Mountain Bike ReviewsHardtail, Dirt Jump, Downhill, Freeride Mountain Bikes

DMR dirt riding company is one of the well known names in dirt jump bike community in UK. DMR is designing frames and complete jump bikes since from its inception in 1995, which thoroughly satisfies many dirt jumpers. It enhanced the riding condition and improves the overall quality by introducing few versatile MTB style jump bike frames. DMR is a specialised jump bike manufacturer and well known for its frame stout and sturdiness, which last for longer life. With the trend of riders turning back to 26in wheel size jump bikes, DMR Transition 26in bike is worth talking about.

DMR Transition 26in Jump Bike

Jump Bike for Dirt Hills

DMR Transition comes with two variants such as 24 inch purple and 26 inch blue complete built bike. It is also comes with frame only option. The availability of choices in wheel size such as 24 inch or 26 inch for dirt jumping is the best shot from DMR. This shows that it has made the Transition as a pure breed of jump bike for urban playgrounds and dirt hills. This hybrid mountain-jump bike is more versatile with race geometry and it is made especially for Dirt/street specific. One best example for proving DMR Transition as a more race version dirt jumper is that it has longer rear end and no micro gearing. This means that the longer rear end gives more power while riding and more stability while airborne.

DMR Transition 24in Jump Bike Frame

Versatile Frame

DMR Transition 26in frame has fully heat treated tubing, which is very strong and heavy. The newly designed frame has FSA fully integrated headset and runs on Marzocchi DirtJumper3 80mm suspension fork, which gives less edgy feel over tight head angle. The front end looks large with Tektro disc brake and rear comes with Tektro R v-brake along with lever. The frame gives the option to fix disc brake in the rear with the help of an adaptor that you need to purchase separately and it is readily available. DMR Transition 26in is available as a complete built bike with DMR components.

DMR Components

DMR Transition MTB style jump bike is fully dedicated for dirt jumping running with single speed. It was recently that DMR started making complete bike with two different wheelbase options. The front end is well handled by Marzocchi DirtJumper3 and the combination of DMR heat treated Wingbar and DMR swarm stem gives good manoeuvrability. The front disc brake does not spoil your dirt jump rather it provides necessary stopping power. This jump bike comes with DMR own super heavy duty Moto tyres designed specially for street/dirt jump beating. The bike gets its spin by cult crank with 25 tooth chainring and runs on own DMR rim and matching colour hubs. Void slim black saddle with tilt seatpost leaves you free during double and tabletop jumps while cult crank drives the bike like a train both cruising and riding over the rough terrain.

DMR Transition 24in Dirt Jump Bike

Riding Performance

DMR Transition 26in is the only street style MTB jump bike that has stronger rear wheel with single speed half link chain, which gives exceptional momentum over most common tabletop and double jump lips. This single speed chain is a great advantage in dirt jump bike because it lets the wheels go in the dropout as much as possible and helps flick-ability of the bike. The frame is built in such a way that the geometry is not disturbed when it accepts the front fork. You feel the heaviness first when you start riding the bike and it so solid that lets you confidently thrash the dirt hills. Its edgy wingbar with tight head angles along with racy BB shell lets you forget the weight and allows you keep riding.

24in and 26in wheelbase

There are two characteristics with 24 inch and 26 inch wheel size dirt jump and both types are contrast to each other. They are made for different riding style such as for street and dirt jump trial. The choices between 24 inch and 26 inch wheelbase are long enough for riders to specify between their riding styles. DMR transition jump bike with 24inch wheelbase would give you a little stronger in the rear end and gives faster acceleration but less stable while cornering and high speeds. You can cruise your bike and do best tricks and little jump in street style fashion.

DMR transition with 26inch wheelbase would give you slower acceleration and more stable over rough terrain at high speed. We are talking about pure breed of dirt jumping and you can try and expertise on various types of jumps on mounds of hand built trials. Many riders love to ride 26inch wheelbase jump bike and they are switching over to large wheel size. This DMR Transition 26in jump bike has become more common and versatile in both dirt jump/street MTB style.

