Can you recommend me a 2nd hand downhill / AM type bike ?

[nammynake]

I ride mostly XC routes (on my Canyon Nerve XC) but I'd like to give downhill riding a go. I don't want to spend a fortune. Will £500 buy something reasonable second hand?

I'm probably looking for a more "All Mountain" type bike, maybe 150/160mm travel, as I would need to pedal up hills around where I live. I'm not looking for a full-on 200mm pure downhill bike, as I have no interest in pushing up hills and don't have any dedicated lift-assisted downhill runs around here.

Cheers

[anonymous-user]

nammynake said:

I ride mostly XC routes (on my Canyon Nerve XC) but I'd like to give downhill riding a go. I don't want to spend a fortune. Will £500 buy something reasonable second hand?

I'm probably looking for a more "All Mountain" type bike, maybe 150/160mm travel, as I would need to pedal up hills around where I live. I'm not looking for a full-on 200mm pure downhill bike, as I have no interest in pushing up hills and don't have any dedicated lift-assisted downhill runs around here.

Cheers

"all mountain" is a term invented by manufacturers mareting departments. its a mountain bike pure and simple. it can go up the ups, along the top and down the downs. the line betweem free ride, xc, all mountain etc is drawn by you not a marketing dept....

i just think of AM as "burly XC" and even if you buy one you still havent got a dh bike, just two similar bikes and the Nerve is pretty capable on most descents anyway. I'd look for a s/h Kona Stab or somethig like that, there are alwasya few on fleabay but £500 is going to be a challenge. its not an all mountain bike, its a dh bike but i just think that getting something a bit burlier than the Nerve is a waste of money.

Alternatively, you sell the Nerve and get something like a Lapierre Spicy?

[Jimbo.]

Now's the time to buy: graduating students everywhere will be offloading their DH bikes as they run out of money with no more student loans to look forward to.

However, anything for £500 will need work done to it: bearings and a shock service as a minimum (so that's what, £150 straight away?).

[nammynake]

Yes the Nerve is a great bike and it can handle all but the steepest or bumpiest descents (I had a week in Morzine last summer), but it is not really designed for that. Just looking for something that is a bit more downhill orientated but can still be ridden up hills without my heart and lungs exploding.

[pidsy]

pablo said:

Alternatively, you sell the Nerve and get something like a Lapierre Spicy?

But spicy's are around £1500 second hand. Kona is probably a better way to go.

[anonymous-user]

pidsy said:

pablo said:

Alternatively, you sell the Nerve and get something like a Lapierre Spicy?

But spicy's are around £1500 second hand. Kona is probably a better way to go.

and? should get £1k for the nerve, add the £500 previously mentioned.... but i agree the stab is the better option as the OP gets two killer bikes!

[james239]

If you still want to climb well you'll need an AM bike.

I love the 150mm travel on my Nerve AM. It's more than I'll ever need on XC routes but I'm still usually one of the first to the top of any climbs.

The way I see it you have two options - sell the XC and buy an AM that you can use to do everything or keep the XC and buy a long travel DH bike.

Keeping the XC and buying an AM to go with it seems pointless to me. XC will deal with anything other than full on DH runs but an AM will probably do everything except world cup level DH runs. I've taken my Nerve AM down black graded DH trails and the only limiting factor was the rider.

[a11y_m]

james239 said:

If you still want to climb well you'll need an AM bike.

I love the 150mm travel on my Nerve AM. It's more than I'll ever need on XC routes but I'm still usually one of the first to the top of any climbs.

The way I see it you have two options - sell the XC and buy an AM that you can use to do everything or keep the XC and buy a long travel DH bike.

Keeping the XC and buying an AM to go with it seems pointless to me. XC will deal with anything other than full on DH runs but an AM will probably do everything except world cup level DH runs. I've taken my Nerve AM down black graded DH trails and the only limiting factor was the rider.

That's a lot of sense. Depends how many bikes you can justify, but an AM bike (anything up to 160/170mm) won't be different enough to the OP's current bike. IMO.

I initially bought a Lapierre Spicy (160mm) travel 2 years ago as a "do everything" bike to supplement my hardtails. I used it for everything: XC, trail centres, an Alps trip, and world class DH tracks (Fort William). Damn good bike. However, since doing more DH stuff I bought a proper DH bike second-hand (Glory DH). Best idea ever but it does mean I feel a bit over-biked with my Spicy - something like a Zesty (140mm) would be more sensible. So I've gone and bought a 120mm full-susser, doh.

[tuffer]

I am having the same dilemma, got a Nerve XC and fancy a DH bike, going to see what I can pick up cheap.