Radek wrote:
> Which of the mentioned bikes would you choose for XC riding (up to 70 km),
> with a bit of light jumping? I'd prefer the bike to be better downhill than
> uphill, however, it still has to be an all-over capable bike. Thanks for any
> replies.
>
> greetz,
> Radek
>
>
Hey Radek,
Well, I can't say I've ridden all the others, but I've ridden the KHS
and I own a Canadian edition of the Marlin (GF is trying to get more
market share up here, so they took the Marlin disc and did some upgrades
without touching the price point). I went with the Marlin and it seems
to me to be a pretty good all purpose hardtail. The feel of the KHS
wasn't right for me....can't put my finger on why, but it didn't feel
right for me.
I've put over 750 km on my Fish so far this year and it has been a good
mix of single track, multiuse (grave chip) trails and asphalt (I use the
same bike for commuting to work on the latter two surfaces). I've done
assorted runs ranging from my usual 15 km commute to a 65 km loop of all
the bridges crossing the river in the city where I live. The bike does
well overall and the genesis geometry does well up and down hill. I
have only felt it get squirrelly once on a nasty bit of downhill as I
wasn't in the greatest position and the trail I was on was an absolute
washboard of roots. Better tires would have helped (I'm not a fan of
the oem Bonty Jones XR's). That being said, even with the Bonty tires,
it climbs very well.
I'm sold on the frame...seems to be quite good for a hartail and takes
my bulk (6', 230lb) without any complaints. I'd say it is a good
starting point and has lots of potential to extend its capabilities with
future upgrades. I've got a small list of components I'm going to
upgrade when he time comes, but until then the stock set up is doing
well for what I ask of it.
My advice is that regardless of the responses (mine included) get all
four of these out and ride them. See how they fit and how they respond
for you in a test ride.
Psycho Mike
