Mountain Biking - New Bike - Transition Dirtbag - NOT 56k Friendly

Well I finally got the bike. The company I ordered it from got almost everything wrong. Wrong colour and wrong shock (I spent extra for the dhx and still got a crap manipoo)...I am in the middle of trying to right that wrong. But here is my bike half built, I am awaiting some more parts which should be here next week. The blue has grown on me like mold. I intend to keep it and simply want the dhx shock.

Old bike vs the new bike. The old bike will be rebuilt as a loaner for any buds that come to town.
http://66.51.162.110/mark/oldvnew.jpg

Side shot of my new bike.
http://66.51.162.110/mark/side.jpg

http://66.51.162.110/mark/perspective1.jpg
http://66.51.162.110/mark/perspective2.jpg

the cat checking out the situation
http://66.51.162.110/mark/cat.jpg

Now for the parts I am ordering
http://www.fahrrad-gruber.de/technik/rf21d.jpg
http://www.cyclelink.com.au/images/diablous-medium.jpg

Some people might wonder why I switched from one 7in bike to another. The bighit didn't offer much performance for me. It didn't feel as active as I wanted, the angles were very steep for dh and I just didn't feel like I was getting all the travel out of it. Not to mention the 24" wheel was noticable to me. I hopped on my buddies session and fell in love with the angles, sizing and feel of the bike. The transition was very similar.

thats awesome!
i wish i had a dirtbag but i wouldnt do anything to require it!
congrats on the new ride! its kickass!
*double thumbs up to you*

Nice cat.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

Nice bike.

She ain't nice...shes mean...shes a scrapper which is why I love her :)

Kick ass, bro. She looks like she can handle a long day on the slopes with the best of us.

I've found I like unusual bike colors just because they set your bike apart a little bit. That color is fine. Pretty close to celeste, really.

I'm diggin the color. That's an awsome rig. You switching seat post???

Awesome bike you got there Maelstrom!!! The blue really does looks sweet! Now go out and get some action shots for use:D

sooo nice. the dirtbag has been my dreambike for a while now.

I'm diggin the color. That's an awsome rig. You switching seat post???

Ya thats actually really small. I am using cut beer cans to make custom shims to make that work for now.

No action shots for a bit. Right now it is a flinstone bike :)

I have been looking at the dirtbag since the first time I clicked on the link in you sig. Cuase now that I am hitting bigger stuff, I am thinking about a new frame when I get job this summer. A friend of mine told me something that I have forgotten, it was 1 fault that it had, some about when you brake your shock locks up or something, I will ask him when I see him. But, nice bike. What Color were you going for?

I think you are talking about brake jack. And unless you get vpp, dw or fsr, brake jack or squat will happen. Just brake less ;)

I wanted the green and a dhx, I also asked for the right weight spring, they sent me a "normal" spring. At this point I would take the dhx and just buy the right spring. I got the blue and manipoo...

Yeah, that is pretty much what he said. Cuase I remeber him telling me something that the VPP does that eliamates that. He said the same thing happens with a Kona Stinky. I need to learn more about mechanices of a bike lol.

Essentially what he means is, when the rear brake is engaged it locks the suspension making it a hardtail. It can in fact cause the bike to squat (compress) or jack (expand)...this all depends on pivot location and design. Some bikes/riders want certain setups depends on their ability.

That is excalty what he said.

I love that bike, I've had my eye on one of those for quite some time now.
Your gonna have to let me know how it handles the big drops since thats what that beast is made for.
Dont forget to cut down your shock tube, that sucker looks a lil long eh

Essentially what he means is, when the rear brake is engaged it locks the suspension making it a hardtail. It can in fact cause the bike to squat (compress) or jack (expand)...this all depends on pivot location and design. Some bikes/riders want certain setups depends on their ability.

You can get around most of it. Just change your style a little.( brake in different places).

I don't see how you can ride both bikes.

The Dirt Bag looks like it could fit inside the triangle of the Big Hit.

O:-)

Very nice man! That color is aswesome, very clean looking bike, and looks to be an awesome build!

Loving that bike!! Very nice ;)

Hot.

Very nice man! That color is aswesome, very clean looking bike, and looks to be an awesome build!

Bike usually look clean when they don't have cables, deraileurs and chains...I will psot a pic when I get my parts. It will likely look a little more normal then

Looks really nice! I really like Transition bike, especially the Preston freeride and the Trail or park.

Looking forward to the pics of it finished! :)

Weren't you the one who said you hated the baby blue!! and now you love it!! hahah.

:beer:

I like that bike a lot - the DHX will make it look that much better. :)

Weren't you the one who said you hated the baby blue!! and now you love it!! hahah.

Yes I was. It isn't quite the baby blue I thought, but it did grow on me like mold. :)



I like that bike a lot - the DHX will make it look that much better.


I hope I can get the situation resolved with the 3rd party company. I REALLY don't want a manipoo.

thats really nice man, good stuff. Just curious... how much did you end up paying for the beast?

sweet bike mael, its gonna be a killer build

That is an insane bike mate, ride it long and ride it hard :D

Forthose going on about Brake Squat and Jack, check this post, it contains a very detailed explinaiton of the braking forces and if you skip the main points you can reda the other simpler points
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=130843&highlight=Brake+Jack

That looks great! Post more pics when it's complete ;)

Congrats! I like the color too, I'm guessing it to be lighter than the bighit when it's done, Let us know!

I like the color too! Congrats Mael, Hey I'm guessing it to be a little lighter than the bighit when it's done, keep us posted!

Sorry about the double post! Awesome bike!

That bike is garbage. You should send it to me for proper disposal. ;)

BTW, baby blue is the ****.

Very tidy effort. I like it alot.

cool! i just ordered a Vagrant. how does the frame quality seem? the vagrant is the HT version dirtbag