Okay, maybe off topic a bit but I’m doing a few more xterra races this year to spice things up and I’m hoping to get a dual suspension bike to make up for my horrible (roady) bike handling skills. I’m looking at the Litespeed Niota aluminum FS bike (4-5 in travel) and the Cannondale Scalpel (3 in travel). Any ideas? Used for XC/Xterra races only. My descending abilities suck so I’m considering taking on the extra pound or two and going with the litespeed… Thanks, Tai
I raced a Scapel for a year. It was a very nice bike. It’s very light, and I actually like the lefty fork. It rides just like a standard fork and if you flat you don’t have to take the wheel off, nice for racing.
I sold mine b/c I’m pretty light and rode with the rear locked out most of the time. So I just got a hardtail instead. Couldn’t justtify paying for the rear. My .02.
Is there a reason why you’ve narrowed it down to those two besides local availability? There are several other bikes in that higher end range that you might want to consider too:
Ellsworth Truth (What I currently ride), Santa Cruz Blur and SuperLight, Titus, Legend, and a few others if you’d like me to elaborate.
I ride XC with some free riding (or whatever they’re calling it now) mixed in too. I’ve been mountain biking and adventure racing for many years and have seen and formed many opinions on different bikes, so email me if you’d like to hear more.
I have ridden many different bikes. Hard tail steel, hard tail Ti, and a Merlin Echo. I now have a Titus Racer-X. FWIW, for me this is an amazing bike that has FAR exceeded my expectations. Check out the review on www.mtbr.com
Jarhead - I heard you gave up that offroad, XC stuff and are now a wimpy triathlete/roadie. Want to sell your Xterra bike?
As my father used to say to me, “Do you know why donkeys don’t go to school?” – because nobody likes a “smartass”
HA!
scalpels are actually pretty nice race bikes. but, you have that pesky proprietary c-dale BS to live with. whatsay you by chance leave the front wheel leaning on the bumper of your subaru, and run it over or forget it one day. you are screwed and tattoedtill you get a new one. etc etc. life is already too complicated, and living with a bike will all manner of one off crap on it is just asking for trouble.
the l-speed looks like a basic four bar bike. certainly nothing special about it. where do those hillbilly’s have that thing made, anyway - burma? and, what do those hillbilly’s actually know about four bar design that they haven’t just triied to copy?
if a four bar bike is what you want, and you have a decent pile-o-cash, i would look at some of the above suggestions, the titus or ellsworth in particular. the titus is rock solid, and the ellsworth has that funky no bob thing going on - both nice.
of course, it could be said that the four bar is passe. a single pivot bike with a stable platform shock, such as the superlight - or, something new school such as the VPP bikes from santa cruz or intense … OR, the 'brain" technology from the specialized epic line are the bleeding edge these days.
i am a steel hardtail man, myself. one speed, drop bars.
pretty much price and availability at my lbs/sponsor. Going with what I can get for a great deal, plus I already have a Cannondale Ironman 5000 and love it. I could get an Ellsworth, Ventana, or Turner but I like the Cannondale and Litespeed. Just wondering if the Litespeed is too heavy/too much travel for an Xterra bike.
The Santa Cruz Blur beats both hands down (and is cheaper to boot). Mine works great.
I have a Giant NRS and it is a fantastic bike. You can get them very inexpensively and everyone I know have liked them very much.