anyway.

I'd say go check it out and see how it feels. If it's too small, get the IronHorse. That is also a sweet deal.

 

[Taco4life]

A few years ago I was getting pretty big into downhill biking, I was riding with a few guys who were ranked nationally in the top 10. Where are you thinking of doing most of your riding? Are you thinking of doing any competitions? We have some incredible downhill trails here in Utah. When I first got started I rode a stock Specialized Enduro, I still love the feel of that bike. I then upgraded to a K2 with a dual crown fork, since then I have experimented on many bikes Kona stinky, stinky deluxe, coiler, Giant DH, Specialized Big Hit, and an Ellsworth Dare.

Check out mtbr.com they have reviews on just about everything bike oriented. And is actually where I buy a lot of my bike components, check out the classifieds. I looked for about a month before I found my never been ridden Specialized Enduro for over half off the sticker price shipped to my door.

There are a lot of reputable brands for downhill bikes, I personally like the bang for the buck that you get with many of the kona rides. I think it is possible for you to find a "decent" beginners downhill bike for less than 1K. Let us know what you are thinking as far as where you will be riding and how much you will use it, then we may be able to help more in steering you in a good direction. Those two bikes that Tacoma suggested were two of the three that I found on ksl that I was going to suggest. The other is a Kona stinky.

On a side note have you or anyone ridden the bobsled this year? I was up there 2 weeks ago, it has changed a lot in the last year, it is a blast now!

 

[benjy]

On a side note have you or anyone ridden the bobsled this year? I was up there 2 weeks ago, it has changed a lot in the last year, it is a blast now!

Funny you ask! JPest and I were talking about the bobsled while in Moab 2 weeks ago. I'd really like to go ride that again, it's a hoot!

but... I wouldn't consider that any sort of "hardcore" downhill riding

 

[Corban_White]

== a lot of people THINK they want to go whipping down the hill at Mach 5, until they do, then they find out that 45mph down a mountain is f***ing fast, and it hurts real bad when you crash-- and you WILL crash.

Get a dirtbike-then you can go 45mph (or Mach 5, they're basically the same ) UP the hill!!! :greg::greg::greg::greg::greg::greg:

 

[Tacoma]

Don't you start with your fancy math again, buddy!!

 

[Corban_White]

 

[EROK81?]

Downhill biking is SO much fun.

The bike I had that I used to race wtih had like 4" of travel front and rear.

Also I still could hit 50 down deer valley. One time I was going nearly that fast during a sprint and my chain broke. Nothing like slamming your nuts onto the top tube doing 40+.

Although racing downhill ruined mountain biking for me because I never wanted to pedal up a hill again.

 

[Jesser04]

Thanks everyone for the input. I will ride it a couple weekends a month and mainly at the ski resorts to start.

 

[Bart]

Downhill is a blast and like has been said, get the proper safety equipment. Four things to remember, 1 - don't crash, 2 - when going down hill and you think you're going too fast, start peddling, 3 - you can't go fast with your brakes on, and finally 4 - don't crash.