A Return to normal mountan biking...

[MrDan]

Hi Guys,

First ever post on PH, even though im a long time reader! haha

Just wondered what you would do in my position, Iv been riding for about 10 years (since i was 14) and iv tried everything in that time - Trials for most of it. but the last 3 years iv not ridden enough.. career and all that.

Anyway. iv never actually bought a full bike. its always been a matter of replacing parts and allot of them are now very dated! but still very expnsive stuff at the time. Im after a all mountain / XC rig that i can just play out on all day. would you re use parts from my current rig and get a new frame forks etc or just go out and buy a whole new bike - Im currently decided on a Specialized Pitch FSR 09 Pro

Current Rig
- 00 Azonic DS1
- 99 Z1 BAM
- 03 Hope XC on Mavic
- 05 Hope minis
- 05 LX Hollotecs
- 05 XT Drivetrain

What do you recon, spend the £1200 the Specialized is going to cost me on a new Frame / Forks and other bits and reuse my wheels, brakes and drivetrain. or just sod it and buy the full bike

I REALLY CANT BELIVE IM USING 10 YEAR OLD FORKS!!!

[Matt H]

New bike & then when cash allows build another bike out of the bits

[MrDan]

Matt H said:

New bike & then when cash allows build another bike out of the bits

i like your thinking... new forks.. single speed mmmmmmmmmmm

[Beyond Rational]

New bike time. It might be worth swapping a few things onto the Pitch though, like the brakes and XT drivetrain if it is not too worn, then you can flog the "new" parts from the specialized.

[anonymous-user]

given you mention xc and "comfortablle all day" i would seriously consider the Cannondale Prophet 2 or the Lapierre X-Control 210. all mountain is a marketing term...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/cannondale/pro...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/lapierre/x-con...

[MrDan]

thanks for your help guys!

that cannondale looks really smart. Im really frustrated because Iv lost touch with whats good and whats not! D321s were the in thing, and Marzocci Dirt jumpers were brand new the last time I bought mountain biking UK!

[delusional]

I bought a Pitch Pro a few months ago after being in a similar-ish situation (lots of trials riding and previously owning an old Azonic DS1) and I've been very happy with it. I've found since buying it that most of my riding is really the fairly standard xc/trail stuff and as such a couple of times I've wondered if I should have bought a slightly lighter, more trail orientated bike. But, the Pitch has been perfectly fine for all my lighter cross country hacks (and at a shade over 30lbs it's still lighter than most of my mates older hard tails) and as you would expect gives loads of confidence to attack the bigger stuff.

I think were I buying again I'd spend a bit more time considering the lighter trail / xc type bikes but at the moment the Pitch would still be towards the top of my list. For me it does a pretty good job of being a do it all bike. As long as 'do it all' means xc/trail/dh-lite and not trials/skate park/street, but I guess that's pretty obious

[MrDan]

delusional said:

I bought a Pitch Pro a few months ago after being in a similar-ish situation (lots of trials riding and previously owning an old Azonic DS1) and I've been very happy with it. I've found since buying it that most of my riding is really the fairly standard xc/trail stuff and as such a couple of times I've wondered if I should have bought a slightly lighter, more trail orientated bike. But, the Pitch has been perfectly fine for all my lighter cross country hacks (and at a shade over 30lbs it's still lighter than most of my mates older hard tails) and as you would expect gives loads of confidence to attack the bigger stuff.

I think were I buying again I'd spend a bit more time considering the lighter trail / xc type bikes but at the moment the Pitch would still be towards the top of my list. For me it does a pretty good job of being a do it all bike. As long as 'do it all' means xc/trail/dh-lite and not trials/skate park/street, but I guess that's pretty obious

Thanks delusional! I think you have made my mind up for me, im going to have a look at a few others but iv got my heart prietty set on one now. im going to build my azonic into a Trials / Park single speed monster I think :-)

Down to the specialized concept store for me tomorrow!!

[timbo48]

The Pitch is an excellent 'bike according to all the write ups I've seen but it depends on what you want to use it for. I'd say that if you ride predominantly trail park stuff then that's what you want but if the majority of your riding is all day xc leaning, then a good quality lightish hardtail with decent forks and brakes might be a better way to go. A couple of years ago I bought a full sus Kona at a bargain price. It's a great bike and I'm glad that I bought it, but I've found that it's a bit too heavy for all day stuff plus my local trails in the South Downs/ Winchester area don't really justify 4" of travel at either end. I've recently repatriated my sons Cannondale F900 (he's gone downhilling and thinks xc is for softies), fitted some traditional suspension forks and quite honestly I'm really enjoying riding it. It handles most of the local stuff really well and climbs a whole lot better. I'm not missing riding the fs at all. I suppose it's a case of horses for courses. I'm saving the Kona for trips to South Wales.

[MrDan]

Booo,

Just been shopping, Turns out there are no Pitch Pros left in the UK...

Back to the drawing board.. maybe it is a sign to get somthing more XC.

