I must be crazy...

[Gorak]

Ok...so I just got my bike (06 BigHit I) and I'm already making plans for my next bike (year or two down the road). The thing is, I want something very specific. I want a mid 30lb bike with 6-7" of rear travel that I can still pedal up the hills efficiently. Odds are I will most likely build this up from the ground the way I want it to be. That being said, I doubt I'll be going mad on components ie. Hussefelt crankset before Saint crankset. I really like the look of the Transition lineup and would rather go along the lines of a company outside of the mainstream. Help?

[thewwkayaker]

Biggest weight savings = wheels and fork. Frame - 6" dualie is likely to be created for a lighter bike than a 7" frame (which expects a double crown might be used). Certain frame companies make heavy frames, others make lighter frames (to avoid upsetting people I won't name names). A frame supporting an air shock (like the new Fox DHX5.0 Air) will be lighter too. The popular frames would be SX Trail and SC (hmmm the one with the hump - the name escapes me right now). If you have $$ then a Turner or Intense.

More importantly - your wheels. Mavic 321D is an OK choice, Sun single track I think are OK too (check the weights of the rim choices - it's spin weight so be a weight weenie here). If you aren't hard on your wheels then look for something even lighter for rims. Hubs don't make much difference. Now everyone will say don't get single walled tires but the weight savings is huge (spin weight) and if you keep your tires at say 25psi you'll unlikely pinch flat unless you are doing a lot of big drops to flat or plan to ride Whistler with it. Nevegals are a good single walled tire and there are a couple of others (so you can have a 2.5" tire still with sticky rubber). I like to run a 2.5 in front and a 2.35 in the rear.

Fork - stay away from Marz. if you can as they make heavy forks. If you don't mind air you get a huge weight savings (Pike Air would be a good choice or Fox36Talas). Coil - well a Fox36Van would likely be the lightest single crown fork. The new 150 Travis would be heavier but nice as would the coil Pikes. The high end Pike is much lighter than the other two (hollow crown and alum. steer).

[::Liam::]

another ironhorse pulg... how about th 7point frame...


never ridden one with an air shock but id imagine it would be pretty cool... sundays are probably thr fastest best riding bikes this the cheap side of the intense m3...

www.ironhorsebikes.com

[Rat]

Try dropping your bighit in the lower travel setting, rides like a differnt bike.


youll probably need a differnt spring though

[teague]

another ironhorse pulg... how about th 7point frame...


never ridden one with an air shock but id imagine it would be pretty cool... sundays are probably thr fastest best riding bikes this the cheap side of the intense m3...

www.ironhorsebikes.com

I have a 7point7, which i love, and it does pedal better than just about any big bike out there, but it is definitely not light frame. About 10.5-11 lbs with the 5th if i remember right. A little better with an air shock abviously.

[Kootenay Rider]

Well you do know that there will be a whole different range of bikes in 1-2 years which will most likely include some new suspension designs. SO recommending a frame right now is sort of pointless since your mind will definitely change by then.

Of course, disregard this if you're thinking of buying a '06 frame.

Lots of good choices out there though....

[FreaK]

>...The popular frames would be SX Trail and SC (hmmm the one with the hump - the name escapes me right now). If you have $$ then a Turner or Intense.

Nomad

> More importantly - your wheels. Mavic 321D is an OK choice, Sun single track I think are OK too (check the weights of the rim choices - it's spin weight so be a weight weenie here). If you aren't hard on your wheels then look for something even lighter for rims.

mtb rims don't come much lighter than single tracks(same weight as rhynolite). one way to save weight on wheels is by using 24"s.

how much does a SX trail frame weigh anyway? i'm thinking the PDC 825 might work, but it depends just how you're going to ride the bike, it may still be a touch heavy. It also depends what stuff breaks on you, if you break cranks and like a stiff bar then you will have to get your weight savings elsewhere obviously, eg; frame, fork.