Mountain Biking - Frame comparison. Conclusions?

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math2p14
07-07-03, 10:54 AM
Hi all

Long time no see since i am in Greece for holidays. Shame that my good rig is in the UK but anyway thats a different story. A long debate has been going on amongst cyclists about frame materials. All the general principles are well known so i am going to post a different discussion topic. Pay in mind that i dont want to buy anything (oh thats a first!) i just want to pop a theme and chat about it.

here is the list

Rockymountain Hammer (Reynolds 853 , no gussets)
Specialized Rockhopper (6061-T6 , heavy gussetry)
Cove Hummer XC (Sandvik Ti no gussets)
Airborne LuckyStrike (Ti no gussets)
RockyMountain VertexSc (Easton Scandium)
Kona Blast (7005? heavy gussets.)

Which one lasts better a hard trail riding life? Small drops ,fast and hairy descents...:beer:

sshock4
07-07-03, 11:46 AM
im gunna have to say [only after looking at what youve written, no other research, or knoledge of the bikes in question] either the rockymountain hammer or the kona blast would last the longest. i say the hammer because it is steel, and steel is known to last. i dont know how the frame is designed or what its intended purpose is. i say the blast because of the 7005 sl construction which is strong, and then the gusseting which makes me assume that its designed to take a beating....those are my ideas
dirtbikedude
07-07-03, 04:12 PM
I would say that it is just luck of the draw. Although I would put my money on the Kona, I had an all carbonfiber frame that I used to use for DH, DJ AND XC and it lasted longer then any metal frame I had previously owned.

It will also depend on how often and how hard you crash and how smooth a rider you are.

The reason I would choose the Kona is mainly the fact that they build their bikes to handle hard riding. Even their XC race rigs are very tough.

:beer:

math2p14
07-08-03, 01:55 AM
DBD i fully agree with you...on the lucky pick thing. I think it has more to do with the specified use of the frame rather than the material itself...and most of all on the smoothness of the rider. Recently i re-used my old xc-racer (dhracer as well). A 1993 Scott HT frame Tange MTB DB tubes, Scott/ClarkKent Shocks , Deore DX/LX full. The bloody thing was like new....only some minor scratches ....is it that i am smooth or that this thing refused to deteriorate after 10.000 km of racing and training on both DH/XC . (Note that in 1993 we racer XC/DH with the same bike !!!!????!!!!).