[Yossarian]

the norco torrent is about 38lb with marzocchi 66s - i can't imagine that bike would be much more than 40-42, and maybe a bit less.

i just want a hardtail that's so strong that you're not constantly thinking "what's gonna happen if something breaks?", so i can concentrate on not breaking myself... or is that not braking...?

[Bubba]

Their website states:

Morphines can be built up between 30 and 45lb

...so even with the burliest kit on you'll still be coming in at less than the Norco.

The frame weights 6.4lbs.

More reviews here.

[webbo]

between 30 and 40lbs.thats with panniers and full camping gear?

[Bubba]

I consider 30lbs pretty light for a bike

How long do you think a lightweight hardtail would last on DH/FR? It'd just be a waste of money - weak frames break. People have done 20ft+ drops on Morphines.

[webbo]

I consider 30lbs pretty light for a bike

How long do you think a lightweight hardtail would last on DH/FR? It'd just be a waste of money - weak frames break. People have done 20ft+ drops on Morphines.

thats not cycling thats falling.

[Bubba]

True - I looked at a 25ft drop in Grenoside woods the other day and it's ridiculous.

[Yossarian]

i've done some quite full-on stuff on my whyte, but it's not really designed for riding big drops, even with 6" of travel. and i'd rather have a hardtail in the meantime before i buy a full bounce DH bike. though i was tempted by an ancilotti that one of the team said was going cheap...

heavy is defintely good when going downhill!

[Yossarian]

between 30 and 40lbs.thats with panniers and full camping gear?

i once rode a marin indian fire trail from calais to algeciras and then half way down morocco, and it weighed a lot more than 40lb with all the shit we were carrying. we did 120 miles one day on that trip - i can barely believe it now...

[Duma]

Right, first paycheck coming through on Friday, decision time! Really like the look of the Merlin Malt 2 (pic back on page 2) but am thinking I would want forks with lockout, given how much time I'll spend on it to and from work, however getting those changed is gonna cost me another £100! (standard is Magura Vidar, the obvious alternative is Marzocchi MX Comp ETA) This seems like a lot of dough - is the lockout going to make that much difference, and is it possible to just make the Vidar 'harder' by adjusting the preload?
Other options I'm considering:
Marin Nail Trail SE - nice, but £715 is more than I really want to spend

Orange Evo4 - Utterly gorgeous bike, but no lockout, and seems like not really suited to riding to work a lot, Also £700...

Trek 6500 disc - felt a bit cheap to be honest, £650 didn't seem like the same value as the others

Scott Scale 50 - is 80mm travel enough? seems a bargain at £650 though


any thoughts? anything I should definitely not get?

[SA Chris]

You can adjust preload on most forks at the level you are looking at. I don't think it will really be an issue, as if you ride smoothly you will hardly notice any bounce in the forks anyway.

I have a TREK 7000 that is now 4 years old and I have had no worries with it in that time (looks to be similar spec to that one, but with V Brakes). Cant really comment on the others, never been too keen on Scott, but for no really valid reason.

[Bubba]

Although you don't want to spend £700, most of your suggestions are pretty close to that price anyway!

Agree with Chris about the lockout - if you're forks are set up nicely then it won't be a huge issue - most forks will let you change preload in one way or another and even if you can't, you could change springs or oil to suit.

I don't think you should base your bike choice on the forks - you can always upgrade them at a later date anyway.

Looks like you've test-ridden some of these, which one felt the best?

Personally all other things equal (which of course they're not) I'd probably go for the Orange coz it's a locally made handbuilt frame...but I'm biased coz I've already got an Orange.

[SA Chris]

but I'm biased coz I've already got an Orange.

I don't think you are not the only one on this site who is predisposed towards fruit.

[Yossarian]

the orange would be my choice.  have you thought about a kona? maybe a caldera or something?

[Bubba]

Oh fuck, somebody plz take my credit cards off me!

Just bought another Orange - check this sexy little beasty

[SA Chris]

Nice one Mike. Has it got some sort of funky front deraileur?

[Yossarian]

i would have thought it only has a single chainring..?

[Bubba]

Yeah, single chainring - the thing you can see is an adjustable chain device to keep the chain in place if you use different size chainrings.

It's a 4X / Dirt Jump bike - same frame that Steve Peat uses in international 4X

Ironically, was out at Steetly yesterday playing on the "North Shore" stuff there but then started doing some dirt jumps on the other Orange. Foot slips off pedal on landing and I have taken two massive chunks out of my leg - proper gore, so might not be riding anything for a week or so until it starts to heal.

[Yossarian]

in the first (and last) downhill race i did i put a new pair of triple traps on.  i took so much flesh out of the bottom of my calves that i could have opened a butchers shop...

[runt]

Time for some beefier pads eh bubba!?

On the lock out thing about five pages back I wouldn't get too excited, thought the eta on my marathons was well nifty until it broke a couple of months in, and I'm not a tub of lard or drop off freak.

Although for those out there that are, stop at junct 13 next time you're on the M1 and check out woburn sands..........large doubles and proper cack yourself road gaps

[Bubba]

Time for some beefier pads eh bubba!?

My foot slipped off the front of the pedal so missed my pads completely and ripped up the back of my leg

[Yossarian]

bubba - which orange full bounce bike have you got? a 223?

[Bubba]

Nah, a Patriot 6.6

223 is really a DH race bike and I wanted more of a freeride thing. I was attracted by the adjustable geometry too. I was thinking I maybe should have got the Patriot 7+ because it's beefier and has a bit more travel...but fuck it, it's going to be a while before I'm finding 6.6" of travel restrictive. With the new Rockshox forks on it's a very sweet machine.

[Yossarian]

cool.  no, it was just that i noticed that they're marketing the 223 double d thing as a freerider too now... looks really nice, and only £500 more than a santa cruz V10 frame!

[Bubba]

A V10 would be very nice indeed mind.

Not sure what the rest of the Orange 2006 lineup will be (apart from the 224) but I expect them to release details soon coz I got 20% of the Ms Isle due to the imminent release of the 2006 bikes.

If you're after a 223 then I'd check the DH sites - usually some going well cheap as the racers upgrade.

[Yossarian]

i can't really make my mind up what i want.  my whyte does most things pretty well - i rode it up and down a load of massive hills in south america, it's just about light enough for general xc stuff, and i've even ridden a few scary jumpy things at woburn sands. i am a bit concerned about breaking it doing stuff like that though, so whatever i get next is going to be pretty hardcore i've decided. whether it's a hardtail or a full bounce.  i know the guys at atb sales (whyte/norco/marin) so can get great deals, but i don't really want any of their more burly bikes!