FL Bikes

[Carla A-G]

Freeride Lite Bikes.

The next mtb trend.

Discuss.

- CA-G

Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

 

[Mattb]

"Carla A-G" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.
>
> - CA-G
>
> Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!
>
>

Sounds like XC FS bikes, but maybe less efficent going up hill.

Matt

 

[Jon Bond]

"Carla A-G" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.
>
> - CA-G
>
> Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!

I guess mine might qualify if I put a 5" travel fork on the front.

Jon Bond
4.5back/4front right now...

 

[John Morgan]

"Carla A-G" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.
>
> - CA-G

I read this also in one of those crazy MTB magazines. It says the Cannondale Jekyll 1000 qualifies
as a Freeride Lite because it has over 5 inches of travel and it weighs between 25 and 30 pounds. I
guess that means the Specialized Enduro is a FL bike too.

There MIGHT be a new class emerging... but when I read this I just lumped FL bikes in with the
current blend of "All-mountain" mountain bikes. In my perverse opinion, I would like to see this
trend continue as long as the bikes keep getting lighter. It used to be cool to have a light
mountain bike with short travel, now it's cool to have a heavy mountain bike with lots of travel.
Maybe the next logical step is to have a light mountain bike with lots of travel.

-John Morgan

 

[Squid-In-Traini]

> I guess mine might qualify if I put a 5" travel fork on the front.
>
> Jon Bond
> 4.5back/4front right now...

Well, size ALWAYS matters...

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Shawn Curry]

Carla A-G wrote:

> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.
>
> - CA-G
>
> Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!
>
>
Is this so its easier to lift onto the rack for the drive up the hill? That's how republicans
"mountain bike". ;-)

Shawn

 

[Matthew Paterso]

On Wed, 16 Jul 2003 18:57:44 +0000, Carla A-G wrote:

> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.

If you take 'Freeride' as the marketed hype that it is, and label it in with big 7 inch bikes with
two chainrings and a bash guard, then I doubt you could have a FL bike. Anything light wouldnt stand
up to the abuse, of 20 foot drops and North Shore riding, in my opinion.

But if 'Freeride' means what we do everyday then I guess a FL bike is something that is light enough
to ride everywhere all day but take some sort of punishment, and, like John says, that would include
your Jekyll's, Enduro's, Epic's (?), I-drives et all.

Just my 2c.

--
Matt

Fear of a flat planet

 

[Super Slinky]

Carla A-G said...

> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.

Could be. I describe my MTB philosophy as a sort of heavy duty XC-- basically an XC bike built up
with heavy enough parts that you don't have to put up with flexy, breakable parts. I'm putting the
finishing touches on a Titus Loco-Moto that I bought last week after destroying the frame on my
bargain bike. I have a 5" travel Fox Vanilla on the front and 4.75" travel on the back. Weighs
about 29 lbs.

 

[John Morgan]

> Could be. I describe my MTB philosophy as a sort of heavy duty XC-- basically an XC bike built up
> with heavy enough parts that you don't have to put up with flexy, breakable parts. I'm putting the
> finishing touches on a Titus Loco-Moto that I bought last week after destroying the frame on my
> bargain bike. I have a 5" travel Fox Vanilla on the front and 4.75" travel on the back. Weighs
> about 29 lbs.

Sounds exactly like MY philosphy before building up a 30 pound Loco-Moto with a Fox Vanilla on the
front. Luckily, I realized the error of my ways and went back to basics with a nice light hardtail.
Believing in that hype only caused me to lose $1000.

-John Morgan

Enjoy.

 

[Westie]

"Carla A-G" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.
>
> - CA-G
>
> Can-Am Girls Kick Ass!
>
>

It's a new catchy acronym for heavy duty XC, isn't it? I can certainly see it being a new
category from a marketing and sales point of view. And it types/rolls off the tongue easier than
heavy duty XC...

I see the Enduro's, GT Ruckus's (Rucki?) and the Giant VT1's certainly seem to be firmly in the
heavy duty XC end of the range. Does that leave any room for another category? You're going to have
to define a new category simply by existence or non-existence of chainrings and bashguards! I would
have thought that pretty much everything that would be on a bike in this 'new' class can be seen
elsewhere in 'other' existing categories. I don't see that it's needed but I can see it catching on.
--
Westie

 

[Stephen Baker]

I can see this catching on, from a marketing standpoint, but I see it as "Black Diamond Lite", which
will in course of time turn in to "Beer Bike" That's my prediction, and I'm sticking to it, logic or
no logic ;-)

Steve

 

[Super Slinky]

John Morgan said...