Our analysis

DMR Transition dirt jumper is suitable for both amateurs and experienced riders. The great advantage of 26in Transition is its weight that encourages the riders to go for dirt jumping and you would not feel the weight when you are in full swing. Specifically designed drive-train of this jump bike gives great momentum and pushes bike with good agility while airborne. No doubt, DMR Transition 26in is the right bike for dirt jumpers and street style riders.

DMR Transition 26 inch Jump Bike - Technical Specification Details

About DMR Transition Dirt Jump Bike

Frame

Features

DMR components

It was only three years back Pace has started manufacturing full suspension mountain bike frame. The main focus was to design a full suspension bike frame for singletrack with better suspension design. Adrain Carter of Pace then decided to built Free Floater design to accentuate the short twin link suspension set up. Pace RC506 is a new tested and improved Freeride and All mountain bike frame, which derived its design from earlier Pace RC405 frame. With extra long travel and strongly built frame tubes, it posses certain quality that let the riders enjoy both climbing and downhill. Let see how Pace has achieved such perishable qualities.

Pace RC506 Bike Frame

Frame Built Quality

Pace RC506 is a budget frame made with Aluminium tubing and enables you to fit 150mm – 160mm travel fork. This mountain bike frame is meant for both Freeride and All Mountain bike riding purpose. The bushes and the bearing used in the frame are of standard size, which are affordable and readily available at any shop. The frame comes with detachable dropouts, IS mount brake type and adjustable chainstay.

The incorporated suspension design in the frame is based on single pivot system bridged with Free-Floater linkage for progressive spring action. This six inch bike frame is available in two different colours such as satin silver anodised and slick grey. The frame made with reinforced strong tubes and twin gusset headset, which gives great stiffness and strong feeling in the front end. Light cable mount on the downtube and crud catcher mudguard are inherited from Pace RC405.

Frame suspension

Normally, it is said that single pivot suspension mechanism would create chain growth and brake jacking. But this type of suspension design has many advantages such as easy to maintain, simple design, budget frame and good for small bump compliance. The real challenge for Pace is to make this single pivot full suspension frame free from compressive brake jack and pedal bob. In order to overcome such difficulty, Pace has implemented this frame with Free-Floater linkage that connects the rear triangle with the rear suspension. A single pivot suspension frame is a commonly designed by all manufacturers and looks similar but what makes it as a unique and efficient design is the location of the shock mounting and pivot points.

Pace RC506 Mountain Bike Frame Only

Free-Floater Suspension

Pace RC506 has designed its frame with the lower pivot points placed just above the bottom bracket and fixed on the downtube. This significant change in the pivot position from the normal design would give an axle path and increase the efficiency of the rear suspension action. This effective Free-Floater suspension design would perfectly react to the small bump and slow speed downhill. The upper and lower links play a vital role in three course of stroke action such as initial, mid and final. In all these action the links keep the rear wheel towards the frame with more vertical and less rearward axle path, which would drastically reduce the chain growth and pedal feedback.

Better Climbing and Downhill Ability

Pace RC506 bike frame is better in climbing than decent and the adjustable chainstay make the rear wheel more responsive on bold rocky terrain. The detachable dropouts would minimize the noticeable rear end flex, if you want you can go for optional Maxle rear dropouts. With the help of downhill style 66.5 degree head angle, you can push the bike to the extent whenever you need and confidently ride the bike on steep and slow decent without danger. It best suits for cross country rider who likes to try steep climbing and slow downhill.

This 6 inch mountain bike frame is an extension of trial biking with extra long travel, which lets you to hit bigger rocks. The frame is available in small, medium and large size. The medium frame size would be suitable for a person of about 5ft 10in height and you would get good riding comfort with plenty of room to move over the top-tube. This bike frame looks tall with high BB height level but it is not a disadvantage rather it gives good ground clearance and better pedalling stroke.

Pros and Cons

This Pace RC mountain bike frame is not a lightest of XC bikes but it gives you a treat with better climbing ability and lets you to play on the trail with pleasure. Make a choice for lightweight kit when you built the bike and after completion the bike would weigh around 28 lbs. Do not rub the anodized frame during heavy wash because the decals have a little problem sticking with the anodized frame and it comes off. If you have any defects in materials you can claim them during warranty period. This mountain bike frame comes with DT Swiss EX200 rear shock and you can opt for DT Swiss fork or you can go for Rock Shox front fork.

