I need help choosing a DH mountain bike!

Backyard.Skier

Backyard.Skier

Active member
so i am looking into purchasing a DH bike at around december if my budgeting is correct. i like to ride fast and would use it to enter some races at my local hill. i am a fairly good rider at riding technical terrain and like to ride technical rather then just bomb through everything. i have a budget though of about $5000 and for those you you in the US giving me suggestions all the bikes up here are about $1000 more so maybe around $4000 for you. i have been looking at the yeti 303 because it right at my price range and yeti makes a al-round solid bike. any suggestions would be helpful though!
thanks
 
Can you be a little more specific with the personal details? Like height, weight, how you want the bike to ride, travel preference, etc. As of now there are a lot of things I'd recommend. Take a look at EVIL. They are a Canada based company, expensive but everyone I know who is on their bikes loves them.
 
Well if you have 5000 to spend on a bike you can pretty much buy anything and explain to me how you ride "technically" and don't bomb runs
 
to the people above me i am 5'6'' and 130lbs and the travel is the typical travel on a DH bike is double crown forks and 8-12inches of travel on the shock. and some people just go over anything and dont worry about lines but i like to choose a line a go with it.
 
Did a little more research and here are two more alternatives you can look into:Intense 951Norco Team DH
 
Transition TR450 (I have a Blindside, which would also be great. Transitions an awesome company), Yetis, Trek session 88s, Specialized Demo 8 IIs, Knollys (those look sick but I dont know anything particular about them), Cove bikes, the list goes on and on. Maybe look for a super nice used one also to get the price down.
 
the norco is alright... saint parts are good, but for that price do you really want a marzocchi rear? for about the same price, go for a treck session 88. 36 fucking pounds with fox rc4 and dh 40... evil bikes are awesome, as previously said, but that is frame only unless you can find a complete online. santa cruz v-10's slay period. i'm still riding my bullet from 2002 (different bike, but the manufacturer is what counts), as a park bike and its holding up well
 
those, but only the tr450 and demo 8 are race bikes, look into a nice custom iron horse sunday on pink bike, or look into giant glory's, devinci wilsons, commencal supreme and intense m5's
 
My friends santa cruz v10 feels realy bomber and fun to ride, ive only ridden it once, but i have heard good things. The Transition TR 450 looks realy dope as well, i have a bottle rocket and the build quality and duribility is awesome, so i would look at that
 
dont get the pop can trek.

I would look at the revolt, and norco. Also look for the 2010 flatline, my dad has one and loves it I think it wieghs 39 and is pretty legit. Only downside is there wasnt many made so it may be hard to find.
 
I've been racing on Demo 8s for years and I love them. The new geometry is fucking killer and the company totally stands behind their products. Top notch service. The only problem is finding one, they have been sold out from Specialized since April...

I would also second the Evil nomination. Two of my friends do the testing for Evil and the bikes are totally legit. Only problem is availability as they aren't in the country yet.
 
ya i have heard lots of good stuff from evil and they have on at river valley cycle which is one of my local stores, but i would have to give up an arm and a leg for it.
 
nobody can tell you what DH bike to get. you have to test ride them and see which is best for you. especially if you're going in the $4000+ range.
 
I have a glory and love it, I prefer if over my buddies driver 8 and my friend's demo 8 as well. I know a few people who have 951 and love them, but they're over your budget. The problem with a 303 is that they're a lot of maintenance compared to your normal dh bike. You should take a look at the new glory, treck 88, 951, driver 8 and demo 8. Take them all are for a spin first and try to demo some if you can. You don't want to drop 5k on a bike and not end up liking it a month down the line. Also to correct the 1st poster Evil is a Seattle company.
 
I love Giant bikes. Too bad both my STP and my Trance were both stolen from me on two separate occasions.
 
Demo 8 has is the best down hill bike I have been on. I haven't been on a lot of them. but If I was gonna get one that would be it.
 
hahah yeah i wouldnt take my opinion considering i dont even bike anymore but when i did thats what i was into
 
2010 demo 8 Low, long, and slack easily one of the most stable bikes money can buy! Butter smooth and the reliability and low maintenence is a huge selling factor!

Yeti 303r-dh Great geometry for someone that doesnt like a REALLY low BB all hanbuilt in colorado! They are definately one of the best peddaling and smoothest single pivots available!

Evil revolt.. Geometry and its adjustability is really nice, linkage in my opinion is the BEST peddaling single pivot. Amazing bikes but will be hard to get ahold of! and personally i would wait another year to buy one!

Giant glory is incredibly light and simple linkage design steeper head angle and higher bottom bracket will peddal the best of the group but will take a bit more finess to be smooth on!
 
if you are willing to spend money get a yeti or a specialized frame,
2010-specialized-demo-8-downhill1-600x412.jpg
yeti-303-dh-2009-1.jpg


legit
 
Well that's too bad. My Kona hardtail snapped in half. I will never EVER buy a Kona bike again. I know a guy who's on their junior race team and he goes through about 6 frames a season from cracking them.
 
I also have a Glory, (as well as a faith, but it's bunged up) and it's awesome. I love it, wish it was lighter, but I'm not too concerned about weight.

I have a buddy who is spancerized by Intense, I have fallen in love with his old M6. He was the fastest in B.C. for his age in racing. Buddy used to ride a Devinci, and thought it was fast, until he rode the M6, and said it's the fastest bike he's been on yet, until he rode the 951.

So my votes with either Giant or Intense.
 
definitely a candidate for the Intense 951- billed as a great bike for entry-race level privateers. also the giant glory's are sick, and I support any of the transitions. so many good DH rigs for that price
 
I can tell you that i love my trek session 88. Get an 88, then toss full sram group stuff on it and you've got one hell of a whip.
 
plus the 88 is one of the lightest DH/park bikes, if not THE lightest. i hear they are the equivalent of secks on wheels
 
It seems like you don't want a "plow-bike," those that allow you to blow through sections at high speed and don't require much rider input to do so. The 303 RDH is the exact opposite of a plow bike, it's flickable and requires and rewards rider input.

The bikes you should avoid, to narrow the list - Scott Gambler, Santa Cruz v10, Demo 8, Foes etc.

Evil and the Transition TR450 are a good choice, but it's going to be hard to find either and the build could easily exceed 5k. The best best is to get a complete bike from a big company since it will lower cost and be way easier to find. To that end, the Trek and Glory are good bets (I quite like the Trek myself) and you can get a 303 around the same price (such as go-ride.com). For 5k, an off-the-shelf race bike is the way to go.

Hope that helps.
 
M6 = A buttfuck load of maintenance. So as good a bike as it is, you're going to be doing a lot of work if you (op) buy it. Someone suggested a Trek Session 88, although I haven't ridden one I've heard the frames are garbage quality and then dent like a pop can.
 
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