I figured some of you DH bikers may be interested in this. I have an '04 Banshee Chaparral with an '02 Boxxer world cup and some pretty high end parts - XT, king, protaper, hugi, purple hayes...



anyway, i had it set up to last through the rocks in Newfoundland and it was a "rubenesque" 45+ lbs - no fun for something i basically use as a trail bike! I figured now that i'm riding some smoother trails here in Edmonton it was time for a serious diet...

I swapped 2.7/2.5" wire bead maxxis DH tires for 2.5" kevlar bead bontrager big earls with lighter tubes and my hussefelt cranks with a DH bottom bracket and metal bash guard and rings for an exo-bottom bracket shimano saint with alloy rings a plastic bash guard. cost about $320 canadian for tires and cranks.

final total - 39.5 lbs! losing that much rotating mass made a monsterous difference in the way the bike handles, it feels like a whole new rig! I had actually been thinking about selling it but now that she's lost some fluff I'm back in love (insert fat joke)!

 

Gorgeous bike.
There is a Banshee for sale in the paper here, but $3500 is too much for my blood.

ALMOST biking season here, I can't wait.
Just bought a Yakima spare tire carrier for the 4runner yesterday

 

I just moved to edmonton as well. As far as I can tell there isnt much for downhill, but im planning on rocking Rabbit Hill bike park alot this summer. We should go for a ride sometime.

I feel I need to show my ride off as well. Isnt exactly top of the line, but the amount I break derailers off, cheap is all I can afford.

 

could always put on a longer travel fork like a fox RLC vanilla and drop that huge dh fork you have on their now

 

That's a sweet cove - i'll post up some pics of G-spot when I get home tonight, same white and red paint job and everything! we should definately get in a ride sometime this summer. there isn't much DH but the river valley has a few fun trials

 

Hey RentedMule, what did you do with the old parts? As it so happens, I'm looking for cranks,,,

Edit: send me a message if you've got em and wanna sell them.

 

that bike is was not intended for to be used with that fork. I believe that's a 5" bike, so you should have a 5" fork on there. Maybe a bomber, or a Pike...one that allows you to lock it out for steep climbs. That bike should weigh closer to 35 lbs if set up correctly. that wil allow you to ride a wide varity of trails. I have a KONA coiler deluxe...5" bike. These are actually considered cross-country bikes now, since they climb so well with a fox dampening shock...my downhill bike is 8" in comparison-no climbing.

call the BIke Co. of lake forest, ca. A pro shop willing to help you out with proper set ups anytime.

Tell them Jrock sent you!

 

sorry dude, i used all my extra parts to build the girlfriend a bike. she hasn't ridden a bike in years but half the parts on her hardtail are DH worthy! jensonusa.com has saint cranks on for 55% off, sweet deal, that's where i got mine

 

the dually counterpart to your H/T (i stripped most of the parts off this one to build the banshee)

 

Awesome bikes, so are you into the extreme mountain biking like they have in Moab?

 

Greg's bike is how we got things done in Prince George... There's nothing a hardtail with a sexy fork couldn't handle... Now that we're getting older, we're slowly moving onto squishy bikes...

 

I love my hardtail too but it still kicks the poo out of you on the rocky trails, even with a nice fork. i'm not really into the crazy stuff anymore myself, just on the harder side of trail riding. I'd probably go to a lighter bike with a bit less travel if i had the money for a good one but it's hard to go up the capability/toughness of a nice freeride bike once you get used to it..

 

It's true, once you go squish its hard to go back... Learning on a hardtail gives you so much more appreciation for whatever it is you are riding though... It's really easy to just hold onto a squisher and not worry about your line as opposed to a hardtail. You try that on a hardtail and at the very least you'll eat up a whole lot of speed, and the worst, well... no point in bringing it up. I'm sure you already know...

 

true that! i had a fully rigid single-speed for a few years and that will make you appreciate your dually! i made myself ride it on the trails i took my big bike on and it was rediculous! those guys you see in the really old north shore extreme videos had some crazy skills!