Warranty

Pace RC506 FM/AM bike frame carries full two years of warranty on material and manufacturing defects. Additionally Pace provides ‘crash replacement’ scheme for 3 and 4 years from which the replacement frame will be offered with flat 50% discount.

Our Analysis

When you built Pace RC506 frame with complete components, the bike would look slightly heavy but overall weight is good for what it is meant for. It is surprising to see that this frame is very responsive and quick with pedalling efficiency. It acts like a lightweight XC while climbing and take the abuse while decent with the hope of strongly built frame quality. You would feel strong downhill in the front and lightweight XC in the rear end.

Following are the top 10 Best Hardtail mountain bikes of 2010 priced between £350 - £1000 and these hardtail bikes are the most popular among both beginners and experienced riders. The collective information about these best hardtail mtb are gathered and presented based on many consumer reviews, users experience and amateur & advanced rider opinions. All these hardtail are the best selling and been in the market for more than five years with ultimate improvements. The following hardtail bikes are not presented based on ranking but they are worth considering in top 10 best bikes of 2010 list.

Specialized Rockhopper SL Hardtail Mountian Bike

Specialized Rockhopper SL Hardtail Bike

Specialized Rockhopper SL is a recreational XC bike nicely blends between the beauty and quality. Having a best designed alloy frame, it is targeted for new comers, which is affordable and one of the light weight bike in its class. The frame built quality is the highlight that gives strength to the ride. With the help of wide bar and 100mm of travel the trial riding can be fully utilized. This hardtail mountain bike gives good pedalling response that leads to great acceleration agility on the trail road. It has hydraulic disc brake and entry level dart 3 coil fork. This Specialized Rockhopper SL hardtail cost you £700 and suitable for beginners, there is no need for immediate upgrades. Make a note that this bike is not for intermediates and advanced riders. Beginners can make use of this mountain bike as a good platform for gaining expertise in mountain biking and later they can switch to full suspension bike.

Good: Light weight alloy frame, enough mud clearance and allow the rider to try bolder tyres with the help of intelligently built chainstay and true value for money
Bad: It is slightly heavier then normal hardtial bike, Shifter comes with low performance, average component setup, not good for bumpy trial and not meant for serious riders.

Boardman Pro Hardtail Bike

boardman-pro-hardtail-mountain-bike

The specs of Boardman Pro seem to be better then any other hardtail in its class and true bang for the buck. This hardtail bike is available with RockShox Reba race fork with Avid Elixir R hydraulic disc brakes. Most of the rider who bought this bike goes for immediate or later upgrades such as bolder tyres, seat stay & head set adjustment and does simple mechanical adjustments to suit the riding style. The bike goes for real transformation from commuter to trail riding. This hardtail mtb is meant for intermediate XC riders and it possess light weight aluminium frame. Available exclusively from Halford and they have years of experience dealing with Boardman bikes. It is a fast bike climbs well and perform well on descends. You cannot match Boardman Pro with any other hardtail bike that comes around £1000 when you look closely to their specs.

Good: cheaper in its class with excellent components setup especially gear, brakes and fork are value for the money.
Bad: Frame quality and the tyres are average, weigh around 11.5kg and worst saddle and bar grip (need to change), white colour easily gets dirt

Voodoo Bokor Hardtail Mountain Bike

Voodoo Bokor Hardtail MTB

Voodoo Bokor moves faster and has the capacity to accelerate well even in the rough terrain. It comes with aluminium butted frame and available in 18" and 20" bike frame. With the help of Rock Shox Recon Race Air shock with 100 mm of travel, this bike maintains light weight and provides good stopping power with Avid Juicy 3 hydraulic disc brake. This hardtail mountain bike is equipped with a nice frame and it is a highlight on the bike that gives great handling on flat roads and works hard on off-roads. This light weight hardtail bike is suitable for cross country and even for dual slalom riders. It is built in such as way the top tube gives standover clearance and seat tube lets you keep grit out with longer stem. The geometry of the frame gives good corner grip and it is a single speed compatible. Voodoo Booker bike is liked by many riders because of its frame and component setup, which is great value for money and this bike cost around £750.

