Park bikes and playful dh bikes.

[shadow knight]

So I'm in the market for a new frame, possibly a new bike and want something that is more fun rather then fast.
I come from a bmx background many moons ago and have only been riding dh for about 3 yrs.
i have had a kona stinky, first bike really had no idea. Kona operator which I quite liked. Low bb, short chain stays then I snapped it and lost all faith in it and currently have a 2012 cove shocker which feels a bit more plowy then poppy.
I did put a trek session park on layby earlier this yr and the ass hats at a certain bike shop cough cough my mountain jacked the price up from $3000 to $6500 after I already put it on layby. Apparently trek gave out the wrong rrp.
Sooo the current bikes I'm tossing up are of course a demo (26" of course) from all the reviews I have read, Banshee Darkside (don't know if I'm going to chew through the 180mm of travel but like the idea of it being more poppy).
Trek session park 2015 if it makes it to our shores. The new Commencal Supreme Park (once again don't know if it's going to make it to our shores and with 435mm cs don't know if it's going to make the cut)
So the reason behind this thread is to get all your rotorburnians opinion on what use have owned and which bikes use personally think have been the most fun.
Bikes must run tripe clamp forks and put a grin from ear to ear and be more fun on the jumps then through the rocks.
Thought I would go about it this way before I lay down a fist full of cabbage.
Thanks in advance and if there is already another thread about this SORRY.
Cheers Dan

 

[cooki_monsta]

Demo..... its a freeride built bike so very playful but also presents well on a sunday at the start gate

 

[shadow knight]

Haha was wondering how long it would take to turn into a demo thread.
I rode a demo for the first time this wknd only in the carpark manualed like a beast and hopped pretty good.
Next time I'm out riding with him I will take it for a couple runs.
Willing to spend about $3000 on a frame so it should open the door for a few upper end frames.
Are the really that good ?
Can they take an absolute flogging ?
Will probs be on this next bike for a few yrs so want to make the right decision.

 

[rollingrambo]

Plenty of love around for demos! I came from bmx aswell and absolutely love my demo. I even bought it back after i sold it. Ivegot flat bars too so it's got a low centre of gravity

 

[SideFX]

Shadow King . What about waiting and building up a 2015 DEMO frame . Complete 2015 demos are on bicycle exchange to give you a ball park price , but i feel you could build one way cheaper and customise the bike the way you want . Or the new glory on TBSM , hay Im not big into giant but a 27 bike in most cases will out perform any 26
These " park" bikes , well its been tried before and its been a fail . With the new wheel sizing it may work this time for the die hard 26 riders , but why not just buy a fully blown DH bike 26 gen . A good DH sled will always blow a "park " bike out of the water . There`s a Carbon session in DH bikes for sale , that would be a better option than the new TREK park as both run dual crowns .
Back to the DEMO , ok so we all know it has great geo and a very short chain stays thats the reason why there so much fun , the 2015 alloy looks to be in the same realm . The 2013/14 carbon DEMO are going for 4K new also .

 

[rednightmare]

Shadow King . What about waiting and building up a 2015 DEMO frame . Complete 2015 demos are on bicycle exchange to give you a ball park price , but i feel you could build one way cheaper and customise the bike the way you want . Or the new glory on TBSM , hay Im not big into giant but a 27 bike in most cases will out perform any 26
These " park" bikes , well its been tried before and its been a fail . With the new wheel sizing it may work this time for the die hard 26 riders , but why not just buy a fully blown DH bike 26 gen . A good DH sled will always blow a "park " bike out of the water . There`s a Carbon session in DH bikes for sale , that would be a better option than the new TREK park as both run dual crowns .
Back to the DEMO , ok so we all know it has great geo and a very short chain stays thats the reason why there so much fun , the 2015 alloy looks to be in the same realm . The 2013/14 carbon DEMO are going for 4K new also .

I don't know man, I reckon a full-blown DH sled (e.g. 27.5 Glory), with a slack as head angle and long wheelbase, won't be as 'playful' and jump as well as a bike with a (relatively) steeper head angle and shorter wheelbase.

