All Things Bikes and Tacos! (...and every vehicle imaginable)

^ X-Caliber 8 is a great starter bike. Got one for my girlfriend two years ago and it's holding up quite well.

 

Cool thread, miss my Trek had it for 10 years. Would love another got a cheapie don't ride enough due to family can't equate the cost lol

 

I liked the feel of it a bunch, we have a lot of rocky trails around so want to do the tubeless tires on them. Rode well, fit my 6'3" frame really well, would upgrade to clipons more than likely though.

The shop I was at also includes a year or free maintenance on all bikes they sell, so that is a big plus to me as I can get it serviced before trips for free this year.

 

You might want to check out a good used bike, not sure if you have seen this website, check out the buy and sell for your area, can save yourself some cash
https://www.pinkbike.com/

 

Been looking on there, but everything in a 100 mile radius of me is way over my price range.

 

If you buy it please take off all those reflectors before taking it on the trails! I really like that color

 

I have had several Trek bikes over the years, and I like them better than many.

I was going to ask how tall you are because the 23 inch frame is huge, but I see in a recent post that you are 6'3" like myself. I have a longer torso and shorter legs (32 inch inseam) and I usually get away with a 19 inch frame. A friend on mine is about 6'4" with 34 inch inseam and rides a 20-21 inch frame, so I am guessing you are really long in the legs, or you might want to try a couple different frame sizes for comparison.

There are several brands that I can not ride thanks to my long torso, shorter legs build, but Trek / Gary Fisher were one of them that I used to fit well.

 

I might as well show off my bike for this year. I have probably averaged over a new bike per year for the last 12+, but I have started to slow down. First Cannondale and Lefty fork, plus first + size tire bike for me. Beast of the East, the picture does not do it justice, its a great bike.

 

I hear you, I just sold my sons 2014 Giant Trance 1 with fox suspension for $2000, good luck with your search!

 

Will do! I can't stand the reflectors either. Would rather just get a front and rear light.

I am 6'3" with a 34 inseam. I have pretty long legs. I had rode the 23inch frame and a 21inch frame and the 23 felt better for some reason. For some reason I felt squished on the 21in frame more.

 

What's the advantage to the lefty form? I've wondered this for a while.

 

Mainly weight and recognition. It gets attention really well. Also, because everyone else is making traditional forks, they don't deal with (quite) the same demand/competition. However, I don't believe they sell their forks solo anyways.

 

Here's mine

 

Traditional forks typically have damping on one side, and spring on the other i.e., the internals are not symmetrical. Lefty puts that on the same inline axis, plus the front hub is as rigid as a thru axle (because it has to be), there are roller bearings and a square shaft inside to prevent rotation (because it has to), they have dual crown attachments to the frame (because it has to), and they tend to be lighter for obvious reasons.

Cannondale patented the whole deal and all the parts they made, hence no one else has them. They also do sell them separately, and it was a huge marketing move they have pushed probably 5-10 years ago, maybe more. Cannonade will sell you all the adaptors and bearings you need to mount a lefty to many different style frames.

I have only used the bike twice so far, so I can not comment on this actual fork setup, because its way too early and its also a 27.5+ bike so the grip level was also different. I will say that the bike is rad and it has quickly become one of my favorites I have owned of all time with just those two rides.

The only difference I have noticed with the fork is that is moves so much smoother than any previous fork I have owned. I have used Fox F29s straight from the box or back from tuning service, custom setup RS Boxxer on my Santa Cruz, and numerous other forks over the last decade. Nothing about the lefty is life changing and unless this bike blows whats left of my hair off this year, I will still use a variety of forks, but I can say so far that this fork is smooth.

 

Anyone here riding a YT Capra? I'm thinking of buying one as my first enduro bike, but im not 100% because I cannot try it before I order.

 

Is that a Beta?

 

It's a KTM exc. Amazingly it's street legal from the factory

 

i do not. but my suggestion would be compare the geometry to a bike that you can test ride at one of your local shops, it wont be the exact same but should atleast give you a feel. reach, and seat tube angle would be the two main things i would keep in mind...

 

I'd add in head tube angle too (HTA). The Capra is a hardcore slack enduro bike, not your normal everyday use trailbike. If you don't get a feel on an appropriately slack bike, you may be surprised by the handling/climbing characteristics.

 

good call.