Good: Good equipments Recon fork, SRAM X5 rear mech, strong and light weight frame, good acceleration and nice wheelset with Mavic Rims.
Bad: The paint job is average it does not stick around for longer

Genesis Core 20 Hardtail Bike

genesis-core-20-mountain-bike

Core 20 from Genesis is a well spec hardtail with better fork and frame design. We cannot say it is a light weight bike but this bike will suit for commuting and less technical rides. Genesis Core 20 comes with 100 mm of travel of Rockshox Tora XC with double butted aluminium frame. The good thing is it has Shimano Deore shifters with all 9 speed and other kit is not much highlighted. You can add extra long travel and make use of this bike for some technical ride but watch the weight. This hardtail mountain bike is not an aggressive bike but an all rounder. You have a chance to upgrade the bike in a latter stage because it comes with hydraulic disc brakes. If you want to try little off road ride then change the tyre to Kenda Small Block 8 or DMR Moto R/T tyres. The original tyre that comes with Core 20 is continental road king, which is good for commuting and very little trail riding. You can also buy another budget set of wheels for race tyres and ride both commuting and trail riding.

Good: All rounder commuting bike, room for upgrades, used for trail riding, hydraulic disc brakes and double butted Aluminium frame
Bad: Not a light weight bike and no lock out in the fork

Carrera Fury hardtail mountain bike

This entry level cross country bike has decent spec and comes with true value for money. It is priced comfortably with reliable frame quality and kits. Carrera Fury hardtail bike cannot be compared with other cross country that are little expensive. It is exclusively available from Halford at the price range of £550 and comes with heat treated aluminium frame, which does not look like an average bike. The strong butted chassis show little flex and fully coated with white paint. The frame is well designed with two bottle cage mounts, large keyhole clearance at chainstay for rear wheel. This hardtail mtb has adjustable seat post, which is tall enough to fit for 6ft riders. It gives good traction with great stability for even non experienced riders with plenty of room in the cockpit. Carrera Fury hardtail mountain bike comes with 120mm of travel Suntour Epicon fork with SRAM sifters and Avid Juicy hydraulic disc brakes, which are the main highlighted kit. The fork has rebound damping this give way for semi trial riding on bumpy terrain for easy climb and steep decent.

Good: Great value for money, decent spec, Avid Juicy hydraulic disc brakes, 120 mm of Suntour Epicon fork with rebound damping
Bad: Frame show very little flex but it is not a problem at the price range that you pay

Cannondale Trail SL 5 Hardtail Bike

cannondale-trail-sl-5-mountain-bike

Trail SL 5 hardtail is from popular brand name Cannondale and the main highlight of this bike is its quality frame. The specs and components are of average value for the price you pay and the bike comes around £550. It is comfortably priced and suitable for those who want to be a proud owner of Cannondale hardtail. As far the performance, this hardtail bike would not disappoint your rather lets you to enjoy cross country and little trail riding with 100mm of travel and 2.0” Hutchinson tyres. This hardtail mountain bike feature aluminium frame with light weight tubes that adds strength and at the same time with reduced weight. It comes with Shimano Deore transmission with Tektro mechanical brake which is easy to maintain and has average performance then disc brake. Some components like stem, handlebar and grips are made by own brand name Cannondale. When compared with other £500 priced hardtail bikes, Cannondale Trail SL 5 holds in fifth position before lot of choices available like Boardman Pro hardtail, Carrera Fury hardtail bike, Carrera Kraken Mountain Bike and GT Avalanche 2.0 disc. You are paying the price for brand name and the quality of the frame.