I think with the pretty much wholesale adoption of 650B by the bike companies, 26 bikes offered by companies will be legitimately better in a bike park than their 27.5 counterparts. (And yeah, the old 'park' bikes were just the DH bikes with crappy forks/components.) Interesting comparison between the 2014 and 2015 Demos here.

Agreed that Bikeexchange is the place to go to pick up a bargain. Some good priced Trek Sessions and Demos on there.

 

[bikesarefun]

Black Market ROAM.

It's basically their slopestyle bike, but with more travel. Super fun and playful, fine for steep lips even.

I've been running one with 160mm up front, air sprung both ends, and it's been incredible. Just threw on 180mm coil for the front and a RC4 on the back to get it Whistler-ready, and it feels burly without losing the playfulness.



If you come from a BMX background, you don't need some massive DH sled to make up for your lack of bike skills. You'll be able to slay anything on a shorter travel bike, and the ROAM or something similar will let you boost higher, and get back to throwing tricks.


Oh. And I own a demo (2012). Set it up with single crowns. Too long to be fun. It's a DH race bike; don't let people convince you otherwise.

 

[scblack]

Shadow I'm with you. I had a DH bike - Norco A-Line Park for years. I have since realised that a lighter, more nimble bike is a lot more fun. Of course it means I can't plough through rock gardens as easy but all other riding is more enjoyable. I've changed to a 6-6.5inch travel mini DH and 180mm single crown forks. I really do enjoy riding it more than the DH bike overall.

Here's my machine:

 

[pink poodle]

I'm with SC all the way here. His intense is a good.example of the kind of bikes I like to ride. I ran my Santa Cruz nomad with a 180mm front for years, some of the Scott voltage range can be pretty sweet as well, I had an original fr10. This style of mini dh bike is versatile and fun to ride on almost any trail. And rock some single crowns.

Hopefully my rebuilt glory delivers what I'm after...

 

[driftking]

I think the main thing you need to define is if you want a poppy park bike that is capable for downhill or a downhill bike that is playful and can be used for park.

A playful park bike is going to be more playful than a playful downhill bike.

I would advise to look at frames with adjustable CS, HA and BB. This will help you switch between the two disciplines and tune to the feeling.

 

[Koper25]

'15 Scott Voltage looks sick. Might be worth checking out.

 

[Flint]

Maybe the Banshee Darkside could be worth a look.

 

[xero]

TR 500?

Best of both worlds.
Ability to run either 26 or 27.5 wheels.
180mm or 203mm travel. SC or DC forks.
Adj chain stay length, BB Drop, head angle

Link here: http://www.supersports.net.au/products/bikes/transition/bikes/transition-tr-500

 

[ajay]

There's a lot to like about the frame, xero!

 

[shadow knight]

Thanks for the input and info guys. I suck on computers so don't know how to highlight and repost what ppl have already said (haha bloody 30yrs old think I should know )
So here goes, all these new 650b I am not really a fan of. Yes I can see how they will be faster but longer wheel base longer chain stays in my eyes equal up to a bigger bike that is not going to be as fun to throw around. I already have a full blown dh bike ( current shape cove shocker ) I gave the whole bike a freshen up recently,everything new besides frame and fork. Got offset shock bushes, angle set played around with all that even suspension settings did make it a lot more playful but still not quite what I'm chasing.
I know a few riders last yr did run 650b bikes at rampage but again they are on a whole different level to me and all the big dogs at all the big bike free ride events (rampage, fest series ) are running 26" wheels and I'm guessing so for a reason.
I have no doubt that shorter travel single crown bikes will be fun as fuck to throw around. My stinky was quite fun doing xups and even hit some bmx dirt jumps on it. But I mainly ride dh tracks but I normally find myself pushing up the trail and sessioning only the jumps and drops.
The demo I have always had a soft spot for and every one loves them but everyone also has one.
Could be a good thing or a bad thing but coming from a bit of a boutique bike don't know if I want to go back to a main stream bike if that makes sense.( but if it fits the bill I will throw my fist full of dollars at it)
Also I want a 26" demo so have to get one of the last cool ones haha.Carbon doesn't really phase me I would like the bike to be light but not feather weight ( unless it can take a flogging ) plus I'm sure I heard somewhere that spesh doesn't allow claw to run the carbon frame ( could be a bunch of bs).
The Banshee Darkside I quite like, I have done affair bit of research on it even a member on here has a sexy one, but a couple reviews I have read that people are constantly chewing through the travel.
I like the Idea that the leverage rate or what ever is designed to ramp up towards the end of the travel so no harsh bottoming but still giving you a poppy feel ( much like trek claim on the session park ).
Still not a sure if I like the idea running 200mm travel up front and 180 out back. 190mm I'm not to fussed but 180 is a bit iffy for me ( I know I can space down my boxxers to 180 if I like.
Getting a bike with all this adjustable geo ( ha, cs length, bb height) but would much rather a bike that has it right rather then constantly stuffing round to try and achieve what I'm after.
The tr500 I also fancy even tho it kind of contradicts what I said in my previous sentence but the cheapest I have found is $3500.
I have to draw the line somewhere and anything above 3k is pushing it.
I'm quite happy with all my components and even how I have my boxxer set up for jumps at the moment.
Thanks once again for all your input and sorry for this cunt of a poorly punctuated heft of a paragraph.
Hahaha
Also like the new scott gambler but everywhere I read they reckon its a bit to much of a bike, unless your Brendog who I chased down Kurranda in cairns for a total of 4 seconds before I couldn't a see him lol.