[hollowpockets]

10 Years old but still great forks! i always wanted a pair back in the day.

[W00DY]

Nice forks! Always wanted some. I run some pretty old kit on my bie ad don't see the issue, my '02 mxc eccs are light and as smooth as the day i bought them despite only being serviced once, my drivetrain is mostly '01 lx with stuff like new jockey wheels nand cleaning/greasing it is all still workig great and i'm not spending money to save 30 grams. y frame is new and stff like seatpost/saddle etc. but because it's all so light it rides really well. Get yourself antoher bike for something else and use this for xc/all mountain maybe with a couple of bits.

[anonymous-user]

MrDan said:

Booo,

Just been shopping, Turns out there are no Pitch Pros left in the UK...

Back to the drawing board.. maybe it is a sign to get somthing more XC.

i seriously recommend you have a look at the x-control....i keep bleating on about lapierre but i genuinely think that they offer something different and real value for money. the attention to detail is extraordinary and puts the more well known companies to shame...

i think there is more to this "no pitch pros" left in the country line than meets the eye personally... the fact that nobody has ANY size bike left is a bit odd when its only April....

[Beyond Rational]

pablo said:

MrDan said:

Booo,

Just been shopping, Turns out there are no Pitch Pros left in the UK...

Back to the drawing board.. maybe it is a sign to get somthing more XC.

i seriously recommend you have a look at the x-control....i keep bleating on about lapierre but i genuinely think that they offer something different and real value for money. the attention to detail is extraordinary and puts the more well known companies to shame...

i think there is more to this "no pitch pros" left in the country line than meets the eye personally... the fact that nobody has ANY size bike left is a bit odd when its only April....

It is the time of year that (some) people start thinking about getting out on the trail again though, so not uncommon.

[anonymous-user]

Beyond Rational said:

pablo said:

MrDan said:

Booo,

Just been shopping, Turns out there are no Pitch Pros left in the UK...

Back to the drawing board.. maybe it is a sign to get somthing more XC.

i seriously recommend you have a look at the x-control....i keep bleating on about lapierre but i genuinely think that they offer something different and real value for money. the attention to detail is extraordinary and puts the more well known companies to shame...

i think there is more to this "no pitch pros" left in the country line than meets the eye personally... the fact that nobody has ANY size bike left is a bit odd when its only April....

It is the time of year that (some) people start thinking about getting out on the trail again though, so not uncommon.

fair enough but no bikes at all, everyone is out of every size?, even the big unit shifters like Evans et al?.... just seems odd unless initial delivery numbers were low...

[delusional]

pablo said:

fair enough but no bikes at all, everyone is out of every size?, even the big unit shifters like Evans et al?.... just seems odd unless initial delivery numbers were low...

As far as I understand it the Pitch Pro didn't really sell last year, so Specialized kept it going as a run on model in '09. Hence it being one of the few bikes that went down in price this year.
Then several of the magazines picked it up and gave it very good reviews, and suddenly there was lots of demand and little stock.
When I bought mine a few months back the Specialized concept store in Plymouth had a handful left, but apparently they had just bought the last ones left at Specialized.

Edited by delusional on Sunday 26th April 20:16

[MrDan]

Has anyone any experience of the Gary Fisher Possum?

seems like a lot of bike for the cash...

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gary-fisher/fa...

slightly higher spec

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/gary-fisher/fa...

Thanks for all the help with this guys! I went to delamere forest yesterday and the trusty Z1 BAM seals went!

[vincenz]

I would go for the second! Better components and stuff

[anonymous-user]

delusional said:

pablo said:

fair enough but no bikes at all, everyone is out of every size?, even the big unit shifters like Evans et al?.... just seems odd unless initial delivery numbers were low...

As far as I understand it the Pitch Pro didn't really sell last year, so Specialized kept it going as a run on model in '09. Hence it being one of the few bikes that went down in price this year.
Then several of the magazines picked it up and gave it very good reviews, and suddenly there was lots of demand and little stock.
When I bought mine a few months back the Specialized concept store in Plymouth had a handful left, but apparently they had just bought the last ones left at Specialized.

Edited by delusional on Sunday 26th April 20:16

pah i wanted a good conspiracy theory!! fair enough, they look good on paper and those who have one seem to like it!

[snotrag]

RE Specialized (and other manufacturers!) running out of bikes.

Every year, Specialized has to make a guess as to how many bikes they need to make for the year. Previously, they would be optimistic and make a few extra. This is so that the big shops can buy some extras, and keep them locked up till next spring. Those last years deals you see? Thats what they are.

However, this year is rather different. As a bike shop, with all the recession lark, do you really want to pre-oder a st load of stock to sit in a warehouse for 12 months? No.

Hence, Specialized have manufactured a hella lot less bikes. They HAVE run out of certain models alread (Allez and others).

If you go to a shop and they tell you this, they are not lying or trying to fob you off with what they have in stock. Its true. As the year goes on it will become true for many other models/brands.

Regarding the pitch. This bike has been available for 2 years. Nobody bought one. They had some left over. Then at Xmas time ish, a few got reviewed. Bingo! Everyone wants one. The 09 bikes are just a carry over of left over stock. This is the reason why they were the only bike in the entire lineup to go down in price for 09. This is also the reason they have run out.

The only place you will get one is if you can find a store that has one on thier shelf still.

ETA - thats not just internet warrior rambling. This stuff is my job.

Edited by snotrag on Monday 27th April 17:43