09 Supreme for xc use?

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May 23, 2012, 08:57:15 PM

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Total Voters: 287

[tank_rider]

I'm trying to sort myself out with one bike that can do everything, I currently have a Giant VT for xc and light freeride and an old school Scott High Octane for heavier freeride and DH use.  I've fallen in love with the look of the supreme and am looking to buy the supreme mini 2, then build the best bike i can out of the 3 sets of parts I'll have.

My main concern though is that I do an xc ride every week which has quite a bit of up hill and I want to know if I build it up pretty light will it ride ok on the climbs?  I'm probably going to keep 2 stems, one longer one for xc and a shorter one for freeride/dh.

Cheers

Andy

[Steve P]

Steveb will tell you that you can and should use a miniDH for xc.  It's tougher but there are benefits from improved fitness.

Personally though I think it would be a pain switching stem's all the time (and would you want two wheelsets?).

If it were me I would want a hardtail of some sort as well for the xc duties.

[Graham T]

I have used my minidh for rides around the peak when my mate has borrowed my meta, change of wheels and tyres makes it a lot of fun and you can just about pedal up hills

[tank_rider]

There's the potential to use the wheels off my other halves bike for xc which are pretty damn light, then use my 721's on kings when more robustness is needed.  Swapping stems is a pretty trivial task and only takes 5 mins.  I'm not likely to be doing it all the time, a couple of times a month max.  I guess the best way to find out is to get to a demo day that has a supreme at it!

[Nippy]

I use mine (http://www.commencalownersclub.com/index.php/topic,3721.0.html) for everything.

Recently I have done Gawton, CwmCarn downhill, Aston Hill, a 2 hour xc ride around Epping forest and Whites Level / The Wall at Afan without changing anything on the bike.

It's built up quite light but could be lighter with different cranks and an air shock but it's so versatile as it is now I have no plans to change it. It's obviously a bit harder on the ups but if you are reasonably fit it's fine. I had a Meta before the Supreme and I don't notice that much difference when climbing but I am a bit fitter now.

On Saturday I did White Level followed by The Wall at Afan with 2 friends. I was on the Supreme, one of my mates had his Orange Patriot and the other was on a Lappierre and we were passing lycra clad hardtail riders on the ups, and having much more fun on the downs! Fitness is much more important than the weight/type of your bike.

What I'm trying to say (in a long winded way) is the Supreme climbs surprisingly well and SteveP is right that you will also benefit from improved fitness.

If you're into having fun on a bike rather than shaving a few seconds off your best time then you won't be disappointed with the Supreme.

[Steve P]

Nice bike Nippy !

and we were passing lycra clad hardtail riders on the ups,

That must have been fun - was there any banter   

and SteveP is right that you will also benefit from improved fitness.

Which is another way of saying that it will be harder 

[Nippy]

Cheers Steve.

A few comments were made! To be honest it was one of the most enjoyable rides I've had this year, the sun was shining and everyone we met/passed (except one guy who could only manage 'I feel sick') were all in really good spirits.

Harder yes, but harder in a good way. At least that's what I was telling myself as I started the climb for the Wall!

[doml]

Nippy speaks sense. Nippy for PM!!!

[Nippy]

What's the point when I can't claim expenses for my second home, duck island and moat! Although, I wonder if I can get a Ti 4X through.

[tank_rider]

Thanks for the info Nippy.

I know i need to get my fitness back up to scratch, I'm usually towards the front of the pack of riders at the moment and I have a heavier bike than everyone else anyway lol.  I guess I might have to go back on my single front ring setup I have on all my bikes and get a dual ring setup up front so I can spin up climbs.  If I use the mrs wheels that'll keep the rotating weight to a minimum which will help.

How tall are you Nippy? and which size did you go for?

[Nippy]

I've got the dual at the moment but thinking of going single up front, haven't used the granny ring for a while, even on long climbs.

I'm 5'9" and have the s/m and it's perfect.

[bong69uk]

For my 08 mini dh i have a s/m and im 6ft1 and i find that a perfect size too. the s/m is 18.3 inches mind,so its not a small bike,but perfect to flick around and still not feel unstable due to being too small.

[domino0]

You want a short stem asnd thts tht, the shorter it is the better it is at keeoing the front wheel on the ground. It doesnt lift when you pedle

[mc]

You want a short stem asnd thts tht, the shorter it is the better it is at keeoing the front wheel on the ground. It doesnt lift when you pedle

That is totally wrong.
The shorter the stem, the easier your front wheel will lift, due to the fact that your weight is further back on the bike.
If you want to keep more weight on the front wheel, get a longer stem.

[domino0]

Tht is not wat i was told, and im sure the guy tht told me isnt wrong, as he is UCI technical deligate for DH/4X WCs and is the Scottish DH coach etc etc, i dont think he would have got it wrong, having tht much experiance and having raced World Cups himself