 

[cabbo]

15 voltage fr 10,if we get them to our shore. 14kg in single crown, bit more in trip, adjustable travel 165 too 190 plus adjustable bb, ha, wb, 26 or 27 wheel. Just hope they make it to us.

 

[shadow knight]

Yeah they don't look to bad aye. I was having a looksy at them today on line.
Wonder if they come to our shores and if they will be available as frame only.
Am I the only one who is a bit hesitant on first run bikes ?
Normally they do evolve and refine them a bit the next yr if you know what I mean.
ATM I'm kind of tossing up between a 26" demo and the Banshee Darkside ( darkside being the first run ).
I think it might be hard finding a new demo frame. There is a red and black one on bike exchange for $2350 (2013 demo 2). Did the geo change on the demos from 2013/2014 ?
If I could find a black one (alloy) frame, medium I would be interested but I think that blue and white one is ugly as sin. Hahah
Think I would be better off buying a frame then a whole bike since all the parts on my bike are only like 2months old.
Thought did cross my mind of buying a 180mm single crown freeride bike, and keeping what I have now but I think it might be a waste of money as one bike probably won't get used much. ( like what I did with my 24" cruiser, collecting dust while my 20" is getting all the love ).
Even tho there is no such thing as to many bikes.
Thanks once again for the input peeps.

 

[mittagongben]

I have a darkside and have never had the blowing through travel issue, but then again i have owned every banshee bike now with db airs, so i've got quite good at tuning them. The stock tune is a little soft but it is also very light on the damping, so it doesn't take much to get it to ramp up nice.

 

[guitar1234]

Hey shadow I think we shuttled together for an afternoon after the WC in Cairns with Graham? I was the short kid on the Polygon haha

Anyway, The Voltage isn't being brought into Aus this year (I work at a Scott/Avanti shop), god knows why, the old ones were perfect for the riding we have over here so it perplexes me. And the Gamblers are a pretty race orientated bike, heavy (in comparison to most bikes now anyway), but are supposed to be great for plowing shit.

Either way good luck dude.

 

[shadow knight]

Hey Mittagongben do you ride your Darkside on really rough dh tracks ?
How does the 180 rear travel fair through rock gardens ?
Running triple clamp forks ?
Is it quite a fun bike ?
I really dig the darkside just not a 100% sure about the 180 travel biz.

Hey Guitar yeah that's me hahah the guy that played tour guide on a track that I had hardly ridden.
Was a lot of fun wish all dh tracks had a view like that at the top of a run, will deff head back out there to have a ride of the wc track.
I deff remember who you are, buy the way how did the polygon ride ?
Yeah that sucks that we don't get all the cool bikes to our shores.
My cousin works at a bike shop and can get giants and Scott's so can get a a good deal on them not to big of a fan on giants don't mind the Scott's but think I will go the frame route rather then a complete.
The tax man treated me well so I'm itching for a new frame lol.