do i need a supreme dh?

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February 07, 2012, 07:49:01 AM

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[twin]

well, hopefully everybody in here has seen my supreme fr (minidh) by now. i'm thinking about getting a dh as well, but i'm not sure i a) need it in terms of use or b) if i need it because it is too similar to my supreme fr. some input would be nice. as is i'm gonna go try the dh tomorrow to see how it rides, but some feedback is always nice  my supreme fr would be my everyday bike in terms of trails and most of my riding while the dh would be used for resort riding and a race or two if i choose to enter some next year - general bombing around in other words.

do i need one or is it just folly to own both a supreme minidh and a dh? in terms of other bikes, i currently also have a prophet ie a 5.5 incher, but i'm selling that one because it is too similar to my supreme, though a lot lighter (2-3kgs lighter). i'm not sure what to do right now and some feedback would be nice. the dh i'm thinking about buying is a 06 frame with really nice specs at an ok price, not great price, but decent enough.

[gravity-slave]

Need?  Not really?

Want? Of course you do!

If you ride full on DH, race or uplift then I'd say, if you have the cash, get one.

Mine is finally 99% built, I'll get pics on Sunday.  It's a cool machine.

[Te Bheag]

^^^ what Gravity said ^^^

It's all about wanting, nowt to do with needing (unless you're pro, in which case get sponsored  )

I could ask Mrs Te Bheag for her opinion, but somehow I don't think you'll be buying another bike as a result 

[twin]

hehe. well, another bike is always nice, but one has to be able to justify the purchase. if the felt difference between the dh and the mini isn't all that great owning both would be somewhat redundant. it's just a matter of whether or not the acquiring a dh bike is the best utilisation of the funds in question or if i can derive great use by applying it elsewhere. hehehe. does it sound like i'm studying economics or what? hihi

well, my plan was to test both today, but as we've had a little bit of rain and it is pretty cold outside i'm a bit worried about it being slick as hell down the trail i was gonna use em. it's pretty much all rocks down there, so if it's icy it's pretty harzardous. i'll go up with my fr (mini) first, so i guess i will now if it's a go or no go pretty fast. also, i guess i should put on some extra padding

hm, read 26 times but only 2 people managed to press an option on the poll? people people. did only xc bikers read it? all three necessary options are there, yes - no - dunno.

[Te Bheag]

You know, I missed the poll earlier, but I voted 'sheer folly' now, 'she' has me well trained!

[Nugget]

i think ur crazy unless ur a DH racer but then again who am i to say who is crazy and who isnt!!

With out knowning what forks and rear shocks your running and will be running its hard to know what differences there is...

If your running a triple clamp and coil rear shock on the DH and if ur Mini is running single crowns and air shock then there will be noticable differences but whether you will need these noticable differences is only a question you can answer!!!

You could aways spend the wedge on making the Mini stiffer, tougher and lighter!!

[Rab]

If you race or not, think about it!! Ive got a supreme and it is a cool bike. I think if you got the cash you should go for it!!!
The supreme is something else!!!!!! Just point it across an off camber section or lean it into a corner and it is shocking wot you can do( get away with) on it.
I know a few guys that have mini dh bikes and they love them. I think there a nice bike!!!!
But to have that choice between both would be cool.

[twin]

well, for you guys who haven't seen my bike, here it is:

http://www.commencalownersclub.com/index.php/topic,231.0.html

in other news, i'm back from the test ride, but things changed a bit. I found out i needed to try the latest build of my supreme fr down the slope first to see how i handled as i haven't gone down that trail in a long while. In short the top of the trail was a mix between snow and bambi ice which forced me to take it easy as i didn't run studded tires and didn't feel like pushing my luck and slaming hard. the last part was really nice, though slippery and rooty - and a bit too dark (too late in the day).  In essence this made the latter part really fun, but the lack of light and slippery conditions made the going treacherous and i had to hold back a little bit. The largest slam of the day was also to be had in this part of the downhill part. This was due to the fork slipping out when i went over a root in the steepest section, or rather the fork catapulting to the left after going over the root before it hit the ground again - not to ideal in other words. It went ok though I hiked up a bit to go over the same spot again (when one slams or don't run a line smoothly one should always go right back up and try again ) and while i didn't fall the second time the fork did the same thing. oh well, i guess i need to make some adjustments on it.

but what was the conclusion you ask? Well, the supreme fr (minidh) is a ton of fun and one can have some serious fun on it. It can take some really wicked riding and is perfect for larking about in the... well just about everywhere.Iin some parts though i wished i had a little bit more travel and a bit more ac height up front. This was especially in the really steep parts or parts were there's a steady decline, but tons of small drops. "Why don't you put on a 66 ata on your bike?" you ask. Well, for one i don't want to. It's too heavy, the travel adjustment is too cumbersome and i almost never need 180mm up front, especially when trailriding(which is the primary goal of this bike). And yes, i just like fox 36 forks better. So rebuilding my current bike to get more travel up fromt is for now out of the question. Or rebuilding it at all right now is out of the question. I'm happy with it the way it is (though i might need a larger ring up front - the 32 is perhaps a tiny bit too small, or get a big ring protector). These conclusions are not conclusive though, hehe. The conditions weren't good enough for that though. It was too slippery and more importantly it was too dark. I even had to remove my googles as they stole too much light (that part of the trail is in a wood with a coping of trees hanging over the trail). When one rides the supreme fr aggressively one can do a lot of stuff on it and it can take a lot of abuse. The question thus is, can mine take enough to pull the plug on the dh project?

