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Anybody out there have any experience with Slingshot bikes, specifically their road bike? ( ([url])http://www.slingshotbikes.com/[/url] ) Durability? Ride quality and feel? Handling? Are they a good bike, or are they all show and no go??
Thanks for opinions, experiences, etc!!!
We used to sell them and had a team that was sponsored by them (Slingshot/Ritz-Carlton). The bikes were better than they got credit for. They actually rode nicely and were very comfotable. A lot less weird handling characteristics than you might think from their appearance. I had one of the the mountain bikes than I really liked. We sold a couple of the TT bikes but it never caught on. It seemed like a concept that had some merit.
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Thanks Tom! A follow-up, if I may: I wrote the manufacturer to ask about the safe usable life of the fiberglass board but haven't heard back. Do you have any idea how many miles/hours of riding the board is good for???
Thanks!
Dave
I have no clue what the expected life is on the hinge. I have a Slingshot MTB singlespeed from the early-90's with the original hinge. By the way, supposedly this fiberglass hinge is the same material used in Corvette leafsprings.
Stanley "Chip" Kulikowski, 5 time USCF state junior champion a long time ago and now slightly overweight policemen here in Dearborn has had his MTB from Slingshot since way back when. He has pounded that bike. It's goin' strong. I haven't seen many, but I've never seen any break. Ryan Calilung, who used to be an engineer at SRAM after he worked here had one of the TT bikes and ruled on it. He sold it used to a guy who is still riding it. They seem to hold up. Your results may vary, past perfromance is no guarantee of future results. Invest not insured, may loose money, blah, blah...
Tom Demerly
The Tri Shop.com
Slingshot sent me a tri bike back in the early '90's, I rode it for a season, till I got tired of getting my ass kicked.
If you mash a big gear, it eats energy like a sponge. I switched back to a '84 Bianchi POS mid-season and picked up a solid MPH overnight.
Skip it. Plenty of real bikes out there.
"What's good for me ain't necessarily good for the weak-minded."
I've found my Slingshot mountain bike is a great big gear mashing bike, which is why I made it my singlespeed of choice. Together we're very efficient pushing a 38x16 through singletrack and climbing. Except for the frame being heavy (it's steel and their folding model), I have no complaints. And the race results have been there as well.
Would the Slingshot be considered UCI legal? Does the down'cable' count as a down tube or are ther minimum dimension requirements.
Not that I'm planning on riding the Tour with one or anything, just curious.
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