Good: Quality Aluminium frame, brand name, 100mm of travel and 2.0” Hutchinson tyres
Bad: Average components and spec setup

Lapierre Tecnic 500 Hardtail Mountain Bike

lapierre-tecnic-500-hardtail-mountain-bike

Lapierre Tecnic 500 is a cheaper and a lighter XC bike with most preferable 100mm of Rock Shox Tora SL CL fork. The frame built quality is what speaks a lot and the classy components would add more quality to the bike. This hardtail bike is equipped with lightweight alloy frame that has compact geometry and Rock Shox Tora SL CL fork, which acts like a finishing kit for the bike. The important components like BB, shifters, Crankset and Derailleur are from Shimano. The hardtail alloy frame holds five years of warranty against manufacturing defect when it is used under normal condition and not for racing. With 12.6 kg weight, this hardtail mtb enables you to do XC riding with moderate trail and the weight of the bike is an important factor. We cannot say it is an all rounder bike but it is mainly focussed for cross country with reliable components. It seems that Hutchinson Python tyres in Lapierre Tecnic 500 XC make the bike use for off road condition in all sort of terrain and this type of tyre has low rolling resistance with good grip near cornering. The hardtail mountain bike cost you £800.

Good: Light weight and strong alloy frame, RockShox Tora fork and other classy and best components
Bad: Not an all rounder hardtail and more focussed XC riding

Specialized Hardrock disc Hardtail bike 2010

specialized-hardrock-disc-mountain-bike

Specialized Hardrock disc bike is one of the least priced hardtail suitable for those who search bike in fixed budget or in the process of redeeming the voucher through cyclescheme facility. It is a lighter and better spec bike suitable for commuting both on roads and trail. This beginner hardtail bike goes everywhere with set of Tektro Mechanical disc brakes. The frame looks more of commuter than mtb and available in four different variants such as Hardrock disc, Hardrock Sport Disc, Hardrock Comp Disc and Hardrock XC Pro Disc. Each hardtail is better then the other with better components but you need to pay extra when you go for higher model. Specializied Hardrock disc is the basic model that cost £350 and the sports disc model cost you £370. Specialized Hardrock sport disc comes with Avid mechanical disc brake and fully double butted aluminium frame with 80mm of SR Suntour SF10 front fork. The entire Hardrock model comes with 8 speed except the basic Hardrock disc that has 7 speed. These hardtail mountain bike models are available based on your LBS and the only think that you need to change is the pedal. The Suntour SF series fork in the entry level Hardrock bike is not up to the expected performance but you can change the fork to Rock Shox Tora SL or Rock Shox Reba or Rock Shox Dart 3 SL or SR Suntour Epicon. Specialized Hardrock disc is the better purchase and give room for upgrades, the hubs is disc ready were you can change them to hydraulic disc from mechanical.

Good: Good frame and lot of room for upgrades
Bad: Suntour fork and longer pedal, the pedal should have been shorter

Gary Fisher Wahoo Disc Hardtial Mountain Bike 2010

gary-fisher-wahoo-disc-mountain-bike

Gary Fisher Wahoo Disc 2010 is a cross country XC bike with 100mm of Suntour SF10 front fork aluminium frame, which made up of hydroformed tubing. The fork has hydraulic lockout and the important components such as shifters, crankset and Derailleur are from Shimano, which is much better than other branded components. The main compromise would be while getting hardtail bike under £400 budget is the front fork and disc brakes. In this case Gary Fisher Wahoo has agreeable spec and it is unnecessary to change or upgrade any components at the time of purchase. Paying extra money for budget fork is not worth until you get experience riding Gary Fisher Wahoo disc hardtail mtb. At later point of time if you want you can change the fork to Rock Shox Tora coil that comes under the budget with decent option. Additionally you can add Avid hydraulic disc brakes taking off the mechanical disc brakes. All the components are from Shimano so, it is readily available. You can compare this bike with GT Avalanche 2.0 Disc that has lockout control, preload adjustment and cable disc and it comes with extra £170.

Good: Mid level XC bike, budget hardtail, better spec, good beginner’s bike, no need to upgrade
Bad: Compromise with front fork, mechanical disc, average shifters

Carrera Kraken Hardtail Bike

carrera-kraken-mountain-bike

Carrera always have a special place in Halford and they have produced more popular bike variants with best spec at least priced such as Carrera Fury. Carrera Kraken is a kind of trail bike with 120mm of front fork with lockout facility. It also equipped with hydraulic disc brakes and SRAM 27 speed along with the other budget components like Truvativ Isoflow crank. It is one of the best spec hardtail bike that you can purchase for £430 and the components looks like the £700 worth. Performance wise it does not disappoints you rather ride like expensive hardtail. It is surprise to see such a stiff and light weight Aluminium frame under £430. This bike is suitable for those who wants to start a solid foundation in mountain biking and move to the next level.

