Thursday, January 03, 2008

Choices, choices...

It's a new year, and that means that it's time to choose a new BIKE for next season... I need help choosing though.
I'll tell you my problem. I am too slow to get the new Superfly... if that was an option I would be posting (boasting) about my next bike instead of agonizing over which frame to pick.
Since choosing the Superfly is out of the question, I have to pick between this:

And this:

Of course, you have to keep in mind that the pictures are only for you to see the FRAME. The bike I get will be painted differently and have completely different parts.
I had the 29er hardtail last year and it served me very well, so I wouldn't mind having another one of those, but the new HiFi XC looks pretty neat too.
The 29er I had last year was built up at 22.5 lbs and the new frame is .5 lbs lighter so that would be pretty sweet to race. The new frame is also stiffer in the BB and is supposed to handle better.
The HiFi XC frame weighs 2350 gr. with shock and hardware, close to a pound more than the 29er HT... but wheels will be lighter, and tires too and it's full suspension.
Anyway, you can check out the HiFi XC here:
http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/procaliber-xc
and you can see the Paragon 29er here:
http://www.fisherbikes.com/bike/model/paragon/tech
Please let me know what you think by leaving a comment or emailing me!!!!

15 comments:

John Davis said...

full squish would be nice, and 23lb isn't a bad racing weight.

Are you using the ZTR race wheelset next year?

John McKeen said...

I have to agree. Hi-Fi.

Alex said...

hah! the 'Johns' are full of it! (especially the one who switched over to road...j/k we all love you and support your decision...except me)

last time i checked we race CROSS COUNTRY, right? that dualie is a freakin' super-D rig - check out the sweet 69° head angle and 4" of travel... NOT!! and this is spoken from a dualie enthusiast, too!

Lyle, i'm not yellin'... i'm just sayin'... the choice is obvious: big wheels

Lyle said...

Thanks guys, that's two votes for HiFi XC!
Davis, I will be racing on the Bontrager Race X lite 6 bolt disc wheels. They are tubless ready though, and don't need a Stan's strip to seal.

Lyle said...

Alex, the head angles are almost exactly the same on the two bikes. 69.5 for the HiFi XC and 69.9 on the 29er HT.
The HiFi XC has 90mm travel in the rear and by the time you factor in sag I don't think that's too much for XC.
It's set up for 100mm in the front, which I don't think is bad for XC either since you can always lock it out... but I wouldn't be surprised if some of the team guys or other XC purists run an 80 mil fork anyway.
Does that change anything or do you still feel the same?

John McKeen said...

I don't think that 100mm is too much travel in the front, especially with modern damping technology. The lefty is one of the best forks I've ever ridden and has 110mm. I assume you will be on a new SID or REBA?

John McKeen said...

Oh, and Alex, if I could get into a new Scalpel, I would definitely suffer through some XC races and get back to my roots. Especially this year, as I'm apparently going to race a bunch of crits....

Lyle said...

Yeah J McK, I'll be on a Reba (I hope, it's my favorite fork so far) so it's easy to control and light. I definately don't see the downside of having 100 mil on the descent and since there's not much weight penalty and I don't have to worry about bob on the climbs I don't see the downside at all.
The Lefty is right up there with the Reba in my book.
If you got a new Scalpel I would be super stoked!
I will be the first to admit that when your strong McK, you are STRONG. Dirt or crit I'd rather have you on my team than race against you!
If you ever decide to commit to the dirt you could probably get a spot with my team (or Bearnaked/Cannondale if you REALLY get a hard-on for that Scalpel) I know that Alex would vouch for you and of course I would too.
Bearclaw will rock the road though, and you'll have a ton of fun with the team "dynamics" there.
I have to admit, it even makes the road appealing to ME.

Alex said...

JMac - i'll BUY YOU A SCALPEL if it gets you back on the dirt. It's time for the prodigal son to return home from his misadventures on the road.

After all, what's more fun: drinking a cold beer with your buds after racing on buff singletrack at a beautiful mountain ski resort... or riding around a parking lot for 60 minutes only to lose the field sprint to some juiced up *ahem* Rock racer?

Yeah... Let me know when you want that scalpel. I'll be waiting.

Anonymous said...

29er. big wheels are all the suspension you need.

Lyle said...

No voting twice Alex. Anonymous votes from Alex will be stricken from the record.

John McKeen said...

Hell, Alex, if you're buyin' I'll devote my whole season to the mountain! Parking lots are for parking, not racing....indeed.

Lyle said...

Boone, if you sponsor McKeen with the Scalpel then you and I need to get together and design a jersey for him and I'll get it made.
I'm thinking something like "Alex is the best MAN in the whole world! Call him ladies, his number is (xxx) xxx-xxxx" you get the idea.
An alternative to that is that you sponsor a MTB Team Bearclaw, John is the sole official member and you give the $ to Jason who buys an Epic at team pricing and puts Glen-Air on the jerseys?
It would be an opportunity for Jason to establish a relationship with a well established company that has no shortage of love for MTB and deep MTB roots at no cost to him, you might be able to subsidize some or all of the bike cost, McKeen gets to race some MTB and Team Bearclaw gets the inevitable attention generated when JMcK hits the dirt "outta nowhere"

John McKeen said...

If by "hit the dirt" you mean spectacularly crash as I love lost any semblance of what technical ability I used to possess.

Lyle said...

Good. Winning races is hard enough. I don't need you making it any harder.