> Sounds exactly like MY philosphy before building up a 30 pound Loco-Moto with a Fox Vanilla on the
> front. Luckily, I realized the error of my ways and went back to basics with a nice light
> hardtail. Believing in that hype only caused me to lose $1000.
>
> -John Morgan
>
> Enjoy.

What, no full rigid SS? A Loco-Moto is a relatively lightweight frame and you will only save 2-3 lbs
going to a hardtail. It isn't all that expensive either. You can spend as much on a hardtail frame.
Pedal bob can be dealt with by using a lockout or with some of the newer so-called stable platform
shocks, though I haven't tried them so I can't vouch for them. I find that cranking up the rebound
dampening eliminates 90% of pedal bob if it starts to bug me.

 

[Shaun Rimmer]

Carla A-G <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.

There's no such thing in existence other than for the label itself.

What label would you tag my bike with? - It's a 14/15" rather sloped top tube 'jump' type HT frame,
4" Bombers, 2.6 tyres, heavy duty rims, wide 'DH' bars, short but high stem with loooong seat post
(for a distance riding position), DS saddle, disc front V's rear, triple by 9 gears, can take quite
big drops (but I can't) and hold up to a damned good beating, weighs in at around _36lb_.

I mean, there are so many bikes out there with differences in design, do we 'invent' a category
for each one?

Shaun aRe

 

[Bomba]

Shaun Rimmer wrote:

> There's no such thing in existence other than for the label itself.
>
> What label would you tag my bike with?

A tank.

--
a.m-b FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/ambfaq.htm

b.bmx FAQ: http://www.t-online.de/~jharris/bmx_faq.htm

 

[Jd]

"Carla A-G" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Freeride Lite Bikes.
>
> The next mtb trend.
>
> Discuss.

******** marketing ploy.

JD

 

[Shaun Rimmer]

bomba <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Shaun Rimmer wrote:
>
> > There's no such thing in existence other than for the label itself.
> >
> > What label would you tag my bike with?
>
> A tank.

Yes, but one of the quicker ones ',;~}~

Shaun aRe

 

[Squid-In-Traini]

"Carla A-G" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Freeride Lite Bikes.

Was this printed somewhere? Or did you think of this?

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

 

[Shawn Curry]

JD wrote:
> "Carla A-G" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
>
>>Freeride Lite Bikes.
>>
>>The next mtb trend.
>>
>>Discuss.
>
>
> ******** marketing ploy.
>
> JD

Isn't that redundant?

Shawn

 

[Super Slinky]

Shaun Rimmer said...

> What label would you tag my bike with? - It's a 14/15" rather sloped top tube 'jump' type HT
> frame, 4" Bombers, 2.6 tyres, heavy duty rims, wide 'DH' bars, short but high stem with loooong
> seat post (for a distance riding position), DS saddle, disc front V's rear, triple by 9 gears,
> can take quite big drops (but I can't) and hold up to a damned good beating, weighs in at
> around _36lb_.
>
> I mean, there are so many bikes out there with differences in design, do we 'invent' a category
> for each one?

So that's where they got the idea for those Jeep bikes.

 

[John Morgan]

> What, no full rigid SS? A Loco-Moto is a relatively lightweight frame and you will only save 2-3
> lbs going to a hardtail. It isn't all that expensive either. You can spend as much on a hardtail
> frame. Pedal bob can be dealt with by using a lockout or with some of the newer so-called stable
> platform shocks, though I haven't tried them so I can't vouch for them. I find that cranking up
> the rebound dampening eliminates 90% of pedal bob if it starts to bug me.

Well the Loco frame isn't overly heavy by itself... but I went with your philosophy by building it
up tough. Too tough, in my case. I went with heavy parts and got a heavy bike. The lockout helped
but the setup of the bike wasn't suited for climbing. The frame was a size too small (I normally
ride an XL, and I got a L), and the riser bars put me in a horrible position for climbing. Plus, I
never got used to lugging that 30 pound beast uphill. (I know some people do just fine with 35 pound
FR bikes after they adapt to them). It was a great bike for going downhill... and even held its own
on the flats... but I dreaded pedalling that thing uphill. I hated it so bad I stopped riding for
three months. It just wasn't me.

But just so you don't get the wrong idea... I hope you love your Loco. May you have countless hours
of fun. =)

-John Morgan