Good: Best spec, great value for money, suitable for beginners
Bad: We cannot say any bad things about Kraken at a least price range that you pay



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Fox racing is one of the leading producers of suspension shocks for mountain bike market. There are few all time popular shocks produced by Fox that are still liked by many bike riders such as Float and DHX series. It is about the popularity of Fox RP23 rear shock from float series, which you would have already heard the name. The main highlight of Fox shock is its boost valve technology that they incorporate in all its shock design. Fox RP23 float bike shock is also built with same boost valve technology that has been brought inside in-line shock, putting in the main piston when compared to DHX rear shock that has boost valve outside the in-line shock. The question is whether this new technology would really give boost for Float RP23 in terms of both the shock design and performance.

Fox Float RP23 Bike Shock

Efficient Design

This bike rear shock has an efficient design that give way for propedal platform with three positions such as light(1), medium(2), firm(3) using a lever, which is easy to adjust with gloved hands while on the fly. The lightest and the firmest setting are noticeable with improved pedalling efficiency and it is set according to the personal preference. On and off position adjustment of this handy propedal lever has two main function. It gives firm riding during stringent claim when it is on and gives efficient bump performance while decent when it is off.

A red rebound dial is provided at the strategic position at the top for adjusting the rate at which the shock returns after compression. Even when this Float RP23 shock is hidden inside the bike frame its unique design lets the riders easily access the lever and dial knob. Fox recommends this bike rear suspension for XC, all mountain and freeride mountain bikes. This bike shock weighs just 208 grams and gives the ability to add or remove air pressure for proper sag setting to be achieved.

Fox Float RP23 Bike Rear Shock

Riding Performance

This light weight rear shock would transform your bike with much better hill climbing, single track and with downhill performance. It is a reliable and highly tuneable air shock, which works with any mountain bike. This shock has been in the market for many years and it has been proved to give great grip during trial riding without compromising on comfort. The thumb rule is to set faster rebound without bouncing the rider and the red rebound dial would help you to set the desired correction for effective ride. The unique design of this bike rear suspension gives square edge bump performance and the damping facility provides buttery smooth bottomless feel.

Fox Float RP23 Shock

Propedal Performance

Propedal setting of this Fox bike rear shock with three positions would improve pedalling efficiency during stringent claims. The efficient low speed compression damping would rescue the bike from bobbing and stabilize the ride on big hits. Riders can be benefited by enough low speed damping with high setting, which gives great control and minimize the bobbing effect in the bike during random pedalling strokes. Turn the propedal lever to 3rd position and you will feel the firmness in the bike near cornering during fast riding. The whole energy would not be wasted from the pedal bob when the lever turned to 2nd or 3rd position and the rear tyre is fully engaged on the ground without bouncing back.

Warranty

This bike shock carries two years of warranty in EU countries and one year for other countries and this warranty covers any manufacturing defect or fault. Some riders who bought this shock faced rare manufacturing defects like oil leak from damping knob and incorrect air pressure adjustment with strange sound during compression even after service in three or four months. It is found to be a common problem for such a rear shock, which could be rectified easily if not Fox is ready to replace the shock under warranty period. Constantly check the performance of this shock when you happen to go for downhill and trial riding.

Our Analysis

Proper set up of this bike rear suspension is depends on ‘setting sag’ and even little difference in sag setting would create a big difference in riding style. This float RP23 works great for long climb and with minor adjustment you can enjoy downhill. The performance of this shock differ from bike to bike based on many variables such as frame size and design, bike set up, riding style, leverage ratio so, it is how you perfectly set up the sag would count on the performance of this bike shock.

Fox Float RP23 Bike Shock - Technical Specification Details

About Fox Float RP23 Rear Shock

Design

Features

Warranty