but, what about the dh. Well, as it is i really wanna try a dh bike. Going over the same trail tomorrow is not something i'm dying to do - the conditions weren't good enough for the long pedaling to the top, especially on a dh rig. So, if i manage to sell my prophet relatively fast i'm thinking buying the dh for testing purposes would be a good idea. It's a pretty low risk investment i think. i dunno.

so i guess the real question is not do it need it, it's more do i want it. For 90 to 95% of my current riding i do not need it, but it would be a helluvalot of fun to try a dh rig down the parts i feel like a bit more travel and slightly different geometry would benefit my ride. I started out as a trailrider and still consider me as such (an all mountain rider), but i'm starting to have more and more fun bombing downhill as my skills improve. My supreme fr is and will be my do it all bike, my pride and joy, but perhaps an addition of dh rig might be a good idea. I would also like an inexpensice 4incher to commute on, time will tell what will happen. So for now the conclusion is: well yes, maybe it is a good idea.

Can i really afford it, well... in the long run, well - yes, in the short run, well, not really. But to afford i just have to kick back on some other things.

[gravity-slave]

It's a tough decision and in all honesty, I was being a little flippant above!

If it were me, I would be looking at when you'd use each bike. You've already got a fairly capable DH bike and the danger is that you end up getting a bit too close with the two.

My weapons of choice are:
Supreme DH with Boxxers
Meta 5.5 with Pikes
Absolut 4X

The Meta is my out and out trail bike with some Dh capability while the Supreme is an out and out DH race weapon.

It's my personal feeling that compromise bikes are always that - a compromise.  Only you know if you do enough DH to justify the full beast and the only way you'll know is to ride the DH for a session!

[Nugget]

Nice Supreme, Twin... and its a defo AM bike, triple chainset, air shock etc.. well the difference between ur supreme and the DH will be quite alot i would say... but defo worth a blast on before you purchase, i cant see you being dispointed tho and probably be more tempted after a good burn on one!!!

[photodude]

For sure, you need(want) it! Since you can buy the DH for an ok price I would say go for it. If you don`t like it, then you could just sell it again for an ok price! But be carefull when buying used DH bikes. Most of them are seriously punished and needs a lot of care...

[twin]

well, i decided to go for it, or did last night after my little trip. the great irony is thus that it got sold last night though. i was supposed to take it for spin last night, but didn't because i didn't have the time and it got all dark (and i don't have sufficiently good light set). if i had it would've been with me and not up for grabs. now it's 90% certain that it's gone. got damn it! it's a petty as i had hardly been used and had decent specs and i want the 06 frame more than the 07 or newer frames as i quite like the look of the old top tube.

and nugget, i don't run a triple chainset. hehe. hell, i might even put a chain tdevice on it if the need arises, but i haven't needed it so far even though i've thrown it around quite a bit. prob because i don't jump a whole lot or have yet to ride it in a resort. dunno. the only significant differences between my bike (the current build) and the mini team is the lack of a chain device, my lighter crankset and 6 instead of 7 inches up front.

and yeah, mr photodude, you're pretty partial in my descision to get one. when you described the mini as a golf gti it made me think "what the hell, a golf gti? i'm missing out here! gots to get a dh rig".

well, time will tell if i get it or not. hopefully i will as i don't really want the other dh frames i can get in time, i want this one. hehe

[twin]

but oh well. come january i'll have a team instead. i'm starting to quite like it already hehe.

[twin]

well, the answer is in. I took my lovely supreme fr out for a spin today and man, the dh capabilities of the supreme fr is simply astounding. Sure, i could prob go even faster with a supreme dh, but can't pedal that one to the top (which is a big deal for me). As it is i can go fast as hell with my current setup and when my abilities improve even more i can prob go a lot faster than i do now. So no, just as commencal (david pargent) and my local shop has told me (bendik & lars), i don't need a supreme dh. The supreme freeride/minidh is capable as hell.

and yes, I removed two large spacers and put a slim one underneath the stem instead to get the handlebars roughly 2 cm lower and i'm much, much happier with the bike as a whole now. Feels a lot better. That combined with improved riding skills equals better overall riding, a lot faster.

to sum i up, Muahaha! i love my supreme.

[nikobe]

Nice one!  I was just reading this and thought you could sell the fr and get a 666 and a dh but then that would be extravagant!!